Electric Go Kart Story – Part 3
When The Rubber Hits The Ground
Part 2 – Taking action – modifying an electric starter motor discussed what I had to do to get my go kart in a position so that it could drive under it’s own power, instead of having someone push me or looking for a hill to coast down.
Here is part 3 of my Electric Go Kart Story, when the rubber hits the ground. Here, I will discuss what other problems I faced when doing my Electric Go Kart conversion and what had to be done to overcome these problems. When faced with problems, it is important not to give up and I will emphasize this point.
Saturday 26 March 2011
I had a fully charged battery and with the rear wheels in the air, I made sure that the Electric Go Kart was working. The wheels were turning so now it was time to try it with the Electric Go Kart on the ground. I tried it by standing next to the Electric Go Kart and pressing the button that activates the motor. I momentarily pressed the button of the solenoid switch and the Electric Go Kart moved on it’s own. So far so good. The next step was to sit in the Electric Go Kart and momentarily press the button. I momentarily pressed the button and the chain came off and the mount for the Electric Motor was bent. That killed off any excitement I was previously experiencing up to that point. It was bent quite a bit. I looked at it and decided to look at it another time.
Sunday 27 March 2011
I had a friend come round who is a motor mechanic and was interested in looking at my Electric Go Kart. He was very keen to look at it and was very keen to see it go. When he saw it, he bent the Electric Motor mount into position and aligned the chain properly. We then put some reinforcements in place and gave it a small test run moving a around a foot (0.3 meters). You can see this in the video below.
My friend wanted to take it for drive in the real world so we brought it outside. I cut off the excess angle iron that was used as an Electric Motor mount. It was taken for a series of drives as we kept encountering little problems with the drive train and mounting. The Electric Go Kart went OK for a few yards as can be seen in the video below. The video below is a collection of videos where the Electric Go Kart was driven before the chain fell off. It should be noted that this chain falling off problem was later rectified and will be discussed later on, but I felt it was important to discuss the problems I faced as when you do your Electric Car Conversion, you are bound to face problems. The key to success is how you overcome the problems and not giving up. Also, many of the problems you face, others have faced so you can learn from how others have overcome their problems.
However, with the chain coming out as the Electric Motor mount kept flexing, more reinforcement was required to prevent the mount from flexing. In the video below, you can see how the chain flops off.
Lessons Learnt: With your Electric Car Conversion, ensure your Electric Motor is mounted appropriately and that your mount does not bend. Ensure all nuts and bolts are tightened correctly. Also, when faced with problems, never give up. When doing anything worthwhile, you will face problems and obstacles that you need to overcome.
Later on, the snap ring that held the sprocket on the Electric Motor came off. In fact, it came off on 2 occasions. This caused the sprocket to fall off, bringing the chain with it. The second time, the snap ring fell off, we could not find it. My friend suggested I use a circlip instead of a snap ring. That was something I would get later on. He then put the chain and sprocket back into position and aligned the Electric Motor so that the chain would be properly aligned. All I had to do was add reinforcements to the Electric Motor mount and tension the chain.
Lessons Learnt: With your Electric Car Conversion, ensure your Electric Motor is aligned with your transmission and anything attached to the output shaft of the Electric Motor is securely fastened.
Part 4 – Extra parts added to electric go kart – adding a touch of professionalism discusses extra parts added to the Electric Go Kart.
Kind Regards
Crazy Al
Check out the other parts to the Electric Go Kart Story:
Part 1 – What Inspired Me To Do An Electric Go Kart Conversion
Part 2 – Taking Action – Modifying An Electric Starter Motor
Part 3 – When The Rubber Hits The Ground
Part 4 -Extra Parts Added To Electric Go Kart – Adding A Touch Of Professionalism
Part 5 – Replacing Electrical Switches & Electric Motor
Part 6 – Building A Motor Controller For Electric Go Kart
Part 7 – What I’m Looking For When Upgrading The Motor Controller On The Electric Go Kart
