electric ranger "Watt Gas?"

Wiring and guages

2009-11-29T22:08:00.003-05:00

I spent some time installing the digital guages in the dash cluster. The dash is wired and reinstalled. I mounted the tachometer and ran the wires to the engine bay.
I wired the motor speed sensor, digital guages, tachometer, and some of the power wiring to the control box. I made the high voltage cables for the motor and wired it in as well.

Control box

2009-11-14T08:19:00.003-05:00

I managed to work in some time to work on the truck, I trimmed the plastic shield that will protect the motor from rocks and water and got it installed. I also fabricated the panel that covers the radiator opening and mounted it in place.
I wrestled the 85# control box into the engine bay and bolted it in place.
I connected the throttle linkage and checked operation. I also ran some of the wiring to the control box.

progress? not really

2009-11-01T09:35:00.003-05:00

Due to work and other obligations progress has almost stopped, I have almost completed the lower shield to keep water and debris from getting into the motor.
I have installed a heater in the garage and will be able to work more of the year, woo hoo!
Have some time off coming and may get busy.

Controller part 2

2009-07-26T22:05:00.004-04:00

The control box is all but done, and systems tested on the bench, a few minor problems but all resolved at this point. I weighed the box while balancing it on a scale, was about 85 pounds.
The vacuum canister is plumbed and mounted. The air shocks have been hooked up and a hardware run was done to get the steel and hardware to mount the bed back on the truck and make a battery rack. While out for hardware, I stopped at Lowes and got some sealtight type covering for my battery cables to protect them under the truck.
Next up installing the controller and starting on the gauges.

Changes on the fly

2009-07-19T19:04:00.003-04:00

I decided to change the vacuum pump to another that I located on Ebay to go to just one pump.
Much of the wiring has been completed and tested. I bought a set of large crimpers at a good price, (thanks Mike) to make up the battery cables, it was much easier than the other method I had been using, a crimper that you had to use a hammer to crimp the connection.
I ran all the vacuum lines on the truck to the reservoir and the heater controls as well as in the control box.
A location for the charges has yet to be determined, they could be in the front, or with the batteries. Guards for the motor and electronics against water damage still need to be made, I have some sheet rubber, but may use some aluminum also.
Battery location and quantity has changed, they will be in the bed of the truck and be 12 volt rather than 6 for ease of service, weight, cost, and less range requirements; this can be changed at a later date if things change or go to lithium.
The gauges in the cab still need to be tackled as well as finishing the control box, running power cables under the truck, building the battery enclosure, plumbing the air shocks, and making the emergency disconnect setup. Although it sounds like a lot it won't take too much more to finish to the point of finally ordering the batteries.

controlling it all

2009-07-09T22:39:00.003-04:00

7-8-09 Spent the better part of the day making brackets and fitting the controller box in the engine bay. I also made the mounts for the vacuum canister.
7-9-09 I worked on the schematics for the truck and figuring out where to mount all the relays and contactors in the box. It took a great deal of time making brackets for the pumps, and all the relays. The remaining item is mounting the controller to the heatsink and mounting to the top of the controller and wiring up all the parts.

Speed sensor

2009-07-06T08:41:00.005-04:00

Update on the speed sensor, I made a bracket and mounted the sensor to the front of the motor as well as the pulse wheel to the front of the motor. I ran a quick test to check operation and everything worked well. I now need to make a cover to protect everything. When I set up the tachometer the rpms will be limited to 4500, a little under manufacturers max speed rating, I haven't decided if I will use the shift light as a warning feature.
I spent a little time making a adapter for the motor temp gauge sensor on the lathe, I had a oil temp gauge laying around that I will use for motor temperature, the manufacturer suggests limiting to 280 degrees, the motor has a thermal switch but I wanted more information while driving.
I still need to mount the battery monitor in the cab as well as the meters for voltage and current in the cluster. I will have to find a location for the tachometer and motor temperature gauge in the truck as well, another day.

Misc odds and ends

2009-07-03T21:05:00.004-04:00

Spent some time figuring what I will be mounting in the enclosure in the engine bay. I played with the vacuum pumps I had bought, I think I will run both pumps for redundancy one on 12 volt and one at 144 volts. The 2 pumps generate vacuum much faster than the one I had planned on running. I also played around with the optical pickup for the tachometer circuit that is part of the overspeed shutdown, I had to add a pullup resistor to the sensor for the tachometer to work properly. I made a pulse wheel from a scrap grinding wheel that I had on hand. I will mount this on the front of the motor with a 1/4 bolt.
I now have all the systems tested and checked, just need to mount the parts at this point, I had to order some new timers from Ebay for the start sequence and overspeed circuits, I had some others that were 24 volts and wouldn't work at 12 volts. I plan to have a delay after the key is on to allow the vacuum pumps to run and also precharge the controller, I think 10 seconds would be enough.

back at it

2009-06-05T22:44:00.003-04:00

I spent the first day of vacation trying to figure out where I left off on the truck. I sealed the frame with a rust inhibitor paint and will put the final coat on tomorrow.
I have decided to go with less batteries and save on cost and weight as the range would be ok for my use.
Looking at the wiring on the truck while the paint was drying I found the switched 12 volt leads I need to power things up when the parts go in.
I also looked up the wiring diagrams to help sort out what I can delete from the engine bay.

Rethinking a few things

2008-12-03T18:48:00.004-05:00

I have been struggling with the placement of batteries and items under the hood. I am now considering keeping all the batteries together in the truck bed enclosed in a box. The reasons are keeping the batteries together will be easier to insulate and keep warm and I originally had too many batteries too far behind the rear axle.

It has gotten cold in the garage and the heater isn't cutting it, so work has slowed. Also other things have been taking priority.
I have taken the instrument cluster out of the dash and disassembled it to fit some digital meters into it. I have also figured out where the link 10 watthour monitor will be mounted.

Making it all fit

2008-11-05T19:02:00.006-05:00

Although it is hard to see, this is a mockup of how the electronics enclosure and batteries will fit under the hood. Very rough at this point, just seeing how things will fit.

This is another shot of the heater core and installed electric elements before securing with high temp caulk.

I used 2 seperate elements for a high low heating setup and in case one element fails, Indiana winters can be a little cool and wanted to have enough heat.

Details, Details

2008-10-26T17:39:00.005-04:00

I have converted the heater core to accept 2 heater elements that will run on 144 volts and reinstalled into the heater box. While in the heater box I sealed up all the holes from the Air conditioning condenser.
I have removed the instrument cluster and ordered a shunt, and some digital meters to install where the old gas and temp guages were located. While the dash was out I disabled the A/C switch for the compressor in the heater control in the defrost position, I will be using the A/C switch to turn the heating elements on and off and didn't want to run the heat on defrost unless switched on.
I made some mock ups of the batteries with cardboard to test fit the batteries and sorted out where and how the batteries will be mounted.
An old electrical box will house the electronic parts and will fit over the drive motor, I purchased a heat sink and some fans to keep the controller cool and happy. I will probably be mounting it on top of the box for better cooling.
I have made a vacuum resevoir from PVC plumbing parts and it will hold about 2.2 liters of vacuum and will be mounted under the hood near the passenger side fender.

Motor gets installed

2008-08-24T16:27:00.003-04:00

After modification of the mounting plate and mounting to the motor the adapter was tightened and the motor was ready to install. First thing that had to be done was cut down the transmission shaft with a die grinder and drill and tap some new mounting holes in the transmission due to the difference in the mounting plate.

The motor was hoisted into the engine bay and bolted up without any real issues. I connected the battery to the motor and spun it with the transmission in neutral to check for vibration.

After some measurements, I fabricated the pieces that make up the motor mounts. I drilled the frame rails and installed the mount that supports and clamps the motor in place. I made a torque rod from some scrap round stock to ensure the motor would not rotate in the other mount, I bolted it from the transmission adapter plate to the frame.

I hooked the motor to the existing battery and tested the mounts, the first vehicle movement under electric power.

Mounting plate continued

2008-08-17T21:37:00.003-04:00

The aluminum plate finally arrived after a shipping mix up. I cut and drilled it and the mounting plate for the motor. I found that I will need to shorted the transmission shaft or space the motor off the mounting plate 1/2 inch. I decided to cut the shaft being easier and faster.
I also had to drill out the locating dowels for the plate so the bolts will pass through them.
All that is needed is some new bolts and drill the frame for the middle motor mount.

Mounting Plate

2008-08-10T18:30:00.002-04:00

I started the day cleaning the engine bay and transmission with degreaser and pressure washer.

The mounting plate that was ordered off Ebay was for a later year truck so it didn't line up with the mounting holes. I have decided to use this plate as the locating dowels and transmission shaft line up with the motor bolt pattern.

I ordered a 1/2 inch thick piece of 6061 aluminum on line and cut it to size to clamp the mounting plate to the transmission. I also made a new cover plate for the transmission to cover the starter hole.

Drilling the holes is all that is left to complete the mounting plate setup, then it will get bolted to the motor and test fitted.

Making something from nothing

2008-07-27T12:17:00.010-04:00

I ordered a gear off Ebay that fit my motor output shaft and had enough extra material to work with for drilling or welding. I had previously cut the center hub out of the clutch disk to have a matching spline for the transmission shaft.

The task at hand is to adapt the motor to the transmission spline.

I found a scrap 1.5 inch piece of round stock that I machined in the lathe for a snug fit of the gear and the inside of the splined core so the 2 parts would be in alignment for welding or bolting together. I will need a roughly a 3/8 spacer between the 2 parts due to the construction of the clutch center.

I found that I needed at least 1/2 inch spacer between the transmission spline and motor shaft, I found in the scrap pile a
old coupler that was 1 inch and would work.

After machining and drilling the sprocket, I snapped a tap off and had to redrill the holes as removing the tap proved to be too difficult, after assembly it was far from running true.

I was out getting some allen head cap bolts for the adapter and found a hub for a weld on sprocket, it looked to be large enough for making the adapter so I picked it up, I found that the spacer and my new motor hub outside diameter were the same making alignment easier. I fastened the two together with a hose clamp to mark and drill the holes.
I redrilled the holes, broke another tap, and put it all together with my alignment shaft. I spun it in the lathe and it ran true, success!
I put what seemed like too much time in the adapter but it is an important part and I wanted it to be right, I only used four bolts and have looked up the shear and strength numbers, with no clutch and absence of shock loads I am confident it will hold up ok. Time will tell...

Stripping the truck

2008-07-19T21:02:00.006-04:00

I took advantage of some vacation time and picked up a engine hoist. I unbolted all accessories that were associated with the ICE and unbolted the engine from the transmission. After checking that all hoses and wiring were disconnected the engine was hoisted from the truck.
I continued to remove all fuel system parts, exhaust, cooling and air conditioning systems.
I also removed the power steering unit and replaced it with a manual steering unit.
When the front shocks were removed, both the lower bolts broke off, another problem to deal with.
I found that the adapter plate I had purchased on Ebay is for another style bellhousing, many bolt holes didn't line up. I did find that the locating dowels centered the plate hole on the transmission, so I may be able to adapt it to this application.
While everything was apart I measured the shafts of the transmission and motor so I could start to build the motor to transmission adapter. I cut the center out of the old clutch to weld to the adapter.

I look at the growing pile of scrap and am amazed how many components are needed for the ICE system.

Fun begins

2008-07-03T21:51:00.002-04:00

The long anticipated moment came today, the motor finally arrived! It had been on back order and was overdue. It came off the truck at 183 pounds on the skid. Once opened it seemed larger than I thought it would be, it measures 16 long not counting output shafts and over 9.5 in diameter, looked huge in the box when I opened it.

I am now a lot more motivated and looking to pull the engine from the truck. I bought a engine hoist that needs to be assembled first. I have almost everything I need except the batteries, which I will buy last.

Why a new donor is better..

2008-06-28T22:47:00.002-04:00

I have removed all non essential items, spare tire and brackets, muffler, intake, some air conditioning parts. I have kept the truck running for now in order to move it in and out of the garage. I spent the better part of Saturday removing and replacing the spring mount, this turned out to be quite the pain due to rusty parts and murphys law fighting me at every turn. I will have to pick up new hardware to finish the task. Speaking of murphy's law.. the same side REAR mount was found to have too much rust so that will need replacement as well. Both cab perches in the rear are also rusted and new ones have been ordered as well. Note to self... next conversion, find a new or newer vehicle, a lot of labor here just for the glider and no real EV work done yet.
My motor has still not landed, getting impatient now.. ordered in May, hope to see it soon.

Step 2: Getting the hands dirty

2008-06-19T11:16:00.006-04:00

I had been driving the truck in to find any problems and discovered issues that will need to be corrected to make a dependable glider for conversion. I found that the air conditioning doesn't work well, so I have made the decision to not work it into the EV system.
The list seems to get longer at every turn, but that is going to be the case with a 15 year old vehicle. I discovered a water leak in the cab and removed the seats and floor coverings to clean up the floorboard, the source appears to be weather strip around the doors.
I have removed the bed box to access the frame and components that need to be removed.
During this I found that one leaf spring mount was rusted through and got a replacement from the dealer to replace it.
While I am waiting for my backordered Warp-9 to arrive, I will be removing the muffler, fuel tank and other gasoline engine components.
I have almost all the components except the batteries and motor, the steering box arrived yesterday.

Step one, donor vehicle

2008-05-10T17:19:00.006-04:00

I began by finding a suitable donor vehicle and chose a 1993 Ranger 2wd standard cab with few add ons. This is important for simplicity and weight. The truck came with cruise, air conditioning, power steering and power brakes.
I will use a vacuum pump to retain the brakes and find a manual steering rack to eliminate the power steering system, which is leaking. Air conditioning may or may not be retained as it is a lot of drag and weight.
The truck needed some TLC to make a dependable conversion, some brake work, body work, shocks replaced.

electricranger

2008-04-19T13:30:00.002-04:00