Scrapping my eSwift, make offers on parts

1272 Views 4 Replies 2 Participants Last post by dtbaker, Feb 3, 2018

dtbaker

Discussion Starter · Jan 5, 2018 (Edited)

I cannot justify having three cars on the road, and trying to make space in the garage..... I have decided to strip and scrap the eSwift since nobody local seems to want it as a running EV.

The basic build is a 120v nominal (38x 100ah Thundersky LiFePO4) with ADC 8" brushed series wound motor. It has normal stuff like dc-dc, vaccuum brake w resevoir, even a 1500 watt ceramic heater. If you'd like to see the build history or the specific equipment in the build, visit http://www.envirokarma.org/ev

The little 1221c Curtis controller blew up a year ago, and I have not invested the time or money to replace it.... so it's time to scrap it and sell off the parts since I have more fun driving the eMiata! Prices listed below are a starting point, and do not include shipping charges. Make me an offer on what you want!

Please EMAIL me directly rather than PM as I don't often visit or log into this site any more. I will keep the list updated as stuff sells:

1000 - 8"ADC motor

600 - adaptor plate - CanEV design for Suzuki/Geo

50 - pot box throttle

80 - main contactor

100 - main circuit breaker

75 - heater contactor

100 - 1500 watt ceramic heater in duct

50 - heater blower fan

2000 - batteries 37x 100ah Thundersky (15k miles on them)

400 Elcon 1500watt charger (preset for 120v nominal LiFePO4 battery pack)

200 vac pump, res, relay package

150 - dc-dc

30 - inertia interlock

25 - shunt

100 - eMeter

400 - wheel/tires - summer AL wheels

300 - wheel/tires - winter steel wheels

50 - radio

50 - speakers

50 - headlights

50 - tailights

50 - seats

... or anything else I can strip from the car if you need '97 Suzuki Swift specific parts. Brakes, CV joints, etc.

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electric85

· #2 · Jan 17, 2018

Where you using a BMS in the car? I am looking for some miniBMS cells, if you have any, i'd be interested!

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dtbaker

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 17, 2018

electric85 said:
Where you using a BMS in the car? I am looking for some miniBMS cells, if you have any, i'd be interested!

I never used a BMS....
I top-balanced, let the charger do its job, and avoided more than 80% DOD.

I checked balance several times per year for a while, but noted very little drift over time after a good initial balance, and moved to just annual manual check on top balance. This involved catching it at end of charge, noting any cells more than .1 V higher than others and draining off a little energy with a resistor. target average was 3.65v/cell at end of charge.

no significant problems without a BMS on this car, or the eMiata, except ONE time a friend borrowed the car and ran down to 100% DOD despite instructions not to..... The Swift used a Curtis controller, which does not have a LV cutoff like the Zilla does, so ONE cell was damaged. Hence the 37 cell pack rather than 38. Also why I am asking half price for the batteries.

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electric85

· #4 · Jan 17, 2018

Wow that is pretty awesome you were able to get away with no BMS. I was strongly advised to get one so I've never not had one. I just need to replace a few broken cell modules. Finding MiniBMS is a pain now though.

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dtbaker

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 3, 2018

electric85 said:
Wow that is pretty awesome you were able to get away with no BMS. I was strongly advised to get one so I've never not had one. I just need to replace a few broken cell modules. Finding MiniBMS is a pain now though.

I made a choice to avoid the cost and complications of an active BMS for a couple reasons. a. parasitic loads, especially if uneven, UNbalance and drain cells. b. failures... many of the BMS offered at the time seemed to have a high failure rate c. limited ability to correct badly balanced cells... most had a 1 amp or so shunt limit, only effective at the very end of charge, which would not handle a badly balanced cell hitting high voltage limit during CA part of charge cycle.

I decided to let the charger do it's job without extra bells and whistles, which is to end charge when the pack hits top voltage... which implies top-balanced. This presents a risk at full discharge, so I try to be careful not to ever go below 90% dod, and my controller has LV setting to help remind me.

I found that after care top balance initially, the cells remained 'in balance' within acceptable tolerance for 6-12 months. So for people going without a BMS, my experience has been that a good initial top balance, and checking and re-balance every 6 mos, seems to work just fine.

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