# Help me!



## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

oldboy1 said:


> I don't have any electric experience, so me looking at the numbers from a volt metter does very little...
> please help..


Where'd you get the car? What voltage is the meter reading across the controller?


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

my friend gave me the car before he moved away.
and I'm poking the voltage meter everywhere on the controller and I still seem to be reading 0 volts.

Do you have any idea what's wrong


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## Nathan219 (May 18, 2010)

Where are you located this will probably need to be a hands on project.


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## Roy Von Rogers (Mar 21, 2009)

See if it has a manual disconnect somewhere
Or a main fuse

Roy


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Disclaimer: I don't think a typical person should be driving a typical EV conversion. They're great when you DIY, but when otherwise obtained there is far too much that a third party can't easily understand. There are just too many quirks or potential issues to deal with. You should not try to operate a vehicle unless you know how to do so safely.

That said, a typical EV has an On\Off switch called a contactor. This is powered by the 12V auxilliary system and connects the high voltage traction system to the motor controller, which allows it to drive the motor. 

You should be able to see ~72V between the battery side of the contactor (positive cable going to battery pack) and the negative cable going to the battery pack. If you do not see this, the batteries are not connected properly, or there is a blown fuse or other disconnect in the circuit.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y263/brute666/car/IMG_4780.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y263/brute666/car/IMG_4781.jpg

here is the picture of the engine area...
Can you please point out which one is the contactor of the main fuse?

Thank you!


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Contactor is the white round thing on the top left.

You should have ~72V between the left cable on that and the one below, which is the negative cable from the battery pack.


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

See your picture below, annotated.

You should measure something close to 72V across the points labeled with the red + and -

The workmanship of the wiring leaves a lot to be desired. Fuses aren't meant to be stressed members and lead battery terminals aren't meant to be general purpose terminal lugs.

I agree with Ziggythewiz in that you ought to have a good understanding of EVs if you are to own one (much less convert one) - even the best built EVs aren't "OEM" vehicles that you just check the belts and tire pressures on every few months.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y263/brute666/car/P1010532.jpg

Here's a picture of the fuse.

I tried putting the volt meter to the contactor and fuse;
the volt meter read 0 volts 

I put the key in the ignition, and "turned it on" and read the volt meter then and still... nothin'.

I'm sure the batteries are connected properly, but I'll check again.
So would that mean that there's a disconnect in the circuit?

Thank you.


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## frodus (Apr 12, 2008)

Is your voltmeter set on DC

Did you Put the black lead of the meter on the left side of the fuse in the picture Tesserect posted and the red lead of the meter on the left terminal of the contactor? It has to be exactly those points as he shows.

If you measure the terminals of the contactor, you'll get nothing. If you measure across the fuse, you'll get nothing.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Do the measurement as frodus says with the ignition OFF. It should not affect this reading. You don't need to be turning anything on until you know how many volts you have going where.

If you don't see volts between the labeled spots, start with one battery and measure from one post to the other, see if you get ~12V. Then try from the negative post on one, to the positive the next and see if you get ~24. Keep testing whatever is in reach until you get to the other ends of the cables in the picture, or you read 0 volts between two parts of the circuit.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

I used the volt meter at the fuse and contractor and read74.6 volts. 
Thanks for the tip! 
So now,
What else can be wrong with it?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

From the pic your fuse looks good, but let's check it anyway.

I've added some numbered points to your earlier pic, and posted.

You measured 74V from 1 - 5 with car off. You should get the same reading from 1-6, if not, fuse is bad.

With car off, you should be reading 0V from 2 - 5
With car on, you should read 74V from 2 - 5

If you don't get that, then follow the little wires 3 and 4 to whatever they're hooked to. One should go to the car's ground (-12V), and the other should go to a power wire that is on when the car is on (+12V).

So 3 - 4 should read 0V with the car off, and 12V with the car on.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

Based on the picture you showed me, I got the following:
Points 1-5: 74 volts
Points 1-6: 74 volts
Points 2-5(car off): 0 volts
Points 2-5(car on): 0 volts
Points 3-4(car off): 0.9 volts
Points 3-4(car on): 1.5 volts

I hope I followed the wires (point 3 and 4) to the right points!
What do you guys think this means?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Is your ACC batt reading 12+ V?

Usually reading voltage that shouldn't be there or much less than should be there indicates a short somewhere. Check for exposed wires touching the frame or anything touching the frame.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

All the batties i checked were indeed well of 12 volts.
As for exposed wires, I don't think I saw anything...
and the only wire that really touches the car was the ground wire.

Any other thoughts :/


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## dladd (Jun 1, 2011)

something weird is going on with wires 3 and 4 (the 12v contactor leads). Where do they hook up to? Can you take a picture of the 12v accessory battery? 3-4 should be 0v with ignition off, and 12+v with it on. These leads are what turn on the contactor (and connect the main battery pack to the controller) when the ignition is turned on.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

oldboy1 said:


> All the batties i checked were indeed well of 12 volts.


Your ACC battery is probably under the right rear passenger seat, though it might be somewhere else if you noticed any battery that is not connected to the others/has much smaller cables coming off it.

You should be able to check ACC voltage without having to get to the battery though. One way is to put your negative meter lead on an exposed bolt or other frame part and the pos lead on about the 4th or 5th fuse from the right under the dash near the steering wheel. One of those is always +12V and I think the first several are +12V when the car is turned on.


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## oldboy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

Sorry for the forum hiatus!

So I've been looking in the car and I don't know where to look for the accessory battery...

All the batteries in the car are 12 volt batteries O_O


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Are the heater channels still connected? If not, you can look under the right side of the rear bench seat and there will be a hole where the heater channel connected (if the divider is there, if not it's wide open). Shine a flashlight under there and see if you see a battery under the seat. If not, check the other side.

The ACC wil be 12V (well, I suppose some model years were 6v...). In mine it is the same size as all the others, but it will likely be smaller, and have smaller cables as it only needs to put out about 30 amps or less. The negative cable will be connected to a ground post on the frame, and the positive cable will go to a voltage regulator or a bundle of chassis wiring.

It normally looks something like this (with rear seat removed).


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## mizlplix (May 1, 2011)

Question 1....Did you ever see the car drive? Was it running at one time?

The pot has no micro switch, so the key switch should turn on the contactor.
Have someone turn on and off the key. Does the contactor click?

If it does not, then you need to check for a blown fuse somewhere in the dashboard area. the one supplying power to the contactor from the key switch.

If it does... then with the key on, check from the motor pack minus terminal to the controller positive terminal. If you have power, then the controller is not working.

The pot needs current to it when the key is on. 12VDC or 24 VDC. 

This can get longer and longer. Best to get someone on the phone to walk you through it...Maybe?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

been a while, but..... the fuses are under the dash board near your left knee or are in the front trunk about the same place and are known to corrode if left sitting. Power from the key should be routed through I think the 2nd fuse from the passenger side and it has a big red wire with a white trace.The fuse should be white-ish in color but everybody replaced them with a red or brown fuse. Un hook the battery under the seat and Take out all the fuses one at a time and clean them with something, perhaps scotchbrite. Clean the fuseholder tabs also until everything is shiny brite.

If you don't have a battery then look for a box with a fan on it. See if the fan works with the key on.


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