Re-Using Computer Wires

The Belktronix system instructions call for attaching all the Batmon boards with twisted pairs of wires. I couldn't find a spool of twisted wires at the hardware store, but it dawned on me that most desktop computers use twisted wires to connect the motherboard with the switches/LEDs on the front panel. So, I went over to my friend non-profit computer recycler FreeGeek and picked up a handful of twisted wires out of their wire recycling bin for $1. This is great because I get a huge variety of colors and a few LEDs and small switches included. I even got a ferrite core that could be useful for reducing noise.

In short, if you have a local computer recyling place, there are tons of colorful twisted pair wire sets available.

Component Placement on Plastic Control Board

With all the components under the firewall rack installed, I put the four remaining batteries in the rack and started figuring out the placement of parts on the control board.


Here is the tentative placement of charger and controller. The contactor is off to the far right. I purchased a piece of black "UHMW" plastic (28" long x 8 1/2" wide by 1/2" thick) to mount the components on. My EV cohort Ron used this plastic in his VW Jetta EV at Shorepower Technologies and it seems to work well.

I wanted to put all the high-current, high-voltage cables on the right, so the controller, contactor and motor terminals are all over there. The charger/DC-DC converter is on the left. I'll put the AC power inlet on the passenger side bumper and velcro the system integrator and charger monitor in the remaining space behind the passenger side headlight.

I still have to re-assemble the drive-shafts and suspension underneath the car, but much of the mechanical work is getting close to complete. Based on the detailed instructions in the Belktronix installation manual, I think the wiring will go fairly smoothly.

Starter Blockoff Plate Template

I took some time this morning to finish all the vacuum pump connections and installing the wiring harness discussed a few posts back. Before installing the batteries in the firewall rack, I needed to measure the starter block-off hole to make a cover for where the starter motor used to be.


Here's the engine compartment with the engine wiring harness plugged in and tie-wrapped to several locations. It's hard to see, but you can just make it out as a black tube with pieces of red electrical tape on it. I tested out the vacuum pump system by attaching the pressure switch and connecting a small 12V UPS battery. It seems to work fine, but I have a small leak at one of the fittings. I probably need to put some vacuum grease around the fittings where the hose connects to make a tight seal.


Here's a .jpg file of a rubbing for the starter blockoff plate. It's accurate at 100x100dpi. If you click on the picture to enlarge it and save the result, you should be able to print it out (in MS-Paint or something like it) and get a pattern for your own transmission. Don't forget to tell the paint program that the picture is 100x100dpi and print it out a 100% scale.


Since I have the original rubbing, I'm going to simply trace it out on this 1/16" piece of steel I found and cut it out with a sabre saw. The two bolt holes are 10mm in diameter. Others might just do their own rubbing instead of using the template above.


Here's the starter block-off plate installed underneath the firewall rack. The heavy bolt on the upper right is overkill but came from the original car. The lower left bolt holds the transmission to the motor adapter plate.

Charger/DC-DC Arrives

The last piece of equipment from Belktronix arrived today.


Here's the charging system from Belktronix. The 1200 watt charger is combined with the DC-DC converter on the right. The small black box on the left is the charge controller box which interfaces with all the Batmon units that monitor the voltage on each battery. I'm psyched that I finally have all the critical pieces and nothing left is holding me back.


Last week, I also dropped by my favorite overpriced EV parts store: West Marine. This is a 15 amp charging inlet used for boating. This will fit nicely on the front right bumper to allow me to plug in without opening the hood. Many people use the space behind the gas-tank cover for their charging inlet, but I much prefer it near the front of the car because that's where all the components. Having the inlet on the front also makes it much closer to the ground and closer to the charging station if I'm parked front end in.

Preparing the Engine Wiring Harness

Before I can put in the firewall batteries and start hooking things up, I need to finish cleaning up the engine wiring harness.


Here's what's left of the wiring harness after I removed all the things I didn't need. In the middle of the harness on the right is a nine-foot long loop of 4-in-1 automotive wire (16 gauge) that I'm going to attach to several wires as an extension so that I can easily route everything to the EV controller board in front of the firewall batteries.

The only items left are:

• C104 - starting wire (black/white on harness, white on 4-in-1 wire)
• C106 - 12V keyed power (black/yellow on harness, green on 4-in-1 wire)
• C108 - temperature gauge sending wire (yellow/green on harness) - dangling
• C110 - backup-lights - connector on transmission
  
• C112 - speedometer sending wire - connector on transmission
  
• C118 - oil light (yellow/red on harness, yellow on 4-in-1 wire)
• C119 - battery light (white/blue on harness, brown on 4-in-1-wire)
• C124 - main wire harness connector (2 thick wires)
• C126 - main wire harness connector (14 small wires)
  

After I cleaned things up and covered everything with flexible cable cover, I'm left with the two main wire harness connectors in the lower left, the backup and speedo connectors in the middle right, and the 4-in-1 wire that will go to the EV control board in the upper right.

After I get some tie-wraps tomorrow, I'll thread this through the engine compartment.

That's it for the weekend... I'm wiped.

Installing the Vacuum Pump

I installed the Gast vacuum pump and pressure tank next.


First, I installed rubber motor mounts underneath the Gast vacuum pump. Since I'm mounting this on uneven pieces of metal, I needed to add two 1/16" thick 1"dia. fender washers to the two feet on the front. The rubber feet serve two purposes: keep the motor vibration from rattling the chassis and raising the pump to clear the supporting angle iron. The rubber feet are 1" in diameter, 3/4" tall (rubber portion) with 1/4" threaded ends.


After installing the rubber feet, I put the pump in place and marked the holes on the supporting angle iron. After drilling 1/4" holes, I placed a 1" dia. fender washer (1/4" hole, 1/16" thick) on each of the holes to give the pump enough height to clear the vertical wall of the angle-iron on the right side of the picture.


Here's the Gast vacuum pump installed. I'll figure out the wiring diagram later.


The next step is to mount the vacuum chamber. I tried several locations but found that under the firewall rack was the most convenient. I drilled two 1/4" holes 21 1/2" and 23 3/8" from the passenger side end of the middle-rear horizontal angle-iron support for the batteries. This should place the tank between the control board supports that jut out at 17" and 27" from the passenger end.

Since these mounting bolts will be under the batteries, I countersunk the holes with a 3/4" countersink bit (see drill in background).


Here is the bracket that holds the vacuum chamber. These are 1/4" tapered flat-head bolts 5/8" long with two nylock nuts.


Before installing the vacuum chamber, make sure you align the nipples for all the hoses correctly. The top nipple goes to the brake chamber. The middle nipple (black) has a one-way valve to keep a vacuum in the chamber after the pump shuts off. The black one goes to the Gast pump. The pressure valve is attached to the bottom opening.


Here is the vacuum chamber installed under the firewall rack behind the Warp9 motor.


The next task is to get the vacuum line from the brake chamber down to the vacuum chamber. I like to reuse as much as possible, so I undid the clamp for the hose on the brake chamber and rotated the hose counterclockwise about 90 degrees. This puts the free end of the hose across the brake cylinder and down behind the firewall rack.

I also undid the clamps on the piece of hose farthest away from the brake cylinder and flipped it around so that the angles in the hose more closely matched the contours of the car. The grey module inline with the brake vacuum hoses is another one-way valve that keeps vacuum in the system.


With the original brake vacuum line snaked behind the firewall rack, I was able to attach the other end (with some minor bending) to the brass nipple on the vacuum chamber. I'll use the remaining vacuum hose that came with the Gast pump setup to attach the black nipple to the inlet on the Gast pump.

Whoosh, this has been a busy weekend. I'll see if I can get the engine wiring harness prepped before it ends.

Installing the Circuit Breaker

Remember that huge Airpax circuit breaker that I got in the mail? Well, it's time to install it.


I learned how to remove the center console cover by reading the Civic shop manual. Here I've removed the cover and am holding back the driver's seat to show a better view. In hindsight, I had to remove the driver's seat and it would have been a good idea to do it right at the start. Things were really gross under here with spare change, coffee spills and lots of garbage. Ick!


After vacuuming things up, I cut out the rug piece just behind the mounting bolts.


Here's the rectangle where the Airpax will be mounted. The left edge (towards the front of the car) is 3/4" rearward from the center-lines of the mounting bolts. The rectangle is 1 1/2" wide and 2 5/16" long. I released the parking brake and unbolted the handle (with cable still attached) for easy access to the console metal. The green wire is the parking brake switch, so don't forget to reconnect it when you're done.


After drilling four holes in the corners, I used a sabre saw to cut out most of the metal plate. At this point, I've removed the driver's seat and dumped it on the rear seat so I could get the sabre saw in there. Looking back, I should have removed the seat from the start.


Okay, after half an hour of filing (grrrrr), I got the Airpax switch to fit in the hole.


The airpax has two small threaded holes in the top. The holes are centered on the front and back edges, 1/4" from the edge.


I was lucky enough to have two bolts with washers from my last EV project that fit. Here is the Airpax circuit breaker installed and flipped to the "OFF" position.


I put the console plastic back on and cut out a plastic rectangle to enable flipping the switch. If I had rotated the circuit breaker 180 degrees, it would have sat forward another 3/4", possibly making it easier to access. The downside to turning it around is that the "OFF" position would have been forward. It's much easier for me to flick the switch to the "OFF" position if I can flip it towards the rear of the car, so I went with the above orientation.


Since it's just me working on the car, I had to hold the Airpax in place while I bolted it in. I used a stack of 2x4s with a long vertical one to accomplish this.

Okay, time to relax and think about how to install the vacuum pump tomorrow morning...