Battery box exposed
Remove the red clip that holds the battery breaker in the ON position. Then push the breaker in the OFF position.
The battery box had a 'visitor' to the right
Removing the aluminum beam behind the seats
Remove the bolt holding the ductwork. Pull the ductwork towards the passenger seat to access the battery bolt,
Now remove the four bolts holding the battery. Two in front and two at rear.
Detail showing zip tie about to secure trickle charge electrical cord.
Battery trickle charge tap points, showing plus and minus connections.
Another shot showing cable secured to battery case.
Routing of trickle charge cable. Battery weighs close to 70 pounds or so.
Battery box preparation with externally mounted connector, and in-line fuses.
Fuses mounted inside battery box.
Trickle charge connector located at battery, in case it needs to be removed again for maintenance.
Cable running from battery to fuses.
Trickle charger attached to outside world. Also sealed fan housing with black silicone cement.
Battery being charged at 151.7 volts and 157.6 mA, using full wave bridge and Variac. This setup needs more attention than constant current setup.
The Variac proved problematic in the winter with wet salt on the car's tires. The Variac does not provide isolation protection from ground loops and so another charging option needed to be pursued. Mike Dabrowski had previously developed/designed a very nice charger circuit using Meanwell power supplies is series with each other. The schematic at 99mpg.com has the details.
Here is a closeup of the wiring between the three constant voltage chargers.
And here is the completed charger, along with a mounting cabinet for protection. The red/black wires are for plugging in a voltmeter to monitor the charging process.
The grid charger was modified again this year to make it easier to grid charge the battery each night. Two outlet strips were added to allow turning on the 12 volt supply to the BCM first, then the HV voltage supply. A voltmeter is permanently attached to allow monitoring voltage if needed.
The voltmeter is also powered by a voltage tap on the 12 volt power supply, so no batteries are needed in the voltmeter.
