7 - The Build (part 2)

Gauges

I'll need a voltmeter to tell me how much voltage I have in my pack and an ammeter to tell me how much juice I'm using at any given time.  This is one of the places I tried to save money, so instead of getting these for $55 each through KTA, I bought them off eBay for much less.  They look nice actually.  I have an existing cubby in the dash which is about the only good place to mount them as there are no straight lines on this dash anywhere!  So I used an old radio blank-out cover with the proper sized holes cut in it to snap these gauges in place.  I will then mount the whole assembly over the cubby area.  The accessory port that was next to the cubby will be moved just to the side of the dash and be retained for cell phone charging.  Here are pics of the process so far.

There was also a Curtis fuel gauge in the kit from KTA Services.  It will give me a general level of charge much like a gas gauge in an ICE car.  Since I no longer needed either the gas or temp gauges in the instrument cluster, I removed those and cut a hole in their place to mount the Curtis gauge.  It is deeper than the other gauges, but still sits under the clear lens of the instrument cluster.

Heater

Since I no longer have hot coolant running through a heater core, I need some way to get heat on cold days.  For a while, I was undecided between a 120v fluid heater plumbed inline with a 12v pump to heat and pump coolant through the original core just like an ICE, or installing a 120v ceramic household heater in the space that used to be occupied by the original heater core.  The ceramic heater is the cheapest and most common EV solution to heat.  The original heater core has not been destroyed in case I decide to come back to the fluid heater idea, but for now, I am going with the 120v ceramic heater.  Hope it keeps we warm on cold Indiana winter days!

Wiring the ceramic heater is not very complicated.  You'll need a couple of things first: a 12v off/on switch (any auto parts store) and a relay that uses 12v to switch on/off 120v.  You also need to find the wire coming out of your climate controls that completes your blower motor circuit.  In my zx2, the blower motor is powered any time the ignition is in the "run" position, but only gets grounded when the ac/heater selector is in any position other than "off" (like panel, floor,defrost, etc).  My fan speed selector allows you to go from lo-hi, but it's always on when the ac/heater selector is on.  I tapped the power from the power window hot wire which is only hot when the ignition is in "run".  Then I tapped the ground ac/heater selector switch output.  Which means my 12v switch can only be turned on when the blower is on.  This means my heater can never be on unless the blower motor is on AND the heater switch is turned on.  It's a nice simple safety measure to keep the ceramic heater from being on when it shouldn't be and possibly overheating something inside  the dash.  Also, I chose an illuminated 12v switch and mounted it high on the dash to serve as a visual reminder that I have the heater on. 

The hot wire coming from the 12v switch goes to the low voltage "+" on the relay.  The relay's low voltage "-" is grounded to the chassis.  Next, the "+" from the ceramic heater will go to the relay's high voltage "-", then another fused wire will run from the relay's high voltage "+" to the traction pack most "+".  The ceramic heater "-" will go directly to the traction pack most "-".

"Fuel" Plug

I installed a GFI outlet in the trunk to plug in the onboard 120v charger and a brushless fan to exhaust any fumes the come off the batteries while charging.  The other end of that outlet is a plug installed where the gas filler hose used to be.  This is where I will plug in my extension cord to any household current outlet for "fuel".

Custom EV designation

One of the reasons for doing this project is to increase awareness of alternative fuel vehicles.  I ordered some custom lettering off the net to designate this car as an EV.  They look great on the car and were inexpensive!

eMail me

Page 8 - The Build (part 3) 

Home