Automotive Adventures

One of my most cherished hobbies revolves around automotive tinkering. I proudly own and maintain a 1976½ (aka transition model) Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar Electric Vehicle. I enjoy every aspect of enhancing its performance and functionality. It’s well known around town and often appears in parades and events regarding electric vehicles, Arbor Day, and conservation efforts. Here are a few things that I worked on:

• Lead Acid batteries were swapped with Lithium Ion Batteries. I added a battery management system (BMS) to each module that I manage over bluetooth. The time to charge to full capacity was reduced, and the range increased by 200%. The original batteries were used in a portable solar charging station. I’ve had lots of fun crimping my own custom wires to handle more amps and reduce the voltage drop.
• Added a J1772 port that allows the car to use public Level 1 & 2 EV Charging stations. The charge controller for the battery automatically senses and switches itself for the voltage supplied.
• Various brackets were fabricated, and holes were drilled. Two of the batteries had their water cooling tubs trimmed so that they could all fit into the cars battery box. Parts were created such as a link between the accelerator pedal and the potbox to allow the original voltage towers solenoids to still operate for nostalgia.
• I ordered a custom series wound motor to be created that could not only take on additional voltage, but had better ratings for heat, rpm, amps, and horsepower. A new motor controller was installed to use modulation instead of voltage to control the speed. It could also handle more voltage and up to 500 amps. I programmed the controller to be suitable for road conditions. The main contactor switch and reversing switches to change the direction of the motor were upgraded as well.

In the end, I now have the knowledge to work on repairing and upgrading electric golf carts. I’ve got the basic concept of how an EV works. I understand how to multi-celled lithium ion batteries charge, and are managed with a BMS. I made many changes in the name of safety, adding a non-conductive material inside the battery box. I’ve also learned the importance of having the correct fuse on everything.

Other things I’ve learned include field weakening, regenerative breaking, how forklift motors work, and building battery modules from 18650 batteries (aka laptop batteries).