You will find articles organized by categories, along with recent comments, along the right hand column of the website. If you are just getting started with the idea of converting a gas car to electric be sure to check out Your First Electric Car .
Welcome and enjoy!
-Jerry
Ignition · 28 November 05
You may remember this picture from when I first pulled out the dash. It’s the main wiring harness that snakes along the back firewall behind the dash.
It’s a little bit intimidating.
When I started cleaning up Eve’s wiring this particular rat nest was saved for the very last. I’dlook at it and a little voice would taunt,
“Hey, don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!”
I’ve never liked that saying…
Smoke Test · 26 November 05
The dash wiring project was finished off this week. After a nice Thanksgiving dinner and a day off I headed into the garage to do a smoke test.
A guy I worked with once explained that electronic devices all work on smoke. At the factory they put smoke into all of the components and as long as you don’t let the smoke out everything is happy. Screw up and let the smoke out and your electronics quit working.
After removing what seems like a few miles of wire from Eve it was time to see if anything works.
And if any smoke comes out…
Wire-d · 21 November 05
My wife started dropping not-so-subtle hints about there being “no room” in the garage. Translated this means there’s too much of Eve in the garage.
Too much and spread too thin and too far.
After tossing down a quick Sunday morning breakfast and a few cups of coffee I set about moving all of the accumulated parts that have been removed from Eve. Cleaned out the garage, right into the garden shed.
With all of that new-found room there’s only one thing to do:
Make an even bigger mess…
Eye Candy · 18 November 05
In an earlier entry I mentioned all of the gauges Eve has and how it would be nice to re-purpose a few of these for EV functions. There’s a gas gauge, engine temp, and engine oil that are no longer needed, not to mention a half dozen “idiot” lights.
Yesterday I pulled the instrument cluster apart and investigated the usability of the meters. The bad news is that I probably can’t use them.
The good news is I got some great pictures!
Have 10mm will travel · 14 November 05
This image depicts:
A) The very latest in dog fence technology
B) A dog thinking inside the box
C) The last of Eve’s fuel line, removed and then stretched out on the ground with a standard ZMU for reference.
D) All of the above
BZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!!
Time is up. Put down your pencils and pass your tests forward please.
Weighty Matters · 6 November 05
This article is mostly a continuation of the wanton destruction and mindless tearing apart started in the last article. The primary difference being that we are running out of things to remove!
In between removing anything and everything in sight I’ve also been thumbing my way through the shop manual. Interesting reading, if you like that sort of thing. There’s quite a few options that this model doesn’t have: trip computer, turbo, electric assist steering, vehicle maintenance monitor and system scanner, along with various other goodies.
Less stuff to remove…
Dash Free! · 2 November 05
A still life of fuse and wire, circa 1990 Ford Probe.
You must view it in full to appreciate the subtlety and depth of character bestowed within. There is a sublime sense of self that washes over the viewer. None of the trite vulgarities found in today’s modernistic attempts at expression.
Surely the artist has transcended his origins, his dauntless energy and ferocious curiosity propelling him beyond the bourgeois and downtrodden existence that so dramatically shaped his early years.
It also looks like he rides the clutch a bit…
Gutting for Fun and Profit · 1 November 05
First off a correction. Nathan, another Probe owner, sent an email letting me know that what I thought was the ECU under the passenger seat is in fact the 20 watt stereo amp. Well, that would explain the pathetic chip count!
Turns out the ECU or ECA or whatever it is called is behind the dash, up along the firewall area with the huge bundle of fuel injection cables leading right to it. I yanked it out last night, popped open the case, and indeed it looks like an on-board computer ought to look. I’ll post a pic soon.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.