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Old 02-17-2021, 11:22 PM   #1
mccainc
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Default RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Ok, so I built my original RXV 14s Leaf conversion in 2014 and it has performed admirable over the years. Almost zero maintenance and a great performer. But, the way I use the cart has changed and now I’m doing a lot of trail riding and need a boost in range. The easy way would have been to buy 7 more gen 1 modules and add them to the pack to make 14S2P. After doing much shopping around, I found that almost all the modules on the market were near wore out and down to 40ah capacity or less. And people still wanted lots of money for them. It didn’t make sense to me to do a major upgrade and gain a relatively minor increase in pack size. After more research and a bit of a gamble, I ended up with two 7S3P packs from a 2019 Leaf. Advertised at ~170ah. They are a pretty neat design, much more compact and come with pigtail taps for the BMS to monitor individual cells. They weren’t cheap, but still less than a RoyPow setup, which wouldn’t have been available till at least the spring anyway since I wanted the “P” model with the higher continuous discharge rate. I was also able to keep my current charger, and after considerable modification, reuse my old miniBMS from the now defunct cleanpowerauto. While I’m at it I also cleaned up the battery box with diamond plate, re-wired all the 12v accessories, and will be doing a controller and cosmetic upgrades as well. Overall a good winter project. I’m probably 70% complete at this point, and will start dropping pictures periodically. Don’t want to overwhelm you on day 1 . I’ll start with the “before” pics. Covered in dust fresh from a ride prior to pulling it apart.
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Old 02-18-2021, 09:40 PM   #2
mccainc
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Batteries removed, wire bundles opened up in preparation for re-wire. Comparison of 7 module gen 1 leaf pack to the 2x 7S3P e+ packs. Roughly 62ah vs. 170. Amazing how much more compact they were able to make the new batteries by packing more pouches into one larger outer shell.
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Old 02-20-2021, 02:00 AM   #3
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Battery compartment refurb complete. Wires and relays for 12v circuits, dc/dc converter, and HVCO hidden out of sight.
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Old 02-20-2021, 09:05 AM   #4
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Looks great. You're doing an excellent job.
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Old 02-21-2021, 12:54 AM   #5
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Batteries test-fit with base brackets installed. BMS built. These are the old CleanPowerAuto mini BMS boards that are designed to mount directly to each cell via a ring terminal. De-soldered the ring terminals from the circuit boards, and re-soldered the wires from the provided battery pigtail plugs, plus jumpers wires to allow each circuit board to monitor the respective cell’s voltage. Mounted the whole shebang in a project box with a clear top so you can see the flashing LEDs on the boards that give information on cell status. Also it looks cool at night.
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Old 02-21-2021, 10:08 AM   #6
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Looks good. I am very interested! I have a set of these batteries sitting on my bench that arrived on Friday. I measured things and one issue is that the pigtails do not include a connection to the battery positive terminal. You need to add a wire for that. (there are only 7 wires and 8 are required) When you connect the two modules, you get one of those but you will still be missing one for the total positive terminal.
Have you decided how you will mount the modules to the cart? I am still thinking about this problem. I will put them together like you show them - my Yamaha cart has a clean battery bay with nothing in the way of the much smaller battery vs the FLA ones. I won't be doing an onboard charger - I will have two carts sharing a charger for now.
Also - be very careful with the pigtails. If you short one you will likely lose the connection to that cell and I don't know how they are internally attached. I am thinking of adding 1 amp fuses to mine. Those 22 gauge wires will act as fuses if there is no other protection for them. I wasn't worried about this for the older Leaf modules because you could easily replace a sense wire but on these, I have no idea if that is even possible.
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Old 02-21-2021, 01:02 PM   #7
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

That’s a good point about the effects of a short, and one I hadn’t considered. Luckily I was careful and my wiring was correct so I avoided that pitfall. Should be good to go from here since the plugs make it pretty safe and foolproof. Fuses could be a good idea but would make for a pretty large wire bundle with 14 inline fuses, assuming you go that route. Also consider your shunt current from the BMS for your fuse size. Mine is around 1.5A which is one of the reasons I wanted to stay with the old system. A think you could go up to 5 amp fuse with 22ga wire and still safely protect it.

As you mentioned, the final cell references pack positive. I mounted a terminal bar that ties in the on-board charger and the dc/dc converter to B+, that final BMS wire taps there. I’ll get some pics up soon.

I’m going to mount the batteries with all-thread down through the batteries and battery tub below, secured with washers/nuts at each end. 4 per battery so 8 total. Probably overkill but I want to eliminate any twisting motion of the batteries relative to each other because of the bus bar. Combined with the angle aluminum base brackets it will be very secure. I also made a protective/decorative black diamond plate that will go over the top of the batteries and attach to the same all-thread with acorn nuts.
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Old 02-21-2021, 10:42 PM   #8
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

BMS project box installed on bulkhead behind batteries. In the front, installed another project box with the brains for the BMS, and the brains for the EV Display which includes a bus bar through a hall effect sensor. Terminal bars have two studs and a middle ring terminal which is convenient for attaching small wires such as the last BMS cell reference to pack positive. Next step- clean up wires and install on-board charger.
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Old 02-22-2021, 07:30 AM   #9
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Interesting upgrade! I'm waiting\wanting to see how you connect the two packs together. Nice work!!
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Old 02-22-2021, 08:55 AM   #10
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Default Re: RXV Leaf Gen 1 to Leaf e+ Upgrade Build Thread

Looking real good. Where did you get the project box with clear cover? I need a couple for my BMS. I am building two 7 channel BMS that I will probably mount right on the battery modules. These boards talk to my processor board that controls the BMS and also controls a readout that is a Speedometer/odometer, battery meter for all cells, ambient and motor temp.
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