* Four more batteries needed - this cannot be stressed enough. the storage capacity of the existing battery pack will not last for an entire parade. Demonstations will be in jeopardy of failure if additional capacity is not procured soon. Ultiimately, the existing batteries will become weaker due to excessive drain on their capacity.

*Relocating the Commutator Board on the Motor to the Main Circuit Board - The commutator board on the backside of the permanent magnet motor is the weak-link in the drive-train. It can handle no more than 48V (See Large capacitor rating), it is not sturdy enough to handle the unsprung vibrations of the road, and the road debris, moisture, etc. is almost certain to cause problems during long-term usage. So relocate the commutator and save yourself a whole lot of grief. Though some groveling and “creative funding we managed to procure a replacement commutator board and an additional spare, since the currently used motor has been deemed obsolete by the manufacturer and will not be supported in the future.

* Install some instrumentation - The “U-Factor” is in the process of break-in. The motor has very few cycles/hours on it and the electronics have only been cycled to operating temperature a few times since start-up. Please do not run the car for all its worth until you have some feedback from the car as to what it is doing. That would be like driving a car without an oil light of temperature gauge. Give the car a break-in time of at least the fall semester. In the meantime, get some minimum instrumentation on the vehicle to monitor at least the output current of the motor controller and solar arrays if possible. Battery voltage, Controller temperature, Throttle Percentage, are also possible through the use of the programming port on the motor controller. See the Solar Car’s computer Desktop folder labeled “Rich’s Office” for more info on the serial communication protocol for the AXE4844 (labeled - MotorSpecs.doc). A meter for measuring Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) performance is also available from the manufacturer of the MPPT. Check out the manual for the MPPT in the same Desktop folder. Information feedback and knowing what’s going on in the electrical subsystem is extremely important in the development process of a sucessful solar car program.

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