Re: CommutaCar Wiring

[Lee Hart <leeahart@earthlink.net>]

Tim Dunning wrote:
> I've been following the CommutaCar discussion avidly since I am
> (attempting) to prepare one for service.  My most serious difficulty
> is the brakes - the wheel cylinders were damaged from long storage
> and I have not been able to find new ones.

I found the brakes on my ComutaVan to be completely ordinary Bendix
trailer brakes, available new at Northern Tool for about the same cost
as a rebuild kit for an ordinary car.

> I am upgrading the traction power wiring from #1 to 2/0 but noticed
> that the existing  negative pack cable is #2 instead of #1, and is
> labeled as such on the wiring schematic: "#2 SAE 105degrees".

The stock wiring was for a contactor controller, which has no current
limit. To (slightly) reduce the risk of burning out the motor, they
deliberately used undersized wire to limit the current (and also save
money, the cheapskates :-)

If you have an electronic controller with current limiting, it is an
excellent idea to increase the wire size. This will increase efficiency
and reliability.
-- 
Lee A. Hart                Ring the bells that still can ring
814 8th Ave. N.            Forget your perfect offering
Sartell, MN 56377 USA      There is a crack in everything
leeahart_at_earthlink.net  That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen