Alejandro Meneses's 1994 Saturn SL1-EV

Volts and Amps meters in old ashtray cov

Owner

Alejandro Meneses

Location

Douglasville, Georgia US ^map

Web/Email

WebPage

Vehicle

1994 Saturn SL1
Original SL1 with faulty clutch. Bought it for $470

Motor

Advanced DC FB-4001A Double shaft Series Wound DC
From EV of America

Drivetrain

Original Transmission, FWD

Controller

Curtis 1221C
From EV of America

Batteries

19 Johnson Controls Energizer EGC2, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
220 AH at C/20, 110 min capacity @75 A. 60lbs ea.

System Voltage

114 Volts

Charger

Quickcharge On Board 120V/10A
(2) Quick-Charge in parallel; these can be used together
drawing 28A or only one at 14A makes it very flexible for
opportunity charges.
From EV of America

Heater

Ceramic 1500W

DC/DC Converter

Astrodyne SD-350D
29 Amps. From EV of America

Instrumentation

Analog Voltmeter and Ammeter; Fuel gauge coming soon

Top Speed

68 MPH (109 KPH)

Range

40 Miles (64 Kilometers)

EV Miles

Current:	102 Miles (164 Kilometers)

Seating Capacity

4 adults

Curb Weight

3,200 Pounds (1,454 Kilograms)

Tires

Front: BF Goodrich P175/65R14
Rear: BF Goodrich P185/70R14

Conversion Time

Started May-10-2008 working on the weekends and
occasional evenings.
Completed on Sep-05-2008.

About 150 hours of direct work.

Update may 21:
209k miles engine will come off this weekend. I put in on craigslist as "for free if
you come, bring tools and get it out of the car"

Update may 23:
Ordered all the components above except batteries.

Update may 28:
Engine is out and the compartment still needs to be cleaned. Hoses and
unnecessary junk has been removed.
I had to order new shifter cable's retainer clips (the little metal clips that secure the
shifter cable to the transmission).
EV of America says they will ship my order tomorrow (they have been having
more work than ever now that the gasoline passed $4...)

Update may 30:
Car is clean inside and out, ready for the components to start being installed. Spline
shaft will be measured and CAD drawings for the mid-shaft support, front battery
rack, adapter plate and coupler will be made this weekend. I'll also try to remove the
clutch pedal.

Update june 4:
Website is updated and second video is up. Motor and some components arrived
today. I also gave the mock-up for the trans-axle support to the welder, it will be
ready soon.

Update june 11:
Cables arrived today, they will not be needed yet but it is better to have everything
on hand.
The support for the trans-axle is mounted and the adaptor plate and coupler are
being made at the machine shop; with some luck they will be done over the
weekend.

Update june 16:
Chargers arrived, some 12V wiring was done over the weekend and I also removed
the heater core. Will be working on prewiring for the motor overheating buzzer,
vacuum pump, contactor, controller cooling fan, KSI relay, mounting gauges and
heater during the week. If time allows it, I'll mount the DC/DC converter and wire it
to the 12V battery. The vacuum pump I got at the Pull-a-Part is leaking, I'll go next
weekend and exchange it for another one.
The heater will use the A/C relayed switch for safety, that way it can not be switched
on unless the fan is running; the old A/C compressor harness will close the relay for
the heater itself.

Update june 23:
The A/C switch theory did not work; the switch goes to an integrated circuit... I
located the cable within the ventilation switch that gives me 12V at any fan speed
and used it to power an illuminated switch that closes the relay for the heater.
Circuits board is almost complete; main contactor is due to arrive soon after being in
back order for weeks. Installed potbox and arranged all the cables in a single
harness to keep a good appearance in the compartment. I will design and have the
rear battery box fabricated this week.

Update july 10:
I had to wait for the heat sink plate for the controller, I found it at
speedymetals.com. Machining of the adaptor plate and coupler is not finished yet. In
real terms, the EV is stalled as I wait for that and the rear battery box (which,
surprisingly, is still in the making).
Circuits board is finished, I installed quick disconnect terminals for everything on the
board so it can be neatly and easily installed and removed.
I also found a vacuum pump in a 1989 Cadillac DeVille, it was not controlled by a
vacuum switch or I could not find it in the few minutes I had before they took it to
the crusher... I ordered a MPL vacuum switch from evparts.com and it will arrive on
monday 07/14; the pump will be installed then.

Update august 18:
Almost there. The motor went in about 10 days ago and it really paid off to take a
long time aligning the plate and marking the holes with gasket sealant to be sure of
their location. I finished painting and installing the rear support for the motor this
morning and 6 of the batteries are already in the trunk (more to come this evening).
At this point I'm only waiting for the front battery trays (on which I have to change
the design) and then I'll rent the 2/0 cable terminal crimper to do the high voltage
wiring.
I had to reduce the voltage to 114, down 6V because I could not fit the 20th battery
if I wanted to have both chargers on board; now, the chargers are rated for 120, so,
talking to the manufacturer, we agreed that I can use them on the AGM function. The
charger will charge until it thinks each of the 60 cells has 2.4V, but in reality, it will
be 57 cells at 2.55V, which is fine for flooded cells. I regret a little bit not buying a
Zivan charger instead, but again, the Zivan pulls 17Amps from the grid, to little for a
decently timed recharging time and to much for many outlets when I need an
opportunity charge.
One day LiFePo4 will be affordable, I will have 150-mile range and a big 50A or 100A
charger at home... how's that for a dream??

September 5, 2008!

The vehicle is completed, only suspension and breaks work to be done before
allowing it on the open road. The neighbors at the apartment complex have had an
interesting weekend seeing the car zooming around for its test laps.

Update September 25:
The car has been certified as a Zero Emission Vehicle by the Environmental Protection Division.
The new springs will arrive on Monday and the car will look leveled again.
I have been taking it to work since Tuesday and feels great.

code by jerry