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(ET) E12 - a resurrection (long)
- Subject: (ET) E12 - a resurrection (long)
- From: darrylmcmahon igs net
- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 19:01:36 -0500
- Reply-to: darrylmcmahon igs net
- Sender: owner-elec-trak cosmos5 phy tufts edu
My Elec-Trak E12 is sitting in my garage charging as I write this.
Therein lies a story. I hope you will not object to the bandwidth
used to tell it, as this tractor is in large part the reason this mailing
list exists.
Almost two years ago, I was taking a copy of our local weekly
bargain-hunter newspaper to the recycle bin, when one of the
classifieds caught my eye. A GE lawn tractor for sale. What the
heck would that be, I wondered. Being an electric car owner, I had
to know if there could possibly be an electric lawn tractor, as the
ad had not said how the unit was powered. I called the guy who
had placed the ad. Sure enough, it was electric-powered. It was
not running, and price seemed steep, but I had to see this thing.
So, in a December blizzard in 1997, I headed out one evening on a
(gas-powered) trip in my wife's car into the country-side with my 8-
year old son. It took over an hour to find the house, on a trip that
should have taken no more than 30 minutes in good weather.
We got to have a look at the tractor, and the attachments that
came with it. These included a 'dozer blade, a single-stage
snowblower, a 3-blade mower, a rototiller, a rear power-lift, a hand-
held hedge trimmer and cultivator, and chains for the rear tires.
With this collection the price seemed more reasonable.
He told me the tractor had been OK until the previous April, when
he had been using it to plow up sheets of ice. Then it just quit. He
had tried a few simple things, but the problem was beyond him.
Batteries were in it, and they looked OK. The owner supplied a volt-
meter, and all six read OK. He had been charging them in pairs,
as the main charger was not working. The front-lift was non-op, as
were the lights. I already knew the drive was inoperative. Still, the
unit looked pretty good, like it had seen some reasonable care,
and this was the original owner who had 24 years of records to go
with the unit, including all the relevant operating manuals, and a
service manual. Who was I kidding? I was hooked. We made
arrangements for payment, including delivery, and I left a deposit.
On January 4, 1998, the tractor and accessories arrived at my
house, and I watched as it was unloaded into my garage. I was
not much help, as I had reached the point where I had trouble
keeping my balance. Over the next month, I pored over the
manuals, and took inventory, and started searching the Internet for
help. There was nothing. So I set up a web page to see if anyone
else was searching for, or had, Elec-Trak information.
My health continued to deteriorate. By mid-February, I could no
longer walk without assistance, in addition to other symptoms too
numerous to go into that had begun some 3 years earlier. The
tractor was ignored for some time. In early March I was admitted
for surgery on an urgent basis - an MRI had revealed a tumor inside
my spine. The surgery went well, the tumor was benign, and the
spinal cord was not damaged, and started to improve almost
immediately. Due to the amount of bone removed from one of the
vertebrae, I was not to do any heavy work for a period of six
months. I did manage to organize the first local Electrathon during
this recovery period. It was the fall of 1998 before the tractor even
resurfaced in my thoughts. However, the web-site had attracted a
few e-mails. I made a few acquaintances, and found Bill Gunn at
Technical Services and Parts. I built up a personal mailing list of
Elec-Trak owners I had found on the Electric Vehicle Discussion
List and those that had visited my website and left e-mail. This list
included Ken Olum, who volunteered to set up the current Elec-
Trak mailing list.
Over the winter of 98-99 I determined there were some defective
parts, notably the circuit breaker on the back side of the dash and
the main power disconnect, but the motor worked, if wired up
directly to power, but the control circuitry had real problems. I got
replacements for those, and installed them. Still, things were not
right. There was an elusive short circuit. I would follow
schematics, and voltages were not right, or light-shows ensued.
It took time and burned fuses and jumper cables, but I finally
determined that one of the main solenoids was welded. Then, I
found one of the reed switches (2RTN) did not pull in. I discovered
a few of the lighter gauge wires were attached in ways other than
suggested by the schematics. It took time to look over each wire,
trace it, compare it to the schematics and decide what to do with
it. Then it was one of the power wires that takes power to one of
the resistors was not conducting. Then I found one of the wires
that jumpers between solenoids was connected to one incorrect
solenoid. This also corrected the problem with the fuel gauge, and
eliminated the short that had been appearing at the power gauge.
I began to wonder if I would ever get all the little bits right. Days
were spent determining that a start switch shown in the service
manual did not exist on my tractor, it was replaced by a simple
jumper cable in one of the connectors.
Finally, last weekend, October 31, to be precise, it ran under its
own power - 3 electrical speeds forward and 2 reverse.
Fortunately, I was not going fast, as I discovered the brakes did not
work either. Still, I cannot describe in words the sense of delight
and relief I felt at that moment.
This weekend, I adjusted the brake, and it functions. I still have to
adjust the brake switch, as it does not cut the power. The pawl is
adjusted as high as it will go, and I need to find out if the brake
switch has been defeated like the seat switch is. (Actually, one of
the tabs on the seat switch was broken off, which may be why that
switch was bypassed.)
Then, I took it for a short drive - my first. Just out of the garage and
around the side to pick up the snowblower. Got that attached, and
discovered I am missing some small bits in the process (pins to
secure the blower to the bar between the front wheels, and a roller
for the front lift belt. Then back to the garage.
This project is not yet complete. This week I will start looking for
parts to control the lifting of the blower properly instead of the bolts
that are temporarily serving that purpose, and test out the blower to
see if it works, then sand, paint and wax it so it will be as slippery
as possible for the snow going through the chute. I also expect the
bits I need to repair the 2RTN relay should arrive this week. There
are a couple of other jury-rigged items that I will repair properly over
time.
I want to thank the members of this list for their assistance over the
past months, and particularly Rob Vasichek and Neil Dennis who
have provided both parts and encouragement to help me reach this
point. I am looking forward to gaining first-hand experience with
this machine, and hope I can sell my gasoline-powered snowblower
in the near future - my last fossil-fueled appliance.