Plug Arrangement - finished

A quick post.

Just finished off the plug recepticle, covered the hole where the petrol filler used to be. Quite neat with plenty of room.

Plug arrangement

This is NOT the inlet (left)! I've been mulling over the plug arrangement for some time now. A lot of EV's use a caravan type plug/socket, similar to the one to the left. In fact I bought this one for the job. This inlet has an IP32 rating for weather protection, it's not waterproof but the socket is angled downwards to let water run off it instead of into it. This is why it must be fitted vertically. Unfortunately the area at the back of the petrol fill recess doesn't have a flat surface and there's not much room.

To add to things I need a 15amp inlet due to the traction pack (160Ah needs a bigger charger hence 15A instead of 10A). I reckon I've found an elegant solution to my dilemma.

This is what I found at Jaycar's, it has a 16A rating, compact and solidly connected. It even has a locking tab so the plug cannot fall out of the socket. The Jaycar catalogue numbers are:
IEC panel mount male plug 16A - Cat PP-4182 ($6.95)
IEC locking mains lead (2mtr) 16A - Cat No PS-4180 ($22.95)
or if you need 10A
IEC panel mount male plug 10A - Cat No PP-4174 ($4.95)
IEC locking mains lead (2mtr) 10A - Cat No PS-4170 (16.95)

The plug/lead is 2 meters long, I will chop off the 3 pin plug and fit a new one that has a watertight rating, this I will plug into a long extension lead that has a watertight socket.

Looking at the photo on the left you can see that it is angled downwards and fully recessed there is no way water can ingress unless you hit it with a hose! If it wasn't for the lead I could shut the flap, if I could notch the flap without damaging the paint I would have the flap shut while charging. I know, what about the limit switch for the flap to show that it is charging? I am looking at having a relay powered by the plug that will lock out the 'start' circuit. Next I have to fit a plate to cover the holes where the old petrol filler used to be.

Greenfest

Last weekend Brisbane had 'Greenfest' a three day festival. All sorts of environmental and energy friendly stuff but due to other commitments I could only pop into Greenfest for about half an hour. Saw the only TESLA in Australia which sure looks good (in that untouchable drooling sort of way!).

Also had a look at a 1994 Suzuki hatch that was put together by SuziAuto from Springwood (Brisbane, Queensland). They have on offer to the public converted Suzuki's for a reasonable price (considering for a pro shop), they'll even convert your own car just have a yak to them and discuss what you've got. They're passionate about Suzi's (converted or not) and are friendly sort of blokes. I reckon it's great to see somebody doing something about offering EV's to the public now with a real product instead of just talking about it. Good on ya blokes (and blokessess too), now where is that government assistance?

Thought I'd take another photo as the X7 is now, I do love the wheels. Has a front windscreen now but yet to install the surround (nothing to do about conversions just RX7 restoration stuff).

Change web address

I'm changing the address to www.electric-rx7.blogspot.com as this will make it easier for people interested in EV conversions to find.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

Brett