[DRIVING] 1974 Ford Capri + GS450H

[CapriV]

Progress has been decent.

Wheels are turning



I have 2 issues.

1, its incredibly jerky but I still gotta play around with throttle parameters.

2, the HVreq doesn't work when it receives 12v, so I cant charge. It should simply go through the sequence of initiating precharge and close all the contactors? Is there some parameter that might be inhibiting the HVreq from activating.
Or is there another way to get the contactors to close to allow charging?

[tom91]

post Params if you want help also post what firmware version you are on.

[CapriV]

Hi. Got the low speed judder sorted out. I was going the wrong way with some parameters.

Only way to get it to charge is to put it in run mode and plug in the charger.

Screen grabs of parameters

zv 7.png (11.42 KiB) Viewed 1143 times

[tom91]

Software version?

[tom91]

Only way to get it to charge is to put it in run mode and plug in the charger.

No shit sherlock. You did not configure any charging interface or charger.

[CapriV]

2.20a

Haha, ya, so the zombie has little to do with controlling charging.
The Thunderstuck MCU looks after charging via CAN
I just need the HVreq to work to close contactors for charging.
Totally under the impression I just have to send 12v to the hvreq pin.
Sorry for the dumb query.

[tom91]

Totally under the impression I just have to send 12v to the hvreq pin.

If you configure the zombie to utilize that kind of charging and assign that function to the pin.

[CapriV]

Ok. Its working now. Thanks

[CapriV]

She is driving!

Did 75 km yesterday before I chickened out and went home.

Looks like i'm getting around 5.3 KM per kwh, although my rev limit was at 6000 rom so top speed was 88kph


I have a few stupid Qs though-

This setting will slow down the rate at which potnom can ramp up... ?
So if you floor it , it will get to the actual throttle position slower?
1 being a slow ramp rate and 100 being fastest?

image.png (4.69 KiB) Viewed 1029 times

What exactly does this setting do?
I'm not understanding the description... sorry...

image.png (9.67 KiB) Viewed 1029 times

Thanks to everyone who helped along the way.

[tom91]

This setting will slow down the rate at which potnom can ramp up... ?

Yes, it is a floating value so you can have it from 0.1 to 100. Currently a fix in the pipeline to improve throttle smoothness more.

What exactly does this setting do?

Limit the speed change allowed for the throttle position mapping (regen is speed dependent under a certain rpm, this again is a param you can change). Filters out massive speed influxes caused by faulty comms. The GS450h has erratic speed reporting for some users.

[kortina]

Thanks for the writeup and video, all very encouraging. I have dreams for a GS450H in a small car too. I think I have watched every youtube video.

From the photos, it looks like you used just 2 modules in the front.

Could you describe your battery layout?
What sort of protection did you use with the split of modules between front and back?
Do you need to be concerned about the diff ratio? (4.44 LSD, with 15x7 wheels)

[CapriV]

Hey thanks!
I have 4 a123 modules in 2 pairs. One up front and one in the back.
Wiring was quite simple. I don't know a massive amount about electrics so ive done what I feel is acceptable but not posting specs about wire gauge etc incase folks copy my ignorance. I have contactors and fuses in both boxes. I feel its a safe setup.
I have a 3.73 diff and my rev limit is set at 12k and I haven't hit that limit and I am getting 120kph.
First runs my rev limit was at 6k. And I was getting 88kph at that rev limit.
I think I have plenty of speed.
As the car is so quiet now ive pulled the rear end for a rebuild as its clunky and I had the 1 piece drive adapted into a 2 piece to try and alleviate the vibrations.
My battery setup all hinged around the Thunderstuck MCU.
Their system was incredibly easy to implement and make work with those a123 batts.
Poor Kelan at Thunderstuck must 100+ emails from me asking really dumb Qs
Hopefully ill get some decent miles on this before the snow arrives.

[CapriV]

Playing about with the regen. Currently just using the brake pedal regen.
The presets for regen were crazy. thing pretty much went full blast out of the gate when the brake was applied. wowzers lol...

got it behaving a little better now.

Listen to that oil pump go!!

[kortina]

Hey thanks!
I have 4 a123 modules in 2 pairs. One up front and one in the back.
Wiring was quite simple. I don't know a massive amount about electrics so ive done what I feel is acceptable but not posting specs about wire gauge etc incase folks copy my ignorance. I have contactors and fuses in both boxes. I feel its a safe setup.
I have a 3.73 diff and my rev limit is set at 12k and I haven't hit that limit and I am getting 120kph.
First runs my rev limit was at 6k. And I was getting 88kph at that rev limit.
I think I have plenty of speed.
As the car is so quiet now ive pulled the rear end for a rebuild as its clunky and I had the 1 piece drive adapted into a 2 piece to try and alleviate the vibrations.
My battery setup all hinged around the Thunderstuck MCU.
Their system was incredibly easy to implement and make work with those a123 batts.
Poor Kelan at Thunderstuck must 100+ emails from me asking really dumb Qs
Hopefully ill get some decent miles on this before the snow arrives.

I am based in Australia, so not sure if the a123 modules are really viable for me
There is limited info on battery building, I guess for good reason. The a123 modules look like a great simple DIY form factor, will need to take measurements to see if they fit.

I would like to have 4 modules in the front, and 4 in the boot. This would give about 40kwh of storage.

My only concern of going small/light is that with the GS450h being able to pull 250kw, the load on 4 modules could be very significant. Not sure if the internal BMS would limit the draw or cut power?

Did you restrict the ability for the GS450h to a certain amp limit?
or are you just regulating the amps with your right foot?

How would you say the performance compares to the Rover V8?

[CapriV]

I am based in Australia, so not sure if the a123 modules are really viable for me
There is limited info on battery building, I guess for good reason. The a123 modules look like a great simple DIY form factor, will need to take measurements to see if they fit.

I would like to have 4 modules in the front, and 4 in the boot. This would give about 40kwh of storage.

My only concern of going small/light is that with the GS450h being able to pull 250kw, the load on 4 modules could be very significant. Not sure if the internal BMS would limit the draw or cut power?

Did you restrict the ability for the GS450h to a certain amp limit?
or are you just regulating the amps with your right foot?

How would you say the performance compares to the Rover V8?

Yeah shipping might be a problem, but they are so cheap.....
Thats a lot of weight, each one weighs 100 pounds, I couldnt fit any more than 4 into the car.
Maybe I could have squeezed 5 in there but wanted to make the boxes easy to get in and out.

With cooling these batterries can handle crazy discharge.. Their official docs mention 9C, that seems crazy though.
So far I haven't hit a Low Voltage Cutout warning but I haven't done enough driving. Drive shaft and rear end are out for a complete overhaul.
No restrictions set, yet.

Never driven a rover v8, this car was twincharged before this conversion.. 40psi of boost, crazy power.
But I didn't build this for performance. It was built to see if I could do it lol... Its does move very well though.

[CapriV]

Car is parked away for winter now..

I really enjoyed this car this summer.. It seen more miles this year than it has for the previous 3 combined!

Do have some slow speed clunking and some sort of intermittent acceleration when the weather got colder.. Cant seem to get logs to works to try and diagnose anything.. Logs either dont record or when they do they have no data in them... But, that aside.. Its a fun car.

Here's a collection of pics from my phone in video format if ya wanna see...




Thanks to all for the help along the way.

[ianlighting]

Very nice. BratIndustries started a thread some time back for people to stick final best beauty shots of their cars. If you find it, yours would be a great addition.

[CapriV]

I will seek it out! Thanks!