# REV4 Wiring Diagram - comments?



## Travdude (May 11, 2009)

It is hard to read. Can you post a diagram that is a little bigger?


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## gdirwin (Apr 7, 2009)

I have increased the image size in the original post...


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## Travdude (May 11, 2009)

Nice work, looks like you have many good safety features planned. I am planning my wiring also.

I can't find anything you should revise, but I have a couple of questions:

What is the time of day for?

How will the motor temperature interface with the Hairball?


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## gdirwin (Apr 7, 2009)

You are right about the temperature sensor - I had assumed there was an input into the Zilla, but I don't see anything... I will probably use the temperature sensor and wire it to the dash coolant temperature gauge (also not figured out)... Basically a manual indication that the motor is hot and you should let up on the gas a bit... Same thing with the LLIM output from the Elithion BMS (when a battery gets below a voltage set-point) - it will activate a light somewhere in the dash... In hindsight the manual gauge/light method (to indicate you have to let up a bit) is better than trying to get the controller to limit its maximum output...

The time of day timer is there so that when I plug in the car into an AC supply, it does not immediately turn on the interior heater and keep the interior regulated to the temperature set-point all night long (and using AC power while it is doing this) - instead the timer will turn on the interior heat at 5 am (for example) so it will be warm by the time I get into the car... Recall it can be -40C here so I am putting a lot of effort into heating...

Also not shown is the wiring for the battery heaters - they self-regulate using a built-in thermostat and run off of the AC supply only...

One thing I will need to research more is about how the charger turns off - I think the BMS can tell it to back off (via the Regbus) when it starts shunting, but I have to work out the details.

Also what happens in the following scenario:
- plug in at 8 pm
- charges all night, completes charging at 4 am
- timer activates at 5 am and starts discharging the batteries

Will the charger stop at 4 am? Or does it stay connected and see the energy drained by the interior heater (>3000W is a fair bit of juice) and keep the batteries topped up? 

Definitely need more info on Manzanita chargers used with the Elithion BMS in these respects - any experience appreciated...


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## automd (Feb 5, 2010)

gdirwin said:


> Here is my first cut at a wiring diagram for my 2001 REV4 - thought I would post here first (more general interest) and then post a final in my build thread...
> 
> The only somewhat interesting bits are:
> - the PID temperature controller for the ceramic heaters
> ...


Yeah. I agree. The diagram is a little bit complicated but it is not that hard to understand. Though I'm quite confused with the "12V Time of Day Timer?"?


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## gdirwin (Apr 7, 2009)

automd said:


> ...Though I'm quite confused with the "12V Time of Day Timer?"?


What is unique about this setup is that I want to pre-heat the interior of the car when I am plugged into AC (I could also just use a separate AC interior heater, but that's no fun). This a) makes it comfy (I am a suck) and b) increases range as I do not have to use much battery power for the interior heater if I start off with it cold.

If I did not have the 12V timer, the car interior would be heated (to the desired set-point of the controller) all night long (ie whenever it is plugged into AC). The timer would turn on at 5 am (before I go to work) so would pre-heat the car just prior to when I start driving...

I see the bug now - the timer should only be activated when charging from AC (ie ACin is hot) but if you are driving then you should always have power to the temperature controller..

The use of the temperature controller helps save some power in this respect (if it is not too cold out) as it will regulate the temp to a set-point, and then back of the power consumption after it reaches this - ie it is not just on, it will change the ratio of how long it is on vs off via a PID controller.


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## gdirwin (Apr 7, 2009)

After some BMS/charger reading from:
http://liionbms.com/php/bms_manzanita_micro.php
and
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forum...-switches-cheap-bms-voltblochers-39837p1.html
, a few changes:
- the signal from the BMS to the AC relay (into the charger) should use the FLT signal (not HLIM) - this is a backup safety feature only - the other wire from the BMS to the charger (REG bus) should reduce the charger output when it nears a full charge - the charger is turned on/off with this signal, but Elithion says the Manzanita charger does not always seem to behave and they recommend a separate AC relay in case the charger stays on (to avoid over-charging).

The resistor setup described in the 2nd post above seems to let the BMS slow down the charger to a safe shunting level, whenever it detects a cell that has a high votlage - this is much better than the on/off method and relying on the charger's charging curve (based on the total pack voltage) to reduce the charging current. I think if a pack was heavily unbalanced than the on/off method (without using the resistor setup) could result in a high charging current when one of the cells in the pack is at its limit, and could possibly swamp the shunting...

I will post an update to the wiring diagram (with these details) once the dust settles...


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## Dave Koller (Nov 15, 2008)

gdirwin said:


> Has anyone else cut into the HEPA pedal wiring to disconnect the throttle if the clutch is pushed or if the car is in neutral?


I put up my relay part of the PCB board (last page of my PCM thread) - and YES it does as you are - and can be changed to suit... nothing fancy.. I like the idea of protecting the motor anyway I can...

It is not a HEPA pedal BUT I too like to cut things off with the clutch,brake , and neutral....


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