Thanks for Watching Build Your Own Electric Car!

This concludes the BUILD YOUR OWN ELECTRIC CAR series! Thank you so much for watching! It's amazing how fast electric cars have evolved in these past ten years! I hope you learned something from these videos and have had fun with it.
Please subscribe to this KZbin channel to always keep up to date with whatever I'm working on and stop by 300mpg.org for more projects!

[@carlharn1712]

Thanks Benjamin for all the basic videos. My name is Carl, from the Philippines. Learning all you have described in making an electric car gave me enthusiasm in learning to build one. Thanks again...

[@SteveHartmanVideos]

I enjoyed the series and I learned a lot thanks for making it available all these years later. A lot of progress is made but the basics are all still there.

[@Cheebzsta]

Hey Ben thanks so much for putting this up here. I've been fascinated by EVs and the prospect of building one seemed like a bit of an excessive pipe dream. But you make it seem so doable. Not easy, of course, but doable. We bought a used Maxima and found out the hard way how to avoid buying a lemon. The eye of turning something that would normally be scrap in to an EV is really appealing. That'd be a heck of a confidence booster. Thanks for inspiring me. Should I be allowed to do it, I'll let you know how it goes. :)

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

We always look forward to hearing about other people's projects!

[@kilometro115]

In my country there are no any electric cars available yet (new or used), so I will build with your instructions but using some up to date tech. I will send updates The whole explanations you made are just awesome, Thank you

[@gamepad3173]

You've given me a few ideas ben, though when it comes to building my own 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8, I'm going to put the batteries underneath the car kinda like what Tesla does with their cars. That way I can still connect them to a controller and so on. plus have a Cooler (with fans mounted) for cooling groceries because frozen food and cool stuff don't do well in the sun. the cooler would on the right side of the electric motor and transmission. which means gutting a used Tesla for it's parts (since it would be far more expensive to get the parts on their own, just look at the Tesla batteries themselves.)

[@carsbikes6547]

Thanks Ben for a terrific easy to understand DIY budget conversion. Best regards, Geoff from Merimbula Australia

[@relaxingnature2617]

Thanks for the video series ..it showed me how to do it

[@abwannabe88]

Thank you for the great videos. It would be cool if you could do a follow up on how the tech and the prizes has changed over the years. And what you would do differently if you had to build an ev in 2018. I still think that the videos can teach people a lot, not everyone has $35k to spend on a new ev and would rather build their own. Once again thank you for the education content.

[@therealchayd]

Thanks for sharing a very informative series, even as an existing EV owner, I'd still love to build a DIY EV just for the fun of it. Thanks again!

[@jimbob-1]

Thank you so much for the videos and instructions, they're amazing and very helpful. However i believe you should go one step further and create a magazine style booklet on the building and manufacturing, so as to be able to show where parts can go and for people to be able to flip through the pages, read the information and check the sketches and diagrams. But otherwise thank you so much, i really appreciated your work and i do hope the best for you and your family. All the best, -jimbob. Thanks.

[@stevesalman8265]

Good job Ben , really enjoyed it . Thank you.

[@technosync274]

Thank you. Beatiful presentation. You are a man with passion and high energy - I enjoyed the way you delivered your project and the presentations.

[@cparedes2302]

Many thanks for the entire series! It is amazing and practical! It is the way of the future! Have some great e-driving!

[@RodrigoFernandez-td9uk]

After following your videos with great interest, I just found out that in my country it is forbidden to convert gasoline cars into electric ones! Supposedly for safety reasons, but on the other hand they give any idiot a driver's license, and they don't enforce speed limits. Obviously it is pressure from car importers.

[@safari338]

Loved watching your series! I’m planning on making a vw vanagon conversion for cheap and you’re videos have helped so much I actually know what to do now! Good luck on your future endeavors!

[@Chijousaikyo]

@Dalton Awesome Project!

[@jt1738x]

Absolute geezer! Thank you 👌🏻

[@SandyWalsh]

Thanks for posting. Inspirational series!

[@RWGresearch]

Indeed good friends along the way! Hope your recovering well. God bless! 2010... wow, yeah thing's have changed for sure. All for the better! ~Russ

[@lloydjuarezsr7874]

Watching your video here in Philippines

[@alialhaidary1072]

Thank you.

[@bro-shamsulnubairi8689]

thank you very much from Malaysia

[@samyosef]

great work Ben

[@hsinghshergill1660]

You are so good boss , a real engineer .I love you .one question is 72 V van give us a dangerous shock

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

In general, low voltage is generally considered 48V and below. I think human skin, depending on humidity, surface area, etc. generally resists about 42 volts. I think it's relatively low risk of shock at 72V, but you always need to use common sense, there's no reason NOT to always have covers over battery terminals, for example. The larger concern would probably be short circuits. As voltage increases, short circuits can produce incredible rushes of current, enough to vaporize a battery post, causing an explosion of molten lead. In general, the main thing is just to take safety seriously.

[@hsinghshergill1660]

@@BenjaminNelsonX thanks for reply , I have seen so many videos but you have all answers ,electric vehicles are future of our planet, now it's the time to STOP mixing poison in the air .Thanks

[@richardriehle4159]

that was a interesting project . what's happened to the metro after all this time ?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The Electro-Metro was decommissioned after the uni-body started rusting away. I removed all of the EV related components before selling the car as salvage material. The motor and controller used in the car can currently be seen popping wheelies in an electric lawn tractor. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZTEp6CeoZaha6s

[@Buiscit1738]

Awesome series!

[@mustafamohammedaldfa3e102]

im from iraq in i love your vids man

[@johningardia2088]

Great, love this.

[@martymcmannis9121]

Hi Ben. I was just wondering if you figured out how to keep your batteries charged while driving. If not, I'll let you know in the near future. BTW, thanks for your videos. You gave us a lot of great information. Take care.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I did run my car as a plug-in hybrid for a while. It was a fun experiment, but the generator added noise and took up space. The same approach, but with a P.H.E.V. in mind from the start would work great. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rom5mmCdac-Kp6s

[@brianerlenback4012]

Since I believe you said you have a 36 volt forklift motor would switching your battery bank from 72v series to two 48v series in parallel double your range?. I’m currently debating on converting a 72 super beetle convertible.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

It wouldn't have much difference on range. Range is primarily based on the total capacity of your battery pack. On a DC system, SPEED is based primarily by voltage. In general, always go higher voltage. Put in more batteries (more is better for range) but put them in series for higher voltage and thus speed. A Beetle is a great car as an electric. evalbum.com/type/VOLK

[@silojustinotungadomingossi8861]

Benjamin , I really appreciate your project and inspired me . I felt trying also to build one .but I have few questions: you explained all the basic stuff on how you managed to build it but I would like to know how are you charging your 12v battery , as far as I know that support the light and is constantly charged on mechanical enginees.where did you buy your CD?

[@bendordoy4815]

another big change over the last 10 years now days you can full EV conversions kits, and you can also buy all the components required to convert a classic car into a production quality EV such as electric motors pacifically designed for EV, bran new and use lithium iron battery modules/packs, made to order and premade transmission adapters plates and drive couplers ect

[@tlee8947]

I would like to convert my Renault Grand scenic 2006 Disel to electric car. Please give Any advice ect., eg motor size ect

[@ruthyoung6792]

where do you buy video

[@andyt840]

Hi Ben - loved all the videos, very challenging. I'd love to convert an old Audi TT to battery - how do you approach doing this with a complex car like the TT - would you simply remove the engine management system with the engine? What about things like ABS? Thanks Andy

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hi Andy, In general, cars have multiple computers on them. Even on my Geo Metro, which was a pretty basic car, there's a separate computer for the air-bags vs the engine. Removing the engine does NOT effect the air-bags at all. In some cases You may have to "spoof" sensors on a more complex car. That can usually be done by adding a resistor of the correct value to that sensor's input. The value can be found through a Chilton's or Haynes repair manual.

[@magedanwar1967]

Thank you very much

[@anaji5723]

Thank you.you are pro.

[@isaacmtolo-phiri5749]

Thanks man

[@grahamswain7356]

Is it possible to show at about chapter 12 of your video s thank you

[@hdsmith1001]

Hi Ben, My name is Glynn Smith. I built the first electric car ever registered in Dawson County Ga. back in 1994. An Opel G T built from Mother Earth plans. I sold the car several years ago, but I still have the Curtis controller and basically everything else to make another electric car. Would you be interested in these parts? I am using my daughter Heathers facebook account to reach out to you. I love your enthusiasm. Glynn Smith

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hi Glynn, Could you please leave me a message at 300MPG.org? That's the best way for us to speak in private. Commenting anywhere there is moderated and goes straight to me, so we can talk. Thanks!

[@mikelamb1253]

Why we can not have electric cars charging while driving? What if we connect a modded alternator to do it?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

You have to think about where the power comes from. An alternator does NOT spin freely. It takes a certain amount of power to spin it. That power normally comes from the gas engine. (You actually lose a little bit of your horsepower to the alternator that CAN'T make it to the road.) You COULD have an alternator on an electric car. But, you would only be converting electricity to mechanical motion back to electricity. There's no gain. You can only lose power due to friction and conversion losses. To fuel a vehicle, you need to ADD energy to the system. With a gas car, you do that by adding gasoline. With an electric car, you plug it in to wall power to charge.

[@ryanmichalski7420]

How many miles a charge did the geo metro get again.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The range of an electric vehicle is basically how efficient it is times the capacity of the battery pack, with the capacity really being the main thing. I never had the Geo Metro running on anything other than USED LEAD-ACID batteries. - basically the least energy-dense option available. Range was only about 20 miles, but work, the grocery store, library, etc. are all really only a few miles away each, so it worked just fine. For anyone building their own electric vehicle nowadays, there are all sorts of more affordable lithium options available. (I built the Geo Metro in 2008. There was essentially NO inexpensive lithium batteries available!) Used cells from commercially built electric vehicles like a Leaf or Volt work great for hobbyists.

[@alfredofuentes8959]

I was wondering , when you built/convert the car to electric did you have any options of recharging the battery pack while driving, using kinetic energy? You did a Good job by the way and inspiring set of videos. Thanks

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

What would you suggest as the source of energy while driving? In a closed system, you can only exchange one source of energy for another. Adding an alternator to the system would convert the kinetic motion of the car to power recharging the battery, it would also slow the car. "Regenerative Braking" is great, but only useful when you want to slow down the car anyways. I did later experiment with running the car as a hybrid. That used an LP generator mounted in the back to provide power to the battery (but the source of the power was the liquified petroleum gas fuel in the tank.) kzbin.info/www/bejne/rom5mmCdac-Kp6s If you do NOT have some sort of external source of energy, you will NEVER get more by trying to convert it from one form to another. It's a bit like trying to fly by picking up yourself by your belt, it just doesn't work. 300mpg.org/projects/electro-metro/perpetual-motion/

[@kingstarengineering3229]

How can i buy the disc

[@sdasdona]

Benjamin, I came across your videos and got fired up! I have a question. Are the other components you talk about already on an Electric fork lift ie controller PWM main fuse, contactor, pre-charge resistor, instrumentation, etc.? Could one use them instead of buying new or making them? Thanks Uriah

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes. An electric forklift IS an electric vehicle. Some of the parts on my car project were from forklifts, scrap-yard, etc. (The motor for this car was straight off a forklift.) However, forklifts are usually 36 or 48VDC. Depending on which component you are looking at, it may or may not work for a higher voltage electric car. One friend of mine DID build an electric motorcycle using nothing but a forklift that got scrapped out at his work. (It was kind of ugly, but worked just fine!)

[@sdasdona]

@@BenjaminNelsonX Thanks Benjamin, Is there a way to tell whether the motor will work with higher voltage? What should I look for? If I remember right your car ran on 72 volts.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@sdasdona You can definitely run forklift motors at higher than stock voltage. Here's an article choosing a motor. www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/using-forklift-motor-and-choosing-good-7598.html

[@zenmoto369]

Hey Ben, hope you are doing well! A have a question regarding your EV car, by any chance do you have a complete diagram of the setup, which might help me with my project? Best regards

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hello Martin, the main electrical diagram for any electric car conversion is really the one showing how to connect the motor controller. Alltrax always had a nice web page posting all the installation and user manuals for their controllers. I basically just followed the diagram at the link for the main wiring of the project. alltraxinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Doc100-081-A_DWG-AXE-PermMag-no-Rev-wire-dia.pdf

[@joseamoroso9774]

How I can buy your instructional CD’s?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hello Jose, The DVDs are no longer available. Essentially, all the videos that were part of the DVD are now available for FREE here on KZbin as part of this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLmHss3DBZUilepzTmr-XAVwpRRCqMv7Ny

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

i had a feeling that the footage was a little dated :) i wonder if you blew out the transmission with all the torque. i will go through your catalog.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Never had a single problem with the transmission.

[@AZACKAL]

this is because its a fork lift motor and not one of tthe tesla motors that are constantly tearing through transmission. those are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more powerful.

[@alfriedar]

I have heard JG’s cost projections to build an EV yourself....They seem way too high....What are your figures on the subject.?

[@bedewimebrouk]

hi. i do not undestand why you configure your battery and your battery charger in 72v while you have a 12v motor it will not better if configured 12v so you have more power and autonomy

[@jjtjr58]

what was the range between charges also what was the top speed did you get

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

300mpg.org/projects/electro-metro/battery-range/

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

300mpg.org/projects/electro-metro/top-speed/

[@atmm89]

I am looking at doing an electric change on a outboard motor (150hp), can you steer me in the right direction, going with lithium type batteries and I know about nothing about electric motors and all the other accessories that are needed, your help would be invaluable, where or what can I do my research? thank you so much for your time

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I haven't had much of a chance to work on any electric boats yet. "Torqeedo" has a pretty good reputation for commercially-available electric drives. www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us You might want to start off by looking for electric boat forums.

[@atmm89]

Benjamin, just for an example: 4 (200 A lipo4cells) = 12 volts(nominal) x 8 (12v) = 96 volts = a 32 batteries bank x 5 banks = 160 batteries or 96 volts 1000 Amps total. would that scenario be OK or powerful enough to power a similar motor of yours to drive an 150 hp outboard motor/boat

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The easy recipe for electric horsepower is Volts times current in Amps divided by 746. 96V times 1,000 watts is 96,000 watts or 96kW. Divide that by 746 to get a little more than 128 HP. Cells with a maximum draw of 200A in series to reach 96V should be able to produce about 128 HP. Keep in mind that how the HP rating is created between gas engines and electric motors is very different. Gas engines are rated at their peak power (revved up engines, etc.) whereas electric motors have a continuous rating for horsepower. It's how much horsepower they could create continuously or indefinitely with no overheating or other issues. You often use an electric motor of a lower HP rating to replace a higher horsepower gas engine. One reason for that is because electric motors tend to create more torque (especially at lower speeds when it's often the most needed) than comparable gas engines. Often, to find a really good match between a gas engine and an electric motor, you need to find out the TORQUE specs of both the engine and the motor and compare the two.

[@laszlodarago8546]

hi, do you have any email address to ask few question about the electric car?thanks

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hello! With 50,000+ subscribers, it would be hard to answer all e-mails. Instead, I make youtube videos and blog posts to answer as many questions as I can, and get the information out to as many people as possible. Feel free to post a question in the comments on 300MPG.org. That way, other people all get to see the answer as well.

[@ed-jf3xh]

What was your total cost?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Build cost on this project was about $1,300 USD. It featured many used, repurposed, and recycled parts.

[@ed-jf3xh]

@@BenjaminNelsonX Cool. Good job, loved the videos.

[@ben58201]

How to order video???

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I no longer sell the instructional DVDs. Instead, I just put everything here on KZbin for you to watch!

[@Hotsbhacek]

Thank you. try to build my old car to EV now,...

[@Dude-yo5ec]

you may be able to buy a used cheap EV car, but you'll never be able to enjoy it as much as what you build based on your dreams with your hands

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I completely agree with that.

[@ootommo1]

The original Elon

[@SteveHartmanVideos]

I enjoyed the series and I learned a lot thanks for making it available all these years later. A lot of progress is made but the basics are all still there.