Freelander 1 Freelander EV

Nodge68 said:

Environmentally it's probably just as green to use a decent diesel heater, as they're about 60% efficient. If the electricity used to charge an EV comes from the grid, then that's about 50% renewable, so there's really not much in it.
Obviously a diesel heater does make some noise and is going to be smelly, but it won't effect the range of the vehicle to any great degree.
There are a multitude of cloned Webasto space heaters available for about £100, which are very efficient and cheap to run if kerosene is used as the fuel.

I'd not feel overly concerned about the Environmentally impact of a tiny space heater, especially if it's little different to using mains electricity to charge the batteries.

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I am not an eco warrior and my build was never about saving the environment, it was more for the challenge and fun of doing it and if there was a benefit to the earth then that was a bonus.
I agree 100% that the environmental impact of using the diesel heater would be minimal however I heard the heater in my car a couple of times while the engine was running and was surprised at how loud it is. Maybe in a busy street or while driving at 50mph I would not hear it but one of the things that gives me a real kick is the silence of the car. I cannot get my head around having the diesel heater spoiling that enjoyment and if it means a slightly reduced range then so be it.

There is no logic to any other part of this conversion so why should the heater be any different.

Alibro said:

I am not an eco warrior and my build was never about saving the environment, it was more for the challenge and fun of doing it and if there was a benefit to the earth then that was a bonus.
I agree 100% that the environmental impact of using the diesel heater would be minimal however I heard the heater in my car a couple of times while the engine was running and was surprised at how loud it is. Maybe in a busy street or while driving at 50mph I would not hear it but one of the things that gives me a real kick is the silence of the car. I cannot get my head around having the diesel heater spoiling that enjoyment and if it means a slightly reduced range then so be it.

There is no logic to any other part of this conversion so why should the heater be any different.

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I was thinking more along the lines of one of those cheap air blower diesel heaters, rather than the factory FBH, but I fully understand your reasons for not using a diesel heater.

Nodge68 said:

I was thinking more along the lines of one of those cheap air blower diesel heaters, rather than the factory FBH, but I fully understand your reasons for not using a diesel heater.

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I know the type of heater you're talking about and from what I've heard they are very cheap and eco friendly to run, possibly not much worse than using the grid like you mentioned earlier but I'm not sure they would be any easier to install than the heater I have, in fact I don't even know where I would put one as the under bonnet is very cramped.
The plumbing and wiring is already in place for my electric heater so all I need to do is figure out a way to bolt it in.

I'm guessing that you'll likely be charging the car with solar in the summer, so that's about as green as green can be.
If only the FL2 was as easy to convert to EV, as I've seen a couple of ideally priced doners recently.

Nodge68 said:

I'm guessing that you'll likely be charging the car with solar in the summer, so that's about as green as green can be.
If only the FL2 was as easy to convert to EV, as I've seen a couple of ideally priced doners recently.

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I've already had several days where most of the charging was from solar.

Nodge68 said:

I'm guessing that you'll likely be charging the car with solar in the summer, so that's about as green as green can be.
If only the FL2 was as easy to convert to EV, as I've seen a couple of ideally priced doners recently.

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It might not be as bad as you think, a lot of guys in Openinverter are converting modern cars. What would the problems be?
PAS
Brake assist
ABS
Alarm
Remote locking
Anything else?

Alibro said:

It might not be as bad as you think, a lot of guys in Openinverter are converting modern cars. What would the problems be?
PAS
Brake assist
ABS
Alarm
Remote locking
Anything else?

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The PAS wouldn't worry me as that's hydraulic like yours, so that's mechanical and not an issue.
The main problem I can see is the security and AWD system. The security is handled by several modules, including the Key dock, steering lock, ECM, Ipack, ABS module and BCM. Because all these modules are in constant communication, a missing or non responsive module would cascade through the whole system, with unknown results. I'm guessing the Ipack won't show vehicle speed for a start, but also suspect that the ABS wouldn't function, and likely a whole load of other important vehicle system would simply fail to function.

Nodge68 said:

The PAS wouldn't worry me as that's hydraulic like yours, so that's mechanical and not an issue.
The main problem I can see is the security and AWD system. The security is handled by several modules, including the Key dock, steering lock, ECM, Ipack, ABS module and BCM. Because all these modules are in constant communication, a missing or non responsive module would cascade through the whole system, with unknown results. I'm guessing the Ipack won't show vehicle speed for a start, but also suspect that the ABS wouldn't function, and likely a whole load of other important vehicle system would simply fail to function.

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In my case I removed the ECU and the only issues were a couple of lights on the dash. The CCU didn't seem to mind at all.
I could have kept the ECU in place and tried to fool it into thinking the engine was still there but thankfully I didn't need to.
You could try disconnecting the ECU in your car and see what happens.

I used some vero board to make this a bit more robust.



I also added a buck converter to lower the voltage to around 6V as I wasn't sure the Nano would be happy with 14.4V. What are your thoughts on this guys, have any of you experience of using Arduino's in cars?

I'll probably have to cut and splice some of the wiring when installing but wanted to test I hadn't cocked something up first.

Alibro said:

In my case I removed the ECU and the only issues were a couple of lights on the dash. The CCU didn't seem to mind at all.
I could have kept the ECU in place and tried to fool it into thinking the engine was still there but thankfully I didn't need to.
You could try disconnecting the ECU in your car and see what happens.

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If the ECM isn't plugged into the vehicle, then the dash just shows a warning about the steering lock not released, and nothing else happens, no ignition, no cracking over, not even the radio powers on.
This would be a challenge.

I haven't done much to the car last couple of weeks except drive it as I got some work replacing Routers in Post Offices so kinda tired at night.

I did manage to edit a video that was made a couple of weeks ago so here you go.

Alibro said:

I mentioned earlier I installed an Android head unit in my car and I think I said the buttons for volume were poor.
In truth they are ridiculously bad requiring me to poke and prod several times to get them to respond so I've ordered this

CTSLR004.2 Steering Wheel Stalk Control Interface For L/Rover Freelander 2003-06 | eBay

Connects2 CTSLR004.2 - Steering Wheel Interface For Land Rover. Land Rover Freelander 2003 - 2006 (LN) TD4 Model. Connecting to the original radio connector and plugging in to the back of the new head unit is simple to fit.

www.ebay.co.uk

I'll report back when it arrives.

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pwood999 said:

Ali,
Most Chinese Android units don't need an adapter for resistive steering controls. The Joying unit in wife's 2005 FL1 just needed programming each steering button & works every time.

What brand & model did you buy ?

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pwood999 said:

Hmmm. [EDIT] It should just be a case of connecting one side of the resistive ladder to Pin-14 (brown-black) on the ATOTO, and the other side of the ladder to Pin-5 (orange-black).

View attachment 309555View attachment 309554

View attachment 309556

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Tonight I got the steering wheel buttons working.
But not the clever way.

Sorry @pwood999 but before you posted this I had already ordered the adapter kit above and I'm really bad at returning stuff.

I still have to refit the centre console but have tested it and all good. With the volume control button on the Android head unit being ridiculously bad this will be a huge upgrade.

While I have it all apart can anyone advise if the heater controls should be back lit? Mine is in darkness at night and it would be nice to be able to see the heater controls that don't work.

Alibro said:

Tonight I got the steering wheel buttons working.
But not the clever way.

Sorry @pwood999 but before you posted this I had already ordered the adapter kit above and I'm really bad at returning stuff.

I still have to refit the centre console but have tested it and all good. With the volume control button on the Android head unit being ridiculously bad this will be a huge upgrade.

While I have it all apart can anyone advise if the heater controls should be back lit? Mine is in darkness at night and it would be nice to be able to see the heater controls that don't work.

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Yeh, the lights for my heater controls broke


... some time before I bought it 13 years ago

GrumpyGel said:

Yeh, the lights for my heater controls broke


... some time before I bought it 13 years ago

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Fixed it.

I had a look at the heater controls and found the bulb responsible. Luckily the gift that keeps on giving (the test mule) donated a good bulb as they are an odd size.

Drove it last night and remembered how rubbish the illumination of the heater controls is even when working.
Still making me smile every time I get behind the wheel tho.

I put up a photo earlier showing a circuit to control the heater but there was one thing about it that bothered me. The cheap Chinese buck converter I used to bring the voltage down from 14.4V to 6V for the Arduino. This was something I wasn't happy with myself and when a member of Openinverter said the same thing and suggested an alternative I went with it.

This is a Traco power TSR 1-2450 5V step down voltage regulator that is designed to handle up to 36V.






They are more expensive than the Chinese buck converter but as I've already been burned (almost literally) by a cheap dodgy voltage converter I figured I should use something a bit more quality.
Instead of connecting the output to Vin of the Arduino I connected it directly to the 5V pin as the Arduino needs a minimum 6V at Vin.

I had similar experience with a China 12v-5V converter I used for a USB hub with my Android stereo. Damn thing added so much noise to the 12V & 5V it interfered with everything. Relegated it to a shelf ready for the bin !!

pwood999 said:

I had similar experience with a China 12v-5V converter I used for a USB hub with my Android stereo. Damn thing added so much noise to the 12V & 5V it interfered with everything. Relegated it to a shelf ready for the bin !!

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Why do we keep cr@p that should go straight to the bin? I'm guiilty of it too and so have boxes full of stuff that I will probably never use but can't stand to throw out.

Alibro said:

Why do we keep cr@p that should go straight to the bin? I'm guiilty of it too and so have boxes full of stuff that I will probably never use but can't stand to throw out.

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I'm the same Ali. Boxes full of useful stuff I've never used.

If you're concerned about the step down throwing 12 Volts into your Arduino, you could put a quick blow fuse in the positive line, and an 6V zener diode between live and negative after the fuse. This way if the regulator was to pass more than 6V, the zener would conduct to negative and blow the fuse.

Nodge68 said:

I'm the same Ali. Boxes full of useful stuff I've never used.

If you're concerned about the step down throwing 12 Volts into your Arduino, you could put a quick blow fuse in the positive line, and an 6V zener diode between live and negative after the fuse. This way if the regulator was to pass more than 6V, the zener would conduct to negative and blow the fuse.

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Good idea but it'll never happen, I'm waaaay to lazy to do any more than I've done.

I have no defence of course but in it anyway I've just spent a day and a half stripping down the parts of the car that were preventing me removing the non working heater. I've only just got the stupid thing out and haven't even thought about how I will fit the replacement.
Removed so far - wheels, under engine frame, front subframe, drained coolant, various cable ties and connections under the car, Inverter, charger, more cable ties and hoses, and finally after over an hour fighting with and having to cut one hose off as the clip had broken the old heater.
If I ever get my hands on the idiot that designed this thing..............