EVCO EV Conversion Course Manual

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Welcome to the course manual under development by EVCO. You can browse the material online as it is being added.

EVCO members can submit content to one of the editors who edit this site directly. Only original material or copyrighted material which we have written permission to republish can be added here.

If you want to be an editor, email ronrancourt -at- gmail -dot- com and there will be an account created for you.

Once we get a good portion of the manual completed, we'll open it up so anyone can further develop it.


Contents

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INTRODUCTION

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About EVCO

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About the course

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Who should take this course?

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Why Electric Cars?

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historical overview

  • personal transportation overview
  • environment and health (cite studies on localized air pollution)
  • peak oil, cost of energy
  • comparison to gas cars (cost, practicality)
  • comparison to hybrids and PHEVs
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Conversion Pros and Cons

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ENERGY

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Sources

  • Fossil Fuels
  • Nuclear
  • Renewables
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ENVIRONMENT

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Air Pollution

Gas Vehicles have contributed greatly to air pollution in our cities.

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Comparing an EV to a gas car

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Lifecycle/Total Costs

  • Capital Cost
  • Operational cost
  • Environmental costs
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REGULATIONS

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Canadian Federal Acts and Regulations

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act regulates the manufacture and importation of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to reduce the risk of death, injury and damage to property and the environment.

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Provicial Acts and Regulations

Ontario Highway Traffic Act

Vehicle Licensing in Ontario

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ELECTRICITY

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AC or DC, which to choose?

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Circuits, switches, relays, contactors

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Reading diagrams

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EV BASICS

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Anatomy of an electric vehicle

  • batteries
  • controller
  • charger
  • motor
  • chassis
  • custom fabricated parts
  • special considerations for brakes, suspension, power steering,
  • tires, and peripherals
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Choosing a donor car

  • features
  • comparison matrix
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Determining your requirements, and features of the finished car

  • range, speed, acceleration,
  • passenger and cargo requirements
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Winter considerations

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Battery pack

Batteries efficiency varies with the temperature. For this reason, the battery pack must allow for proper ventilation. Also, if the vehicle will be used in cold temperatures, such as during winter, the battery pack should be heated and insulated. Suggested ways to provide heat to the battery pack include using thermostat controlled battery warmers; a portable 600W "radiator" style heater, where the electric element is immersed in oil; or other heat source that will not provide any sparks. As lead acid battery charging produces hydrogen, it is critical that no source of ignition, such as hot elements from a hair dryer or ceramic heater, be allowed in the battery box! To reduce heat loss, you can insulate the battery box using 2" foam insulation (R10) on the top, bottom and all sides.

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Lubricants

Bearing grease, and transmission fluid has to warm up through use, so expect your EV (and any car!) to use more energy than usual for the first few km's until these regain viscosity. You may reduce the impact from this problem by using lower viscosity lubricants during the cold winter months.

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Heating

You can replace your standard vehicle heater with an electric heater powered by your batteries to keep your windows free of frost. To help maintain your range, you could pre-heat your vehicule using a portable heater in advance of driving. If you pre-heat, it will be easier to keep your windshield clear.

Tip: When you arrive at your destination and turn off the EV (or any car for that matter), take a minute or 2 to leave the door wide open, and let all the warm moist air out of the car. Even leave a window slightly open afterwards. This helps ensure that condensation, and thus ice, will not frost up the inside of the windshield.

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BATTERIES

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Energy and storage basics

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Terminology

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Current, capacity, and formulas

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Battery Chemistry and types

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Battery Arrays

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Safety

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How to size a battery pack

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Cell and pack monitoring

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Voltmeter and Ammeter

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Advanced Batteries

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Battery Life

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Battery pack ventilation

Batteries need air circulation around them to equalize temperatures in a pack and help prevent everheating. You may need as much as 1/2" to 1" gaps between the batteries; and fans to provide air circulation.

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Battery Replacement and Recycling

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CONVERSION PROCESS

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Shop requirements and tools required

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Safety Precautions

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Sourcing components (or buying a kit)

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Taking initial measurements (pre-conversion)

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Gutting the vehicle, carefully

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Preparing the vehicle for electrics

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Motor, Adaptor plate, Transmission, Gearbox

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Battery placement, box fabrication

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Wiring the battery pack

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Light Wiring

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Dashboard Monitoring system

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Testing the system

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DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE

  • First Drive - Evaluation
  • Battery charging and maintenance
  • Battery depth of discharge
  • Driving tips for extended battery life
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ADVANCED TOPICS

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AC systems

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Regenerative braking

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Aerodynamics

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Vehicle to Grid concept

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Prototypes

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NEXT STEPS

  • Putting on a course at your school.
  • Options to purchase a vehicle.
  • Other transportation options.
  • Funding and sponsorship.
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RELATED LINKS

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APPENDICES

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RECOMMENDED READING LIST

The following list contains recommended reading material for the course. Though not mandatory, they should provide useful to you as the instructors will draw from these:

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ADDITIONAL RELATED MATERIAL

Here are some additional references that may also be informative or of interest:

  • Electric Motors & Drives, Austin Hughes, Newnes, 2005, ISBN 0-7506-4718-3
  • The Zero-Carbon Car: Building the Car the Auto Industry Can't Get Right, William H. Kemp, Aztext Press, 2007, ISBN 0-9733-2334-5
  • Electric Vehicle Technology Explained, James Larminie and John Lowry, Wiley, 2003, ISBN 0470851635
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Overview of Conversion Steps

Reproduced with permission from Brian Weekly and Richard Lane
With what reading I have done and with help From Richard Lane, the following information has been presented here for a general overview of the procedures to convert a gas powered car to a battery electric powered Vehicle.
Robert Weekley, Webmaster, Electric Vehicle Society of Canada
This procedural outline has been done free of charge and may be distributed as free source information but not to be used in any for profit publication without credit to Richard Lane, REV Consultants Ltd.
"This is a basic list. Many steps here require detailed design and testing before continuing on to the next phase. Use at own risk. No Liability assumed as a result of using this list as a total guide to a 'Do-it-yourself' EV Conversion Project, it is strictly for information purposes, so you may know of the major steps involved."

Idea: to convert a car from Gasoline to Electric

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The Vehicle

  1. Read & Study
  2. Decide on Possible Donor Vehicle, AC or DC Conversion, Voltage Desired
  3. Plan Location, Type and Number of Batteries/Cells Most important step!
  4. Acquire Donor Vehicle
  5. Prep Vehicle – Rust removal? Don’t start with a rusty vehicle!
  6. Safety Check Vehicle
  7. Any remaining Safety Issues
  8. Acquire Electric Vehicle Components: Motor, Controler, Throttle, Battery Boxes, DC-DC Converter, Battery BMS
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Preparing the Vehicle

  1. Remove Radiator, etc.
  2. Engine & Transmission Removal
  3. Remove Gas Tank, lines, etc.
  4. Clean up Engine Bay, steering and brake parts
  5. Prep Vehicle – Suspension
  6. Separate Engine/Transmission
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Primary Assembly and Initial Installations

  1. Mate Motor to Adapter Plate
  2. Mate Adapter Plate to Transmission
  3. Install Motor/Transmission Assembly
  4. Prepare and install power brake pump / power steering mods.
  5. Arrange Battery Boxes, design, build, install
  6. Design, build, install heating system.
  7. Prepare Required Gages (Volts, Amps, E-Meter)
    Individual Cell/Battery monitor is more valuable than E-Meter
  8. Prepare & Install Throttle Pot-Box Linkage
  9. Install Motor Controller
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Final Installations, Wiring, and Preliminary Testing

  1. Install Charger & DC/DC Converter
  2. Wire Controller, Charger, & Converter
  3. Wire Instruments & Gages
  4. Install Batteries or Cells in Boxes
  5. Recheck suspension at this point
  6. Wire Batteries/Cells to Controller, Master Power Cut-off, Circuit Breaker or Fuse
  7. Wire up Batteries / Cells
  8. Test Circuits & Test Car Readiness
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Final Setups and Configurations, Completions!

  1. Charge up the batteries
    No emissions!
  2. Ministry of Transport -> Documents – Fuel Change: Gas to Electric
  3. If needed – Insure Vehicle
  4. Apply for Ontario PST rebate for alternate fuelled vehicles
    (RST bulletin #702)
  5. Install Plates -> Custom Plates?
  6. Drive Test Car
  7. Done! (The Conversion, that is! - Now to determine the Performance - covered later!)

Reference:

Electric Vehicle Society of Canada: Auto Electric Vehicle Conversion - Steps Involved
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Vehicle Specifications

List of selected vehicles and their specifications (unofficial, for comparison purposes only).

Automobile Specifications (metric units: Kg, mm, l)
Model Weight WB Length Width Height Cargo Tires
Ford Focus 3dr 2007 1181 2613 4280 1694 1455 498 P195/60R15
Honda Civic SI 3dr 2002 1248 2570 4211 1694 1440 445 P195/60R15
Honda Civic 4dr 2007 1199 2700 4489 1752 1435 339 P195/65R15
Hyundai Accent 3dr 2007 1058 2500 4045 1695 1470 450 P195/55R15
Saturn S 3dr 2002 1094 2601 4585 1732 1346 323 P185/65R14
Toyota Yaris 3dr 2007 1445 2460 3825 1695 1525 229 P185/60R15
VW Jetta 4dr 2007 1465 2578 4554 1760 1461 500 P185/60R15
VW Rabbit 3dr 2007 1349 2578 4210 1759 1479 400 P185/60R15


MPV Specifications (metric units: Kg, mm, l)
Model Weight WB Length Width Height Cargo Tires
Mazda MPV 2006 1691 2840 4807 1832 1745 487 P205/60R15
Kia Rondo 2007 1511 2700 4545 1820 1650 2083/898 P205/60R16


SUV Specifications (metric units: Kg, mm, l)
Model Weight WB Length Width Height Cargo Tires
Honda CRV 2007 1544 2620 4518 1820 1680 2064/1011 P225/65R17
Mazda Tribute 2006 1449 2620 4429 1828 1720 841 P235/70R16


Truck Specifications (metric units: Kg, mm, l)
Model Weight WB Length Width Height Cargo Tires
Mazda B Cab Plus 2006 1359 3198 5154 1786 1715 P225/70R15


References

Canadian Driver
Automobile
Internet Autoguide
Consumer Guide Automotive
Concept Carz

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List of Manufacturers

A123 Systems - lithium-ion phosphate batteries
AC propulsion - AC motor and controller
Advanced Motors & Drives - AC and DC motors
Aveox - DC permanent magnet motors and controllers (brushless)
Azure Dynamics - AC motors and controllers
Cafe Electric - DC motor controllers
Cobasys - nickel metal hydride batteries
Curtis Instruments - controllers and chargers
Delta-Q Technologies - power conversion and management
Electrovaya - lithium ion polymer batteries and battery management
Elite Power Systems - power conversion
Exide Technologies - lead acid batteries
Kokam - lithium polymer batteries
LiFeBatt - lithium iron phosphate batteries and power management
Maxwell Technologies - ultracapacitors
NetGain Motors - DC motors
Nilar - nickel metal hydride batteries
Optima Batteries - lead acid batteries
Power Designers - battery management
UQM Technologies - DC permanent magnet motors and controllers (brushless)
Siemens AG - electric drive systems
Thunder Sky Battery Limited - lithium iron phosphate batteries
Trojan Battery Company - deep-cycle lead acid batteries
Valence Technology - lithium-ion phosphate batteries

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Professional EV Builders

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Glossary

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