[mathis_deneux]

Hello,
I am currently a high school senior, I am converting an 1975 VW beetle to electric. I bought 4 Tesla S model battery, but I am not sure how to connect them together, if someone could help me with that
Thank you

 

[Popkorn]

That is a great question for someone starting a project that requires high voltage and high current. It is by far the most dangerous part of your build and must be done correctly.
It can be a lengthy subject and one I am not willing to discuss, for your safety.
I will say that there is a ton of videos and information as to parallel and series connections and how it effects the voltage and current. This site is a great resource too.
Search is your friend.
Good luck!

 

[mathis_deneux]

That is a great question for someone starting a project that requires high voltage and high current. It is by far the most dangerous part of your build and must be done correctly.
It can be a lengthy subject and one I am not willing to discuss, for your safety.
I will say that there is a ton of videos and information as to parallel and series connections and how it effects the voltage and current. This site is a great resource too.
Search is your friend.
Good luck!

I try finding videos online but couldn't find any on the telsa batteries ? Do you have a website or video that could help me ?

 

[Popkorn]

Start here

 

[brian_]

Please don't depend on some random video. Literally anyone with a computer and a camera can make a video, and most of them are nonsense - some are dangerous. Try starting with fundamental information sources, and learn what series and parallel electrical connections are.

If you understand what voltage and current are needed to operate the motor, and what the motor controller can handle (you have one of those, right?), then you can determine how to connect the battery modules together.

But whatever you decide to do, please describe the wiring plan to someone qualified (even just this forum) to get it checked before connecting anything to any battery terminal.

 

[Deane]

Hello,
I am currently a high school senior, I am converting an 1975 VW beetle to electric. I bought 4 Tesla S model battery, but I am not sure how to connect them together, if someone could help me with that
Thank you

So you probably already know that batteries connected in series are additive: [ first battery + goes to second battery -, second battery + goes to third battery -, third battery + goes to fourth battery -]
will ADD the voltages of each battery so that the voltage between the negative of the first battery and the positive on the last battery will be the total of each in the string.
Batteries connected in parallel [where each battery negative is connected to all other negatives and each battery positive is connected to all the other positives] will have the same voltage as one battery but will have 4 times the current (Amperage) capacity. Please describe exactly what voltage and current you expect to go into your motor and we can help you better. Also tell us the specs on each of the batteries.

 

[4G63T]

May not be exactly what your looking for but you get to see some Tesla batteries being connected in series and info about BMS:

 

[JeffAU]

Hello,
I am currently a high school senior, I am converting an 1975 VW beetle to electric. I bought 4 Tesla S model battery, but I am not sure how to connect them together, if someone could help me with that
Thank you

Hi Mathis,

I have similar questions for my Land Rover (Series 3) build, A good source of information on batteries in general is Will Prouse YouTube videos, I can't say he would have anything specific on connecting Tesla batteries together, but he might have a link or even be contactable to steer you in the right direction. He also has a forum similar to this called diysolarforum. That forum is mainly on solar and solar battery systems but there may be some info on connecting battery packs as opposed to individual cells. That is also a good source of info on tested Alibaba and AliExpress products.

Well done sourcing a 75 beetle and Tesla battery packs though.

 

[brian_]

I would be a lot more comfortable with this whole idea of advising a teenager on how to connect EV batteries together if there was some indication of a plan, or what the specific question is. Am I the only one who noticed that the only EV components mentioned are battery modules? If there is nothing else chosen, then the small details of how to connect the modules doesn't seem like a rational first question to ask.

 

[scottherrington]

If you have little knowledge of electronics check out David Graham on YouTube. It might be useful to get some background info before you start your build.
Damien Maguire has more practical videos along with Daniel Oster and persteel, all on YouTube.
If you go to my channel Mini Life Crisis (please don't rely on me for your electrical knowledge ) you can check out my channel list. They have all helped me on my learning journey.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk

 

[brian_]

If you have little knowledge of electronics check out David Graham on YouTube. It might be useful to get some background info before you start your build.
Damien Maguire has more practical videos along with Daniel Oster and persteel, all on YouTube.
If you go to my channel Mini Life Crisis (please don't rely on me for your electrical knowledge ) ...

Good caution, but there's no reason to assume that any of the people posting on YouTube are any more qualified than any of us. Some of them (presumably none of those suggested by Scott) are outright dangerous.

 

[scottherrington]

Good caution, but there's no reason to assume that any of the people posting on YouTube are any more qualified than any of us. Some of them (presumably none of those suggested by Scott) are outright dangerous.

David Graham is a very experienced electronics engineer who has been lecturing at a College in America for many years, I would trust his info but you definitely have to be careful.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk