Ford Think lithium upgrade

Yes and no. 24s is too much voltage for a Think. Another, buy first ask later, thread. :grimacing:
Switched gears from asking about over priced 12v lithiums to buying low cost but not ideal surplus batteries.
I’m glad to advise no matter where you buy, but it is frustrating having to put out fires after the fact.

Sorry, I had no idea about that Dave. It was just a question from talking with Ernie at 1am…

Anything can be made to work. Doing it the hard way though. :crazy_face:

if you were closer I would have offered you to take yours for 2 LG 10S

Higher capacity, lower voltage.

But I hate dealing with shipping

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Maybe we take a step backwards… if we don’t think the 12s VW packs are the right thing for the Think, I’d entertain buying them off @nic and we can start over. Are we saying 20-22s? what’s out there and available?

My thought is to get a refurbished motor from @Old_Houseboater (assuming it will fit). Keep the D2 controller. get the right pack and off to the races?

I don’ think we’re past the point of un-ringing the bell

Absolutely not. Even if going ac. No need for more than 20s or 22s.

I might be sweet talked into swapping my Sdi22. But would it fit under the seat.

Otherwise I might have enough loose cells for a custom long narrow config.

Sdi-22s fits nicely. What i recommended.

So, what is wrong with 24s? With a spoof and only charging to 96v or less all should be good?
Am I missing something with the Thinks? Same as a GEM T2 no?

Could I put a zener diode and resistor in place to drop the voltage to a usable level? And then possibly run a parallel path that I could switch too as voltage drops to have it not go through the voltages reduction? Just a thought. I have no idea how to size or source the right components if that would work.

drop the voltage to a usable level?

Nice try-
I don’t think it’s a matter of spoofing a measurement like on Pin1, but more of a concern of the internal drive components installed that are the question. These will see High Current and full amps going through them. You can (in a way of sorts as Inwo suggested) by just not charging your battery up all the way.

(Guessing)
Back in the early days some designer thought 100v rated components would be plenty. It’ll be fine, says Bob. These carts only go up to 80v. There is still 20v on overhead.

Today we are pushing a box filled with 20 year old components and asking them to run up to 96v and higher? That’s awful close to rated max. Some units work, some units don’t. It may work for the first time, even the 30th time. Then you are walking home.

This is where you have to sit back and ask yourself… How many bullets did I shoot?

dharry-lucky

I guess what I was thinking was that it wouldn’t be “spoofing”. It would actually step down the 100v at a full charge to 88v(?) as a usable input to the motor controller. Then as the day/weekend goes by and the battery voltage is in the 80-88v(?) range I could toggle a switch to a separate path that doesn’t drop voltage and supply the remaining voltage to the motor controller.

I guess it would be something like a dc/dc converter or voltage regulator with 88-100v input and maybe like an 82v output or something? And it would need to be able to deal with 300-350a. Which may not be commercially available.

All - What is the issue here? Seems like everyone is saying it won’t work, don’t do that. Do this…
How many people have we helped when they were in a bind? A lot !!
It sounds like his question is simple, can I put a spoof on a 98v battery and only charge it to 96v?
I think the answer is yes, we used to do this all the time on 2000 - 2002 GEM cars.
My best friend is still running his 2002 on 24s with a spoof, T2, DC motor and 24" wheels… Runs almost 50mph.

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@David_Illingworth - any input here?

Added info, I completely tore down all my body panels, trunk, dash, etc. so now I can maneuver freely and see what’s what a little better.

The controller serial ends in D1, so I guess it is a D1 controller. I can also now clearly read the motor label and confirm it is a 4hp.

From the beginning, I have planned on switching these out because I was already switching batteries and the 4hp motor. From what I had read on here AC was the way to go.

I was thinking a sevcon (S4? S6?) controller paired with an ac motor (Miele? Pmac? Something else?)

The other reason for the change was to get away from the cluster and move to a more modern display. (Copying turbodad)

I’m not married to the plan yet. I bought these batteries because;

  1. I could get them fairly quickly.
  2. In my opinion they have a high capacity.
  3. They fit in the lower part of the battery bay with no modification and tons of extra space.

They were advertised as 44v nominal and I was under the misconception that I would be able to drop them in, spoof the controller(thought it was a d2), and be done with phase 1 battery upgrade. Then I would do the work for phase 2 motor stuff.

Where I am now, looking for opinions on motor/ controller combinations (DC with a spoof? or AC?). Thanks for any advice.

Yes you can spoof the D2 just like the T2. I’m running 96 volts by putting a 15 volt spoof on pin #1

So this might change the game a little bit, I don’t know if a D1 can handle High Voltage.

I guess at this point @Nic you need to decide if you want to attempt a spoof with your D1 and see if the car runs. Really only two outcomes, it runs, or you blow up your D1.
The spoof is easy enough to build and install if that is the direction you want to go.

I’m willing to try it if it has a shot at letting me focus on phase 1(getting the batteries/BMS in cleanly, reprogramming the charger).

What do I need to attempt the spoof?

Is it something that will make the impending upgrades more difficult later?

Does anyone have a clever way to deplete the packs a little? I was thinking it would be good to get them down from 90 to 80 just to verify every else is functioning properly with the right v input.

My first thought is to hook a 48 v inverter to them and run the coffee for a few days, but I don’t own that inverter… yet.

Any other thoughts?