(ET) E12 - a resurrection (long)

[darrylmcmahon igs net]

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.