ChrisB wrote:Might have 300v retro voltmeter you could shunt to 300Amps if its anyhelp ?? you'd just need to change the letters "volts" to "Amps"
ChrisB
Cool, I may well be able to do that. Thanks. I have been looking at analogue ammeters on ebay from the far east and they don't look the same enough to have two side by side.
I will be wanting the same retro amp and volt meters on the trike project.
Anyway, here's a photo of the throttle pedal fitted.
I also decided to fit the Land Rover ignition switch and steering lock to the steering column and also the main contactor and precharge resistor.
I decided to use the full functions of the ignition switch and have wired it so that when it is turned to the first position I have low current power available for lights and accessories and the second, starter, position is used to energise the main contactor with a latching circuit.
So now if I click the key to starter I get a loud 'thunk' and the main and reversing contactors click in and the controller lights up. If I turn the key off, break the big red key isolator switch, blow a controller fuse or have any other power failure then the main contactor unlatches and everything shuts down.
It feels good having to use the extra turn to make the controller and high current circuits live, better then everything live at the first turn of the key.
As I can't work on the tractor now except for inside the trailer and as it is a bit dark in there I decided it is time to make some ramps.
I worked out from my steel stock pile that I had just enough 2" x 1/8" angle to make two 5' x 15" ramp frames. They are painted and drying at the moment. I will need to cut some plywood sheet to fit in them and tomorrow I should be able to roll the tractor back out again.
The 5' ramps give a good angle for the tractor to get in but also I can tilt the trailer backwards and have an even lower entry angle for transporting the trike. It means that I will need to make sure the trike is less then 10" overall length and I will have to make a simple bridging piece to fill the gap between the two ramps.
They will have a plywood board set into them for the time being and maybe in the future I will replace with hard wood for more strength and longevity.
While the paint was drying I set to with a remote throttle.
I used a stereo headphones 1/4" jack socket as it has a built in DPDT switch operated by inserting the plug.
This allows me to disconnect the foot throttle when the remote throttle is used. I have stuck with the slider pot for now as it feels right in one hand and managed to find a nice curly lead for it.
As it got dark I eventually figured where the hand brake lever will sit. With a lot of experimenting it is now bolted to the top of the brake cylinder frame. I can now make up a linkage, with a relay crank, to the band brake actuator at the back.