# charger wiring



## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

fyi

spoke with KTA today and they said just having the case of the charger bolted to the frame should be good enough.. it's just to ground the charger case.. newbie question I know, but wanted to be sure!


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## patzke (Nov 1, 2008)

Noobie question right here! 

What is the purpose of having a GFI WITHIN the car?

I didn't do a very thorough search, sorry if it's been answered.


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

patzke said:


> Noobie question right here!
> 
> What is the purpose of having a GFI WITHIN the car?
> 
> I didn't do a very thorough search, sorry if it's been answered.


lol.. ah hell.. I have no idea, it just looked good when I was picking out an oulet.. I figured if they're a good idea in a bathroom, then why not on an EV! If you mean why have an outlet - I just thought it would be easier and cleaner than having to splice into the charger wiring wich already had a three pronged plug on it.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> fyi
> 
> spoke with KTA today and they said just having the case of the charger bolted to the frame should be good enough.. it's just to ground the charger case.. newbie question I know, but wanted to be sure!


thought I would jump in to this thread on a related subject and ask what you used to get the 120v in to your interlock relay.... I'm assuming you have the same schematic as me since I got a KTA kits as well. I am looking at the AUX1 terminals on the zivan, wondering if they would work so I don't have to splice in to the charger cord...

could someone with a Zivan installed check to see if the AUX1 C and NO terminals output 120v when charger is plugged in, and nothing when unplugged? please? 

d


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

funny you should ask that.. I just hooked up my interlock relay and plugged the charger in for the first time... *is the interlock relay supposed to make a very loud buzzing noise when it gets current??????*


as to how I connected it... I installed an outlet in a box in the trunk that the charger plugs in to.. I used an outdoor extension cord in the other plug and ran the other end up to the relay, cut off the female plug end and hooked the black and white wires up to the A & B tabs on the relay.

then uh.. promptly unplugged it to check on the buzzing noise!


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> funny you should ask that.. I just hooked up my interlock relay and plugged the charger in for the first time... *is the interlock relay supposed to make a very loud buzzing noise when it gets current??????*


scarey, I dunno.... I am not there yet. I do know that the zivan charger senses faults if there is no battery pack present, or wrong polarity, or..... and makes a beeping. I dunno about interlock buzzing, but that does not sound good. I would expect the 120v to energize the little coil and open/close those little contacts inside....


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

dtbaker said:


> scarey, I dunno.... I am not there yet. I do know that the zivan charger senses faults if there is no battery pack present, or wrong polarity, or..... and makes a beeping. I dunno about interlock buzzing, but that does not sound good. I would expect the 120v to energize the little coil and open/close those little contacts inside....


well I sent an email to Whistar at KTA about it. Will let you know what he says. It does seem to work in that the contactor doesn't contact when I'm plugged in. Also.. I hooked up the zx2's fuel pump inertia kill switch in line with the contactor 12v wiring so now I have a free inertia switch as well.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> Also.. I hooked up the zx2's fuel pump inertia kill switch in line with the contactor 12v wiring so now I have a free inertia switch as well.


that is a great idea. I still have my fuel tank sitting in a pile of ICE junk. what does an inertia switch look like? can you get a closeup or sketch a schematic how you included it?

BTW, I just test connected my magnacraft interlock relay A and B to 120v power, and the contactor snaps down, and there is NO buzzing.

d


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

dtbaker said:


> that is a great idea. I still have my fuel tank sitting in a pile of ICE junk. what does an inertia switch look like? can you get a closeup or sketch a schematic how you included it?
> 
> BTW, I just test connected my magnacraft interlock relay A and B to 120v power, and the contactor snaps down, and there is NO buzzing.
> 
> d


I'm not sure the fuel pump inertia switch is something every car has. Mine was mounted in the trunk. I'ts a black cube (basically) with a red button on the top. It's about 2 inches high with two wires going out the bottom. I tested it with my multi and there is continuity in the wires when it's "normal", but if you whack it against your hand then you can hear something trip and "unwind" inside and then there is no continuity. You press the button to reset it... voila - continuity again. So thankfully, you can use it over and over; it's not a one shot blow like a fuse.

As for wiring, I took the 12v power from the ignition on wire to one of the inertia switch wires. The other switch wire goes to the 7 tab on the charger interlock relay. Then a wire from the 1 tab on the relay to the main contactor low voltage input. So, basically, between the ignition on and contactor input, I worked in the charger interlock and intertia switch.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> I'm not sure the fuel pump inertia switch is something every car has. Mine was mounted in the trunk. I'ts a black cube (basically) with a red button on the top. It's about 2 inches high with two wires going out the bottom.


very cool. I will check in user manual to see if it is mentioned for the 1997 suzuki swift....


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

turns out KTA sent me the wrong relay.. it's rated for much lower VDC, not 120 VAC.. they're rushing me a new one.. no big deal, i don't need it to test drive the car - which - is about an hour's worth of work away!!

anyway.. here's a pic of my inertia switch


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> turns out KTA sent me the wrong relay.. it's rated for much lower VDC, not 120 VAC.. they're rushing me a new one.. no big deal, i don't need it to test drive the car - which - is about an hour's worth of work away!!
> 
> anyway.. here's a pic of my inertia switch


whoo hoo, have fun rolling that baby out of the garage!
I can't find an inertia switch on the Swift, so have ordered one.... seems like cheap insurance, and probably should be required if we had guidelines for registration. 

d


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## kittydog42 (Sep 18, 2007)

Very few cars have inertia switches. All Ford products have them, and some Hyundais have them, as far as I know. Those cars use them to shut down the fuel pumps in the event of a collision.

If you want to get one at your local self-service auto wrecker, it is easy. Bend down, pick up a rock, and throw it in any direction. The car that it hits will be a mid 90's Taurus. Pull back the liner on the driver's side of the trunk, remove the two nuts from the captive U-bolt, and clip the wiring. It's very easy, and they don't cost much. It is a small black plastic enclosure with a red button on top, with a pink and a pink/black wire coming out of the housing.


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

dtbaker said:


> whoo hoo, have fun rolling that baby out of the garage!
> I can't find an inertia switch on the Swift, so have ordered one.... seems like cheap insurance, and probably should be required if we had guidelines for registration.
> 
> d


Since many of these homebrewed EV's (including mine) are clutchless, I think the inertia switch is a very good idea! And since Ford put them in a very accessible place with a little sign that says "push here to reset fuel pump intertia switch", I'm guessing they work well. On the other hand, Ford does have a safety history.. think Mustang, Pinto... What is it about burning horses?


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## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

PatricioIN said:


> turns out KTA sent me the wrong relay.. it's rated for much lower VDC, not 120 VAC.. they're rushing me a new one.. no big deal, i don't need it to test drive the car - which - is about an hour's worth of work away!!


Patrick,

Funny... KTA sent me the wrong one as well. They look identical eh?

ZD


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

I got my correct relay installed btw.. and it works just like it should.


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## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

kittydog42 said:


> If you want to get one at your local self-service auto wrecker, it is easy. Bend down, pick up a rock, and throw it in any direction. The car that it hits will be a mid 90's Taurus. Pull back the liner on the driver's side of the trunk, remove the two nuts from the captive U-bolt, and clip the wiring. It's very easy, and they don't cost much.


Ev bro, that's just funny! I had to weigh in and give humor props!

Also very useful info, I've owned 3 mid 90's taurus's and didn't even think to go salvage a fuel pump inertia cutoff. Thank you.

(maybe because I hated each of those cars with gmc born passion!)

ZD


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