Reflections On Sri Lanka's Automotive History By Mr. Sylvi Wijesinghe

[Sylvi]

Members,

I received this by Email.

The Unacceptable Price of China's Progress

Yesterday, China achieved a scientific and technical milestone only two other nations in the world have accomplished: they soft landed a rover spacecraft called the 'Jade Rabbit' on the Moon's Sea of Rainbows. They now join the old Soviet Union and the United States in leaving their technological fingerprint on the lunar surface.

Back on Earth, NASA's Terra satellite passed high over China on December 7, 2013 and sent back the below image. The white areas in the satellite snapshot are clouds. The hazy gray is air pollution stretching from Beijing far south to Shanghai - a distance of at least 750 miles - where officials closed schools, delayed flights, and sensors recorded PM 2.5 particulate levels peaking at 602.5 micrograms, twenty-four times higher than World Health Organization guidelines considered healthy.

The dichotomy between the awesome technical achievement of China soft landing a spacecraft on the Moon and the level of air pollution its energetic people and industry back on earth have created could not be any more pronounced. And in a way, the rest of the world shares some of the blame because we have facilitated and exacerbated the problem by shifting so much of our energy hungry manufacturing to Asia, where political corruption and lax environmental laws allowed companies, foreign and domestic, to pollute with impunity. Not only is much of China's air unimaginably polluted so that it shows up from space, but something on the order of 75% of all its rivers and lakes are similarly polluted.

And China isn't the only perpetrator. Smoke from deliberately set forest fires used to clear land for logging and palm oil tree plantations covered much of Malaysia for weeks on end earlier this year.

The problem has become so acute that a design firm in Bangkok, Thailand, itself considered Asia's 13th most polluted city developed the concept for an electric bicycle that - in theory, at least - would help clean the air as the rider pedaled along. Exactly how the Lightfrog Creative and Design Company e-bike would work hasn't been entirely worked out yet. The company has design sketches and a mockup or two, according to Fast Company's Co. Exist write-up . Presumably, as you ride, air is taken in at the handlebars. Some portion of the electric energy in the bike's battery is used to run the filter system with the cleaned air emitted from the bike's cross bar. It's a little less cumbersome looking than the DIY system Beijing expat resident Matt Hope created for his bike. That system requires he wear a fighter pilot helmet and oxygen mask while he rides.

But in practical terms, we have to do more than just fantasize about pollution-eating bicycles, especially if you live, work, or visit China -- or other heavily polluted parts of the planet.

Several years ago, EV World's editor in chief published an April Fool's Day news item that claimed to report the Chinese government had officially banned the production of all internal combustion engines for motor vehicles. Henceforth, all light duty vehicles and buses would be electrically-powered. The country hasn't actually reached that point, but its edging ever closer to it. Beijing and various other Chinese city administrations have issued a string of edicts, regulations and incentives to reduce the pollution caused by automobile and truck exhausts, including generous grants for electric cars.

Yet, efforts to increase the number of privately owned EVs and other 'new energy' vehicles on the road in China, which remains heavily dependent on coal not only for power generation but for winter residential heating, have been largely ineffective. Chinese fiscal conservatism - Chinese families have an average savings rate of 38%, among the highest in the world -- and an understandable hesitancy to invest in what is considered not only expensive but also unproven technology has largely stymied government efforts to get people to shift away from gasoline and diesel motor vehicles.

Where it can control matters a bit more, Beijing's administration just announced that it is replacing 80% of its buses with 'green' ones: 4,058 electrically-powered and 7,185 running on compressed natural gas. It is also restricting the number of motor vehicle licenses it is issuing, with the exception of electric models.

The government isn't just worried about auto exhausts. The future of its entire economy is at stake because it is rapidly facing a serious water shortage, one that not only impacts the availability of water for its population, but also for its energy sector. Those very same electric buses, electric cars and electric mopeds on which so many Chinese are dependent, are themselves largely dependent not only on the nation's coal reserves, but also its water supply.

Writes ClimateWire, "The nation consumed more than 3.43 billion tons of coal in 2011, according to official figures, and half of that was burned for power generation." Further, 85% of that coal is in the north of the country, where 23% of its water resources are located. The article also notes:

As the majority of the Chinese coal industry is built where coal reserves are, and every part of the industry -- from coal mining to preparation to power generation -- requires intensive water usage, those already water-scarce regions are suffering from an increasing water shortage.

Investment analysts at global banking giant, HSBC are starting to warn, ""Hypothetically, if coal mining in China were severely constrained from a lack of water from say 2030, it could reduce our valuation on China Shenhua by about 26 percent and our valuation on China Coal by about 45 percent."

Besides affecting the economic valuation of a handful of coal companies, of far greater economic and social consequence is the health impact of all that air and water pollution on its population. Greenpeace estimates, based on data it obtained from Chinese sources, that in 2011 alone some 260,000 people died as a direct result of the pollution released by those power plants. In the USA, the number of its citizens having their lives similarly cut short by coal plant pollution is estimated a 13,200.

China's solution is to gradually move away from coal to less polluting forms of energy including wind, solar and nuclear power. It no long permits the construction of new coal-fired power plants unless they incorporate less polluting energy technologies. But even if those plants -- and there are some 570 coal power plants proposed, under construction, or commissioned -- use state-of-the-art pollution reduction systems, they still will cause, by Greenpeace estimate, 32,000 premature deaths, 42,000 hospital admissions and 250,000 doctor visits, along with adding some 39,000 children and 7,400 adults who are expected to suffer from asthma.

The Chinese people are paying a heavy price for their technological progress, one that could very well explode in the face of its political leadership and economic elite if not resolve equitably and quickly. The consequences of that 'hard landing' could shake the very foundations of a increasingly fragile planet.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[MasterDon]

Master Don,

My intention on that post was not to hurt or underestimate any member on this forum.

You are senior member on this forum. That post was just a suggestion. Always better to propose to a senior member. I do not think I hurt your dignity on A/L this forum. My Sincere Apologies’ for same.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

No worries...If you want to organize a get together pls contact the moderators....

or just give me a call whenever you're in kelaniya,and we'll go for a drink and a dance...

[Sylvi]

No worries...If you want to organize a get together pls contact the moderators....

or just give me a call whenever you're in kelaniya,and we'll go for a drink and a dance...

MasterDon,

Thank you for your post. Only member whom I have met and spoken personally is you on this forum.

Therefore I thought I will contact you first. I will think over and contact later about your suggestion.

Happy holidays for you and your parents.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members,

I got this under by Email.

Time to Create A Modern 'Antique' Electric Car?

Supporters of New York City's famed Central Park carriage rides have been quick to point out that despite of replacing horses with horseless carriages, no such modern 'antique' motor car has materialized. To most observer's knowledge, the 1909 vintage touring car remains a scale model pictured below.

The question, naturally, is why? Why hasn't anyone stepped up to the plate and translated that model into a full-sized motor vehicle? It shouldn't really be that hard, should it? [Or, have they and we here at EV World just haven't heard about, which is completely possible?]

Let me take you briefly back to my days in Junior High School around the time Elvis Presley was about to be drafted, we were preparing to send John Glenn into space and Dwight Eisenhower was nearing the end of his second term as President. I can't recall if it was in metal shop or woodworking, but one of the instructors decided to build a replica antique Oldsmobile. It took him pretty much most of the school year to build it, with student assistance, of course. By Spring he had a working, circa 1903, 'antique' automobile powered by a lawn mower engine, if memory services. I doubt he spent more than a few hundred dollars at the time to create it.

Considering that most early automobiles were, in fact, motorized carriages - or four-wheeled bicycles as in Henry Ford's case - the technology was comparatively simple, especially the electric versions. The drive system usually consisted of big brushed DC motor, reduction gears, chains and a primitive rheostat-like controller. The batteries were either lead-acid or Edison's nickel iron battery and like today, mounted under the seat.

The undercarriage was crude wagon-style leaf springs and steering was often by tiller. And like the carriages of the period, some of the passengers sat facing the driver who sat in the back seat. The early tires were solid rubber mounted on wagon wheel rims. You didn't really want to go all that fast because the suspicion - and the brick streets of the time - would jar your dentures loose. And while Camille Jenatzy's electric Jamais Contente was the first motor vehicle to achieve 100 km/h (62 mph) in 1899, just outside Paris, pretty much everyone else was thrilled to be able to do 20 mph, nearly three times the trotting speed of the average horse-drawn vehicle of the time.

Here's the irony, a century later and the average speed on most urban streets is still around 20 mph and often less, depending on traffic and time of day.

Which brings me back to the question of why haven't we seen a viable modern 'antique' electric touring car to replace Central Park's carriages? Maybe the market isn't big enough to warrant the investment?

As I understand it, the originators of the idea to replace the carriages in Central Park with antique electric cars supposedly were planning to build them for around $125K each and then lease them to the carriage operators. Since we're not talking large volume numbers or highway speeds requiring DOT oversight and NHSTA crash tests, I would think that the cars could easily be built for that number.

The real number in this economic equation is rider revenue. Will tourist be willing to pay the $70-130 currently charged for rides around the park's various circuits to jump into a modern 'antique' electric touring car as opposed to an ornate horse-drawn carriage? The latter seems like a more authentic link to the past; the former seems more Disneyesque.

But let's assume tourists, in the interest of sparing our four-legged friends the drudgery of trudging around Central Park, instead opt for the antique motorcar ride, what kind of vehicle do you think they'd prefer? Below are photos of a number of authentic antique electric cars from a century ago. Which modern reproduction would you climb aboard?

Assuming you may know something about engineering such a vehicle, what's your best guess of what one could be built for, assuming limited production of, say, 20-50 units? Would you use modern lead-acid batteries, Edison's iron batteries (they are still made, btw) or something like lithium? Any 'modern' amenities like cabin heat and/or air conditioning? How about self-driving since that's technology that's close to being ready for road use. Would you use modern materials to build it: fiberglass, carbon fiber, aluminum? Or would you use materials of the time: iron, steel, wood? Low voltage DC drive or high voltage AC?

All interesting questions, don't you think?

Please share your thoughts using the Disqus forum below. And while we're at it, let me know if you'd be interested in forming a small consortium of EV engineers, investors and designers dedicated to possibly supplying just such a modern antique touring car. Email me at [email protected].

Antique Electric Cars

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members,

I Google about reconditioning H/B batteries found this.

Sucessfully Reconditioning an IMA Battery Pack

First, lets cut to the chase. I have a 2007 Civic with 112,000 miles on it. I was able to successfully recondition the IMA battery pack, and I haven’t had a recal in over 250 miles. I was going to wait until I had 1,000 miles on the reconditioned pack, but I’ve had requests for information, so I thought I would post this now.

Reconditioning the IMA battery pack is relatively cheap (about $100 for a MRC Super Brain battery charger). The disassembly and assembly are relatively straight forward and don’t take a lot of time. However, discharging and charging the individual sticks takes about two weeks if you can check on the process at breakfast, lunch, dinner and before you go to bed.

If you want to save a couple of grand, read on. I’ve tried to write down everything I learned, so you won’t have to spend as much time learning and doing as I did.

This is a compilation of a lot of stuff out there like http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...0-a-19975.html , http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...vic-13610.html and http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...imax-b6-27116/ , which is where I got most of my information. There are a couple of things which I haven’t seen talked about before, such as putting cooling fans on the IMA battery pack, the history of how fast the car went from occasional recals to constant recals and the data and analysis of the individual cells in my IMA battery pack.

I highly recommend taking the time to recharge your IMA battery stick by stick. A grid charger might work, but given the extreme difference in how discharged my individual sticks were and how many cycles it took to get some of them back to normal, I’m not sure all of them would have gotten fully reconditioned with a grid charger.

History
I purchased my 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid new. I have been getting upper 40’s most of the year, and lower 40’s in the winter. In 2010, at 58,000 miles, the Honda dealer did the software update. Gas mileage was a little worse after the software update, but not a lot.

At the end of 2011, I was starting to get recals a couple of times a month. At the beginning of 2012, just before my warranty expired, I took it in to the Honda dealer. They said that since it hadn’t thrown a code, there was nothing wrong with it. American Honda was similarly unhelpful, saying recals are normal.

The recals kept getting more frequent. By September of 2012, they were happening about once a week. I had the 12v battery replaced at 107,000 miles. That helped temporarily. In December of 2012, at 110,000 miles, the recals were happening daily, and my gas mileage had dropped to the upper 30’s. I noticed that the battery pack fan was sometime running when I stopped the car. Later in December, at 111,000 miles, I was getting recals every time I drove the car. By the end of December, at 112,000 miles, they were happening several times per trip and the IMA starter was no longer starting the engine. At that point, I decided if I was going to salvage the IMA battery pack, I’d better do something right away. At no time did I get a Check Engine or IMA light.

I was lucky enough to be able to take my car off the road for a couple of weeks, so I decided to recondition each stick individually, rather than use a grid charger to try to recondition the whole battery pack in one shot. It appears that ideally the discharge/charge cycles should be applied cell by cell. Since that isn’t practical, the best option is to do it stick by stick. (The sticks are welded together in pairs, but if you pop off the plastic caps and put one of the leads on the welded tab, you can charge each of the sticks individually. Since you are only charging 6 cells at a time, it should reduce the chance of reversing any cells.) If there were a problem with one or more of the sticks in the battery pack, I would have to do this anyway, so it would save me having to spend $100 or so to build a grid charger and then possibly spend another $100 to buy a battery conditioner. The trade off is that doing it stick by stick takes a lot longer.

I bought a MRC Super Brain 989 for $90 at www.ronlund.com ($100 – 10% for being a new customer. If your order is over $100, shipping is free, so I bought a pair of alligator clips to get the free shipping.)

Removing the Battery Pack
It doesn’t take much to remove the battery pack. It took less than an hour, having never done it before. Since we’re talking about enough voltage to kill you, I strongly suggest you have a shop manual on hand to do this. If you don’t have one, you can get a 3 day subscription to the same information your Honda dealer has for $10 at https://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/logon.asp?Region=US. To remove the battery pack, you:

· Remove the ground wire from the 12v battery (Honda recommends also removing the positive wire)
· Remove the 10mm bolt between the seat cushion and the seat back (right behind the passenger seat belt buckle)
· Pull up hard on the front of the seat cushion near each door to pop the plastic locks on each side of the seat cushion. There are supposed to be 2 clips holding the back of the seat cushion, but mine didn’t have any
· Take the seat cushion out and store it somewhere
· Remove the head rests and store them somewhere
· Remove the 3 10mm bolts holding the seat back
· Use 2 twist ties to keep the middle seat belt out of the way
· Pull straight up on the seat back to unhook it from the clips behind each head rest
· Remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the battery switch cover on
· Turn off the battery switch
· WAIT AT LEAST 5 MINUTES TO LET EVERYTHING DISCHARGE
· Remove the 9 T-30 Torx bolts holding the IMA cover on
· Remove the 10 mm bolt above the battery switch
· Carefully pry off the IMA cover being careful not to bend it
· Put a volt meter on the positive and negative orange cables. Honda says it should be less than 30v. Mine was 0. If it is more than that, DON’T GO ANY FARTHER UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG!
· Remove the negative orange cable from the battery pack. Honda says to tape it up
· Remove the positive orange cable from the battery pack. Again, Honda says to tape it up
· Remove the 4 12mm bolts which attach the battery pack to the frame
· Unfold the 2 metal carrying handles and remove the battery pack

Disassembling the Battery Pack
Disassembling the battery pack isn’t much harder and only took about 10 minutes. However, I suggest you take lots of pictures, so you know where everything goes when it’s time to put it back together.

· BE CAREFUL! YOU ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THE BOLTS THAT CONNECT THE 15 VOLT STICKS TOGETHER TO MAKE 158 VOLTS!
· WEAR RUBBER GLOVES UNDER YOUR WORK GLOVES TO REDUCE THE RISK OF SHOCK
· ONLY USE ONE HAND TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE BATTERY PACK. YOU ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GET KILLED IF YOUR LEFT HAND IS TOUCHING THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL AND YOUR RIGHT HAND IS TOUCHING THE POSTIIVE TERMINAL
· HAVE A FRIEND READY TO MOVE YOU (WITH A STICK, NOT HIS ARM) IF YOU DO GET ELECTROCUTED
· TAPE UP YOUR 3/8 RATCHET, 3” EXTENSION AND 10mm SOCKET SO IF THEY WON’T SHORT OUT THE BATTERY PACK IF YOU DROP THEM
· USE RUBBER HANDLED NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS TO REMOVE THE BOLTS AFTER THEY ARE COMPLETELY LOOSE
· Set the battery pack down so the electronics are facing up
· Unscrew and remove the 2 10mm blue bolts in the middle of the pack
· CAREFULLY pop the 2 plugs and unscrew and remove the 2 10mm blue bolts under them.
· Congratulations, you’ve just cut the voltage going through the pack in half.
· Remove the 4 10 mm bolts on around the edge, which just attach the outer cap.
· CAREFULLY remove the outer cap. DO NOT STICK ANYTHING IN BETWEEN THE OUTER AND INNER CAPS TO PRY THEM APART. THE INNER CAP IS FULL OF CONNECTORS BETWEEN THE BATTERY STICKS, AND YOU DON’T WANT TO TOUCH THEM.
· CAREFULLY remove the 4 spacers. THESE ARE CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO THE STICKS, SO YOU WANT TO GET THEM OUT FIRST, IN CASE YOU ACCIDENTLY DROP YOUR SOCKET WRENCH.
· Unscrew and remove the 18 10mm bolts in the middle of the pack
· Congratulations, you’ve now gotten the voltage down to about 15 volts, which is pretty safe
· Remove the 4 10mm bolts around the edge, which just attach the inner cap
· CAREFULLY remove the inner cap. DO NOT STICK ANYTHING IN BETWEEN THE INNER CAP AND THE STICKS TO PRY THEM APART. IF YOU CONNECT THE ENDS OF THE STICKS TOGETHER, YOU’LL SEE SPARKS FLY!
· Pull out the 6 fasteners holding the stryofoam on the battery pack
· Remove the 3 pieces of stryofoam under them
· Unscrew the 8 10mm bolts holding the frame of the battery pack together. BE CAREFUL. AT THIS POINT THE WHOLE BATTERY PACK CAN FALL APART, AND YOU DON’T WANT TO DROP ANY OF THOSE STICKS.
· Mark each of the sticks so you know where they were originally. (I used A1 for the top left stick and A6 for the top right stick, B1 to B5 for the next layer, etc.)
· Remove the sticks from the pack. (This makes it a lot easier to charge them.) Take lots of pictures. They don’t simply alternate Orange, Green, Orange, etc. AND you want to know where the temperature sensors and sensor wires go
· Pull off the plastic caps on the bottom of each pair of sticks to expose the welded metal tabs connecting the sticks together

Discharging and Charging Each Stick
Before I started discharging and charging my battery pack, I spent some time discharging and recharging NiMh batteries with my Super Brain. If you try to discharge them too fast, they reach their minimum voltage without discharging very far, and the discharge process ends too soon. I found that a discharge of more than 20% of the rated mAh resulted in the discharge process ending too soon. For charging, using the rated mAh of the battery worked well. Doing it this slowly adds to the cycle time, but my goal was to maximize the chance that I would save the battery, not to get the car back on the road as soon as possible.

I started the process with my car ready to do a recal. Since I suspected the sticks should be out of balance at that point, I did a single discharge and recharge of each stick. I did this in my garage in Michigan in the winter, so battery temperature was not an issue. However, even charging the sticks only at their rated capacity in 40 degree temperatures had the fan running pretty fast on my Super Brain, so I would be very hesitant to try to charge the sticks much faster.

In order to reach from one end of the stick to the other, you are going to have to make some longer wires to attach to the Super Brain. Two set screws hold the wires into the plug. Unscrew them, and screw in your longer 18 gauge wires. I soldered an alligator on the end of each wire, so it would be easy to connect to the sticks in my battery pack and tinned the other end so it would not break off when screwed down in the plug.

Be careful hooking the sticks up to the charger. For orange sticks, the positive side is the screw terminal, and for green sticks the screw terminal is the negative side. The good news is that the Super Brain will beep and give you an error message if you hook up the wires the wrong way. The bad news is that if you touch the screw terminals of the orange stick and the green stick together, you are going to see sparks fly!

I set my Super Brain as follows:

Mode Autocycle
Profile #0
NiMh
6 Cell
5500 mAh (5.5 Ah)
Charge Amp 5.50 (100% of capacity)
Discharge Amp 1.00 (20% of capacity)
Cut off Peak mV 5
Cut off V 1.00
Cut off 140 F
Trickle Amp 0.00
Time 20:00
CYC 1

I recorded the data for each cell in the spreadsheet. The numbers I was most interested in were the difference between mAh remaining in each stick and the average of all 22 sticks (Column C). The standard deviation (a statistical measurement of how much variance there is between the sticks) was 1303 mAh. Approximately 2/3 of the sticks should be plus or minus 1 standard deviation, which means the spread (2606 mAh) was almost half the capacity of a stick!

As expected, there was a huge variation from stick to stick, with the lowest being less than 1% charged and the highest more than 75% charged. Moreover, 8 of the 22 sticks were less than 10% charged. No wonder my poor little Civic was constantly trying to recal to get things right!

The other interesting thing I found was that all of the sticks which were the most discharged were in the middle of the battery pack.

Surprisingly, most of the sticks were able to take a full charge (6180 mAh) on the first try. The only ones that didn’t were very discharged to begin with. Therefore, it was actually quicker to use my slow discharge and charge settings and only cycle each stick once than to use higher discharge and charge settings some people have suggested and cycle all of the sticks multiple times.

Subsequent Cycles
Since most of the sticks appeared to be fully charged during the initial cycle and doing a full discharge/charge cycle shortens the life of the battery, I decided to get all of the sticks fully charged. Therefore, for the second and subsequent cycles, I only cycled the sticks which didn’t take a full charge.

Based on my experience, I suggest that as soon as you find a stick that doesn’t take the full charge, you keep cycling that stick, increasing the Cut off Peak mV by 1 mV for each subsequent cycle until the stick is fully charged. Also, based on my experience, I would cycle any stick that is discharged to less than 20% of capacity (1100 mAh) again, as these gave me trouble in subsequent cycles. If it took a full charge the first time, there is no need to increase the Cut off Peak mV above 5. However, my worst sticks were much better after a second cycle.

Discharge Test
I understand another possible reason for recals is that one or more sticks don’t hold their charge, causing the voltage to be lower than when the car was last run. I waited about a week (which is about how long it took me to get through the initial cycle) to see how much charge each stick had lost (Column BC). (Don’t forget to change the Cut off Peak mV back to 5 before running the discharge test.)

The other thing I was looking for was whether any sticks were losing substantially more of their charge than the rest (Column BD). Not only was the average mAh substantially higher than in the initial cycle (4573 vs 1711), but the standard deviation was less than half as big (627 vs 1303), meaning there was a lot less difference between the sticks. Both of those should be good things.

After about a week, most of my sticks had lost about 1/3 of their charge (discharged down to about 4500 mAh), and almost all of them charged back up to a full 6180 mAh. I cycled the ones that didn’t take a full charge and the ones that were discharged below average again. Doing that resulted in all of my sticks being at least 70% charged after sitting for about a week.

Top off the Charge
Since the sticks will have been sitting around uncharged for varying amounts of time while I did the Discharge Test, I topped them all off one more time before assembling the battery pack. I set the Super Brain for Charge only, increased the number of sticks to 12 (I charged each pair of sticks together) and set the Cut off Peak mV back to 7 to make sure they took a full charge. It took less than 10 minutes per pair of sticks, so the whole process only takes a couple of hours.

Reassembling and Installing the Battery Pack
Since almost all of the sticks which had initially been the most discharged were in the middle of the battery pack, I moved those sticks to the outside of the pack, and moved the sticks which initially had been the least discharged to the center of the pack. I put the best ones where the worst ones were and vice versa. It takes a bit of planning. Don’t forget to move the temperature sensors to the new sticks, so the temperature sensors are in the same place in the battery pack. I won’t be able to tell if this has any effect until the next time I recharge the pack, which hopefully won’t be for quite awhile!

One possible reason for the most discharged sticks being in the middle of the battery pack is that they get the hottest. Honda uses a baffle design to get air to flow from the top of the battery pack to the bottom of the pack. When needed, a fan sucks the air out from behind the rear seat, circulates it through the battery pack, then past the IMA electronics and it exhausts in the trunk. Perhaps it doesn’t cool the battery as well as it should, so I mounted 3 12 v computer fans to the bottom of the battery pack to make sure lots of air was flowing around all the sticks.

I used silicon seal to attach the fans to the battery pack. Make sure you mount the fans so they are SUCKING air out of the battery pack, NOT PUSHING air into it. (Usually, that means the decal on the fan should be facing away from the battery pack.) Otherwise, your new fans are going to be fighting the factory fan when it turns on. Also, make sure the fans are over the openings in the baffles, otherwise they won’t do any good! Finally, make sure you don’t put any silicon seal inside the fan housing. Check that the fans spin freely after the silicon seal has dried.

Wire all 3 fans up in parallel (connect all the red wires together and all the black wires together). I inserted a plug in connector so that the battery pack could be easily removed in the future simply by unplugging one more connector. I suggest using a big enough connector so it can’t accidently touch any of the bolts on the battery pack when it is fully assembled.

For power, I ran a fused 22 gauge wire under the rear carpet to the connection for the rear accessory socket which is just ahead of the gear shift. This results in the fans running whenever the key is on. Doing that uses 0.5 amps, but I felt the certainty of knowing the fans were running whenever they might be needed made up for the extremely small power draw. Make sure you use a 1 amp in line fuse as close to the connector as possible. The accessory socket is protected by a 15 amp fuse, which means that if there is a short, you could melt the insulation off the wires going to your fans before that fuse blows!

Put the battery pack back together, being careful to:
· Snap the plastic caps on the back of each stick.
· The black nylon spacers go second from the rear on the bottom and top. The rest of them only fit one way.
· Make sure the orange and green sticks are in the right places. If you change the location of the sticks, you have to make sure all the orange sticks are where the orange sticks were originally and all the green sticks were where the green sticks were originally!
· Move the temperature sensors to different sticks, so they are in the same place where they were originally.
· Route the wires from the temperature sensors out to the sides of the battery pack
· Route the fan wires inside the metal frame. Bolt the frame down on the side near the fans first, and then carefully attach the other side so you don’t short out the wires going to the fans.
· Be careful not to pinch the temperature sender wires when installing the cap.
· The 4 long bolts attach to the baffles. I suggest you tighten these first, so nothing shifts when you start connecting the sticks together.
· The shorter bolts connect to the screw terminals on each stick.
· The 4 spacers go where the top cap is going to connect to the 2 halves of the pack (sticks A1, A3, C6 and D5). Put these in last, so if you do drop something, you don’t connect these together.
· For the outer cap, the 4 bolts with shoulders attach to the cap. Again, I’d install these first, so nothing shifts when you start playing with the real high voltages.
· Next, I installed the 2 positive bolts (A1 and D5).
· Finally, I installed the 2 negative bolts (A3 and C6).
· Connect the 3 temperature sender plugs to the outer cap and make sure the wires are neatly routed in the slots in the cap and outer cap.
· If you added extra cooling fans, make sure you don’t break them off when you install the battery pack. They are on the bottom of the battery pack when it is installed, and if you just slide it in, they are going to break loose
· Before you tighten the bolts holding the battery pack in place, make sure the battery pack is pushed all the way up against the top of the mounting compartment so the there is a good seal between the air intake and the battery pack.
· Make sure the IMA compartment lid seals tightly so there are no air leaks, which will reduce cooling of the battery pack and the IMA electronics.
· Hook up the 12 volt battery and turn on the key to make sure you hear the cooling fans running.
· Push in the red button on the battery pack and flip the switch on.
· Put the seats and center console back in and you’re ready to go.

Results
I turned on the key, and had NO battery on the indicator. Honda says to rev the engine to 3,000-4,000 rpm until you get 3 bars. I just let it idle. It started charging, and went up to a full charge within half a mile.

All in all, I’m happy with the result. I’ll try to remember to update this post periodically to let everyone know how many miles I’ve put on the car without a recal.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members,

One picture from a family friend of mine which was uploaded to Face book. On my 70th Birthday.

https://www.facebook.com/home.php

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Sylvi

[Sylvi]

Members,

I received by Email

Little known automotive facts

Volkswagen sold only two Beetles in America in 1949!

Q: What was the first official White House car?

A: A 1909 White Steamer, ordered by

President Taft.

Q: Who opened the first drive-in?

Gas-Station?

A: Gulf opened up the first station

In Pittsburgh in 1913.

Q: What city was the first to use

Parking meters?

A: Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935.

Q: Where was the first drive-in

restaurant?

A: Royce Hailey's Pig Stand opened in

Dallas in 1921.

Q: True or False?

The 1953 Corvette came in white, red

and black.

A: False. The 1953 'Vet’s were

Available in one color, Polo White.

Q: What was Ford’s answer to the

Chevy Corvette, and other legal street

Racers of the 1960's?

A: Carroll Shelby's Mustang GT350.

Q: What was the first car fitted with?

an alternator, rather than a direct

current dynamo?

A: The 1960 Plymouth Valiant

Q: What was the first car fitted with?

A replaceable cartridge oil filter?

A: The 1924 Chrysler.

Q: What was the first car to be?

offered with a "perpetual guarantee"?

A: The 1904 Acme, from Reading ,

PA. Perpetuity was disturbing in this

Case, as Acme closed down in 1911.

Q: What American luxury automaker

Began by making cages for birds and

Squirrels?

A: The George N. Pierce Co. of

Buffalo, who made the Pierce Arrow,

Also made iceboxes.

Q: What car first referred to itself

As a convertible?

A: The 1904 Thomas Flyer, which had a

removable hard top.

Q: What car was the first to have

it's radio antenna embedded in the

windshield?

A: The 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Q: What car used the first successful

Series-production hydraulic valve

Lifters?

A: The 1930 Cadillac 452, the first

Production V16

Q: Where was the World's first

three-color traffic lights installed?

A: Detroit , Michigan in 1919. Two

years later they experimented with

synchronized lights.

Q: What type of car had the

Distinction of being GM's 100

Millionth car built in the U.S. ?

A: March 16, 1966 saw an Olds Tornado

roll out of Lansing , Michigan with

That honor.

Q: Where was the first drive-in movie?

Theater opened, and when?

A: Camden, NJ in 1933

Q: What autos were the first to use a

Standardized production key-start

System?

A: The 1949 Chryslers

Q: What did the Olds designation

4-4-2 stands for?

A: 4 barrel carburetor, 4 speed

Transmission and dual exhaust.

Q: What car was the first to place?

the horn button in the center of the

Steering wheel?

A: The 1915 Scripps-Booth Model C.

The car also was the first with

Electric door latches.

Q: What U.S. production car has the

Quickest 0-60 mph time?

A: The 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409.

Did it in 4.0 seconds.

Q: What's the only car to appear?

Simultaneously on the covers of Time

and Newsweek?

A: The Mustang

Q: What was the lowest priced mass?

Produced American car?

A: The 1925 Ford Model T Runabout.

Cost $260, $5 less than 1924.

Q: What is the fastest?

Internal-combustion American

Production car?

A: The 1998 Dodge Viper GETS-R,

Tested by Motor Trend magazine at

192.6 mph.

Q: What automaker's first logo

Incorporated the Star of David?

A: The Dodge Brothers.

Q: Who wrote to Henry Ford , "I have

Drove fords exclusively when I could

Get away with one. It has got every

Other car skinned, and even if my

Business hasn't been strictly legal it

Don’t hurt anything to tell you what

a fine car you got in the V-8"?

A: Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde

) in 1934.

Q: What car was the first production?

V12, as well as the first production

Car with aluminum pistons?

A: The 1915 Packard Twin-Six. Used

During WWI in Italy , these motors

inspired Enzi Ferrari to adopt the

V12 himself in 1948.

Q: What was the first car to use

power operated seats?

A: They were first used on the 1947

Packard line.

Q: Which of the Chrysler "letter

Cars" sold the fewest amount?

A: Only 400, 1963, 300J's were sold

(they skipped" "I" because it

Looked like a number 1)

Q: What car company was originally

Known as Swallow Sidecars (aka SS)?

A: Jaguar, which was an SS model

first in 1935, and ultimately the

Whole company by 1945.

Q: What car delivered the first

Production V12 engine?

A: The cylinder wars were kicked off

In 1915 after Packard's chief

Engineer, Col. Jesse Vincent,

Introduced its Twin-Six.

Q: When were seat belts first fitted

To a motor vehicle?

Streamliner racer which crashed at 100

Mph. on Staten Island !

Q: In January 1930, Cadillac debuted

it's V16

Q: What automaker's first logo

In a car namedFor a theatrical version of a 1920's

Film seen by Harley Earl

While designing the body, what’s that? Name

A: The "Madam X", a custom coach

designed by Earland built by Fleetwood. The sedan

featured a retractable landau top above the rear retractable landau top above the rear

seat

Seat

.

Q: Which car company started out?

German, yet became

French after WWI?

A: Bugati, founded in Molsheim in

1909, became French

when Alsace returned to French rule.

Q: In what model year did Cadillac

Introduce the first

Electric sunroof?

A: 1969

Q: What U.S. production car had the

Largest 4 cylinder engine?

A: The 1907 Thomas sported a 571 cu.

in. (9.2liter) engine.

Q: What car was reportedly designed?

On the back of a Northwest Airlines

Airsickness bag and released on April

Fool's Day, 1970?

Q: What is the Spirit of Ecstasy?

A: The official name of the mascot of

Rolls Royce, she is the lady on top of

Their radiators.

Q: What was the inspiration for MG’S?

Famed octagon-shaped badge?

A: The shape of founder Cecil

Kimber's dining table. MG stands for

Morris Garages.

Q: In what year did the”double-R"

Rolls Royce badge change from red to

Black?

A: 1933

Trivia... Ford , who made the first

Pick-up trucks, shipped them to

Dealers in crates that the new owners

Had to assemble using the crates as

The beds of the trucks. The new

owners had to go to the dealers to

Get them, thus they had to”pick-up"

The trucks. And now you know the

"rest of the story".

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

PHOTO CAPTION: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is expected to list for just under $60,000NZD.

Outlander Electric Hybrid: Mitsubishi's 'Staggering' Leap Into the Future

New Zealand's National Business Review takes a closer look at Mitsubishi's Outland PHEV electric hybrid sport utility, which will launch in there without government incentives.

Published: 26-Jan-2014

What exactly is it? Mitsubishi’s great leap forward in making the electric vehicle (EV) mainstream. The PHEV looks like an ordinary Outlander but can operate as a pure plug-in electric car, range-extended EV or more conventional hybrid.

Powertrain: 2.0-litre petrol four producing 70kW, with two 60kW electric motors front and rear. Front Power Distribution Unit (PDU) and rear Motor Control Unit (MCU), four-wheel drive. Combined fuel consumption 1.9 litres per 100km.

Anything interesting in the equipment list? The Outlander PHEV is all about the powertrain. Final specification won’t be announced until the public launch in March but Mitsubishi New Zealand’s intention is to offer the car in two specification levels, XLS and VRX, which will mirror the conventional petrol and turbo-diesel models in the range.

Minnesota-Based Duo Builds Three-Wheeled Hybrid Electric Vehicle That Gets 75 Miles Per Charge

by Lidija Grozdanic, 01/20/14

The Human Electric Vehicle is a three-wheeled, energy-efficient vehicle that is part car, part motorcycle and part kayak bike. It combines the pedal power of a bicycle with an electric engine and features a tablet computer that gives information on mileage and speed. Minnesota-based designer Lyon Smith and CEO Rich Kronfeld hope to perfect the vehicle and enable it to travel at the speed of up to 100 mph, with a range of between 50 and 75 miles per charge.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Weighing about 700 pounds, the vehicle is street legal and is considered a motorcycle. Its carbon fiber chassis looks like a kayak, and is reinforced with structural foam, similar to an airplane. The exterior was constructed in collaboration with Winona Boiler and Steel, as well as We-no-nah Canoe and Cytec Engineering, who donated the carbon fiber.

The vehicle uses a regenerative brake system, which feeds the electricity back into the batteries when the brakes are applied. It also has a solar panel mounted on the roof.

The first prototype was unveiled at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in March and the team now plans to build a re-designed version and develop the concept further. Their plan is to have the vehicle ready to hit the road by June and find investors who will help the team build a consumer version of this concept vehicle.

+ Human Electric Vehicle

Above received by email.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Many ask now what makes these cars so popular in the country and seek whether the same trend can be imported to other countries, considering environmental factors.

There are several incentives that promote electric cars choice in Norway. Availability of free public charging stations as well as toll-free roads, ferries and the ability of electric-car drivers to use bus lanes are important factors for Norwegian drivers to choose electric cars over conventional alternatives. Also conventional vehicles can be relatively expensive in Norway due to high tax regime, while plug-in cars are exempt from paying any tax until 2018.

While these new players of Norwegian roads are expensive relative to their size and luxury, but the free tax regime bring down their price to around the same as petrol and diesel vehicles, making them a viable alternative for many Norwegian households.

A Culture in Norway

Professor Marianne Ryghaug at Norwegian University of Science and Technology also points out there is a cultural dimension to the enthusiasm for electric cars in the country beyond their time and money saving features. According to Ryghaug, they are widely seen as comfortable and efficient due to their small size, and also provide the satisfaction of driving a less polluting car.

- Demonstrating environmental concerns by driving an electric car is important to some people. As more and more people choose them, it appears to be a more reasonable choice for others – particularly those with environmental leanings. This is at least true for countries like Norway where electricity is mainly produced from renewable sources, notes Ryghaug.

Yet it is Not Problem-Free

However, these encouraging promotions have potential to make the country’s road overcrowded. The country is already starting to have more electric cars than it can handle, according to Quartz (via Charged EVs).

Despite the growth of the charging-station network, Norwegians are having trouble finding places to plug in.

Estimated 15,000 electric cars are served by 5,000 public charging stations. Roughly 500 of those stations are in the capital city of Oslo, where the majority of the population is concentrated.

Also, using bus lane started to become a problem. During rush hour on December 3, electric cars made up 75 percent of the 829 vehicles in Oslo’s bus lanes, while actual buses made up just 7.5 percent.

Taking all thes factors into consideration, Marianne Ryghaug says it’s not easy to replicate the situation in Norway in other countries.

- Other countries have much less tax on conventional cars, and might deem it too expensive to implement the other favours Norway bestows upon electric vehicle drivers. But there may be other lessons to learn from the Norwegian case, adds she.

FACTS ABOUT ELECTRIC CARS IN NORWAY

• In 2013, 7,882 new passenger electric cars registered in Norway, which is twice as many as in 2012 when only 3,950 were registered.
• Last year, the market doubled and EVs now hold 5.5% market share on average in 2013.
• According to the November and December results, with over 11% of market share, it is expected that 2014 has a big chance to double the share.
• The fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in Norway is the largest per capita in the world, with Oslo recognized as the EV capital of the world.
• As of 30 September 2013, a total of 14,902 all-electric vehicles have been registered in Norway, including 13,462 all-electric cars and 1,440 quadricycles.
• Norway’s fleet of electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because almost 100% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower.
• Norway was the first country in the world where electric cars have been listed among its top 10 best selling cars, and the first one to have electric cars topping the new car sales monthly ranking.
• Among the existing government incentives, all-electric cars are exempt in Norway from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars, and 25% VAT on purchase, together making electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars.
• Electric vehicles are also exempt from the annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments, as well as being able to use bus lanes.
• These incentives are in effect until 2018 or until the 50,000 EV target is achieved.

Above received by email.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[carboy2011]

Triump Herald in Jazz musician Duke Ellingtons visit

http://www.meridian.org/jazzambassadors/duke_ellington/img/ellington8b.jpg

[Sylvi]

Members,

Queen Elisabeth in Ceylon in 1952.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/stills/queen-in-ceylon

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members,

If a member has any questions about old British, German, Italian, American Vehicles electrical problems, please do write your question to the AL forum. I will try to help. Because I have handled very early models from 1940 till 1962.

Import restrictions came in 1962 to 1977. Sri Lankan mechanics and electricians used to rebuild, all defective units. 

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

[Sylvi]

On 3/4/2014 at 9:22 AM, Sylvi said:

Members,

Queen Elisabeth in Ceylon in 1952.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/stills/queen-in-ceylon

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

 

[Sylvi]

All Members of Auto Lanka,

Happy new year to all.

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

[Prime]

Wish you a happy new year..

[Sylvi]

Mr, Sampath Gunasekara,

Few years back on AL we discussed about memorable road pictures of automobile public transport vehicles like Bus stop and others Pictures.

I posted a picture which was existing at that time on Grand pass road, old tram car stop (halt) board. This board was removed and promised by the person who removed same that he will fix same on a suitable permanent place on that road. To date that promise is not done. Can you let AL know the passion of that fixing of that board. I remember you have spoken to that person and he had promised to do the re fixing at that place.

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

[Sylvi]

On 3/4/2014 at 9:22 AM, Sylvi said:

 

 

[Sylvi]

On 3/4/2014 at 9:22 AM, Sylvi said:

I am converting my Suzuki Every foot parking brake to hand brake. Am not used to drive this system. It is a very small modification.

Sylvester Wijesinghe.

Sylvi.

2/19/2020.

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Sylvi
one word was missing

[Sylvi]

On 3/4/2014 at 9:22 AM, Sylvi said:

 

Mr, Sampath Gunasekara,

This is my  reminder no 2.

What about the Old Tram ways stop board (Wait for the car) you promised to get the person who removed same fix back on the point it was first installed on the last tram ways round cast iron pipe by himself, which was on the Road small pavement end. He had build to that line removing the said board.

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

[Sylvi]

Members,

I post this I got from Email.

Many experts in the field claim that diesel engines have longer life spans due to the fact that they work on compression type ignition with the compression ratio also being high compared to petrol engines, they tend to have lower maximum RPM ranges than gasoline engines and their exhaust does not become as hot as the petrol engine. Because of this people tended to run diesel cars in a more “calm and controlled manner”. According to automotive engineers, if well-maintained, a diesel car can run up to 300,000 kilometres. In fact, in my country, taxis are all diesel, and many reach 900.000 km without opening the engine.

But, today, with the advances in technology cars with diesel engines are becoming very fast and it all boils down to the way you drive the car and how you take care of it. In my country you have plenty of petrol cars that reach well over 300.000 km. They will lose about “10 HP a year” (this is just a way of saying after they reach a certain millage they will start loosing, and they lost much of their original power) but they will still work. And you have plenty of diesel cars that fail before they reach this 300K limit.

I think the main problem with cars today is the use of turbos and electronics. Turbos run very hot and electronics and electrical systems tend to cause some of the main “issues” with engines, both diesel and petrol.

As an example, you have the The Bugatti Type 41 built from 1927 to 1933 they are petrol and they all still work fine from all the 7 that were built (6 still exist, 1 destroyed in wreck).

Bottom line engines will last longer petrol or diesel if you take care of them and you drive the car with care.

Not sure I have posted above to the correct page.

 

Sylvester Wijesinghe.

 

Sylvi.

[Devinda_Z]

8 hours ago, Sylvi said:

Members,

I post this I got from Email.

Many experts in the field claim that diesel engines have longer life spans due to the fact that they work on compression type ignition with the compression ratio also being high compared to petrol engines, they tend to have lower maximum RPM ranges than gasoline engines and their exhaust does not become as hot as the petrol engine. Because of this people tended to run diesel cars in a more “calm and controlled manner”. According to automotive engineers, if well-maintained, a diesel car can run up to 300,000 kilometres. In fact, in my country, taxis are all diesel, and many reach 900.000 km without opening the engine.

 

But, today, with the advances in technology cars with diesel engines are becoming very fast and it all boils down to the way you drive the car and how you take care of it. In my country you have plenty of petrol cars that reach well over 300.000 km. They will lose about “10 HP a year” (this is just a way of saying after they reach a certain millage they will start loosing, and they lost much of their original power) but they will still work. And you have plenty of diesel cars that fail before they reach this 300K limit.

 

I think the main problem with cars today is the use of turbos and electronics. Turbos run very hot and electronics and electrical systems tend to cause some of the main “issues” with engines, both diesel and petrol.

 

As an example, you have the The Bugatti Type 41 built from 1927 to 1933 they are petrol and they all still work fine from all the 7 that were built (6 still exist, 1 destroyed in wreck).

 

 

Bottom line engines will last longer petrol or diesel if you take care of them and you drive the car with care.

 

 

Not sure I have posted above to the correct page.

 

Sylvester Wijesinghe.

 

Sylvi.

 

 

Interesting Mr @Sylvi Wijesinghe?

Whilst agreeing with your sentiment you've got me worried about the horsepower loss seeing as i've only got 67-69 in the old Land Rover 2.5 N/A diesel. 25 years and 300,000 kms on if I lose or have lost that many a year I must be fortunate to be able to get all 2 tonnes moving these days

[AVANTE]

44 minutes ago, Devinda_Z said:

Interesting Mr @Sylvi Wijesinghe?

Whilst agreeing with your sentiment you've got me worried about the horsepower loss seeing as i've only got 67-69 in the old Land Rover 2.5 N/A diesel. 25 years and 300,000 kms on if I lose or have lost that many a year I must be fortunate to be able to get all 2 tonnes moving these days

Halt! We caught you defying the laws of physics. We have no choice but to arrest you and confiscate your quantum defender until the government can come up with a decision on how to deal with you. 

[Davy]

@Sylvi, please be mindful when posting new content. You had made your most recent post in an unrelated thread opened in 2006. I have hence moved your post and responses here. Thanks!

[Sylvi]

Honorable Davy,

I was not sure my post was to the correct tread, that post must be posted.

That is the simple reason I mentioned the last para.

Not sure I have posted above to the correct page.

In future I will post to my( AUTOMOBILE HISTORY) page any comments, what I want to write.

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Sylvi
One para appeared twice. Spelling mistake.

[kav]

On 3/24/2020 at 3:04 AM, Sylvi said:

Honorable Davy,

I was not sure my post was to the correct tread, that post must be posted.

That is the simple reason I mentioned the last para.

Not sure I have posted above to the correct page.

In future I will post to my( AUTOMOBILE HISTORY) page any comments, what I want to write.

Sylvester Wijesinghe

Sylvi.

Hello Mr. Sylvi !

I logged into Autolanka after what seems like a really long time and lo behold: I see you're back here too? Awesome! Welcome back! ( This is "kavvz"  btw. -You probably don't remember me, but I was super sad when you decided to leave the forum many years ago...Your stories about the Grand Old Days of motoring in Sri Lanka / Ceylon were awesome; as were your reflections on Kollupitya and how it has changed over the years!)

I see that coming back on Autolanka to see what was happening was a good decision! 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by kav