Hi Everyone, I wanted to share my Leaf conversion with you just to demonstrate how simple it can be in its most basic form. I'm no engineer and will never understand the intricacies of voltage information, discharge rates, current draw, etc - I will leave that to people who know better than me and I will always bow to their superior knowledge. All I wanted was a quick battery replacement, plug in and go ! This is what I did - (1) Removed the old NiMH battery pack, plenum fans & temperature sensors (none of it is needed), (2) Lined the battery housing with 2mm & 4mm rubber sheet to hold the cells in place (no nuts & bolts), (3) Slid in 19 leaf cells and linked them together using the old NiMH interlinks, fitted a positive & negative lead with an anderson connector, (4) Changed the charger software. Plugged it in to charge and then drove it ! The safe riding range is 156v to 140v with an impressive 90+ miles range (My max range 104 miles). There are a couple of caveats with this simple conversion - (1) I have to manually check each cells voltage to make sure everything is running as it should, and (2) there is no BMS yet. I am more than happy to talk about it and I will happily supply more pictures and share my spreadsheet with detailed battery voltages with anyone who wants that information. I have been running this configuration for 4 months now and the battery voltage is VERY slowly creeping up to its maximum of (hopefully) 158v. I manually balanced the cells after the first month and they are now 'self balancing' the remaining slight cell imbalances themselves. I wish I could have done it years ago !
My 'simple' Leaf cell conversion
Fri, 11/28/2014 - 13:07
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My 'simple' Leaf cell conversion
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Thanks!
Amazing that even the old interlinks fit.
Without worrying about amps and volts: How is the "Oomphf"? Can you ride it like you stole it?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
The cells look like they had to have been designed for the Vectrix battery box!
The cells look like they had to have been designed for the Vectrix battery box!
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Before posting here:
This post is an echo, the original one can be found here:
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/13928-my-simple-leaf-cell-conversion
The "Oomphf" is exactly the same as before - just longer lasting and no fading away as the pack discharges. Personally, speed and acceleration are not my prime concern, range is my goal and that means steady & careful driving. I did a 'high speed/usage' test (62mph max) and the range was about 70 miles, not too bad really.
Electric traction is the future.
The "Oomphf" is exactly the same as before - just longer lasting and no fading away as the pack discharges. Personally, speed and acceleration are not my prime concern, range is my goal and that means steady & careful driving. I did a 'high speed/usage' test (62mph max) and the range was about 70 miles, not too bad really.
Electric traction is the future.
Very nice job Allan!!
Can you tell us what is the updated software you used? I'm thinking in doing the same with my Vectrix...