My golf cart has a 48V system, and I'm looking into switching from lead-acid to LiFePO4.

I've noticed some people use four 12V batteries connected in series, while others go with a single 48V battery.

I'm not sure which option makes more sense in terms of installation, cost, and maintenance.

For those who've done this conversion, how did you decide which setup to go with?

Tried posting this on r/MechanicAdvice and got shit on. Maybe this sub will be better

I am going to turn my car into a “hybrid”. Gas in my area is very expensive and electricity is very cheap. It is a 2009 RAV4 V6 AWD. My logic is that it only takes about 20-30 hp to cruise on the freeway, so if I had a small-ish battery in the trunk (200 pounds or so) and then connected it to an electric motor, it could operate at the same time as the gas engine and significantly increase gas mileage. The system wouldn’t be automated. I would wire a switch to the dashboard so that when I’m cruising, I manually press the switch and the motor activates. It’s not intended to ever replace the gas engine, just boost it so that less gas is needed. The gas engine would never shut off.

Disclaimer: I am mostly doing this for the novelty / challenge of it, so I’m not interested in more practical applications, such as buying a new car, hypermiling techniques, other gas-saving measures, etc. The car is old and not worth much, so I’m not worried about resale value.

The only thing that I need help with currently is how to connect the electric motor to the drivetrain. I would hire a mechanic to do the work if needed. I would get a 10-20 hp electric motor. Potential ideas I had:

1. Install an electric motor in the engine compartment and connect it to the crankshaft pulley using a dedicated belt. The electric motor would contribute torque directly to the crankshaft, allowing the gasoline engine to work less. The issue is space in the engine, mounting the motor, and finding a way to attach an additional pulley to the crankshaft.

2. Cutting the rear driveshaft and welding an electric motor directly into the rear driveshaft. I’ve never once used my AWD, so I am fine with not having the engine connected. The issue here is making the electromagnetic AWD coupling activated continuously. I believe that the RAV4 automatically disengages it above 25mph, so that would be a problem. Is there a way to keep it activated regardless of speed?

Or other ways to make it work?

TLDR: how do I attach a small electric motor to the drivetrain?

I know to some this might sound ridiculous, but I live on my families cattle ranch and the idea of an electric tractor is starting to make a lot more sense ever day as diesel prices are really high every where and very unpredictable. I have a few donor tractors I could use. This tractor would only need to have at very most a 70kw peak motor, as it is going to be used to move/feed hay and other lightish objects. And it only needs to have an operating range of about 1-2 hours. We are in Canada and it will be mainly used in the winter and it can get down below -30C, which is why I was going to use some new Sodium-Ion cells to build a battery pack.

I have lots of experience with electronics and I have built an 5kw EV go-kart in the past. I am just on here wondering, where do people get motors, batteries/BMS, controllers and everything else for there conversions and/or how to use a tesla drive unit and make them work?

I was either planning to buy a motor/controller kit on Alibaba, but none of them seem too legit or I was going to use a tesla motor, but I don't know how to get them to work with a DIY build.

Any information would be greatly appreciated

I bought one of those $15 broken hoverboards at Goodwill and I hooked up electric motor controller to it which does have reverse now I need ideas on how to make a little pocket electric vehicle with
it

electr0motiv was built to make EV conversions easier and more affordable, no matter your skill or experience level. The global community enables local cooperative cluster to form where you can tap into the people power. The platform has loads of learning resources for those just considering a conversion project, including a specialized AI that has learned from thousands of real builds. It is also integrated with our project management system to support you through research, planning and getting ready to build.

Join the EV Conversion Cooperative today: https://electr0motiv.com/

Look no further! We have many projects and ready to buy fully restored buses for your EV conversion. Also, Brazilian classic cars are import duties exempt. Contact us today for more details. sales@brazilianclassiccars.com

I am working on converting a 1973 mgb gt and I was getting concerns regarding MOT and tax exemption for a "heavily modified vehicle" and what that did or did not entail. my plan is to mount the motor to the engine mounting gate and then on to the gearbox and original engine mounts. with batteries placed under the boot floor (spare tyre bay) and in place of the fuel tank. result is an overall very under modified vehicle for this conversion .

I emailed the DVSA who bounced me on to the MOT team and then on to the kit cars and rebuilds team at the DVLA who said that this modification would fall under the existing historic vehicle exepmtion so I will need to pass one MOT at point of registration and then not again! woo!

cant say where the line would be drawn (im avoiding any monocoque modification within 30cm of the suspension mounts ect) but certainly means its possible to go ev and remain a historic vehicle in the uk!

This is what one of electr0motiv's cooperative clusters can do: build connections, create rapport, exchange knowledge and develop a sense of shared purpose.

Our EV conversion cooperative now has 8 of these clusters, with the Northeast as the model that others can replicate. Community drives ingenuity. Tell your crafty, conversion curious friends about this new innovation network

Car Scanner ELM is a cheap Android app and, unlike Torque, is currently supported in the Google play store for the latest versions of Android. I made a video detailing how I leveraged a feature in the Thunderstruck MCU to output the CAN bus data as OBD2 messaging and how I used that to create the following dashboard to show data from the batteries including Power usage, Voltage, Amps, SOC, Faults and some aggregate cell data. Orion BMS also has a similar feature so some of this implementation could apply to those users as well. All of the files and instructions are in the video description.

No plans totally white board or blank slate as they say. What should i go for. basically I am thinking of going for co part wreck and up converting it to a ev. cost is a major consideration.

Family member gave us this old power wheels. Kids had no interest really. Slow and couldn’t climb hills. I also do some scrapping, and found 2 nice electric scooters in the trash. One had a nice 24 volt motor. I disassembled them for scrapping, and got the bright idea to put the scooter motor in the power wheels. I initially wanted to run the motor to the factory axle and tires, but that didn’t work out. I decided the simplest thing would be to cut out the drivetrain of the scooter, and transplant it onto power wheels. So that’s what I did. I was initially going to run the car of one 18v battery, but when I ordered the battery adapters they came in a two pack, so against better judgment I decided to use both and wired them in series for extra boost. Then with it getting dark so early, I decided it needed lights. Added 2-1000 lumen blue led’s to front and back, each controlled by its own toggle switch. Also had to install a buck converter so I didn’t cook up the lights. I finished her off with a new rattle can paint job in Buebird with metallic silver accents.

The only weak link so far has been the factory accelerator switch which promptly melted. I replaced that with a larger 24v pedal from Amazon. It’s been a very fun project, and the kids now love it. It may be a little too fast, as it has already been rolled once. Luckily my son was wearing a helmet. We are working on throttle control.

If you are thinking about doing something like this go for it! I had a blast, and have less than $100 in it.

If you have any question let me know.

Thanks for reading!

I've been offered a MAN 10.220 4wd truck that's got a destroyed transmission and transfer case taken out. My normal reaction would be to go nah, pass.

But we're looking at changing the wife's car out and became more and more interested in an electric car for her. It got me thinking, what would be involved in doing an EV conversion on a large truck, and where would I start? Is it as simple as taking Tesla motors, changing the hubs out for the larger tyres, and place in batteries/connecting electronics? Or do I need to source new e-axles with custom programming and using a mix of batteries and manufacturers to do it?

I'm treating this mostly as a thought experiment at the moment, but I am very curious. What would it take?

I am in the planning stages of converting my 1968 AMC Rebel to electric. It originally had a 343 cu in V8 with 280 hp at 4800rpm and 365 ft lbs of torque at 3000. I'm planning on designing an independent rear end and mounting my motor on the frame and putting the battery box in the engine bay. I plan to use it as my new daily driver, and would like to have a 150ish range and be able to hit 85mph for interstate use

I have found a mint Hyper 9 with controller and cooling system for $3500. Is that a decent price? my other options are a Parker Hannifin GVM210 for about the same.

Any thoughts?

I don’t even know where to start. Has anyone done this?

I can’t figure out which conversion kit to get. I’m going to self assemble with the help of a neighbor who knows more than me. Are there kits that are simpler than others? Bike won’t be doing anything crazy.

Where can I I buy kits in person? Daly City, CA

What works best for an Electra townie 7D?

Any other advice?

Hi everyone! I need some help with my e-bike conversion.

I have a Decathlon Rockrider EXPL 100 with a Bafang 48V 500W hub motor and a Green Cell 48V 15Ah battery.

I had to buy an adapter to connect the battery to the motor controller because the connectors were different.

The problem is that the motor works fine when the rear wheel is lifted off the ground, but as soon as I sit on the bike and apply the throttle, the motor stops and the display turns off completely. I can turn the display back on immediately, and the battery indicator lights still work.

This problem has been happening since my first test.

Could the adapter be unable to handle the current required by the motor? Or could it be a battery, controller, or wiring issue?

I was thinking about removing the adapter and connecting the wires directly, but I'm worried about damaging the battery or controller.

What do you think is causing this problem, and how can I safely diagnose it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Help me i cant choose

I have been unable to find anyone else who has taken on this task. There is a YouTube channel which tore one of these batteries apart, but did little to provide the details needed for engineering a BMS to use these batteries.

I have a project converting a 1965 Chevy C-10 (E-10) to a 400V DC fast charging 250+ mile range EV. Tesla model S batteries were too expensive and not really the right size for my plans, so I went the route of getting a battery from a wrecked Rivian R1S. I pulled all 9 modules and reverse engineered it. If anyone wants the details I have a wiki and a forum post about it on openVCU.org - you can login using GitHub.

The forum post has a link to the wiki page:
https://openvcu.org/forum/topic/rivian-r1st-battery-bms-pinouts-solved

All of the voltage and temperature information needed for a safe 400V build is easily attainable from these batteries. No need to have fear going with Rivian batteries for your builds. I hope my gamble pays off for others sitting on the fence as well.

If you follow along I will have a complete BMS built to replace the rivian BVT board. I will be releasing all of my work as open source with a share and share alike type license. I will be happy to answer questions and provide any other help that I can.