I am stoked to join the club, already put over 50 miles on the car in less than 2 weeks. Buckle up, I’ve got some questions.
Picked up a clean 2018 e4 with 1200 miles, completely stock. I would consider this cart super base with alloy wheels, AGM long range, and cargo net. Only issues are cosmetic, previous owner let his kiddo learn to drive with it. Essentially every panel is scratched or cracked but the frame and body mounts are flawless. California owned and never driven in rain. It was priced right at $8k and has 2 year old OEM long range AGMs.
Already ordered plenty of parts to get me started but looking for some advice on next steps. Glad to see the forum has plenty of regulars with tons of knowledge. Trying to search for answers as much as possible but figured I would put my thoughts in one place for a quick reference. I have good experience in automotive and electrical so this project gets my hobby juice flowing.
Top Priorities:
Accessory Power - Ordered a 12V fuse block that I plan on connecting to accessory power under the dash. From what I could find, I just need to pull power off the middle terminal on the accessory board. Thoughts? Planning to run some LED lights and audio through a switch panel mounted in the DIN space.
Tunes - I just ordered a MB Quart NSB10V1 Soundbar. Specs claim 200W but I can’t find any Amp draw ratings online. Can I run this off the OEM 12v accessory battery? It was replaced in 2021 so it should have some life left. I assume I can pull off the fuse block to the switch panel before terminating at the soundbar. Wondering how the factory stereo connects and if it needs more power.
Batteries - As mentioned, this e4 has relatively new OEM AGM long range batteries. I am a fan of run it til it dies. Worst case scenario we tow this bad boy home less than a few miles in our neighborhood so risk is low here. Hopefully we get a season or two out of these but planning to swap lithium when the time comes. Looking forward to doing business with a forum member when the time comes. Home brew kits look awesome, I can’t wait but my wallet insists.
Charging - This cart has a Delta Q charger with the standard outlet connection. We own two EVs and charge at home with a Mercedes Wallbox from 60A 240v at 11.5 kW. The wallbox self regulates to my EQS and the wife’s Volvo XC90. Connection is J1772. Can I buy the J1772 connection and use the same charger? I found a Polaris part number to swap that is not too pricey. That would be super convenient for us since the cars don’t need the charger constantly.
Mounting Rails - I noticed that the same rail dimensions are use all over this cart. Grab handles, mirrors, cargo net…all connect to the same style rail. I would like to add a roof rack and mount the sound bar to the rail above the windshield. Any recommendations for hardware? I was planning to unbolt the grab handle and head to Ace hardware but figured somebody has the actual specs. My biggest desire with these is to somehow mount one of those universal roof racks off Amazon to the rail that runs on either side of the roof. I would prefer not to drill into the aluminum so figuring out a mounting bracket to tie on a universal basket would be ideal.
Grinding during deceleration - OK, I’m perplexed by this noise and it’s probably normal but…I hear a gear or grinding type noise when lifting off throttle. Not terribly load but noticeable. Braking seems to be bumpy and I would prefer a harder regen with less brake pedal. I drive my Mercedes EQS with one-pedal heavy regen and pretty much never use my brakes. Can I program the ECU to have stronger regen? Is there service needed on anything? I found a post on skate board mounts for the drivetrain. Absolutely think that’s a no-brainer and intend on ordering. Am I missing anything else here?
I’m just scratching the surface but this post is already a novel so…thanks for the input in advance.
You are right, that applies to all batteries to my knowledge. Lead and lithium.
I meant run with them until range or voltage are no longer acceptable. Typically usage is around 12 miles/day. I haven’t pushed it under 20% and we are usually around 40% by the end of the day. It is a roughly 4 mile round trip to the pool, restaurants, and retail district.
I’ve been going on eBay for hardware to mount things without drilling.
Look up something like
Roll In Spring M8 T Nuts,3030/4040 Series w Sheet for 8mm Slot Aluminum Profile
Then measure for what you want to mount. You’ll find something that works.
Good luck with your new project.
There is already a 12V power block on the firewall underneath the dash. My understanding is the you have a standard 110V charging receptacle that you plug an extension cord into. Do you have the J1772 receptacle? (I have an extra) The standard 1KW Delta charger can only be run on a Level 1 110V charger. They cost around $100 for generic. When the Gem is on accessory mode you run on the dash 12v battery. That could quickly deplete energy. When you are switched on it is powered on by the DC/DC converter in the front of the Gem which is capable of 300w 12V or the upgraded converter is 500w. The motor sounds on the 2016-2018 were greatly reduced by a rubber isolation kit. Please refer to other Gem Forum posts that address it. Good luck on your new project! I’ll leave the question of the regeneration mod to others on the forum. But you are unlikely to ever get total braking by using the accelerator as you do with Tesla or other EV.
Appreciate the input. Are you referring to the terminal block on the drivers side of the firewall at the very top (has 3 connections)? I’d like to pull power off that for a small fuse block that has six terminals. Since I am adding more than one LED I would prefer a dedicated block with connections for each accessory. 300 watts should easily cover the stereo and LEDs.
Thank you for the info, good to know you are a source for those items. I will do my best to keep the AGMs above 50%. I’d like to swap out to lithium in January so hopefully they last that long.
You can also swap the Polaris motor controller for a Generic Sevcon controller.
You will then have access to programming speed, regen, power map, D1, and D2 modes.
@Vanessa - Welcome to the group.
I think it woud be better if your start your own topic and give us an idea what you are trying to do with your car.
To start your own thread just hit your “c” key on your keyboard and it will open up the editor window. Type in a catchy subject line that might grab interest and select which category/group for your topic to be dropped into.
Start off with what car you have, any details that might be pertinent, and any problems you are having, or what you would like to do. The more details you can provide, the better your response will be.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO INSIST ON RUNNING THEM TO INDER 50 PERCENT YOU WILL SULPHATE THEM TO DEATH. I WOULD RECOMMEND A DESULPHATOR. I have been using this one at I can actually see the difference in my battery condition.
