Monday, June 16, 2014

Is this thing on?

I just noticed that the Google overlords have actually updated some of the blogger features, and am just running a quick test.  Neglect of the user interface has made insterting new photos on Blogspot difficult for some time.  The Karmann Eclectric is currently undergoing a battery rebuild, but the end is near.  I've reinstalled four of the five original subpacks.  The fifth, which was behind the driver's seat, is being eliminated because it prevented full seat travel, was most at risk of a short circuit, and allowed driver weight to imbalance the car (which rarely carries a passenger).  I've cleaned the cells and hardware, beefed up the hold-downs, and configured the cells into buddy pairs, effectively giving 60 amp/hr cells rather than 30 ah.  I'm also adding 48 cells in the rear compartment to offset those lost from behind the driver's seat, and these are being contained in aircraft battery boxes for greater safety and serviceability at the expense of some added weight.
This pack rebuild came about because Karmann Eclectric was selected as a beta tester for J1772-enabled charging from Manzanita Micro!  This means that our classic EV will be able to hook up to the newfangled 'idiot-proof' public charging stations without any adaptors, switches, or twiddling of knobs!  Manzanita is giving some new guts to ye olde PFC20 while I install the new vehicle inlet and rejigger the cabling...
The first version didn't quite work with most public charging stations, but I've just received version 2 from Manzanita, and am eager to get back on the road!