Regulators are remounted, rear battery box cover is in place. I’ll fix the steering tie rods but then it’s just time to drive it for a while. Very happy with the 220V outlet. Charging at 220\30 amps tops it off after a work commute in a little over 2 hours. It goes into thermal cutback due to the Florida heat and the afternoon sun on it, but as it cools we should be able to get charged in under 2 hours.
Took advantage of some 15% sales with free shipping and ordered some BMR boxed subframe connectors and boxed lower control arms. The SFCs will greatly stiffen the chasis from front to back and minimize twisting. I try to always have to t-tops out so this will definately be a noticable difference in creeks and groans. I’ve installed them on two of my previous 4th gen f-bodies and think they are an absolute.
The LCA should stiffen the rear axle and reduce\eliminate the wheel hop. Currently I can’t start in any gear other than first without bouncing the axle, presumable due to the torque of the motor from the stop. Even in first a hard start will buck. I think part of the problem is the controller ramps up current, so it doesn’t get enough juice to spin the tires but enough to bind the rear end. I plan on getting some more video of the rear suspension prior to the weld-in of the SFC.
I also have a slight, rhtymic thump from under the hood at full throttle. It is not related to rpms or gear so another video in there is planned.
Currently also experiencing what appears to be thermal cutback on one the the rear regulators at 13.1 volts, so the charger cuts back and the batteries won’t charge. Regulators haven’t been quite right since the rebuild so I’ll be taking them apart to investigate as well.
Got a lot done today, focusing on the rear of the car. The regulator octobox is cleaned up and I have the rest of the bolts and nuts needed for it. It is bolted to the car and ready for the regulators to be inserted.
The wooden battery cover was cut, routed and installed on hinges. I have a slight clearance issue with a battery post but I think I can work around that with shorter bolts on the hinge or rotating the battery if need be.
Last thing to do is route the AC from the gas cap to the charger and the DC from the charger to the battery pack Anderson connection. Once those are done the rear batteries can be reinstalled and wired up.
The front HV box will be ready to install after I mount the DC converter to its side. Then the Raptor can go back in followed by a cleanup of the LV wiring (vacuum pump primarily) and we’re ready for another road test.
I have an idea for the wooden cover. I’d like to stain it somewhat dark then have the Trans Amped logo printed across it, possibly with some stats on the car as well. I’ll probably focus on the logo to keep it clean.
This is the Trans Amped logo that my wife and brother had made for my birthday. The + and - are nicely incorporated into the traditional Firebird look.
Drilling holes for the
Mounted
Wooden cover installed.
Conflict with hinge and battery post
I worked a little more on the new wiring for the battery regulators.
Here are the regulators mounted on the metal rods. Behind is the junction box they fit in.
These are the wire ends that attach to the regulators. I intended to strip out the green wire but it looks like the 3 wires are spiraled so it would be too difficult. I couldn't find 12/2 with other than extension cord and I didn't like the look of that.
These are the 8 wires that connect to the rear regulator rack. Crimped, soldered and wrapped.
The rack inside the junction box with a wire running down the side. All 8 will enter the box through the top. I still need to add a bar on the right side to keep the wires from putting stress on the top regulator. It will be a thin metal strip across the threaded rods.
This is the top where the 8 wires will exit the junction box and continue to the rear battery pack.
I borrowed neighbor Mike’s 90 degree drill and was able to get the melted bolt out without too much trouble. The threads showed no sign of damage outside a little of the melted black plastic that stuck to it so I think I escaped with only a bolt replacement.
I also took a picture of the new battery regulator rack I’ve been working on. I need a bunch more spacers from Ace but I think it will work out well. My plan is to mount them inside a steel box I’ll make out of sheet metal and install some fans that will be powered by the external load jumpers on the regs.
I removed the scooter motor and the power steering pump to eliminate some weight and clean up the engine bay. I was going to remove the A/C compressor and the entire front bracket since I need to figure out a way to get that to work. Problem is we welded the bracket to hold the bracket that holds the A/C in place and the gaps between the frame and the welded piece are smaller than the parts that need to come out.
So I think I can get to it by removing the sway bar and coming out the bottom but I’ll need to lift the car back up to do that.
One oddity I found was that disconnecting the negative most battery cable did not reduce the voltage between the contactors to zero as I’d expect. Until I disconnected the battery regulator lead it didn’t drop, so i assume there are capacitors on the regulators which hold charge so you could still get a slight zap from those.
It’s getting cold here in Florida so I may bump up the heater replacement.
I’ve got a plan to cleanup the rear battery area by remote mounting the regulators in a box next to the charger. If I move them I can then seal up the batteries and still be able to see the regulator LEDs flashing. That will make things look more professional and keep some road noise out. For the past few test drives we’ve had the center console removed so we can see and hear the pavement through the shifter and the battery racks.
I can also remove the stock power steering pump from the engine bay. I’ve got one battery that is always last and removing this pump will allow me to access it better to charge it up as a single battery so it doesn’t drag the rest down. I like the idea of an electric A/C compressor as well, so that would free up a good amount of space under hood.
I’m still nervous about overcharging the batteries so I kept checking on them tonight. All of the regulators had red lights on so I know I need to get the pack charged up and equalized before I do too much more test driving and kill it. It took about 2 hours at 12.5 amps but all but one checked out and flashed green for me. Tomorrow I’ll give it some one on one charger attention to bring it up. The other 12 batteries are at 13.25 V resting, this one is at 13.15 so it’s close but I hate to leave the other 12 regulators in bypass while this one hokey pokes its way up. Total pack voltage is 172V using 13 – 12V DieHard P1.
I bought a crimper and 20 6-pin connectors tonight at Ace, along with a new fuse for the power steering pump. It blew a 15 amp so I’m trying a 25 amp. I’ll need to upgrade my wiring to a thicker guage if it’s pulling that much.
So I’ll remake the phone cable connections and flip the wires so that are all “TDBR” – tang down, blue right.
Just thought, I bought 20 because I have 13 batteries. So I need 26. Oh wait, I can reuse 13 of them because half of the terminals are correct. Whew. My wife thinks I go to Ace to often, plus they are out for now.