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Ranger EV 400Ah Upgrade

7K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  Grumpyb 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello,

My 2016 Ranger EV not running cause the old lead acid.

I decide to change to Lifepo4 Cells.

I calculated the space each side of Lead Acid area, and i found that i can place 32Cells of 100Ah each side.
Total 51.2V 400Ah.
Nice 20.4Kw Pack.

The change should save some weight, and millage should be fine.

I got today 67pcs 100Ah Cells, Calb Brand, i ordered from official agent of Calb (China Aviation Lithium Battery company). datasheet attached.

I will change the cables to new cables of 2/0 AWG = 70mm^2
Battery Management will be Chargery BMS16T + 600A Discharge relay + 50A Charge relay
New Changer 51.2V 30Ah

Updates soon.
 
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#3 ·
Hello,

My 2016 Ranger EV not running cause the old lead acid.

I decide to change to Lifepo4 Cells.

I calculated the space each side of Lead Acid area, and i found that i can place 32Cells of 100Ah each side.
Total 51.2V 400Ah.
Nice 20.4Kw Pack.

The change should save some weight, and millage should be fine.

I got today 67pcs 100Ah Cells, Calb Brand, i ordered from official agent of Calb (China Aviation Lithium Battery company). datasheet attached.

I will change the cables to new cables of 2/0 AWG = 70mm^2
Battery Management will be Chargery BMS16T + 600A Discharge relay + 50A Charge relay
New Changer 51.2V 30Ah

Updates soon.

View attachment 23674 View attachment 23675 View attachment 23676
What are you using for a BMS?
 
#4 ·
Good cabling positions and fixings are really important, with so many cells thats a huge amount of cell level wiring. Any one coming loose or getting caught will give problems. Why change the charger? The Delta Q could have been re programmed. There is a suitable algorithm available from Delta Q.I have used it on 16 s Thunderskys. WIth all Lifepo4 its important that the cells are strapped to prevent swelling. Alloy plate and steel studding are a simple way to achieve that.Cabling should not need to be larger than 50mm2 as the power is still going to be limited by he Sevcon Programming. Also the cable lengths wont be significantly longer. 70mm2 is quite hard to route. Dont use std 12v battery cable, use high core count high voltage DC cable. Its much more felexible and puts less strain on everything its connected to. All connections on the power cables should only be crimped and shrink sleeved.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hello,

I can share the supplier detailsif some one interesting in PM.

The BMS made by Chargery. Datasheet attached. I choose this BMS, cause it dont have limits of Discharge current or Charge current. cause it controlled by outside relay.
I order it with 600A Shunt (current sensor) and 600A Relay.

About the Charger, the cost of shipping Delta outside of Israel, and ship it back, not cheap.
Second, 18A charge current for 400Ah, too slow for me. so i have ordered 30A Charger IP67, will fit the original place . I should get it soon.


I discover that Lead acid, are really destroyed the power cables, and controller cables.


Cleaning out all the lead acid brackets


Draw the location sketch of cells on thin MDF. 1 step before cutting the welding the new frame for lithium cells.
 
#7 ·
Yes the dirt is an issue. I produce a complete replacement battery tray for my UK conversions, this is sided and gets rid of the front gap completely . I fill the arch gap with a strip of ABS fixed to the inside of the side panel, and shaped to fit the rear shield. But a complete cover strip can be better in some usage.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yes, good suggestion, i want to cover before the winter, all the inside area of the front and rear wheels. very hard to clean after muddy path.

Here some home made, battery shield, still not finish.
I need to add more Iron bars and 3mm rubber plate to cover all, and make the surface smooth.



Here high current cable 2/0 AWG , compare to the original cable with link between batteries.
 
#11 ·
You need to strap these on the side . If you dont as they swell (they will) the internal plates part and you lose capacity. Alloy plates and m6 stud will work OK. Min three each side . One issue with unrestrained cells is the connections on the top will get loose or be under a lot of pressure from being the only retaining mechanism. Strapping solves both these problems.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Hello there,

Here is some updates.

After 3 month of hard running, the performance are great.
I made this conversion for long trips with my son.

The BMS made by Chargery,
the Charger made by domestic company in China, good local brand. 25-30Ah output.
The BMS control the Charger by Solid state Relay.

The drawback of the BMS, is the balance function, which not suitable for 400Ah capacity.
Bleeding balance is not suitable for high capacity cells (Chargery have 1.2A Bleeding balance), Most of the industry using this kind of balance.
After some research, i order Inductive Active balance, which move the current from higher voltage cells to lowest voltage cells, with performance of 5-8Ah. not cheap toy Link. but it A must-have product for proper balance for high capacity cells.

In summary, I drive only on High mode, and down hills with Low mode. and for 2 hours of driving in the forest , the capacity down only to 78%. i have very happy.

Next upgrades will be :
• 26" or 27" tires.
• 2nd Digital Screen on the Dash for getting all the current consumption from the Chargery BMS.
• Temperature meter for Controller and Motor, which control on motor Cooling fan.

by the way, i did not understand why Polaris got 12V power from the 1th Lead Acid battery from side 1, and 12V power from 5th Lead Acide from side 2. i just cancel this. everything working fine.
 
#15 ·
the 12v is used with the original deltaq charger and the dash light. No pack should need constant balancing.if it does that suggests you have some cell problems. Even High AH cells should not require constant balancing especially when new . The cell blocks I use have a few ma balancing, but dont even use that, staying within 0.01v when charged. Dont charge to such a high voltage, taht will keep you away from the point at which they diverge. With 400ah pack you might lose 5ah but thats of little consequence. Drop the end of cc voltage, and you will have abetter pack long term Dont constantly balance to get every last Ah out of the pack.
 
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