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PHEV mod under way, Bristol, UK.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by aminorjourney, Jun 7, 2008.

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  1. aminorjourney

    aminorjourney Mum to two prius!

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    Hi Flying,

    Have you done that then? How easy was it to do?

    N
     
    #241 aminorjourney, Apr 26, 2009
  2. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    to easy

    look at the force topic about the temp hack
     
    #242 Flying White Dutchman, Apr 26, 2009
  3. aminorjourney

    aminorjourney Mum to two prius!

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    Excellent. I'll add that to the list of things to do to Velma. Currently I'm trying to keep the batteries cool!

    Fuel economy on this pack is up. I'm shooting for 850 miles on this tank.
     
    #243 aminorjourney, May 7, 2009
  4. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    he nikki

    keeping the packs cool? do you have soe trouble with it?

    i did a 28km EV trip ( city only ) with a total of 3 packs and did not use any gass
    this from a cold start at home... thx to this temp hack ;-)

    also a 60km highway trip ( of course ICE kicked in ) with just 2,1L/100km.

    its nice to se that the prius with a full pack can go all electric at 100kmph... ICE at 950-975 ( not burnig fuel just turning voor PLAn gear )
     
    #244 Flying White Dutchman, May 7, 2009
  5. aminorjourney

    aminorjourney Mum to two prius!

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    It's alive! At least it is. I certainly don't feel it!

    After a few months of having the batteries strapped above the trunk floor while I checked everything was working correctly I finally had the combination of spare time, sunshine and energy to put the batteries under the floor.

    Using 1 inch angle and threaded studding, I repackaged the two battery packs into three groups, using colored tape to make sure I re-assembled the packs with the correct batteries in them.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    While there are three physical packs, there's still only two electrical packs.

    Two physical packs each have twenty modules, and the third pack has eight modules each from each of the original packs. As I only had two sets of plastic end plates, I had to fabricate wooden end plates from 3/4 inch timber.

    The spare was taken out and the lower pack (1b/2b) dropped into the wheel well. Using a piece of box section I was able to bolt the bottom pack in place. The insulation tape helps prevent electrical nastiness. The drain plugs have been removed to aid air flow when driving until I've put the 12v fans in place.

    [​IMG]

    The top battery packs (1a and 2a) each have the original isolation safety disconnect, plus Anderson connectors. The batteries are bolted to the original floor tray, which rests on the wooden battens below.

    It's surprisingly sturdy and initial drives indicate no vibration at all. It's all much quieter than it was.

    The charger is also in the under-floor area and has it's exhaust fans pointing out some holes I've cut in the boot tray. There are currently six holes for ventilation. Four will get fans, although two are used for cable conduits.

    [​IMG]

    When charging I'm going to leave the trunk floor folded up to give extra air flow for the time being, until the fans are confirmed as working correctly.

    With the trunk floor down, you'd hardly know anything was underneath!

    [​IMG]

    There is a safety sticker though, just in case someone gets nosey!

    Also, Velma is now sign-written up post crash. She looks very impressive charging at the local Mall.

    [​IMG]
     
    #245 aminorjourney, May 25, 2009
    Abarnabe likes this.
  6. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Looks great! Could you have put more batteries in the wheel well? Looks like a few more would have fit.
     
    #246 TheForce, May 25, 2009
  7. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Nikki, it looks awesome!!!, great workmanship of your part.
    With some ingenuity everything falls together in a "grand" ensemble.
    Congratullations......:cheer2:
     
    #247 mrbigh, May 25, 2009
  8. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    nice work nikki

    keep a eye on the temp now your not cooling active

    i have one of my packs heat up to 50 celsius ( without cooling ) and just using 2,5 amps to charge..
    it was my new 2008 pack so maybe there is a problem with it accepting more charge or so and the older packs need more time to get charged up.

    anyway just in case because its al in a tight space now.
     
    #248 Flying White Dutchman, May 26, 2009
  9. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    WOW, i really really REALLY admire your drive and GUTS to take on such a daunting DIY project. not sure i would have wanted to take the risk.
     
    #249 DaveinOlyWA, May 26, 2009
  10. KV55

    KV55 Member

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    Well done Nikki, Velma is looking proud.
     
    #250 KV55, May 27, 2009
  11. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    wy o wy dont we have those plugin locations here where i life....... damm..
     
    #251 Flying White Dutchman, May 27, 2009
  12. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    OMG! Nikki I just caught up on your minor journey. I am speechless. I haven't been this inspired for over 20 years, when during re constructive burn surgery, the MD stated, "I could teach a monkey to do this" ... that and my ex-law partner who said, "I'm living proof any moron can become an attorney". After that I too proved any moron could become an attorrney. :p
    So now I'm again inspired, and I'm going to try a DIY on our 2004 Prius. What the heck, our extended warranty runs out in just a few months. I just missed out on a 2010 Prius, which is supposed to be much easier to convert ... kind of ready made. But who knows. That extra cash will now go toward a DIY project. ok! I gotta get busy. This'll likely take me a VERY long time. Wish me luck!

    .
     
    #252 hill, May 27, 2009
  13. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    I, too, just caught all the way up with this. Definitely not a
    *minor* journey, by any stretch! I'm glad all the other PHEV-folks
    chimed in here because it gives us nice perspective on some of their
    discoveries too. From the original tests by Wayne Brown and Andy
    Roberts and the CalCars folks and into all of yours, it's a nice broad
    look into some of the parallel-packs issues.
    .
    And that overcharged pack pic is amazing; beats anything that Mike
    cooked in his shop. Those things just plain *don't* ever vent,
    do they?? What's the point of having all those vent fittings,
    I wonder, if the modules are just going to try their best to do
    the "chipmunk cheeks" thing anyways??
    .
    It still seems to me that the right way to do any of this, besides
    having a good BMS on the aux pack, is some kind of current-controlled
    bidirectional DC/DC converter. That way you could arbitrarily make the
    rule that nothing over 30A passes between the packs, or whatever. The
    CalCars and Pluginsupply and others "just bang 'em together" methodology
    seems fraught with some nasty problems, especially in cold weather
    when different cell chemistry characteristics go weird.
    .
    Has anyone yet tried the experiment to see just how much current
    you can get away with injecting on the *other* side of the sensor??
    .
    _H*
     
    #253 hobbit, May 27, 2009
  14. aminorjourney

    aminorjourney Mum to two prius!

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    Thanks, Hobbit! Praise indeed from you! :blush:

    I think though that you're wrong on the venting issue. I think the modules *do* vent, but only with a very small amount of gassing taking place (as would be present for example, in a long downhill regen followed by immediate discharge climbing up another hill.)

    I think the problems come when you have sustained charge followed by holding at a specific voltage, almost as if you were following a more traditional lead acid charge curve perhaps?

    Just a thought anyway.

    There's at least two other PC members who have done something very similar. It'd be great to hear what they've done differently.

    Nikki
     
    #254 aminorjourney, May 28, 2009
  15. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    easy on a 2010??? tell us more:eek:

    nice link thx

    if the packs really vent like that dont you think people living in those surroundings wil have a broken pack in nowtime.
    ?
     
    #255 Flying White Dutchman, May 28, 2009
  16. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    not easy ... easier
    I got the story 3rd hand. You'll have to ask darell. It was something I got off of an email written by him. I haven't cornered him on it yet. I was actually going to make a new post on the topic. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes before a gen III goes PHEV.
     
    #256 hill, May 28, 2009
  17. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I cant wait to read that post!
     
    #257 TheForce, May 28, 2009
  18. aminorjourney

    aminorjourney Mum to two prius!

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    Me neither!
     
    #258 aminorjourney, May 29, 2009
  19. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    go and corner darell.

    where is it.... post a link!!!!
     
    #259 Flying White Dutchman, May 29, 2009
  20. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Bob Wilson just got the first 2010 of the PCD group, may be he would like to be the guinea pig on the 2010 PHEV conversion?
     
    #260 mrbigh, May 29, 2009
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