1. Electric Fiero
David Malloy

2. Fiero Project Goals
Battery Electric Car for commuting and in-town errands
Range: Daily commute is 12 miles (round trip) and flat
Speed: Need to keep up with traffic; top speed of 65 mph
Payload: 2 passengers with need for minimal trunk and storage space
Safety, Construction Quality, and Appearance Important
Designed and constructed with reliability and safety in mind
Should not require maintenance but should be easy to maintain
Did not want to push the technology envelope. Wanted:
a high probability of success
to copy examples of successful conversions
a ready source of parts and support
Willing to build a prototype and to compromise (on certain things) if necessary
Wanted to have fun, not to achieve perfection

3. Fiero Project Timeline

4. Fiero Decisions Donor: 1988 Fiero
Many successful conversions (e.g., evalbum.com)
Readily available and cheap parts
“Back to the future” styling
144V Kit and Design from EV America (
Excellent support, DVD, Reference schematic
One stop shopping for: motor, controller, controller radiator plate, adapter plate, charger, DC/DC converter, fuse, vacuum pump, contactors, Anderson connectors, Inertia Switch, welding cable,etc.
Machine shop service for adapter plate (Clutchless design)
Major Features
Advanced DC 9” motor / Curtis Controller
12 * 30XHS Trojan Lead Acid Batteries (with “UT” terminals)
Zivan NG3 220V charger; Zivan NG1 DC/DC Convertor
Suspension upgrades would be required for added weight

5. Fiero Battery Boxes
“Erector Set” construction: cheap; easy to build and change. Not optimized for space or weight

6. Motor Adapter Direct Drive Clutched Clutchless See Pictures below
Single gear (e.g., Tesla)
Clutched
When starting, put into gear and release clutch FIRST, then accelerate
When moving, shifts like a normal manual transmission
Provides additional failsafe under controller “stuck on” failure
Clutchless
When starting, put into gear, then accelerate (like an automatic)
When moving, requires finesse to change gears without a clutch
Removes flywheel and pressure plate
Fiero uses the clutchless design
See Pictures below
from Svein Medhus’ Ford Express conversion. (

7. Clutchless Adapter

8. Clutchless Adapter (2)

9. Clutchless Adapter (3)

10. Clutchless Adapter (4)

11. Fiero Layout

12. Fiero Layout Notes High Voltage / High Current
2/0 Welding cable, crimped lugs, Noalox, Anderson connectors
Layout designed to keep “+” and “-” physically separate
Conduit and “boxes” in tunnel (fuse, contactor, KSI, shunt)
High Voltage / Low Current
Conduit in tunnel
Contactor Control
in cabin against rear firewall
Instrumentation
Jacketed cable used in cabin to bring high voltage to dash
Weight Distribution
Most batteries are on the “outside” of the axles – not ideal

13. Fiero Front

14. Fiero Secondary Contactor Box

15. Fiero Rear

16. Fiero Rear (2)

17. Alternate Layouts from evalbum.com “The good, the bad, and the ugly”
Concerns
battery hold-down construction
maintainability and access for battery watering
exposed high voltage
physical proximity of pack “-” and pack “+”
distance of controller to motor
wiring neatness

18. Alternate Layout (1)

19. Alternate Layout (2)

20. Alternate Layout (3)

21. Alternate Layout (4)

22. Alternate Layout (5)

23. Fiero Wiring Diagram

24. Fiero Wiring Notes Traction Pack Wiring (High Voltage / High Current)
Dual contactor design, Fuse, SB350 Anderson connectors
High Voltage / Low Current
Zivan NG3 – 220V/20A Onboard Charger
DC/DC convertor, KSI Relay, electric heater
Contactor Control
Simple relay logic
Primary: ignition key in “run”, charger lockout, inertia switch
Secondary: adds high pedal lockout, potbox microswitch
Instrumentation
Curtis “state of charge”
(relative) Ammeter
Charger and DC/DC converter status brought to in-dash LEDs
Motor overtemp
PakTrakr (monitors pack voltage and individual batteries)

25. Fiero Contactor Control; etc

26. Fiero Instrumentation
State of Charge
DC/DC Converter Status
Pack Charge Status
Ammeter
OverTemp
PakTrakr

27. Other Notes Charging Vacuum Pump Electric Heater Extras
Charges in ~4 hours (2 to 90%, 2 hours float)
12V Supply to drive Status LEDs and Exhaust fans
Charging is done outside to vent hydrogen
Vacuum Pump
Enabled when key is in “run”
Conventional installation with Vacuum reservior
Noisy (needs muffler)
Could use more reserve
Electric Heater
Ceramic heater in place of original heater core
Wiring in conduit to relay on real firewall
Operated by original controls and fan
Only wired up ½ of the element: doesn’t work well
Extras
“Reddy Kilowatt” badging
Beep on Backup
LED lighting
IPOD mini sound system

28. Results Success ! Areas for Improvement
Daily driver; almost 2000 miles logged since January
0-30mph; performance just fine; keeps up with traffic.
Reliable; only maintenance is once a month watering
Quiet and no hydrocarbon smells
Cool Looking
Project cost ~12K
Areas for Improvement
Range only about miles
Handling is “heavy”
30-60mph performance not so great
Want a lighter donor, lithium batteries, more attention to weight and weight distribution
“Funny noises”: contactor and vacuum pump

29. Component Scorecard Component Now Major Dislikes Batteries
Trojan 30XHS – SLA
Capacity, weight, weight distribution, safety
Battery Boxes
Bolted
Weight, durability
Drive System
ADC 9” / Curtis 1231C
Whistle when starting; No regeneration
No Integrated contactor control
Adapter Design
Clutchless
Pack Charger
Zivan NG3 - Onboard 220V
No 110V, not sealed, no BMS integration
DC/DC Converter
Zivan NG1
Not sealed
Heater
Ceramic
Not functional
Vacuum Pump
Gast/vacuum switch/reservior
Noisy, not integrated
Contactors
Albright
Noisy, not sealed
Instrumentation
PakTrakr, LEDs, ammeter
High voltage in cabin, no data logging
Safety
2 contactors + fuse
No Emergency Disconnect

30. Wish List for Next Time Want
More Range
Better Performance and Handling
Better aesthetics (silent operation, nicer donor car)
Opportunity charging
Better instrumentation (data logging, CAN bus, better BMS)
Working heater
More attention to Weight and Weight Distribution
Lighter Donor
Aluminum Battery Boxes
Lithium Pack
AC motor and regeneration
More attention to durability and maintainability
Sealed components

31. Classic 2 Seaters Pontiac Fiero 84-88 2700 .63 Make/Model Year Weight
CdA sq m
Notes
Lotus Elan
62-73
1500
.57
Nice examples >20K$
Fiat 850 Spider 65
1620
Triumph Spitfire
62-80
1800
MGB
62-70
2030
.66
Porsche 914
69-76
2085
.60
Triumph TR4
61-65
2130
Datsun 2000
67-70
2135
Fiat 124 Spider
69-85
Many, <10K$
Porsche 911 S
69-74
Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 69
2293
Mazda RX-7
78-85
2400
.55
Triumph TR6
2491
Pontiac Fiero
84-88
2700
.63

32. Modern 2 Seaters Make/Model Year Weight Notes Lotus Elise S 02- 1896
CdA sq m
Notes
Lotus Elise S
02-
1896
Mazda MX-5/Miata
90-98
2100
Kits available for adapter plates and battery boxes
Honda del Sol
93-97
2296
Toyota MR2 (Mk1)
00-07
2300
99-05
2350
More safety features
Tesla
08-
2723
Acura NSX
90-05
2950

33. Sedans Make/Model Year Weight CdA Sq m Notes Fiat 500L 72 1190
Austin Mini Cooper 65
1411
Renault Dauphine
56-67
1433
Volkswagen Beetle 64
1629
Honda Insight
00-06
1850
.49
Yaris
2293
Toyota Corolla 66
2530
Ford Mustang
64-73
2570
.44
Ford Focus 00
2621
Honda Civic
2628
Mitsubishi Lancer 73
2745
Saturn Ion 03
2752
Mazda 3 04
2780
VW Golf