# DAIHATSU CHARADE HATCHBACK conversion.



## bsamarah (Sep 16, 2014)

I think this is a 1994. Not sure could not find anything on the car to give the year. It is manual transmission. This is probably the first car conversion in an Arabic speaking country. The conversion took place in Rammallah Palestine. 

We used a series wound DC motor (the only motor I was able to find). I looked everywhere until I found 2 in a garae that fixes forklifts. We used 1 battery to test the car and surprisingly it did travel a distance of 50 meters. I was impressed, I expected it not to even move on 1 battery. 

The clutch was preserved we just used a piece to connect the motor to the fly wheel (I think you call it adaptor). A plate to mount the motor with the gear housing. Took about 4 weeks from time we got the car to removing everything in the car to fabbricating the pieces to first test (total effective work is about 1.5 weeks). 

The first time the car moved the garage was filled with excitement and we were checking and testing before first test on the garage floor. 


Unfortunately we were unable to test on the street as we don't currently have enough batterie, nor do we have a controller. 

I wa thinking of using 4 12V lead acid batteries in series to see if we can get it out on the street, but wanted to make sure we do not kill anyone or cause a fire. Is it ok to do that ? 

I will post pictures in the next couple of days, as I am still learning how to use this forum. 

Thanks

Basem.


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## bsamarah (Sep 16, 2014)

After fabricating all the necessary parts we assembled we bolted everything togather for testing before we put things back on the car.


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## poprock (Apr 29, 2010)

1998 Sirion conversion pics


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## bsamarah (Sep 16, 2014)

Nice work.. Did you test the car yet ?
What batteries are you planning on using ? Did you decide on a controller yet ?


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## dougingraham (Jul 26, 2011)

bsamarah said:


> I wa thinking of using 4 12V lead acid batteries in series to see if we can get it out on the street, but wanted to make sure we do not kill anyone or cause a fire. Is it ok to do that ?


Unless you have a motor speed controller of some kind I would not do this. You can see high currents which can be difficult to break. There is a very real possibility of getting started and finding that the only way to stop is to wait until the batteries run out. If the batteries are in good condition it is possible to get power levels in excess of 24kw from that battery arrangement. With that voltage level you could probably reach speeds of 100kph in a higher gear. And unloaded the motor would over speed almost instantly thus destroying it.

Just to be clear, this is a bad idea.


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## poprock (Apr 29, 2010)

Hi again. Sorry for not replying earlier but with the site changes I was unable to log in for some time. I will post more pics later. My electrician has inspected my 1998 Sirion and the only fault is that he would like Bussman fuses rather than the ANN type. Easily done. Next is the engineers inspection. In Australia over 63? volts DC is classed as high voltage and has to meet AS 2000/3000. As the pics show the transmission is the same as your charade and the motor was one litre 3 cyl. I found it easiest to remove the whole subframe with motor & transmission still in place; This requires undoing 4 subframe bolts, 2 strut bolts either side, undo brake calipers, put a spacer between the pads and tie back. The steering joint will slide out from inside the cab. When replacing, grease the four subframe bolts and start the thread by hand to avoid stripping the threads. It only takes 45 minutes to jack the car up and have the subframe on the ground.


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## poprock (Apr 29, 2010)

Please see my post at "Red Tape" for latest pics


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## bsamarah (Sep 16, 2014)

Hello.. 

I completed the diahatus charade mechanical conversion. It runs on the DC motor. We got it to move the primitive way (wire the motor directly to the motor) Car moved with 3 batteries (36V) was able to get it up the hill too. 

I have been working on a controller for a while (learning as I go). I am stuck now at the throttle control. What can I do for throttle control ? Is there a recommended part I can buy that can hook up to an Arduino ? Or do I need to build my own ? If I need to build my own some instructions are appreciated. 

Thanks

Basem.


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## muidsa121 (9 mo ago)

bsamarah said:


> Hello..
> 
> I completed the diahatus charade mechanical conversion. It runs on the DC motor. We got it to move the primitive way (wire the motor directly to the motor) Car moved with 3 batteries (36V) was able to get it up the hill too.
> 
> ...


Hi can you tell me what motor you used in the charade?


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