PHEV mod under way, Bristol, UK.

o yes..
the pictures... a must have..

i geus your going to salvage the oem pack and the 1 addpack that did not blow up
or are all the 3 packs damaged?.

also get your canview and bms+ out off the car now you still can.. before its towed away and in all the fuss you forget about it.

so the power line to the prius was shutoff? do i read that correct?

do you have a timer on it of did the fuse blow?

 

You are not the Susan Boyle of Prius you are Amelia Earhart! OK, maybe not the best comparison. I'm so relieved that YOU are OK, Velma is a machine, albeit one dear to you no doubt.

Thank you for being that pioneer Nikki, you are an inspiration.

 

WOW that looks scary!

If I were you and was going to try this mod again I would just try to invest in those Thunder Sky LiOn batteries. It would cost more but from what I read I think you have a little more control over them.

 

I little more control if it is a functional Battery Management System in place and operational.

 

what happend here is a failure for a temp sensor/relay shuting the charger off when the packs get to hot because maybe overcharging.

anyway if you have a temp controlled shutoff this would not have happend.

next time nikki ... do it that way and your fine..

the battery pack to the right an i gues your OEM pack and the one in the spare tire place is still ok? take them out after the insurance guy got a look and your ready to go... ( if the oem needs to be replaced in the case for waranty on the insurance payment/work. )

if the OEM pack stays in.. then you only need to get 1 more pack and you again are ready to go.. and next time put a temp sensor shutdown on every pack..
i have 3 temp sensors .. 1 on the oem pack. 1 on addpack 1 and 1 on addpack 2.

works like a charm.

the mains was off? mmm then maybe the charged did work correctly?

if i am correct its protected for a shortcut.. and thats on the HIGH DC part.
so... if this battery explosion made the mains shutoff.. then maybe there is more damage then only the battery pack..
maybe the explosion of the battery pack cut tru the AC wire?

 

he nikki

any info yet about the insurcance guy?

 

o what a shame

so velma is really dead.. no rebuild..

so are you going to go for a ALL ev? and forget the PHEV project?
i hear this on your online internet broadcast

i hope you keep going and do a new phev.

 

Nikki, I'm very sorry about the accident with Velma.
Viewing the pictures that you posted make me realize that you had at least a shorted couple of cells, more likely bridging internally, hence the 238 VDC charging voltage was spread among the 26 or less modules causing these to overcharge and going on thermal run out.
This accident also demonstrates that the mounting fixture you made was not adecuated, the Al angle was insuficient at strength and the clamping for the pack was to flimsy.
For the next project, if there is a continuation of a Prius PHEV, you should thing seriously on a semi-automated cooling procedure and a heftier battery carrier for the extra packs.

 

I am an Electrical Engineering student and we are looking into the possibility of converting a Prius as a school project. Currently we are using eaa-phev.org as a reference. They refer to the Interim Control Board being needed if CAN-View is used. Is this the route you are taking? If so, are you buying or constructing the board?

 

the BMS+ system nikk uses is a buying board

 

There is ANOTHER bright side. You're ok, and injuries are relatively minor. If the catastrophic event would have been a gas fire (the U.S. averages TWO vehicles deaths by fire every day) in a traditional ICE vehicle, it could have been much worse! I went to school with someone who died this way. Terrible. Your vehicle(s) can be replaced ... but not you!

.

 

any update yet about what amount your going to get back from the insurance and if its high enough your still going to get a new 2e hand velma? and try this PHEV one more time?

or is it really over and done?

 

he nikki
any update?

 

he nikki....................................

your really busy setting up your ev cast and job....
i guess thats wy you don't responde anymore..

well hope when you get some more time... we can hear something good from you

 

anyone checking her website or Twitter?? last i heard, she is getting rid of both Pri's (even the good one) and getting a used EV.

 

damm both cars?
what about her partner... she needs to drive to.....?

i am going to check the website

 

Looks like they bought the 33kW Diesel Smart. Very low CO2 emissions (1g/km less than new Prius) and pretty low everything-else, though it doesn't have a particulate filter. It's about £10k cheaper than a new Prius, which obviously isn't available yet. With Nikki's partner having lost her job, I think they had to cut back quite a bit on expenses.

Where I live, diesel is now at parity with petrol, or maybe only 1p/litre more. I've no idea why, the tax regime remains the same as it has for a long time.

 

damm a car 4 x smaller then the prius and only 1 co2 less. ( not a hybrid OK i now )
and a dirty diesel.... not really a car i expect nikki to be buying.
unless she wants to convert it to a EV. in the future.
but if i am not mistaken the petrol version of the smart is also low ( not like a diesel but there are more things then just co2 ) on co2.
and petrol cars being cheaper then diesel ( atleast here diesels are taxed more ) wy buy a diesel???

nikki where are you..