Our first morning in Texas. The golf cart path was a lovely place to take a morning walk. The hotel is on the horizon. It was interesting to see unusual trees and birds. The course has groves of pecan trees and cedar elm.
The Volt-Tech team met early in the morning to finish modifications on the car. Team members rolled the car off the trailer and then carefully removed the upper body which has the solar panels adhered to it.
The upper body of the solar car had to be carefully removed.
The solar car has five batteries. Four for the running of the vehicle and one auxiliary battery. In the photo below, Nick has his hand on the auxiliary battery. One battery is encased in the box in the foreground; the remaining batteries are near the driver's seat close to where Joe is, and on the opposite side of Joe.
One of the first tasks of the morning was to check switches and wiring. Note the black box next to Chris, it is the regulator which controls the amount of energy created by the solar cells being fed to the batteries.
Chris and Joe discuss the location of low battery indicator. Joe successfully drilled holes and then mounted the device.
Brittany stabilized the cover while Chris carefully checked all the wiring. The underside of the upper body contains numerous ribbing cables and diodes. Chris repaired broken connections and then checked each section with a multimeter.
Nick holds bracket on frame while bolting it from the bottom.
While Brittany and Chris worked on the wiring, Myles held up the other end so that Tyler could add lights.
Nick is shown applying shrink wrap to wiring to prevent short circuiting in the ventilation.
Mr. Harris wisely anticipated that the heat might be a bit severe, so out of his truck came a tent canopy.
Tyler applied a hinge to the driver's canopy.
Joe carefully laid duct work for interior air exhaust.
During the day several other teams rolled in. Students from Houston, Mississippi drove their car around the parking lot.
Myles fastened the monitor for the rear camera.
After many hours of working in the hot sun, team Volt-Tech was ready for food and cool beverages.
After a late lunch, students had about an hour of free time before registering and a meeting.
At the meeting we learned that we had to be at the Texas Motor Speedway at 7:00am on Sunday. Team members went in the cooler early evening hours to finish work begun earlier in the day.
Chris drilled holes for ratchet straps which will be tightened resulting in elevating the front end of the car.
Tyler applied silicone sealer to brake lights.
It wasn't long before a beautiful full moon rose high above the horizon.
Nick wandered around the parking lot seeking advice on wiring. He met Tristan, a team member from Michigan who offered advice on wiring the blinkers and emergency flashers.
Chris's stature was ideal for fastening the seat to the solar car frame.
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