On Saturday the EV had it's first test drive moving under it's own power. We ran into one SNAFU, we had the motor leads switched so that the car ran backwards due to a faulty Curtis Controller diagram. When it was in forward gear the car moved in reverse.
Check out the first test drive video below:
Check out the first test drive video below:
Today we fixed our mistake after a quick call to the motor manufacturer, Advanced DC motors. Now the car runs beautifully except for the whine of the controller at low speeds, but this is normal to most electric motor controllers. We also got the windshield re-fitted and cleaned up for looks.
All that is left to do is install the DC-DC converter, fabricate the front electronics rack and cover, fabricate some water resistance features, upgrade the suspension, and install a better heatsink for the motor controller. Besides minor fine tuning and aesthetics we are almost there!