lifted club cars - lifted ezgo
Home FAQDonate Who's Online
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Modified Golf Carts > Extreme DC! > All things Lithium


Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-27-2020, 11:09 AM   #51
PingEye3
Gone Wild
 
PingEye3's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 1,308
Default Re: Chevy Volt / Navitas AC - New Build

Quote:
Originally Posted by Left Coast Kiteboarding View Post
That's a good looking cart!
Thank you. John wanted black and white cart. I am glad I took the time to paint lights and grill piece. Well worth the added contrast.
PingEye3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
BGW

Golf car forum Sponsored Links

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum
   
Old 12-27-2020, 01:03 PM   #52
Olecountry09
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 2
Default Re: Chevy Volt / Navitas AC - New Build

Sub’d
Olecountry09 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2021, 02:46 PM   #53
STxFarmer
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 3
Default Re: Chevy Volt / Navitas AC - New Build

Good info here as I am looking at doing a similar project.

Thanks for sharing
STxFarmer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2021, 10:19 AM   #54
Mike from Texas
Getting Wild
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 102
Default Chevy Volt / Navitas AC - New Build

Quote:
Originally Posted by Left Coast Kiteboarding View Post
Picked up a sad / abused 2001 DS last week. All I really needed was the the rolling frame and roof assembly as it's gonna get completely rebuilt. Got my California plates on Monday and tile coming in the mail. Plan is to build a street legal cart that will do 25-30 max speed and have 40-60 mi. range. I want to be able to drive it all day from job site to job site without worrying about battery.



There are a bunch of GREAT write-ups on here about similar projects and I've learned a bunch from them all. I'm going a little different direction so figured I'd do a build thread to share.



Initial concept:



Batteries will be from a Chevy Volt. They offer some great advantages. Biggest one being they are available and affordable where I live. I purchased 2 48v 50aH packs with balancing systems for $1600 which is just a little more than a Trojan bank.



The Trojan Ranger has about 170aH rating which translates to around 85 safe useable aH and weighs 390lbs.



The Volt batteries are rated at 47aH each ( 95ah in combination) which safely gives probably 85ah+ useable power. The two banks weigh 45lbs each for total of 90lbs. This shaves 300lbs off the cart from the get go. This translates to very similar power capacity with major weight loss.



In addition, the Volt batteries can deliver a LOT more current if asked. I don't know what the C rating of the Trojans are, but the Volt pack has a continuous discharge rate of 7.5C and a peak rate of 10C meaning that the 85ah pack can continuously supply 700+ amps of current and for short periods deliver 940 amps. This should be plenty for my Navitas 600A controller :-) All this with almost ZERO maintenance.



Add in the conservative 10% efficiency gain and the lower weight of the cart and range should be better...as long as I stay out of the pedal. Long term I plan to double the pack capacity which will still shave 210lbs off the cart and provide almost 200ah of useable power. That's gonna be fun.



For battery management I'm going a hybrid route. Each 48v bank has it's own onboard balancer. IT's not a high current system but while at rest will equalize cells. This happens passively and requires no monitoring.



For charging I have a charger set to cut off voltage at the correct point so that overcharging can not occur. I *may* add an additional cutoff for safety but that remains TBD.



I'm going to use an ECPC404 meter for realtime monitoring. It will monitor realtime amp draw, realtime voltage, and total ah consumption. In addition it has two 'alarm' circuits that can be used to trigger relays. They can be set to trigger on voltage, amps, or ah.



I will use one of these triggers to shut the main power relay off for under-voltage situations. The Navitas has a 'limp' mode that reduces power when the pack gets low so you can still get home and the 404 will provide an absolute cutoff at low voltage either at the end of battery capacity or more importantly during use. If sag voltage gets below a safe level the meter will cut power from the battery. As soon as the voltage comes back up to a set threshold it will turn power back on. I'll set this point at minimum safe pack voltage. It this triggers while driving the cart will stop getting power for a short period of time. The voltage will immediately come up (assuming the pack is not completely discharged.) This will likely happen in a fraction of a second. You will likely still have your foot on the pedal when the power comes back on. Fortunately the Navitas has a feature where it will not power up the motor if the pedal is down when the main power circuit gets charged. What this means is the the meter will cut power. Voltage will rise and power come back on but you will have to release the pedal before the motor will come back online. this will prevent the cart from going into a loop where the relay cycles on and off and rapidly powers and depowers the motor. This would be unpleasant on the passengers and likely really hard on the entire drivetrain.



I'm not sure what to do with the 2nd trigger. I had planned to use it as an over-current safety but given the pack can deliver stupid amounts of power and the Navitas has a knob to dial in power, I may not ever need to use it this way. What I may do is use it to shut the pack down at a minimum SOC. I could tell it to kill the pack after discharging 85ah. IF I do this I'll add a bypass switch somewhere so I can override this function if I'm stuck and need to get home. I'll make this decision once I see how the Navitas system handles this on it's own.



Alternatively, I could use this 2nd relay to add redundancy to my charge system. This is what I'll do if I don't need it for anything else.



I'm aware that I'm ignoring some lever of battery management I could gain from a sophisticated BMS system. There are lots of great products out there that do amazing step. I'm just not convinced I need that level of control. The balancers will generally keep the pack in line and I have overcurent protection (the controller can't out-draw the pack capacity) and under-voltage protection from both the controller and the meter. Over-voltage is handled by only the charger but could be duplicated by the meter. It's entirely possible that with a sophisticated BMS I could get some extension of lifespan but in this application the added cost and complexity seem unnecessary. Given that the battery is rated for over 3000 charge cycles (thats 300 complete charge/discharge cycles, so 2 1/2 discharges only equal one cycle) I could completely discharge and charge almost every day for 10 years. Given that I'll likely rarely use the full capacity this pack should last a very long time. Newer, cheaper options will undoubtedly be available by the time it's done.



Equipment used:



2001 Club Car DS, currently a 48v with MCOR.



Charger:

Schauer JAC1548H programed for the Lithium pack.



Schauer Industrial Chargers



Navitas 600a controller and 5kW motor for the Precedent IQ system

Custom Precedent wiring harness to re-were the DS (From Goft Carts Modified. These guys know the Navitas system very well)



Golf Carts Modified



2 48v 47ah Volt banks. Will ultimately have a total of 4. Sourced locally but available on eBay as well.



ECPC404 Intelligent Ampere Hour Meter from Electric Car Parts Company



Electric Car Parts Company



All 2awg power delivery cables I'll build in-house using high quality welding cable.



Cosmetically the cart will have a 6" lift, new wheels and 22" tires and other cosmetic stuff, but this thread will primarily be powertrain related.



I'll admit I'm not super great at taking photos along the way but I'll try to when appropriate. Looking forward to working through the details as this comes together, and hearing constructive criticism and positive feedback.


I am looking to upgrade my 1998 48V DS to Lithium. My old Ranger 160s are done.

I keep flipping back and forth between a DIY kit with (2) of the 16S Volt cells (tapped at 14S) vs a pre built 200ah pack from Extreme Team Carts.

Here’s my dilemma; my cart is strictly an off road/hunting cart. It’s currently lifted with 23” tires, an old 700A Logisystems controller, 10.2HP D&D torque motor, HD F/R switch (want to do a contractor swap on this) and HD solenoid wired with 1/0 welding leads.

My cart gets WORKED. We have lots of steep draws and hills where I hunt and I need a pack that can deliver lots of power sometimes sustained for 30 seconds or more. I’ve never installed a shunt to monitor current but I have burned out a F/R switch and 400A solenoid in the past. I just don’t want to pay a lot of $$ for a fancy pre built pack and it have the BMS system shut it off. I want it to be able to deliver full current when I need it, not just for inrush. This is also why I’m wanting to run the 14S pack to take advantage of the higher voltage without having to go to a 72V setup.

Since Logisystems is no longer in business I have no way of knowing if it would work with the full voltage if I decided to run all 16 cells of the pack at ~65V.

From your post it appears the Volt cells can deliver the current needed of it doesn’t have a BMS to cut it off prematurely.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Mike from Texas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2021, 12:52 PM   #55
Mike from Texas
Getting Wild
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 102
Default Re: Chevy Volt / Navitas AC - New Build

Quote:
Originally Posted by bronsonj View Post
That looks like a fun project! Do keep in mind that the usable amp hours in a lithium pack are "spread" across a wide range of volts... So if your pack is 12 cells at 4.15vpc you start at 49.8v and if you discharge to 3.25vpc your pack will be dead at 39v.



Have you ever ridden in a 48v lead acid cart when the pack read 39v?.... It's slow... You'll have plenty of speed for the first 3rd of your 12S packs amp hours, but the last 2/3rds... I don't know what the max V of the Navitas controller is, but the Chevy Volt came in 12 cell and 6 cell modules that are factory made to combine with each other. So if the Navitas sells a 72v controller then you can do an 18S pack... Contact Navitas and see what the max V your controller can handle.



I have a 14S2P Chevy Volt Pack for 94ah at 57.6v max. To get a 14S you have to get creative the cell connections. But with my small 300 amp controller I can do wheelies when I turn it all the way up! Removing 300+ pounds does make a huge difference! I have 22" tires and a lift as well, my EZGO is certainly going to ride differently than your DS, but I can tell you 30mph is the point where it becomes no fun anymore...



Cool build and good luck!


I would be interested in how you made your Chevy Volt battery 14S. I’ve seen a couple of methods none of which look very safe so I’m all ears.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Mike from Texas is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Modified Golf Carts > Extreme DC! > All things Lithium


Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Forum
chevy volt with BMS Lithium Club Car
Custom lifted 57 Chevy Build Members Rides
57 Chevy Club Car Build Members Rides
57 Chevy Build Members Rides


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:22 AM.


Club Car Electric | EZGO Electric | Lifted Golf Carts | Gas EZGO | Used Golf Carts and Parts

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This Website and forum is the property of Buggiesgonewild.com. No material may be taken or duplicated in part or full without prior written consent of the owners of buggiesgonewild.com. © 2006-2017 Buggiesgonewild.com. All rights reserved.