Mike Scott wrote:
I have 20 CALB cells mounted in the front trunk (ex gas tank location) and 30 in the (middle) engine compartment, inverter is in the rear trunk. I have the most positive in the front, running through a shunt and a 500A Kilovac contactor to the controller. The most positive wire is where I had the single Airpax before, mounted in the classic EA kick panel position. That has been re-done with a direct wire to the controller input. I've been working on putting a series pair of the breakers in the motor compartment to act as a service disconnect between the two 15 cell boxes on either side of the motor.
It's a little hard to picture your layout. It sounds like you have 3 battery boxes; 1 in front, and 2 in back (one on each side of the motor). In this situation, you should have a fuse or breaker or contactor for each box. This device is to interrupt the current in case the two wires coming from that box somehow short.
The wiring betwee the battery boxes, controller, and other equipment should be done like electricians wire the 120vac and 240vac circuits in a house or business. Parts are in metal boxes, or UL listed fireproof nonmetallic boxes. The wiring between them is double insulated, so even if one layer fails the other can still maintain isolation. It should not be possible to directly touch the wire or the insulation directly on it without using a tool to get something apart.
Imagine a little kid looking over your car, or a pet chewing on the wires because they look interesting.
I have two of the EA fuses (LKN 250V, 250A times 2, stamped "For 500A use 2")
Just the naked fuse links, or the links inside their special RLN holders? The LKN is an old AC-only fuse link, that was intended to only be used inside a fuse body that contains the melted metal when it blows. LKNs are no longer legal due to fires and other disasters resulting from improper use.
I found some 150A Kilovac contactors cheap, so I will set them up to disconnect the charger unless plugged into an AC source and also to disconnect the DC-DC when charging.
150a Kilovacs are overkill; but will work.
One question, is it overkill to put another contactor on the most negative lead to the controller? I was thinking of having the battery pack completely disconnected from everything while charging, well, everything but the shunts for the E-Meter and the ammeter.
This is done sometimes as a service or maintenance disconnect, or if you're using a non-isolated charger so you don't have stress from the AC line getting into your motor or controller while charging.
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