11 Build Your Own Electric Car: Cables and battery mounting

[@simonechristopher8727]

Love the drilling demonstration... great video!

[@pespsisipper]

still today you have one of the nicest well explained guide on how to convert a car to electric :)

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

I silver solder all of my terminal lugs and I start with Sch 10 copper tube to ensure ample amperage and physical strength properties. Also it costs less than commerical terminal lugs. Now of course, if you lack a drill press or a punch press, that may not be a desirable way to go, but any drill will work if you can slip a dowel into the opening and tape it to keep it steady while you drill, just be sure to secure it tightly and never press hard, because copper is soft, sticky and deforms much more than either aluminum or steel so be careful while you drill or you will break something. By the way, you can get shrink tube up to 6 inches in diameter, so there is no limit that would go beyond the size battery cables you are using.

[@ranjithrk5752]

Thank You very much for this informative video.

[@___OmerAJ___]

love it , love EVs.

[@igbasanvictor1032]

A job well done is what i can say with what you achieved , please how many miles were you able to get out of the car with a full charged batteries ?

[@back.to.future]

Very informative series. It helped me a lot in my simple ev conversation. I'm about to give a test drive. The only thing worries me is what about ground nagitive which is 60 volts to the body of the car. Won't it be dengerous. I'm not sure what to do. Any help would be great

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

For pretty much anything OTHER than 12v, you do NOT use the frame as a ground! Run dedicated cable of the correct gauge on the negative side of the circuit.

[@archieb9461]

Its pretty good for dummies but HELL...You DO GO ON AND OOOON.... Do a short version one episode of the whole process. Best you tubers dont talk much. It was a good job. I enjoyed it. But I think you could become a real top vlogger if you just shut it...And insert text, maybe the occasional, explanation. IMHO

[@beethovenkasompe7395]

how is the cooling system of the batteries. What happens if the batteries get too hot?

[@gadbenezer9329]

By any chance do the battery cables able to charge a battery.

[@nicholasmellmer4375]

What kinda batterys did you used?

[@chuckraybon5780]

I really like the series of videos that you have created for your build and the detail that you go to in each. For this battery video I have a concern with pressure fitting lead acid batteries (or any battery) into a battery box. I would worry about the batteries swelling and/or becoming overheated and having the casing split. This will lead to an acid spill in a closed environment causing an explosive environment as well as a respiratory hazard. I don'r recall seeing where you vented the battery box to the outside atmosphere? If these are not sealed lead acid batteries then you have an outgassing situation where the batteries release hydrogen, creating both an explosive and/or a respiration hazard. Setting this aside, great job with the videos and the build.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

For this project, I was using gel batteries. Later, I got some AGM batteries. Both are lead-based, but completely sealed. For flooded batteries, you would want to provide for proper venting.

[@teewoe2972]

Thanks so much for this EV vid series! I'm having trouble finding a fork lift motor at salvage yards. Any advice on motor specs if I search for a fork lift motor online? I'd like a max vehicle speed of at least 65MPH. Is this unrealistic for a fork lift motor, or can a controller affect its speed potential? Cheers!

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

You can do 65 just fine on a forklift motor. Make sure to use a decent voltage. Speed is proportional to voltage on a DC series-wound motor. The best advice I ever found on using a forklift motor can be found here: www.diyelectriccar.com/threads/using-a-forklift-motor-and-choosing-a-good-one.7598/

[@yatravis]

How did you decided where to install the 2/0 cables vs the 2 Awg cables? Is the amperage different in different parts of the system? Thanks!

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The 2 AWG cables shown are just an example. Any cables I re-used from forklifts for in the car were the heavier style.

[@gangleweed]

Hmmmm.….now that you've removed the engine etc, that is a huge weight off the front end...…..possibly you would want to install some batteries, (if you intend to stay with lead acid type), in the front to balance the weight shift. With a change over type conversion like this the first and very first consideration would have been to use Lithium type batteries...….one guy on the Tube shows how to build not too costly lithium packs with 18650 type cells......THAT is definitely the way to go.....Lead acid is pre history or before 1900.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Please keep in mind that this was a project built in 2008. Lithium batteries at the time would have cost over $10,000 for a basic motorcycle-sized battery pack. For a project using lithium batteries, take a look at the Vectrix electric motorcycle we upgraded. kzbin.info/aero/PLmHss3DBZUinx-DxMLnax485Alj5i5Lcn

[@johnf6262]

Wonder how many miles with 5 batteries

[@CicakMengkarung]

Using copper strip for the battery connection will make it look nicer

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Copper bus bars are great for short connections between smaller cells. They offer the advantage of being a SINGLE conductor instead of a lug/cable/lug. The disadvantage is that they don't handle vibration as well and they simply are NOT flexible. For this car, we are using large batteries where bus bars would have to be long and cross on an angle. Battery cables are a better choice. I did use a few small bus bars under the hood making short connections between the main fuse, contactor, and some of the other balance of system components.

[@cspicer8166]

@@BenjaminNelsonX not only that but welders cable with a godzillion small conductors also takes advantage of skin effect.

[@karimnageib894]

how much time take to charge all battreis

[@gulabkhan5360]

Very good morning

[@ibrahimayoussouftoure7854]

What if you fix a charging alternator for additional power, i believe it can recharge batteries for additional distance.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Where do you suggest the power for the alternator comes from?

[@ibrahimayoussouftoure7854]

@@BenjaminNelsonX, i think you can convert a drive system from the power source (instead of cutting a space underneath the gear box, you can cut a space on the top and fix a drive wheel or a pulley close to one of the coupling) you only need some sort of pulley to drive alternator for extra charging, some sort of recycling energy.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

So, the alternator is powered by the electric motor?

[@ibrahimayoussouftoure7854]

@@BenjaminNelsonX Yes, as long as there is power to rotate the pulley the alternator will always charge the batteries if they are in parallel they will at least gain 5 amps at 13 to 14 volts Dc. It depends on the R P M and the size of pulley to drive alternator.

[@Ecelleon]

@@ibrahimayoussouftoure7854 Do you mean Regenerative Braking? Driving the alternator with the electric motor will suffer from inefficiency, and wont actually charge the battery but provide resistance that drops the efficiency of the motor draining the batteries more. Regenerative braking though, recovers energy that would be lost to normal braking, whose energy is instead used to drive a generator to slow the car.

[@leeakers4525]

Batteries are known to off gas. Did you install a vent system to keep the corrosive gas out of the passenger compartment?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

These are sealed gel batteries, which do not off-gas like flooded batteries.

[@nunyabiznez8120]

I hate to point this out, but you do realize that the back seat cushion is resting on the battery terminals? That can damage the batteries, and as you state, they aren't cheap.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Of course, we wouldn't want anything resting directly on battery terminals. At the end of the video, I specifically mention this. The best actual representation of the finished project are the still photos at about 10:23-10:42. The plywood cover is bolted down over the box and rests directly against the edges of the box NOT any part of the batteries or cables.

[@nunyabiznez8120]

10:13 and 13:10 showed the foam higher than the box and the battery terms higher than the foam. I know you mentioned it, but 13:10 was concerning. People mismeasure all the time, I've done it myself. Couldn't really tell too well in other scenes if the batteries were lowered due to the angles. It looked like they might have been now that I looked again. Now, while I doubt anyone would be in the back seat of an electric Metro (I had a 1992), plywood flexes. I hope you have supports of some sort toward the middle. All this comes from an under seat speaker box build. Good build just the same.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@nunyabiznez8120 I ASSURE you that the cover did NOT sit on the battery terminals. When filming various parts of this project, I sometimes had things moved around temporarily, so it's possible the batteries could have been a hair higher while I was working on it, but if so, would have been moved again before putting things back together. Also, things sometimes really DO look different on video than in real life. The battery terminals were fine.

[@nunyabiznez8120]

You don't need to assure me about it. You say it doesn't, it doesn't. I was just trying to explain why I posted the comment in the first place and offer personal experiences. Still a good build.

[@kolinevans9127]

Who else is going through this wondering how he ends up doing acceleration control, PWM or ?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

This is an entire series. You don't have to wonder. Simply watch the video about motor control. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6HKZaR8m66cj7s

[@battery_solar_ev]

check out battery hook up dot com for your next battery upgrade and trash those heavy lead acid batteries.

[@Alientraveler003]

Where did you spend thousands of dollars?

[@Alientraveler003]

I've heard everyone say its pricey. I knew it wasn't and all it is ,is understanding what your doing . not send away the car to some crap shop , knowingly all they doing is gutting out a fork lift and ordering a speed control device and wires plus coupling What the heck ?

[@Alientraveler003]

No 5quarts of oil no extra tools no gas no emissions no noise for the nabours save money when your done and no 215 degree heat no radiator fluid no loser fan wires or serpentine belt I'm at awh right now

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I did nearly all the work myself on this car and spent about $1,300 total to do it.

[@garyfifield5858]

most cars have a petrol tank IF WAS DOING THIS I WOULD PUT THE POWER CELLS IN THE OLD PETROL TANK AND C UT THAT INTO HALVES AN INSTAL THE CELLS IN THE OLD [ERTOL TANK TO THEN CONNECT THE -NEGATIVE TO THE CAR BORDY OK REASON FOR INSTALLING THE BATTERY IN THE OLD PETER TANK IS THAT IT MAY BE HAZARD IN A CRASH IF THERE IN THE BOOT I DONT LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING BATTER LEAKS CAR PETER IS BUILD FOR WHEN A CAR CRASHES TRY THAT IN STEAD

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The batteries in this car WERE installed where the fuel tank was. Keep in mind that the original fuel tank was only a few inches thick, and wouldn't be able to physically hold the batteries. In small pickup trucks, the batteries are usually mounted along the frame under the bed, essentially where the fuel tank would have been.

[@Cyruscosmo]

Umm... Did he say he would ground the negative of the traction pack batteries to the car chassis?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

A person would never want to ground the negative of the TRACTION BATTERY pack to the frame of a vehicle. It always needs to be completely isolated. If it were grounded, there would be great risk of shock or short circuit between the battery positive and anywhere on the frame. Only the 12V starting or accessory body would be grounded to the frame, as is common practice in modern gasoline engine vehicles.

[@jcjensenllc]

Like we all have friends who own fork lifts and junk yards.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Many people have salvage yards somewhere nearby them. You don't have to know somebody who works there. Just the idea of getting some of these components as salvage instead of new might be a novel idea to some people!

[@glenngoodale1709]

you spent all that money to go 20 miles ??

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I spent about $1300 on this project, total, including buying the car. When I built this car in 2008, the only electric car available commercially was a Tesla Roadster, at a price of about $100,000+.

[@glenngoodale1709]

oh, ok, thanks

[@maleeab]

HI I have to discuss on this can i have your phone no please. I am Malee and no is 702 858 0367

[@glenngoodale1709]

are you on Face book ??

[@peterclark4685]

90% of all accidents happen within 10 miles of the home Glenn. Why do you think that is?

[@kanegami4176]

how old is your wife's child?