Electric VW Beetle Conversion Details II

[Perfectasthis]

OMG thank you soo much i was looking for this for a while!!!!

[TimKGrimes]

Excellent job. I particularly like the wood-working solutions; that's how I like to do things. Very study looking rig; battery compartments as well. Superb job and thanks for sharing your assembly with us.

[keyhole7i]

Thanks !!!

[virelly]

@keyhole7i what is the cost of this as Modified

[keyhole7i]

@virelly The kit, wire, wood, and misc items totaled about $5000. The batteries were $1450.. Summertime I get around 28 to 30 miles per charge driving 0 to 60 MPH. Winter I can get about 14 to 18 miles driving 0 to 50.

I am running a 96 volt system.

[virelly]

@keyhole7i You already have one and you have used it worth the cost of 6,500 dollars more about the car, saving a few dollars in gas.

Thanks for your answer and greetings from Mexico City

[SkiJunkie1234]

HI, i'm about to convert a car, and I was wondering if there was a manual/book/instruction guide that told you how to wire all of this so it works, or is it relativley self explanitory?

[keyhole7i]

I ordered a kit from EV America and it came with a manual and a schematic. I have heard others say there are books available but I have not looked for any of them. Since this was my first time I went with what I believe is the best way. Now that I have experience I might try a different way but not ready to do a second vehicle yet.

[unixmansira]

a web site for speed condrols????????

[keyhole7i]

Are you referring to the pot box which is a Potentiometer Speed Controller?

[keyhole7i]

I did a search for Potentiometer Speed Controller and found a couple of sites.

[keyhole7i]

Oh...I thought you were talking about DIY home builts.

[SirTragain]

Actually Chrysler made a few of them just like Ford did with the Escape and Toyota RAV4.

[SirTragain]

Ive been trying to find State & Local laws here in Maine for what requirements a conversion needs to meet.

I have a 93 Plymouth Grand Voyager from Georgia (never seen salt) with 150k in need of valve guides to stop its smoking habit and was thinking it would make a good candidate as the suspension was designed for 7 passengers.

Probably a pipedream of mine due to finances at this time but Im still intrigued by the idea.

[keyhole7i]

I'm sure you have heard the lighter the vehicle the better. I've seen pictures of VW Vans being converted but nothing as large as a Voyager. I went to the GA Tag Office and inquired about an Alternative Fuel License plate and the tag office gave me the phone number of an individual who would verify my vehicle was total electric. I meet up with this individual and took him for a ride. He said can you go 55 mph? So I took him to 60 mph and he said that's all I need. I can get an AFV tag now.

[keyhole7i]

Yep, you got it. As a matter of fact, to save a little on weight, I took the 40 pound 12 volt battery out and put in a 20 pound 12 volt lawn mower battery. Not much of a weight savings but every little bit helps.

[SirTragain]

Sorry, I rewatched the video and you said the DC/DC converter is used to charge your auxiliary battery so then you must have one onboard.

[SirTragain]

Im not trying to be rude or mean; I subscribe out of curiosity so a helpful video explaining to us that dont know how to read an electrical schematic on what does what, how and why would really be useful.

As I understand it, the DC/DC converter is taking the place of the 12 volt auxiliary battery and is utilizing the vehicles pack batteries and stepping the voltage down to feed all your 12 volt systems.

Thanks and please do keep us informed.

[keyhole7i]

I understand. I am a far cry from being an electrician. I asked for help while doing this project too. I'm not quite sure how to make a video on how to wire up the complete system.

[SirTragain]

The video identified some components but didnt help in explaining how to wire anything.

You showed a warning horn and said it would alert you if your motor over heats but then said its never gone off; how do you know if it works? Is there a redundancy safety shutdown? What is it hooked too? Did the motor come with an internal sensor or does the horn come with one?

How does the inertia sensor work? What are its limitations; 5 10 MPH impact? What happens if it is triggered?

[keyhole7i]

Before installing the horn I hooked 12 volts to it and it made an audible sound. Yes, the motor has 2 wires protruding from the case where the horn can be attached. The inertia switch, I'm told, is the same as one used on a gas powered vehicle with an electric fuel pump. In case of crash the electric fuel pump is disabled. Not sure of the impact speed to activate. When activated, a plunger under the red rubber cap extends. Depress red cap to reset plunger. Very difficult to explain w/o schematic