Thursday, October 22, 2009

Obviously Oblivious

Ok, so I have been having problems with my new brakes, specifically a VERY squishy pedal. I have bled the brakes twice, checked the fluid, readjusted the pades and shoes and still nothing seemed to help. The weather hasn't really been cooperating, so I decided I was going to bring it down to the local Goodyear dealer this morning and let them have at it.

A couple hours later I get a call saying that everything was mechanically sound, it just needed more vacuum!!! I never even thought about the vacuum!!! So I went to pick it up and just cranked up the vacuum and drove it home. Man, what a difference. I just finished cranking the vacuum high enough to provide the extra stopping oomph, but also shut off once it reaches max Hg.

Next on my to do list is replace the last "old" battery in my pack. It passes all the tests Walmart does on it, so I can't replace it under warranty, but I am fine with that because I wanted a good battery to test my BMS modules revisions on, and for camping power. I even have an old car battery to use for core, so I should be all set. I am also still looking out for a new suspension system, the last major piece besides the Zilla. I have found one I like, I just need to see if I have the funds for it.

My Zilla will hopefully arrive the first week of November, according to EV Components. I have been waiting forever for a nice controller, so another two weeks isn't too bad.

2 comments:

Gregess said...

How far did you have to crank up the vacuum before your braking felt normal? Does it take long to recover after a hard stop?

David Harrington said...

I have the vacuum up to 21 Hgs now, and I think it was at 11-12 Hgs. That was due to the dragging brakes not needing much to actually stop the car.

With it cranked up to 21 Hg, it doesn't take long to recover. I can get a good 4-5 hard pumps before the vacuum runs out, but the pump kicks it long before that and I have not felt the braking power disappear.