Under the HoodTesting electricalThe BedDashboard and Circuit Breakers
OwnerRob and Tom Balch
LocationHarbor City, California United States map
Vehicle1994 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab
White
MotorAdvanced DC FB1-4001A Series Wound DC
28.5HP
Double Shaft
Drivetrain5 Speed Transmission with Clutch
ControllerDC Power Systems Raptor 1200
1200A Peak rating
700A Continuous rating
Big purple box
Works well. Reliable. Might be overkill since we seem to peak around 800A and continuous is rarely over 300A.
Batteries24 Trojan T-125, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
4 in the engine compartment
20 in the bed
144V nominal voltage
System Voltage144 Volts
Charger ElCon HF PFC3000
It tolerates any AC input voltage you can find (~100V-250V)
Big yellow and black box.
Located in the bed with rear twenty batteries. Works well. Reliable.
HeaterNone.
It is driven and kept in the South Bay, Los Angeles county.
DC/DC ConverterZivan Modified NG1
100-200VDC Input
up to 60A @14VDC Output
Work well. Reliable.
InstrumentationWe removed the climate control and stereo for space. The stereo was relocated. The climate control will not be reconnected.

5000RPM Tach with sender on forward motor shaft
Temperature Gauge for motor
1000A Ammeter (for 144V)
100A Ammeter (for 12V: measures 12V Aux Battery + DC/DC output)
+/-80A Ammeter for 12V Aux Battery
120-180V Voltmeter (for 144V)
Original Voltmeter in dash (for 12V)
Original Speedometer in dash
Circuit Breakers (for 144V) located on panel forward of shifter.
Top Speed75 MPH (120 KPH)
So far we have gone 75mph but the truck can go faster. We were on a level freeway. Traffic and laws impeded our "Top Speed" test. We will try again, I'm sure.
AccelerationGreat, even pretty good going up hill. And that's with 1584lbs of batteries. Accelerates very well from a start... even in third gear.
Range60 Miles (96 Kilometers)
~50 miles for level street driving.
~60 miles for freeway driving using overdrive - this thing builds up a lot of momentum

These estimates are to a DOD (Depth Of Discharge) of 50%. Driving much more would decrease the life of our battery pack... and we don't want that ($$$)

On hills the range is significantly decreased. We dropped our batteries to 50% DOD after only 28 miles(!) during a drive while testing on the steepest hills in our area (including a 6% grade for ~3 miles at 35-40mph).

Regenerative braking would be great but it's not in our plans for this truck
Watt Hours/MileTBD
EV Miles
Current:850 Miles (1,367 Kilometers)
 
    As of 4/28/2010
Seating Capacity5
3 in front
2 in folding seats in back of cab
Curb Weight0
TBD
TiresNothing special.
Conversion TimeMostly just weekends
Three months
Conversion Cost~$13,000
+$2,500 for the vehicle

Total of ~$15,500
Additional FeaturesToyota MR2 / Spyder electric PS unit (3rd Gen) (works great).
Electric pump and vacuum chamber for power brakes.
Air suspension.
Original motor mounts used.

Lots of safety equipment:
Insulation almost everywhere,
Many many fuses,
800A slow blow fire retardant fuse in 144V circuit,
Large circuit breakers located in cab and electrically inline with 144V circuit,
12V operated contactors on both ends of 144V pack,
Big red panic button in central location under hood inline with 144V pack,
Motor temperature warning light in cab
Trouble free with 850 miles post-conversion (4/28/10)!

Many thanks to KTA Services Inc. for their help figuring out suitable parts for our truck based on our desired specs, as well as for supplying most of those parts.

Works great. We're using it as a daily commute car. 25 minutes each way. No issues. And of course no stops for gas. But we do daily recharging.

Very quiet! People don't hear us coming - and walk right out into the street in front of the truck. It actually happens quite a bit.


TO-DO (low priority):
Get a kWhr meter and measure the efficiency and economy of the truck.
Put in more efficient lights.
Low rolling resistance tires (at least get matching tires)
Make a trip computer estimating the range left (IN PROGRESS...)
Hook up original dash fuel gauge to State Of Charge (SOC) data in trip computer. (IN PROGRESS...)
Put in a larger vacuum chamber for the use by the power brakes.
Fuse even MORE things.
Make adapters for the charging cord to cover all the varieties of home high voltage (220-240V) receptacles we may encounter while opportunity charging.
Lighten it up (carbon fiber? very low priority - $$$)

code by jerry