Enginer PHEV kit Rebuilt with quality components and new batteries

hi all.

a little background for those who may not already know.

about 2 months ago, i purchased a second hand 2006 prius Itech, that already had an enginer PHEV kit installed in it. the vehicle itself is in awesome condition. however, there was a big problem with the enginer kit (big surprise there )

when i bought the car, i was fully aware that i would likely have to replace the batteries, and this was factored into the cost of the car when i paid for it. i got the car for a great price. basically didn't pay any extra for the kit at all.

so, over the last two months or so, i have done much research, and decided on plan of attack to get the kit working properly.

the plan consists of buying 32x 40ah Calb lifepo4 cells, a new BMS (one that won't cook the new batteries) and a better faster charger also.

all of the parts that i need have now arrived, and the install will be happening saturday
i have the camera charged up and ready to document the procedure, and once it's up and running, i will do a short YouTube video of it also.

some pictures of the parts are below.
the rest of the install pictures and info will follow once i get home after the install.
i am getting the install done with the help of an ev building friend.
all parts (apart from a few basic supplies) have come from EV power in Western Australia.

the cells will be wired up in a 16s2p configuration.the total will be the same 4kwh as the original enginer kit should have had.



30 of the CALB 40ah cells



one single cell for size reference



charger, cell interconnects and 2 more Calb 40ah cells.




BMS unit



16x cell modules, one module per buddy cell pair.

Jason.

 

yeah, there isn't a temperature monitoring provision, unless there is temp sensing on the cell modules
(i don't think there is)

total cost has been about $4000.
i think it will end up looking kind of similar to the original enginer kits.
my kit uses the RFE cells now, and some of these are toast.

the battery box will have to be enlarged a little height wise, as it's not quite high enough for the new cells.
i will be mounting them vertically as recommended by the cell manufacturer. not horizontally as the original enginer kits did. there will be a 4.5mm sheet of clear polycarbonate mounted over the new cells as an insulation layer.

the box will have to be about 40mm or so higher. it should be a fairly simple exercise to modify it.
then make a floor leveler piece so that the hatch floor will still be level. once covered with carpet, you won't know anythings there. (at least thats the plan )

also, i don't think the new charger will fit inside the existing battery box.
it's just too big. so that will have to go in the hatch area. probably bolted to the HV battery cover trim piece.

the DC-DC will also have to be relocated.
it will likely be mounted vertically against the rear wall of the battery box.

i guess we will see how it all turns out tomorrow once i start the install.

Jason.

 

that's another possibility too i guess.

we will investigate the options tomorrow once the parts of the old kit are removed.

Jason

 

Just got through with Day 1.

Lots of progress made today.
Once I get home and can upload the pictures, I will update again.

Very happy with today's effort.
There was more fabrication than we had factored in, and this is the main reason it's not completed already.

I'm posting this using my phone.

Jason.

 

so, the story of today begins at around 10am, when i arrive at Vincent's place in Woolongong, some 1 and a half hours drive from home.

we start by making a bunch of measurements and making lots of notes on what parts will still be needed.
with list in hand, we run off to the local hardware store and local electronics retailer for the required parts.

we returned and started the removal process.



Before picture...

with the box removed, we mounted the charger in the wheel well. it clears the bottom of the box by a few centimeters.





while at the electronics retailer, i picked up a 240V cage type blower to use as cooling for the charger.



the cage fan.
this will be running whenever the charger is connected to the mains AC power.

Vincent then took a bunch of measurements from the fan and the charger, and drew up a model of a mounting bracket on his CNC program.





CNC machine....

the finished bracket.



fan bolted onto the charger




with the no longer needed parts of the enginer kit removed, we test fitted a few of the cells to check for the height requirement.




then we started to try to work out where all the new parts would go.




having now decided on the location for the components...





we now started work on the battery hold down system...




all cells are now sitting in place.
not bolted in yet though...




so, this is as far as we got today before running out of daylight.

will be finishing up Monday. still to do is wire up the cells, install interconnects and cell modules,
finish the BMS wiring and complete the cell hold down system.

the DC-DC converter will be staying in it's current position. no need to move it.
the enginer box will be about 40mm higher than stock once it's all completed.

there will be a 4.5mm sheet of polycarbonate between the batteries and the metal lid of the box.

i will update with the rest of the install, and report back on how it's performing also.

Jason.

 

We had to use the contactor, as the DC-DC needs a NO type contact for it to be on.
The contactor that I have is NC when the BMS is on.

So I figured that we should just use the contactor to switch the DC -DC on and off.

Once it's completed, the lid of the box will be bolted down.
There will be no hinged lid.

Jason.

 

ive been doing some thinking about the use of the contactor.

im now wondering if i will also need a precharge circuit ?
to prevent arcing inside the contactor... and the potential for contact welding that exists if there are large inrush currents.

has anyone connected the DC-DC converter directly to a battery pack in order to see if there is a large inrush current present ? if there's a large spark when making the connection, there is inrush current. is no sparking, or minimal, then there is probably not.

another way we can test this is to place a meter in series and try to measure the current at start up...

will report back tomorrow once i know what's happening.

Jason.

 

were using the contactor in my system to disconnect the pack from the input side of the DC-DC converter. not the output side. so the loads will be about 80A at maximum.

im not worried about the disconnect part. it's the connect function.
if there are large inrush currents at power on, it could in theory weld the contacts shut on the contactor...

Jason.