I'm an experienced electronics tech, but new to EVs. Recently I bought a 1991 MR2 conversion with a 196V system. The batteries are Optima YTs of 1999 vintage. My controller is a Griz and the motor is an Advanced DC. The charger is a Manzanita with a home-brew regulator box set to bypass current around any battery showing more than 14.8 volts. The previous owner claimed a 45 mile max range, I'd be happy if it could make 25 miles. Sadly, the batteries in their present state are pretty much dead at 9 miles. My experience has been that the car cannot even get me to work (~10 miles freeway 750' higher elevation than my home). This is NOT what I had in mind, nor even plausibly related to what the previous owner claimed. The pack is only capable of providing 20-22 Ah or so before getting really soft. At that time, if I put a 2A load on the bank, three of them dip to about 5-8V while the others are around 10.5V. In a 5A static load test, similar voltages appear at the 4.5 hour mark. Is this typical aging YT behavior, or is my pack limp for some other (possibly correctable) reason? If it really is dying this soon, what would I have to do to get the range I want out of a longer lived battery technology (Evercel, etc)? My whole point in driving an EV is to be less polluting. Generating a pallet of dead batteries every 3 years is out of the question! BTW, there are batteries in the tunnel, so sealed technology is a requirement. At least conventional LA is out.
Thanks, Andrew __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com
