Solar car challenge recap

We just finished the 19 th annual Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. Twenty teams from across the country competed in this year’s challenge. Our car, Aurora, entered again this year. Aurora has been strong all year and made it through the toughest scrutineering (qualification process) ever. The race officials clarified a lot of rules that caused all teams to rework parts of their car that had previously passed inspection. We, along with 5 other teams, had to move our main fuse.

On Monday, our car was the first to pass scrutineering and be cleared to race. We were also the first on the track. 5 minutes and ¾ of a lap later, we were the first to break down. The motor shut down and would not start up again. The team worked on the motor and found a small short circuit that came into being on the first lap. We were finally able to get the car repaired and cleared to race again for Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, we started again, but had to bring the car in at the end of two laps. The power was spiking again and the car was showing signs of stopping. Just as the car came off the track, the brakes completely seized up. The students had to pick up the car to get it out of the way of the other cars and remove the brakes so we could get it into the garage. The students went to work on the brakes and got the car cleared again to race that afternoon. In turn two, the car stopped on the track and started smoking.

Back in the garage, we found that half of the main battery wiring was burned up and the motor had a melt-down. The students fanned out and within 30 minutes had borrowed a motor and had it back on the car. They had also replaced all of the burned wiring. The biggest obstacle was finding the source(s) of the problems. We found two problems. A loose bolt in the rear suspension caused the wheel to tilt slightly which bound up and collapsed one of the brakes. The splice from the moved fuse was not done well enough and caused a massive restriction in the power cable and was literally blowing holes in the rest of the main power system. By Wednesday afternoon, we had replaced most of the main wiring and while checking for other short-circuits in the system, caused the controller to short out. Again, the students went out and found a replacement.

By Thursday morning, we were able to get the car running well enough to get out on the track and run again. Unfortunately, we were having to do this without the solar array (a blown switch that couldn’t be replaced) and with a bad brake that would take another 24 hours to replace. That morning, the car did a full lap and a half before having problems. The car inched along through the rest of the lap and came in on “fumes”.

All said, I am extremely proud of the effort that the team displayed. Throughout all of the issues, they never lost faith that they would get the car back on the track. By the end of the race, the team were presented with two awards. The first was from the race organization for the teams work supporting the solar car community by taking the car to various showings and news events all year. The second was presented by another team. Each day, the team with the most laps completed is given a trophy. On Thursday, the Houston, Mississippi team gave their trophy to our team for their non-stop drive to get the car back on the track in spite of having two different systems completely crash in the middle of the race.

Everyone should be proud of the job that the team did last week. It is hard enough to have a completely working car suddenly stop at the very start of the race. On top of that, they had 4 different systems on the car crash. Through it all, they kept their heads up and pushed through to see that the car did get back on the track and used up every watt of available power.

As further evidence of their dedication and strength, one of our team leaders for next year, Lexi, has decided that we will field an all-girls team as well next year. She is taking on the challenge of getting more girls involved in our STEM program.

Laps!

After hours of rewiring and following wires yesterday, the team finally got the car running. We would like to extend thanks to all the solar teams, mentors, and judges whose combined help and advice allowed us to get our car running.
The car ran two laps, and is charging to due an issue with the panels. They are currently taking in only 5% of what they should. We plan to continue to charge and run laps throughout the day.
Finally, we would like to extend thanks to the Houston, Mississippi solar car team again for giving us the trophy they won for the most laps in our division yesterday. They have been a huge help, and we cannot thank them enough for their parts, advice, and overall support.

Fried

After a close inspection, we have pulled out three of our 4 gauge wires that melted, as well as our motor which fried. Luckily we were able to get replacement wires and connectors, and are currently working to put them in. The team remains determined to put in extra hours to get the car up and running.

Most importantly, we would like to give a shout out to the Houston, Mississippi solar car team who lent us an extra motor they had. Without the motor and their help continuing the race would be near impossible. Thanks Houston!

Smoked

We would like to apologize for the late update, we have been working nonstop to fix the car. Last night we left at nine after working with the car to fix the voltage going through the frame. Twice today we attempted to run the car to test the fixes made, getting in a lap each time before having to bring the car in.  The team, counseled by two electrical engineers, has spent the day troubleshooting. On the third run today, part of the car began to smoke due to a short. Our safety crew and driver did a great job, keeping everyone safe and again retrieving the car quickly. We are now making plans to repair the wiring and are looking further into possible causes for the electrical failure.

Obstacle

We have encountered an obstacle in the race. The voltage of the car began to drop quickly, and the car stopped after the third turn. The pickup of the car went quickly and smoothly, and the team is working hard to isolate the electrical problem with the help of the choctaw team

Qualified!

We just finished Scrutineering, and were role we are the first team to be qualified to race this afternoon!

Just arrived!

After an early start at five, we headed out for the track. The garage has been set up and the team continues to work diligently as they finish scrutineering and set up the tent. Everything is great, breakfast is cooking and its pleasantly cool

Yesterday Recap and Scrutineering

Hello all!
Yesterday was a busy day, and we didn't get around to blogging. To recap, Dr. Marks invited us to be one of the Solar Cars used to train the judges for the scrutineering on Sunday (today). Our drivers did great on the slalom course, and the car successfully completed the U turn and brake tests. By the end of the day, we had those completed as well as the endurance portion, due to the past Plano race. It was a great opportunity we were happy to have.

Today, the team got up bright and early and was first in line at the track to do the last two stations for scrutineering- the Mechanical and Electrical stations. Once there, the judges pointed out some changes we needed to make to the car to prepare it for the rigors of the race, such as strengthening our rod for the pedals and securing the electronic equipment for the likely rains this week. The team finished up early and was home a bit after 10:30 to begin the changes to the car. We are about to head home to change for the opening ceremony tonight- everyone is excited for the ceremony and for the race to begin tomorrow!

Getting Ready!

Hello all, our Aurora Team has been working diligently all week as they finish up the last few things for the race. The batteries continue to be conditioned, and our programming expert Chris is putting the finishing touches on the CRio. All is going well as we gear up for this last leg before the race!