DIY EV Part 18 - eGolf Battery Breakdown.

Please check out the links below.
They are affiliate links so if you make a purchase I will receive a few cents commission but it won't cost you a penny more.
Thanks for your support.
In this very short episode I have bought a battery pack from a 2020 eGolf with less than 200 miles so virtually brand new. I open the pack, point out a few safety precautions then start to work out how to fit it into my car using more cardboard aided design.
If you are looking for modules from an eGolf here are a couple of links. These may have expired by the time you read this but a quick search should hopefully find similar still for sale.
Note these are affiliate links so if you make a purchase I will receive a small commission.
Thanks for your support.
ebay.us/fpCDe1 eBay.co.uk
ebay.us/SK04Iu eBay.com
Other links that may be of interest.
Bafang BBS01, BBS02, BBSHD Mid Drive Kit
Amazon.co.uk amzn.to/3y6XWdZ
Amazon.com amzn.to/3w51RXl
eBay.com ebay.us/39OXlW
eBay.co.uk ebay.us/ElYb7K
Voilamart kit similar to my original system
eBay UK ebay.us/AV38FZ
KT Sine Wave Controller/Kit
eBay UK ebay.us/kGcnVC
eBay.com ebay.us/asy5lJ
Amazon UK amzn.to/2SdaoJU
Amazon.com amzn.to/3gWCdQd
Aliexpress s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AdA6eZ
KT LCD3 Display
Amazon.com amzn.to/3jM6cMP
Amazon.co.uk amzn.to/2Thz98t
eBay.com ebay.us/n5Wu8n
eBay.co.uk ebay.us/rZywcn
Cheap Ebike Controller
ebay.co.uk ebay.us/8dPcJm
Amazon.co.uk amzn.to/3zZMoec
Amazon.com amzn.to/2UrJxKP
ebay.com ebay.us/WXDo9m
Aliexpress s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_At4yWR
Battery building Supplies
Cell Holders 10S ebay.us/POV3ap
Cell Holders 5S ebay.us/SZVatA
Solid Nickel strip 8mm x .15mm ebay.us/2iHNTL
Solid Nickel Strip 10mm x 0.15mm ebay.us/UZMSvA
18650 Cells
If you are looking for 18650 cells to build a battery pack here is where I buy mine. I have always used LiitoKala cells and found them to be good quality.
Note the Name brand cells are copies, they are NOT genuine but do have similar properties to the original and are still excellent batteries.
Panasonic Look alike s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AD9

[@oldboyoverland]

How have I only just seen this series! Amazing! Really excited to see how this pan out, as my brother and I were discussing similar last week. Keep up the good work!!!

[@henrikaleksandernilsen6388]

That battery looks like a mess. It's quite fascinating to look at actually. You can tell the engineers has worked to squeeze as many cells as they could into an area that was originally designed to house an exhaust system.

[@davidturpin9135]

Excellent breakdown, thank you. I didn’t watch the other videos in the series; I just wanted to see what the e-Golf battery was like inside. But now I will probably watch the rest!

[@JPetr94]

There're not too much e-Golf teardowns like this over the internet, kudos! Btw, seems like VAG counts modules from most positive one (according to ETKA/ELSA).

[@alibro7512]

Thanks, but tearing it down is the easy bit. Rebuilding it in another car and making it all work, that is not so easy. 😉

[@johnnodge4327]

It's coming along Ali. Looking forward to the next instalment.

[@MrJeffyStud]

Thank you for doing this T.T I was hoping to see this someday. If you end up making a video about inserting an e-golf battery into a car, I'd be super grateful. Cheers.

[@alibro7512]

Thanks, I'm currently working on just that but I'm very slow. Check out my other videos.

[@MiniLifeCrisis]

You can clearly see how much more complicated it is to have a ‘converted’ OEM car than a bespoke EV. Thanks for the videos

[@1963TOMB]

On the other hand I'm glad I've got an EV that doesn't look like an EV.

[@MiniLifeCrisis]

@@1963TOMB I must admit to not being a fan of the early Leaf but I love my i3

[@GapRecordingsNamibia]

I love CAD, works everywhere and no pc's are needed....... Well done Ali.... You'll get it done, there's nothing like the thrill of HVDC to make the brain go giddy, I know the feeling.

[@alibro7512]

Thanks Charles. There is no way I could work this out without CAD boxes. 😉

[@alibro7512]

LOL, someone really dislikes me as every video I put up has a thumbs down pretty much immediately. What a plonker. 😂

[@hackerdawg17rf]

Someones just very jealous, wishing it could be them having all the fun. Its just a sign that you are doing something right! Keep up the good work

[@alibro7512]

@@hackerdawg17rf Thanks mate

[@johncampbell4498]

Q. are you keeping the VCU and driving the rear Diff? & 4WD - or will your EV Freelander be only FWD? - just to know, i see the Battery packaging underneath takes up the space of the original driveline.

[@alibro7512]

I'm keeping the entire Freelander drive train and packaging the battery pack around the rear diff and propshaft. Or at least a small part of the battery pack. Freelanders don't drive nicely when front wheel drive only.

[@Nexus6073]

Great Video. Hard to find any for vw e golf batteries. I wanted to ask if you think it would be possible for the whole battery pack as it is with the housing to fit uner a vw golf mk4 2002-2005? At some point id like to vonvert a vw golf mk4 and use an egolf as donor for motor batteries ect.

[@alibro7512]

I have no idea if the floor pan of a mk4 golf would be the right shape but if it is then potentially yes. If you bought a complete eGolf it would be possible but I suspect a very big job. It may be easier to repair the damaged eGolf. As far as I can tell they are being written off for very little damage because repair shops are wary of them. The car I got this battery from could have been repaired.

[@Nexus6073]

@@alibro7512 Thank you!. Its more of a fun project for me since i want to have an electric vw golf mk4. Not looking at the cost really more looking at an easy fit and i think maybe the egolf will save me the headcahe of finding all parts (motors ect) to fit in the body of MK4. Anyway thank you for your answer! Cheers!

[@andreipryvalau225]

Hello. I want to ask you for advice. I bought a 2018 E-Golf, but it didn't have a DC fast charging connector. I plan to replace the charging port in the car. Help me with advice on how to reduce the voltage of the high-voltage battery so that you can safely replace the eboot and lay the missing wiring harnesses? Maybe you still have spare parts from the e-golf? (I'm looking for a spare part that you have on the video)

[@alibro7512]

Sorry I just spotted your question. I would not recommend you touch the charging port unless you know exactly what you are doing and have all the appropriate safety equipment. Not only is there almost 400V in the battery which is extremely dangerous, but if you make any mistake in the connections or use incompatible parts the car will not charge as the charge port only becomes live when the car receives the correct signals from the charger. There is no way to reduce the Voltage without draining the batteries which will kill them. I did not have the car so I do not have any other parts. I hope this helps.

[@andreipryvalau225]

@@alibro7512 ok. Thanks

[@Crunch8111]

Hello sir! Do you know of any succesfull battery upgrades for the E-Golf from model 2014 to model 2017? (Larger battery pack)

[@alibro7512]

Sorry, I'm not aware of any upgrades for eGolf.

[@Crunch8111]

@@alibro7512 thanks for your reply

[@buckegit]

I currently own a 2019 e-golf and im from the Ports direction 😉 Is this an older 24kwh pack or newer 35?

[@alibro7512]

It's from a late 2020 eGolf so 35kWh. Is that Portstewart, Portrush, Portaferry or Portadown? Other Ports are available.

[@buckegit]

@@alibro7512 lol. Portstewart

[@Ruudi05]

​@@alibro7512 and how many cells in series?

[@alibro7512]

@@Ruudi05 The VW had 88 cells but I bought more as I want 96 for my Nissan Leaf based conversion.

[@Ruudi05]

@@alibro7512 thanks for info, have you got an idea what's the energy density Wh/Kg of these modules?

[@piyush2991]

What is the Li-ion battery chemistry used in e-Golf?

[@alibro7512]

The original Golf's had Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) made by Panasonic. Mine are newer Samsung SDI NMC 333 cells. Here is a useful link. pushevs.com/2020/04/04/comparison-of-different-ev-batteries-in-2020/

[@waldemarii]

Hi. Is there resistive heaters inside this battery pack?

[@alibro7512]

There is neither heating nor cooling in the pack so I'm hoping these modules are so over specced by VW that they just won't get hot at the kind of currents I expect to draw.

[@waldemarii]

@@alibro7512 Interesting. Litium battery can be damaged if charging below freezing. I assumed that there is at least electric heating elements in the battery pack.

[@alibro7512]

@@waldemarii I suspect the bms takes care of that.

[@M20B25-User]

7:45 How old is this car? How many winters has this underbody seen?

[@alibro7512]

It's a 2004 Freelander. This is my test mule that is pretty much worthless so I don't need to worry about it.

[@Luukullus]

Really very interesting! I drive a Golf from 2020 and have thought about whether it is possible to increase the total capacity. Do you think this is possible?

[@alibro7512]

Given enough time and money you can do anything. Probably easier and cheaper to buy an ID.3 😉

[@Luukullus]

​@@alibro7512 Sure. With enough Money i guess you can reach nearly everything. Unfortunately, I think the ID.3 is absolutely not nice. I don't like it optically at all. I like the golf in every other way. But I'm afraid I'll have to come to terms with it.

[@ismailparlak6004]

@@alibro7512 im buying one today and thinking bout that

[@JPetr94]

It's possible in theory, but in practice there is a problem to reprogram the car to new capacity.

[@CrAzYDr1veR]

lucky find

[@alibro7512]

I hope it works out well. Getting a bms working will probably be the biggest challenge as no one has cracked the VW bms yet.

[@RCagataySahin]

Hey, how come these modules get cooled down when they are densely packed together in a box where any air cannot reach.

[@RCagataySahin]

I mean the Golf packaging

[@alibro7512]

@@RCagataySahin I don't know. Maybe they are very heavy duty so don't get too hot. I hope so anyway. They don't have any heating for cold weather either.

[@logantang701]

There will be COLD PLATE between the modules.

[@alibro7512]

@@logantang701 Nope, no cooling or heating. I guess VW over specced the batteries so it wouldn't be an issue.

[@Luka_3D]

That's the neat part. They don't.

[@cars3939i]

Can be a golf mk7 tdi engine converte in e golf

[@alibro7512]

Given enough time and money you can do anything. 😉

[@stefanovavarya8432]

Why are batteries made with low voltage battery blocks in series, why not high voltage battery blocks in parallel?

[@alibro7512]

All lithium Ion cells are 3.7V nominal. I don't know why but I guess the manufacturers have a reason.

[@stefanovavarya8432]

@@alibro7512 they connect 3,7v into block 24V80Ah, then connect serial blocks 24V to 110V.

[@alibro7512]

@@stefanovavarya8432 Yes, even 12V lead acid batteries are made from 6 x 1.2V cells so this is normal.

[@stefanovavarya8432]

I still don't understand, for example a 12V-5Ah battery is assembled from 4 battery blocks 3V-5Ah in series. Why don't they connect 5 battery blocks 12V-1Ah in parallel?

[@alibro7512]

@@stefanovavarya8432 I'm not sure about the battery you are talking about. A battery is a bunch of cells connected in parallel and/or series. the VW modules in this video are two types, one type with 4S3P and the other 2S3P. This was for packaging as the pack was built to fit into an ICE Golf. They were not able to modulate the temperature of the cells with cooling or heating so they are not as high powered as other cells of the same weight. You would need to ask the manufacturers why they make the cells the size/Voltage they do but they always balance weight, price and power density. In the end it's all about compromises.

[@mariojanaf5474]

$27k US?

[@alibro7512]

??

[@mariojanaf5474]

@@alibro7512 I think the price of the battery is 27k?

[@alibro7512]

@@mariojanaf5474 you could buy the entire car including battery for that. I paid 4k for it.

[@mariojanaf5474]

@@alibro7512 new or refurb? i think it was a long time ago..

[@alibro7512]

All the details are in the video description

[@njbruggenkamp]

The battery pack of the 2020 VW eGolf is non-serviceable. So when the battery degrades beyond the point that it's reducing the range of the car to unusable, the entire car should be retired. Luckily the car has overcapacity. So poor performing cells, will be replaced by spare cells. The car should be able to perform for 10 to 15 years. No guarantee after that.

[@alibro7512]

I suspect VW would say it is unserviceable but I can't see any reason why it couldn't be serviced by a competent EV garage or just replaced. I opened a second pack without damaging the lid so it could easily have modules replaced and be resealed. I'm not sure what you mean by "So poor performing cells, will be replaced by spare cells" since all 88 cells are in series so if any cell were to die it would effect the entire pack.

[@fanat1c83]

@@alibro7512 It's fully serviceable! You can buy single cell's or complete Modules from VW directly... We had alrdy two e-Golf's in our forum that had a modul damage in the warranty time. They just changed the defect modules within 2 days and everything was fine again... ;)

[@allsystemsdownagain9553]

Cheaper just buying the complete car. This is just a complete waste of time and money.

[@alibro7512]

I'm not sure why you would even glance at a video titled DIY EV if that is your attitude. Nobody ever does conversion projects of any kind to save money or time. 🤔 If you are looking for common sense you came to the wrong channel. 🤣

[@f-chanel2663]

This Battery crap can't be the Future.🤦

[@alibro7512]

I'm pretty sure people were saying the exact same thing about the noisy smelly slow unreliable petrol cars in the early 1900's. 😉 It is already the present, will be even more so in the near future and in 20 years time we will laugh about the slow charge rates and pitiful range and remember those hateful noisy smelly petrol and diesel cars. 🤣

[@Luka_3D]

Couldn't have said it better myself​@@alibro7512

[@hughmarcus1]

The thing to remember is that this technology is in its infancy. My first car in the late 1970s was an 1100cc Ford Escort. It did about 25mpg & struggled to do 70mph on a flat road. Fast forward to today & 1.6 litre F1 cars are producing 1000hp. Imagine where battery technology will be in 10 or 20 years time