The new CV boot arrived on Friday just in time for a weekend repair. Replacing the CV boot required removing the right front axle.
So out comes the handy dandy factory service manual...volume chassis...section suspension....subsection front suspension..."Replacing CV Boot FWD Right Front".
One thing about the service manuals is that they tend to be repetitive. If you need to do work on the front end, whether its the CV boot, brakes, suspension, etc the steps are always pretty much the same. So each section in the front end section starts with the same set up steps...loosen lug nuts...jack up car...remove front tire..etc.
So I glance at the first few steps and the diagrams and see its the same as usual for front suspension work. Been there and done it so should be no problem. After about a half dozen steps I get to the part specific for the repair I am doing. Remove front axle from wheel knuckle.
Having removed the other end of the axle earlier in the conversion I expected that the axle should slide right out or maybe need a little bit of prying. I tug, and pull, and tug, and pry, and do it all again even harder. No luck. After about 20 minutes I give up and decide I'm missing something. This shouldn't be that hard.
So I call Chris and ask him if there are any special tricks or tools needed to remove the axle. And if not can I borrow a bigger pry bar. Chris says that usually once you remove the axle nut they slide out easily or can be hammered out.
"Axle nut", I say to Chris. "I don't think this axle has an axle nut. The other end definitely did not have an axle nut."
So after getting off the phone with Chris I go back to the shop manual. Section "Replacing CV Boot FWD Right Front"...loosen lug nuts...jack up car...remove front tire..etc. No axle nut. Lets look at the wheel. Hmm...there is a big nut holding the rotor on, but I'm not replacing the rotor. Let's look at the manual again.
Section "Replacing CV Boot FWD Right Front"...loosen axle nut and lug nuts...jack up car...remove front tire..etc.
OK. To be fair the instruction for loosening the axle nut was not in small print. The writers of the manual are a little bit more insidious than that. They made it the first line of the instructions! More importantly the section was otherwise identical to the sections not requiring the axle nut be loosened. So at first glance (and second glance) the instructions and diagrams look identical to the instructions not requiring the axle nut be loosened.
Of course once the axle nut was loosened the axle removal was so much easier :-)
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Just a full circle
I stopped by the local auto parts store to get a replacement CV boot for the damaged one. They don't carry CV boots because at $30 bucks for a boot and $75 bucks for a new axle (including the boot) most people just replace the axle. I said ok, order me an axle. No problem. Until the phone call from them saying they can't get the axle for my car.
Next stop the internet. Do some searching and find an axle for the car. $70 bucks plus shipping. But it is an "off brand" aftermarket part. I do some research on the internet and find that this aftermarket one is a cheap version with lots of reports of unhappy buyers.
Since I can't find an OEM axle online I call a reputable US axle vendor. He doesn't carry the axle for my car since Saturn changes the spline configuration so frequently he can't keep up with them.
Next I call Saturn dealer. Figure I'm willing to pay a little more for the OEM axle. Well a little more is $400 more!
In the end I end up just ordering the CV boot from them ($35) like I originally wanted to do. Full circle :-)
Next stop the internet. Do some searching and find an axle for the car. $70 bucks plus shipping. But it is an "off brand" aftermarket part. I do some research on the internet and find that this aftermarket one is a cheap version with lots of reports of unhappy buyers.
Since I can't find an OEM axle online I call a reputable US axle vendor. He doesn't carry the axle for my car since Saturn changes the spline configuration so frequently he can't keep up with them.
Next I call Saturn dealer. Figure I'm willing to pay a little more for the OEM axle. Well a little more is $400 more!
In the end I end up just ordering the CV boot from them ($35) like I originally wanted to do. Full circle :-)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Just two steps forward and one step backwards
As indicated in the prior post the next item of business is getting the speedometer hooked up to the vehicle speed sensor(VSS). I have two choices at hand for the VSS. I can use the OEM VSS that is part of the transmission. Or I can use the aftermarket VSS that came with the EVision.
Previously I had tried to use the OEM VSS. It's already mounted and ready to go. Unfortunately hooking it up to the speedometer gave no signal.
I had also tried the aftermarket VSS. The sensor is magnetic and generates an electrical signal when metal passes by (there are metal nuts under the black tape on the axle in the picture below).
This didn't work so I pulled the sensor and tested it using a drill with a couple metal nuts around the collar. This worked fine so I figured the sensor and nuts needed to be closer to each other. I went ahead and remounted the red sensor but couldn't find an acceptable position (either on the axle above or closer to the CV joint).
At this point I decided to go back to the OEM VSS. I had asked around on the Electric Vehicle Discussion List about the OEM VSS. Someone suggested that the newer VSS may need a pull up resistor in order to produce the necessary voltage for the speedometer.
So I went ahead and reconnected the OEM VSS with a resistor between the output wire and 12V power. Bingo! The speedometer started registering values.
Now to calibrate the speedometer. Luckily there are a couple of informational radar traps in the area. The speedometer requires a speed of 45mph to calibrate. So I buzzed by one of the radar signs and adjusted my speed till the sign said 45mph. Unfortunately it was a 25mph zone and I got a ticket....just kidding :-)
Once the sign said 45mph I pushed the calibration button on the speedometer. I now had a working and calibrated speedometer! Just to be sure I went by a couple more times at different speeds to check it.
Now the one step backwards part. In the process of fooling with the speed sensor I noticed a lot of grease on the chassis near the axle. This was definitely not there when I originally installed the VSS the prior week.
I tracked the source of the grease to one of the CV joints on the right front axle. Apparently there was a small hole in the boot protecting the joint. The grease was leaking out from the boot (actually flying out at 4000rpm). You can see the boot in the picture above (prior to it leaking).
Anyway I'll need to get a new boot to replace the damaged one. In the meantime to keep the EV on the road I have duct tape securing the hole and it seems to be working.
Previously I had tried to use the OEM VSS. It's already mounted and ready to go. Unfortunately hooking it up to the speedometer gave no signal.
I had also tried the aftermarket VSS. The sensor is magnetic and generates an electrical signal when metal passes by (there are metal nuts under the black tape on the axle in the picture below).
This didn't work so I pulled the sensor and tested it using a drill with a couple metal nuts around the collar. This worked fine so I figured the sensor and nuts needed to be closer to each other. I went ahead and remounted the red sensor but couldn't find an acceptable position (either on the axle above or closer to the CV joint).
At this point I decided to go back to the OEM VSS. I had asked around on the Electric Vehicle Discussion List about the OEM VSS. Someone suggested that the newer VSS may need a pull up resistor in order to produce the necessary voltage for the speedometer.
So I went ahead and reconnected the OEM VSS with a resistor between the output wire and 12V power. Bingo! The speedometer started registering values.
Now to calibrate the speedometer. Luckily there are a couple of informational radar traps in the area. The speedometer requires a speed of 45mph to calibrate. So I buzzed by one of the radar signs and adjusted my speed till the sign said 45mph. Unfortunately it was a 25mph zone and I got a ticket....just kidding :-)
Once the sign said 45mph I pushed the calibration button on the speedometer. I now had a working and calibrated speedometer! Just to be sure I went by a couple more times at different speeds to check it.
Now the one step backwards part. In the process of fooling with the speed sensor I noticed a lot of grease on the chassis near the axle. This was definitely not there when I originally installed the VSS the prior week.
I tracked the source of the grease to one of the CV joints on the right front axle. Apparently there was a small hole in the boot protecting the joint. The grease was leaking out from the boot (actually flying out at 4000rpm). You can see the boot in the picture above (prior to it leaking).
Anyway I'll need to get a new boot to replace the damaged one. In the meantime to keep the EV on the road I have duct tape securing the hole and it seems to be working.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Just the numbers
The Vue is now on the road. Over the weekend I was able to fasten some of the front batteries down. This allowed me to put the front end and headlights back on. So now I can drive the car without looking like a scene from "Mad Max" :-)
I still have lots of items on the checklist...fastening the remaining batteries and getting the speedometer to work are high on my list now.
Speaking of the speedometer I was able to track down part of the problem why it wasn't working. There was a bad splice in the sender wire that was easy enough to repair. I went ahead and hooked up my pulse generator (you remember homemade pulse generator I was using for the tach). Anyway I hooked it up and sure enough the speedometer started working. Now I just needed to get it working off the vehicle speed sensor.
Today I took the car for a bit more of a spin (19.4miles). I wanted to get an idea of what my "mileage" (energy use) would be so I could figure out the range. Based on this drive the max range should be in the 45-55 mile. In general you want to keep the average use at about 50% of the max range in order to maximize battery longevity. This is still well above my daily 15 mile roundtrip commute.
For those interested in the numbers:
Total pack energy: 32.5 kW
Usable pack energy: 19.5kW
Usable to prolong battery life: 9.75kW
Total pack amp hours: C/20 225 Ah
Usable pack amp hours: C/1 135 Ah
Usable to prolong battery life: C/1 67.5 Ah
Trip distance: 19.4 miles
kW used: 7.04 kW
Ah used: 52 Ah
Mileage 360W/mile
The last number is the mileage ("MPG"). It is important because it is a measure of the efficiency of the vehicle. It is a function of vehicle weight, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, etc. A very light, aerodynamic vehcile has a watt/mile usage of about 200-250 W/mi. A light truck about 350 W/mi.
Prior to the conversion I was basing my range calculations on 350 W/mi. The fact that I'm in the ballpark before doing anything to improve that mileage (driving habits, alignment, etc) makes me very happy :-)
I still have lots of items on the checklist...fastening the remaining batteries and getting the speedometer to work are high on my list now.
Speaking of the speedometer I was able to track down part of the problem why it wasn't working. There was a bad splice in the sender wire that was easy enough to repair. I went ahead and hooked up my pulse generator (you remember homemade pulse generator I was using for the tach). Anyway I hooked it up and sure enough the speedometer started working. Now I just needed to get it working off the vehicle speed sensor.
Today I took the car for a bit more of a spin (19.4miles). I wanted to get an idea of what my "mileage" (energy use) would be so I could figure out the range. Based on this drive the max range should be in the 45-55 mile. In general you want to keep the average use at about 50% of the max range in order to maximize battery longevity. This is still well above my daily 15 mile roundtrip commute.
For those interested in the numbers:
Total pack energy: 32.5 kW
Usable pack energy: 19.5kW
Usable to prolong battery life: 9.75kW
Total pack amp hours: C/20 225 Ah
Usable pack amp hours: C/1 135 Ah
Usable to prolong battery life: C/1 67.5 Ah
Trip distance: 19.4 miles
kW used: 7.04 kW
Ah used: 52 Ah
Mileage 360W/mile
The last number is the mileage ("MPG"). It is important because it is a measure of the efficiency of the vehicle. It is a function of vehicle weight, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, etc. A very light, aerodynamic vehcile has a watt/mile usage of about 200-250 W/mi. A light truck about 350 W/mi.
Prior to the conversion I was basing my range calculations on 350 W/mi. The fact that I'm in the ballpark before doing anything to improve that mileage (driving habits, alignment, etc) makes me very happy :-)
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