Full throttle Electric Supercharger Build Thread

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

What battery tray are you using?
I still use the original 1.5 tray with the Powersonic batteries. About 40 bucks apiece.

Wow! I gotta check that out. I put a larger tray in but still have the original if I need it.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

What battery tray are you using?
I still use the original 1.5 tray with the Powersonic batteries. About 40 bucks apiece.

Can you give me the model #? There are lots of Powersoncs and not sure which is right.

[WNDSRFR]

For the PowerSonics I use PSH-12180NB-FR for the big batteries. Two for boost and one for the starter battery.
And PS-1290F2 for the small batteries. Two for boost.
But I've also used SigmasTek SP12-18 for the big batteries and SP12-9 for the small ones. Or MightyMax ML 18-12 for the big batteries.

I've had my kit for a long time, so I've been through many batteries. I usually get them from Amazon. All the small batteries are the same 12 volt 9 amp/hours. The PSH-12180NB-FR is 12 volt 21 amp/hour. The other big batteries are 12 volt 18 amp/hour. I haven't really noticed any difference between the two. It still has plenty enough power to start the car (in Florida).
If I lived up north I'd use the 21 amp for the starter battery.

Hooking up the 1.5 pack is a lot trickier and more dangerous than the later kits. But the batteries are a lot cheaper.

Make sure you have the 1.5 tray before you order any of these. The 1.5 tray has the slide-on tabs on the top hold down block for smaller batteries. And you need to tape the two small batteries end to end.

You might have the "original tray" but the 1.5 is the very first attempt. Rob modified the tray to use more user friendly batteries after maybe the tenth kit sold.

I can take pictures if you want.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

For the PowerSonics I use PSH-12180NB-FR for the big batteries. Two for boost and one for the starter battery.
And PS-1290F2 for the small batteries. Two for boost.
But I've also used SigmasTek SP12-18 for the big batteries and SP12-9 for the small ones. Or MightyMax ML 18-12 for the big batteries.

I've had my kit for a long time, so I've been through many batteries. I usually get them from Amazon. All the small batteries are the same 12 volt 9 amp/hours. The PSH-12180NB-FR is 12 volt 21 amp/hour. The other big batteries are 12 volt 18 amp/hour. I haven't really noticed any difference between the two. It still has plenty enough power to start the car (in Florida).
If I lived up north I'd use the 21 amp for the starter battery.

Hooking up the 1.5 pack is a lot trickier and more dangerous than the later kits. But the batteries are a lot cheaper.

Make sure you have the 1.5 tray before you order any of these. The 1.5 tray has the slide-on tabs on the top hold down block for smaller batteries. And you need to tape the two small batteries end to end.

You might have the "original tray" but the 1.5 is the very first attempt. Rob modified the tray to use more user friendly batteries after maybe the tenth kit sold.

I can take pictures if you want.

You apparently have the earlier 5-battery setup. My version is 2.5 and I'm running 3 batteries. A PC680 for starter and two ETX16Ls for dump. If I can find suitable Powersonics to replace the 16Ls I would be OK with the battery tray I have now, if the dimensions are similar. There's about 1.5 inches of empty tray now but the hold-down clamps keep it all secure. The 16Ls are "6.13 high but it looks like the Powersources are all a lot shorter, which could create some problems. I hope that unhooking the large and small connectors from the controller will allow me to switch them out without much danger, but I'm still concerned. I suppose unhooking the negative terminal from the whole assembly would be a good idea as well. I also want to hard wire a trickle charger to the starter battery but I'm not sure how those two small wires from the + and - terminals to the controller would be affected. I'm not sure what they do. That's why I haven't done it yet. Some pics might help. Thanks.

[WNDSRFR]

The main difference between the 1.5 and 2.5, besides the size, is the terminals on the battery. My big batteries have a through hole terminal about #10 size. I have to drill them out to make them fit the harness. The small batteries have a slide on tab. I suppose you could rig something up to use the big batteries but it would be a pita. You would probably be better off to just replace the batteries you have. Or try to find a 1.5 tray.

Looks like with the 2.5 setup you only have 19 amp/hr@24 volts for boost.
The 1.5 gives you 27 amp/hr minimum.

And yeah, whenever you change the batteries, disconnect the negative first.
Then disconnect the controller wiring. You might even want to tape up your wrench with electrical tape. I've shot some pretty impressive arcs more than once.

Good luck.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

The main difference between the 1.5 and 2.5, besides the size, is the terminals on the battery. My big batteries have a through hole terminal about #10 size. I have to drill them out to make them fit the harness. The small batteries have a slide on tab. I suppose you could rig something up to use the big batteries but it would be a pita. You would probably be better off to just replace the batteries you have. Or try to find a 1.5 tray.

Looks like with the 2.5 setup you only have 19 amp/hr@24 volts for boost.
The 1.5 gives you 27 amp/hr minimum.

And yeah, whenever you change the batteries, disconnect the negative first.
Then disconnect the controller wiring. You might even want to tape up your wrench with electrical tape. I've shot some pretty impressive arcs more than once.

Good luck.

Again, very good advice. I think I'll order two ETX16Ls today. $117 ea at Battery Mart.

[Qwimby1]

It was the batteries. I put two new ones in today and it works fine again. I hope to take it out after dark when I can read the meter to see what the voltage is doing. I don't think that solenoid tubing is leaking, but I'll probably go after it one of these days just to be safe. Looks like the best method is to unbolt it from the rear and push it out the front for access.

[l0aded]

This might be a long shot but does anyone have an extra wiring harness they'd be willing to sell? This is the harness that plugs into the controller (6 colorful wires) and into the original foot pedal/on-off switch. It is basically two aux cables the eventually merge into a 6 wire plug.

I took my car to the dealership for the valve spring recall and they messed up the cable management and one of my wires was resting on metal and it partially melted.

Harness image1 and image2


The other option would be to cut and solder this part. Is the wire just 3 smaller wires underneath the black rubber?

edit: bought a kit and gonna try to solder this tomorrow as plan A.

[Qwimby1]

I want to hard-wire one to my starter battery but I'm concerned about those two small wires running from the + and - posts to the controller. I don't know if they send or receive current, and what might happen if they receive the charge. I think it's more likely they receive current, but I can't be sure. They would also be receiving the charge with the ignition off and that's another unknown. Do any wiring diagrams for these things exist? Mine is version 2.5.

I want to put an OBD reader on it, and though it sleeps, it still pulls a little current so will probably need a trickle charger. Has anyone done this and gotten away with it?

[WNDSRFR]

Just hook it up the way you normally would. Connect the - charger lead to the - terminal and the + charger lead to the + terminal. Your starter battery will remain charged along with the ECS batteries.
The way the batteries are connected is they are all connected in parallel to the alternator (12 v) to charge them all. The ESC batteries are connected in series (24 v) for the blower.

Unfortunately you got your ESC running at about the worst time possible.

The price of gas is now $5.50 and the temperature is over 90 degrees. You'll notice that the ESC works much better in cooler temps.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

Just hook it up the way you normally would. Connect the - charger lead to the - terminal and the + charger lead to the + terminal. Your starter battery will remain charged along with the ECS batteries.
The way the batteries are connected is they are all connected in parallel to the alternator (12 v) to charge them all. The ESC batteries are connected in series (24 v) for the blower.

Unfortunately you got your ESC running at about the worst time possible.

The price of gas is now $5.50 and the temperature is over 90 degrees. You'll notice that the ESC works much better in cooler temps.

Hey thanks for that. I've had several turbo cars and know how much difference heat can make. I took it out last night so I could see the volt meter. It holds at 28.3 or 28.4 and dropped to about 20 after I got on the throttle a few times. It gave good boost every time I hit it. Took several minutes to get back to 28.3 though. I hope that's normal.

[Qwimby1]

A normal supercharger produces linear boost, but the ESC is switch-on, switch-off. It seems to me that it requires a bit different driving technique. That's the way I've approached it so far. Seems like dumping full boost (albeit only 5') on a slow-revving engine could put a lot of stress on the internals. Of course it doesn't take long to reach 3k and up, so I've been metering the throttle till it spools up. Does this make sense, or am I off base?

[Teseo]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

A normal supercharger produces linear boost, but the ESC is switch-on, switch-off. It seems to me that it requires a bit different driving technique. That's the way I've approached it so far. Seems like dumping full boost (albeit only 5') on a slow-revving engine could put a lot of stress on the internals. Of course it doesn't take long to reach 3k and up, so I've been metering the throttle till it spools up. Does this make sense, or am I off base?

Best is dyno the car before ESC, then proceed to make it a full (turn on as you refer) on that dip area to "feel" the difference.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by Teseo

Best is dyno the car before ESC, then proceed to make it a full (turn on as you refer) on that dip area to "feel" the difference.

I'm not concerned about power output here. My concern is about possible stressing of engine internals by going to a high boost (again albeit only 5 pounds) at low RPMs. If you floor it off the line with the ESC, you're producing maximum boost from about 1500 RPM. Seems to me that's not a good idea but I welcome other opinions.