<\/p>\n
More than five months of intense efforts paid off as two recent Animas High School graduates\u2019 car qualified for the Solar Car Challenge.<\/p>\n
During the so-called scrutineering process late last week, judges required Dylan Kroes and Dominique \u201cDomi\u201d Frideger to rewire their car from a hand throttle to a foot throttle \u2013 because a foot throttle is more in the \u201cspirit\u201d of a real car \u2013 and to rewire their battery-management system because the original configuration might \u201cfail violently\u201d \u2013 which means explode.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow hard could that be?\u201d Frideger wrote in a blog post late Monday. \u201cTurns out, really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members of other teams pitched in to help, as did several engineers and veteran judges.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone had unwired the hand throttle and set to work getting the foot throttle all ready to go, then when they went to wire it into the motor controller, they had forgotten which wires went where, and this led to a veritable mess of possible wire combinations,\u201d Frideger wrote. \u201cWe did the math tonight, and with the number of wires we had versus the number of connecting ports, there were 16,777,216 possible combinations.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were unable to get the car working by the deadline at 5 p.m. Friday. So, they loaded it on its trailer and continued working several hours that night.<\/p>\n
Team Energy Audacity headed to the challenge\u2019s first stopping point, Ardmore, Oklahoma, where more engineers and competitors helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, at 11 p.m., a boy from the Plano (Texas) Solar Car Team with a surprisingly in-depth knowledge of electrical discovered the right combination of wires,\u201d Frideger said, \u201cand we pushed the pedal to the much-awaited sound of our wheel spinning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then it was on to the other challenge, a switch of batteries.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the car took off from Ponca City, Oklahoma, headed for Manhattan, Kansas, about 140 miles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car\u2019s running beautifully, and we didn\u2019t even have to stop to recharge the batteries because they\u2019re charging so efficiently from our solar panels,\u201d Frideger said from the truck hauling the trailer. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty unusual not to have to stop to recharge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The car is averaging 30 mph, Frideger said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to get it up to the maximum speed and got it to 60 mph,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was terrifying, stupid and awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team had traveled about 40 miles when the car hit 60 mph and blew a battery. So it went back on the trailer for the final 100 miles to Manhattan, where a new battery will be installed. The team will incur a 16-mile penalty for replacing the battery but are in the Challenge despite missing the first few days.<\/p>\n
Wednesday is a media day in Manhattan, and on Thursday, it\u2019s off to Fremont, Nebraska. The challenge\u2019s ultimate destination is Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going right up the heartland,\u201d Frideger said. \u201cThis really gives you a deep appreciation for America.\u201d<\/p>\n