Aixam mega van repair and upgrade

[jasonpeace]

Hello Everyone

Just introducing my project its an aixam mega van! "mega" like the "super" in a suzuki super carry.
its a small (hideous acording to my partner) electric van.

this van is a salvage from london where as per the standard the batteries have been stolen...





The orginal plan for me was get nissan leaf battery split cells for 48 volts and install in place of stolen battery.

but on closer inspection the battery relief team decided the loom was in the way and went clean through it so now im rewiring the whole thing
so my now renewed plan. is as follows (in no particuar order)

remove all wiring

remove controller, DC-DC, ecu, dc motor and gears

repair the bodywork on the cab (split plastics everywhere you look)

rebuild the floor and seat in the cab

install 200-250v worth of nissan leaf battery

install gen 3 prius inverter converter (with drop in logic board)

install rav 4 rear diff motor (in the front and splice the cv shafts to fit)

remove the van box

build a flatbed capable of carrying a motorcycle

rewire everything

build a new dash for all the new stuff

terrify myself on how shocking the brakes are

I have got the nissan leaf battery collected it yesterday getting it out of my van was a mission in itself
a combination of a jack under one end to allow the pallet to roll out my van a pair of steel square tube supported on axle stands to slide the pallet out on and a chain hoist to take the weight once out the van.

naturally as soon as the chain hoist had the weight the pallet shifted and knocked the bars and axle stands over







and yes I built my son's swing to also be a gantry crane... it was orignally built to lift an engine out of an ldv convoy

[jasonpeace]

Hello everyone! update here

sorry for the late update been working for 9 days straight and todays my first day off.

I've made a little progress with things here and there

The box is off, This is held on by 6 (or maybe 8) bolts in the floor that screw into the chassis and you guessed it glue! I actually split the top half off first a further 8 bolts (located in the gutter of the bottom half where the 2 halfs meet) and lifted the top off this made the lower halve more flexible so i could put a jack under it to force it up and tear the glue off I did scrape away as much glue to start with via the battery hole in the tray.

besides that I've just managed to remove more of the existing electronics - controller, dc-dc and ecu are all gone now along with the alluminum plate they are mounted to next up for me now is removing the driveshafts and motor.

then im onto ordering all the metal i need to make brackets to mount everything and build a new back for it.

It's quiet interesting to be doing this and then have a fuel crisis a few weeks in!

I have also got most of a wiring diagram up so I think I know roughly how many fuses and relays I need



I must say as vehicles go this one looks terrified


this is how i was remove the glue I could from the battery tray using a sharp putty knife to cut in first and then driving a cold chisel in afterwards


top half of the box off


and the rest off

[jasonpeace]

Update 10/10/21.... second rewrite because computers!

I've had some time off so naturally I'm now feeling Ill!

I have made some progress the battery pack is now split and I have got the cells out (bar 1 i damaged!)
the motor and driveshafts have been extracted ready for the new motor to go in and the driveshafts to be spliced

please know this is in no way shape or form a guide of how to do anything! Anything you attempt to do after reading this is at your own risk!

Im a idiot and I lived but that doesn't mean you will!

battery cell havesting

to start off I pulled all the bolts round the edge and holding the plate around the safety disconnect (already disconnected)
then started the roughly hour long process of cutting the sealant out (Im slow and I didn't use power tools) I used a combination of a putty knife and wrecking bar and a fairly large hammer (weak hammers need not apply) and starting cutting out the sealant once I had a resonable area cut I put the wrecking bar in at an angle and hammered it along the seam there is a nice lip protecting the cells inside so as long as you don't manage to puncture that the cells should be safe





once the case was open (cut 3 out of 4 sides and opened it like a hinged lid) it was a case of removing all the low power connectors I could and then the linking bus bars between the packs and the emergancy disconnect.



once im left with the 3 seperate packs I started removing the out busbars and working inwards




NOW SAFETY WARNING BECAUSE IM AN IDIOT I MADE 2 ALMOST SERIOUS MISTAKES

I recommend working with insultated tools, wearing 500 volt gloves and REMEMBERING TO CLOSE THE PROTECTIVE TABS!

I managed to brush the edge of one of the busbars (because i was an idiot and left the protective tab open) while undoing the bolts and well I almost welded my socket wrench together and almost electrocuted myself the sparks were impressive and It was a literall split second contact





It could have been alot worse but I was lucky and lived to tell the tale (you might not! please be careful)

the second mistake I made was trying to move the 3rd bigger pack round in the case to access the end plates the case is covered in studs and I managed to puncture the outer plate of one of the cells and mark the inner cell. once the larger pack is loose lift it out with a hoist or many stong friends DO NOT MOVE IT IN THE CASE the studs will find a way!

that cell has been removed from the pack now





on the motor and driveshaft front I droped the control arms from chassis side to save me taking the ball joints apart and the freed the driveshafts from the hubs and I cut the inner cv boot clamps and just pulled it out the cv sockets as I need only the outer CV's





as for the motor it was just unbolt and hoist it out and cut the wires I missed





I am now in the process of moving my 3d printer to start printing the fuse box and battery end covers

more progress soon I hope!

[johu]

Yes unglueing those battery packs is a pesky job. I used more brute force and had a helping hand. What BMS are you going to run? The stock one wants to see all cells.

[jasonpeace]

Hello Johu,

BMS wise I'm not planning on running one I'm planning on using the prius inverter to bulk charge to 95% (slowly) and then I'm planning on building an onboard balance charger to balance the battery and charge the last 5% the charging swithcing will probally be manual until I get something to auto switch during charge depending on battery voltage. I plan on just having battery voltage (per cell and total) and amperage draw on the dash and maybe a buzzer or alarm.

Update 21/10/2021

I've managed to make a good chunk of progress where I can I've got a slight hold up waiting on 3d prints as I am printing the battery terminal covers and relay and fuse holders atm I have 41 battery terminal covers (36 for the van 5 for the motorbike) to print and 12 relay and fuse holders to print.













In the mean time I've stripped the dash out and removed more of the orignial wiring and also started identifying the control wires that I need also I have started building the new rear bed.









note on removing the steering wheel youtube came to my rescue once I removed the main bolt I found the wheel was stuck on the splines I was worried that I would need a puller to get it off but after a quick youtube video search I found that if you beat on the wheel as if someone just pulled out on you and gave you the finger it actually comes loose and pulls off freely!


I have opted for building as I go rather than designing and building to a design. So far the back frame is pretty much there just need to figure out the wheelarches I am thinking inside the bed just a plain square sided box and for the outside some small angle section cut in a curve to suit the wheel then skinning it all in steel sheet and laying a decking for the bed floor.









The battery boxes are going between the wheel arches and the back of the cab one on each side 9 packs each.
The inverter is going under the cab in the space under the seat (it will have a splash guard to protect it)
this way all the high voltage travels linearly from back to front with the battery behind cab - inverter under cab - motor under the hood

Once its all complete Im going to go over all my welds grind them back and reweld them and the regrind to make them look nice at present they are combination of tack welds and booger welds. Once all the welds are strong and clean it will be paint time for them and the front chassis aswell