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REVERSE GEAR
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From: "Michael A. Radtke" <m.radtke@ELM.AZ05.BULL.COM>
Subject: No Backing Out Now
Comments: To: "EV600-L@TCU.EDU" <EV600-L@TCU.EDU>

Hello, As other folks have mentioned, reverse gear is pretty fragile. I had the
problem of the ElectraVan popping out of reverse. I have a lump in my driveway
that always caused the problem, so I got in the habit of holding it in gear while
I backed up. Last Thursday a lot of bad sounds came from the transmission while
reversing and hence the subject line. I tore down the transmission yesterday and
found all three gears used for reverse trashed. It was pretty plain to see that it
was because of heavy load while only partially engaged. The funny thing is that
the damage was on the side of sliding the reverse idler gear _beyond_ its fully
engaged position. That puzzled me for a while until I determined that the
transmission allowed the shift forks to move beyond the normal detents. This
happens in all gears, but can really only cause the mis-alignment in reverse due
to the way the other gears / synchros work. So, the bottom line is that my habit
of holding the car in reverse caused the destruction. Of course there still is the
question of why these cars like to jump out of reverse in the first place. So, now
I am looking for a new transmission, or transmission parts. Any leads would be
appreciated. I am seriously thinking of just blocking out reverse gear and going
to an electrical reverse. Has anybody done this? Any reason not to? Thanks, Mike
--

I had the exact same problem. Then bang. reverse was gone. I did not go as far
as taking the tranny apart.
Even if I did find the problem, getting parts would be the trickily part.

I went the electric reverse way with a reversing relay from KTA. Works really
well. Shifting from 1st to 2nd in
reverse spooks the heck out of the passengers. :)

I did find a problem with the KTA relay. It has a real problem with dust and dirt.
On our dirt roads, dust gets
between the contacts. Then when you switch to reverse, it arcs across the dust.
Producing a sudden jolt. Not
a big problem, but this arcing destroyed the contacts in about 6 months.

For the next relay, I made a large box to put it in, and silicone it up to keep
the dust and air out. It's been this
way for about 3 years without a single problem.

YFS200
--

1) All three gears in the transmission that carry reverse power were
damaged. I cleaned out the transmission and blocked off the selection of
reverse gear.
2) I elected to do an electric reverse. I cooked up a number of different
designs ranging from a true reversing contactor to building a manual
switch.

3) I was too cheap to spend the $320 on a reversing contactor, so I spent

$100 on some solenoid switches that were rated at sufficient current.
After a lot of effort rewiring the control circuitry I discovered that the
solenoid switches were a bit liberally rated and I was back at square one.

4) Since I could do it without further expense, I then designed and built a

manual switch for the job. After more rewiring, I was reminded why I
changed my career from hardware to software ... ease of debugging designs.
I went through many design / re-build iterations before getting it right.

So, now I have a remote, electrically controlled reverse switch. It has a

status indicator and disables the controller during the forward reverse
transition. I can share more information about my switch but it may be
more appropriate to do so off the list.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

Mike - Phoenix AZ

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I had the same trouble with reverse too. It jump out sometimes. The one day as I
was backing up a steep hill,
BANG, and now it wont stay in, even if I hold it. I decided not to tear apart the
tranny.
I added electric reverse. My EV600 will hit 60mph going backwards. You should see
the passengers look
when I shift into second going backwards.
Here's the scary part. The Reversing Contractor is $320.00 (KTA catalog 1996)
Let me know if you want more info.
Eddie
EV600

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----------------------

Ev Archive for April 1998

1190 messages, last added Wed Aug 08 18:42:08 2001
[Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: ElectraVan 600s Reverse & Performance

* To: Multiple recipients of list EV <EV@SJSUVM1.SJSU.EDU>

* Subject: Re: ElectraVan 600s Reverse & Performance
* From: George Allen <gallen@C-ZONE.NET>
* Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 22:32:41 -0700
* Reply-To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <EV@SJSUVM1.SJSU.EDU>
* Sender: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <EV@SJSUVM1.SJSU.EDU>

Hi William & All

I had the same problem 4 years ago. One night had to backup in a up hill in a
parking
lot , jumped out of gear and chipped 4 teeth on Reverse Idler gear.No Reverse
at all.
checked on replacement parts about $800. and up to 6 months to order.
I ordered dual contactor and wired for electic Reverse.
JET Industries had a service Letter CLUTCH DISC AND Reverse idler Gear
Failure.
To Install a relay to insert a resistor in series with speed control Pot.
George Allen
Redding , CA

William Glickman wrote:

> My 1979 Jet Industries ElectraVan 600 gets between 3.5 miles and 4 miles
> per kilowatt hour of battery storage. It has 8 ply steel belted 145R10
> radial tires with a "C" load and 65 psi max pressure ratings. It
> suffers from a bad reverse gear that either jumps out of gear or has some
> bad teeth. I have not taken the transaxle transmission apart to find
> out and will not until there is either hope of a reasonable quick
> solution or a complete failure.
> How many miles per kilowatt hour does your ElectraVan perform ?
> Does your reverse gear suffer the same problem and what is your solution
> ??
> I am also looking for a spare rear drum because the integral spline was
> slightly damaged after I failed to tighten the castle nut to 116 FT-LBs
> per shop manual.
> Thankyou,
> Bill Glickman
> Glastonbury,
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
GEAR OIL
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Subject: Transmission Oil

Comments: To: EV600-L -- Jet ElectraVan 600 Owners List <EV600-L@tcu.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

And I quote: "... delivered with AMS/Oil Synthetic Gear Lube, SAE 80W-90 made by
AMS/Oil Inc., Superior, WI." "Do not mix two or more brands." Elsewhere it says
0.95 US quart and even elsewhere, 1 quart. Thanks, Mike

--------------
George Allen wrote:
>
> Thanks BruceDP
>
> George Allen wrote:
> >
> > Hi All
> > Im in need of Final gear or Ring gear,Transmisson/Differential for a
> > Electra Van 600. I lost two or three teeth on ring gear.Final gear is
> > 86 teeth.
> > George Allen
> > Redding,CA

--------------------From: "Lawrence Rhodes" <ev@l...>

Date: Fri Sep 3, 2004 11:17 pm
Subject: Holly hot hubcaps Batman

ADVERTISEMENT
I towed the the Jet Electravan home today. The right rear hubcap was hotter
that a pistol. Brakes seemed to work when I coasted into the driveway. It
was sluggish coasting. Something is dragging. I looked at the front disks
and they look real bad. Guess after sitting for almost 20 years something
should be bad. Lots of rust to take care of. My garage is dry. That
should be the end of it. This car only has 2000 miles on it. Not a dent on
it. I feel I should change the tranny, rearend & stearing box oil. If I
hook up a variac to the drive system I should be able to test the controller
and see if the motor spins. Nicad may be the way to go. Lawrence
Rhodes.....

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GEARS
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>Well, I was able to put the motor my little 1974 Beetle without doing
>anything drastic. After taking the transmission out, and finding that it
>won't be put back in with the motor attached, I put the transmission back
>in, and then put the motor in, with help. After connecting things up
>again, I tried the gears. I could get the transmission to go in every
>gear except reverse. At least it seemed like every gear. Then I decided
>to apply 12V and check every gear. As I did so, I noticed that the wheels
>turn in every gear, and neutral, at the same speed. And I still can't get
>it into reverse. I did some playing while the transmission was out, by
>pushing the rod in some of the gears, as I was testing the adapter plate
>and connection. I also noticed that some of the fluid was leaking out a
>breather hole. Would the suspected idea behind why things aren't working
>right, be because I played with it while it was out? Or could it be that
>too much fluid came out? What should be!

Are you running with a clutch? If so, does putting the clutch in make the
wheels stop turning? If you don't have a clutch, there's some kind of
transmission problem, probably in the shift housing in the front of the
transmission. If you have a clutch and disengaging it doesn't make the
wheels stop turning, you might have a condition where the transmission
mainshaft is butting up against the motor shaft and held there by the
pressure of the mounting bolts. The reason you can get in in the 4 forward
speeds is they have synchronizers, and can be shifted without a
clutch. Reverse is a square cut gear set, and you need to have the clutch
and be at a complete stop to shift into reverse. Check the condition of
the shift coupler than connects the shift rod to the front of the
transmission to make sure it's in good condition and there's no play in
it. If you want to talk about it, call me.

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I have two almost identical electric vehicles pound for pound. The Aspire
with an 8"ADC and the Electravan with the Big GE motor. Both 120v systems.
The narrow powerband but powerful GE motor just tears out and up hills the
the Aspire with almost the same battery pack and controller just can't do.
I suspect highly that the gear ratio has something to do with it. I get
defined power bands on the Electravan. up to 15 in first is powerful to 25
in second. 35 in 3rd and fourth above that. It has good hill climbing
torque and never goes higher than 150 amps ever. I just don't understand
it. The Aspire should be quicker but I have burned up a controller on a
hill the Electravan doesn't sweat on. I have a feeling the Aspire needs a
Granny gear. Lawrence Rhodes........

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