Electric Vehicle (EV) conversion guides review and information from the web

If you are planning to convert a gasoline driven car to run on electricity from your home garage, you have to know the entire key components in the EV. Each and every part in the system is important to make sure the electric vehicle is safe and functional.

The following is a list of 21 items of a homemade electric car.
1) Electric Motor (AC or DC) – The electric motor is the heart of the EV. Since the internal combustion engine (ICE) is removed, the electric motor will be the power plant to generate torque to propel the car forward.

2) Motor Controller – The motor controller is used to control the amount of electric current going into the electric motor. It is very similar to controlling the amount of fuel going into an engine therefore controlling the power output.

3) Manual Disconnect – A manual disconnect is basically a switch you use to cut off all the power in the system to reduce the chance of electrocution. You want to cut off the power when you are doing maintenance work on your EV.

4) Motor Adapter – A special metal plate custom made to fit the housing of the transmission unit. The motor adapter will be used to connect the electric motor to the vehicle transmission.

5) Main Contactor – This is the one main switch that can be used to totally disconnect all power flowing in the system.

6) Inertia Switch – The inertia switch will be automatically activated when there is an accident to disconnect the battery from the system.

7) Electric Charger – Used to charge the battery units of the electric car.

8) Battery Ends – The positive and negative ends of the battery where the cable terminal will be connected.

9) DC – DC Power Supply – A power supply that uses Direct Current to produce a variance of Direct Current.

10) Amp Meter Shunt – A measuring instrument used to measure the electric current flow in the EV circuit.

11) E – Meter – Used to measure the voltage output from the battery bank.

12) Fuses – Safety component for the electric circuit.

13) Throttle Box Control – Connected to the controller to regulate the power of the electric motor.

14) Battery Cable – Cables used to connect all the batteries together in series.

15) Cable Cutter – Heavy duty cutter used to cut and trim cables.

16) Lugs – Connected to the ends of the cables.

17) Cable Crimping Tool – A special tool used to crimp the ends of the cables to the lugs.

18) Vacuum Pump – Used to bleed the power brakes of the electric car.

19) Batteries – DC electric storage units used to power the electric motor. The type of battery suitable for EV conversion is the deep cycle type.

20) Battery Boxes – Storage and holding unit for the batteries. Acts as a temperature control and safety shield for the batteries.

21) Miscellaneous nuts and bolts – Used to hold all the parts together securely.

If you want to know how to build an electric car at home, be sure to check out Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book.

Gavin is from New Zealand and he has converted his 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia into an EV. His manual document his electric car conversion project.

==> Click here to visit  Electric Conversion Made Easy now!

Battery Racks For EV Conversion

Here’s a step that everyone has to go through when building an electric car from home. It is the process of making the racks for the battery. Why do we need battery racks for our EV? The simple reason is to hold the batteries in place.

As you may already know, a homemade electric car would need from 10 to 15 units of battery. On a full charge, your EV would able to travel up to 60 – 100 miles before it has to be recharged. With that many units of battery on board, you want to make sure the batteries do not slide from side to side when you accelerate or take a corner with your EV. That will be very hazardous!

Fitting The Battery Racks

Before you start making the racks, it would be a good idea to do some fittings. The type of battery recommended for electric cars are deep cycle battery. Now, how do you fit all the batteries in the electric donor car? Lets start with a mock fitting.

What you want to do is find free spaces in your EV to place the battery. Take a few pieces of cardboard paper and make it into a box that is the same size (equal width, length and height) with the battery you want to use. Make about 15 cardboard boxes. This is important and you will find out why.

The idea is to fit all the cardboard boxes into your electric car. Fit the boxes into the engine compartment area. Try to put them next to each other. Put a couple of the boxes into the booth at the back. If you need more space, place the boxes at the back seat.

The cardboard boxes that you’ve made will represent the actual space needed for your deep cycle batteries. If all the boxes fit, you know for sure all the batteries will fit.

Making The Frame

Now that you know where to place the batteries, your next step is to make the frame of the rack. The best material to use will be “L” steel section. Cut it to size and weld them together. Drill some holes for the bolts and nuts. Finally, fix the rack securely to the body of your electric donor car. That should pretty much does it.

Check out the following video of Gavin Shoebridge of New Zealand showing how he pre-fit the cardboard boxes and then making the frame for the battery racks for his DIY electric car.

If you want to know step-by-step how Gavin converts his 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia into an electric car, check out his Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book. In his manual, there more tips and tricks on how to save money in a EV conversion project.

==> Click here to visit Electric Conversion Made Easy now!

Is Do It Yourself (DIY) Electric Car Legal?

A lot of people are intrigued by the idea of owning an electric car. If you’ve checked, a new sedan electric vehicle (EV) from the manufacturers is still quite expensive. We are talking $40,000 and above. Maybe lower if you can get a government tax rebate. That left us with the option of DIY electric car conversion.

Many electric car enthusiasts have been converting conventional gas guzzlers to pure electric cars. But is a homemade electric car legal? The reason I asked that question because I came across an article yesterday about a person, Paul Pearson, an electric car retrofitter that has been dragged to court for building DIY electric vehicle.

I’ve then decided to do some research on the internet to find out what happened and to verify the legality of DIY electric car. Here’s what I found:

1) Police sting doesn’t stop homebrew electric vehicle maker in California – Last fall, we spoke with Paul Pearson, the man behind the Lola EV (above) from Electric Custom Cars, at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo. The Lola, a sort of Tesla kit car, seems innocent enough, but Pearson recently got himself into trouble with the City of Santa Monica for his electric car work…

2) Paul Pearson continuing legal fight over electric vehicle conversions – Last week, Paul Pearson went back to court. It was the fifth time he’s been in front of a judge because of a police sting last December over the electric car conversions he was doing in his garage. In short, the situation is wholly confusing, but also quite important for fans of electric vehicles…

3) Electric Car Enthusiast Busted in Sting – Santa Monica resident Paul Pearson is an avid electric car enthusiast. Since it is nearly impossible to buy an electric car today, Mr. Pearson has done what any other talented enthusiast might do, build his own…

4) If there is no law, there is no crime – Unless you live in California. Paul Pearson lives in California. Mr. Pearson makes a living converting gas and diesel powered vehicles to plug-in electrics. There is no law regulating said conversions in the state of California. But that did not stop the the state DMV and the City of Santa Monica from arresting him and dragging him into court for, supposedly, illegally “remanufacturing” vehicles…

5) Lola EV brings sunny Southern Californian style to AltCar Expo 2008! – The AltCar Expo 2008 in Santa Monica has been in the auto news for the past few days with the crazy concepts and new designs that it is bringing into limelight. The Lola EV is viewed by a few people at the Expo as the ‘poor man’s Tesla’. While the Lola is indeed a pretty cool electric vehicle, it really is no Tesla…

After reading all the articles, I realized Paul Pearson is being charged for manufacturing vehicles without a license and failure to obtain a business permit. In essence, he converts a conventional car to run on pure electricity with the intention of selling it. Apparently, that is against the law in Santa Monica. It would be interesting to see how the court case turns out.

Do you think DIY electric is legal? Leave your comments and tell us what you think.