Freelander 1 Freelander EV

kernowsvenski said:

Fair point. What's the cabin heating proposals? I hope you're going the whole distance

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Good question. I have the Leaf high voltage water heater and currently plan to use it so that's another piece of hardware under the bonnet.

Alibro said:

Good question. I have the Leaf high voltage water heater and currently plan to use it so that's another piece of hardware under the bonnet.

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Impressive stuff.

Alibro said:

Good question. I have the Leaf high voltage water heater and currently plan to use it so that's another piece of hardware under the bonnet.

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Doesn't it go in the heater box Ali?

Nodge68 said:

Doesn't it go in the heater box Ali?

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I'm not sure TBH John. I guess if there is room it could but it was under the bonnet in the Leaf.

What do you think of the motor mount position? If I brought the bracket up to meet the Freelander engine mount bracket I'm concerned the balance would be too far forward. I'm thinking bringing the bracket up to the engine mount (without the bracket) as it looks like a better position.

Alibro said:

I'm not sure TBH John. I guess if there is room it could but it was under the bonnet in the Leaf.

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I'd need to look at it do work out how it works, and so how it'll fit in the FL1.

Alibro said:

What do you think of the motor mount position? If I brought the bracket up to meet the Freelander engine mount bracket I'm concerned the balance would be too far forward.

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The motor end of the assembly needs to be as centrally balanced as possible, just like the gearbox mount.
I'd be tempted to try lifting it at various points, to see if you can identify a neutral balance point, which could well be somewhere between the motor and IRD. Once you know the central balance point, you'll need to extend upwards towards the original engine mount, maybe moving the original mount rearward on the chassis rail, if needed.

Probably worth doing some weight calculations. Even something as simple as weigh what you removed & all the new stuff. Then you know the new front-rear balance, and can split the batteries to get a reasonable balance. Otherwise the handling could be all over the place ??

Don't forget to factor in the weight of a full tank of fuel to those equations.

pwood999 said:

Probably worth doing some weight calculations. Even something as simple as weigh what you removed & all the new stuff. Then you know the new front-rear balance, and can split the batteries to get a reasonable balance. Otherwise the handling could be all over the place ??

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I'm not too worried about the handling as the weight difference under the bonnet won't be that huge. Don't forget a 1.8K series is several hundred pounds lighter than a TD4 lump and LR only changed the springs and shocks to accommodate the difference.
Putting all weight behind the rear wheels would be more of a concern if all the batteries were going there but that's not going to happen.

The FL1 is quite flexible with regard to vehicle mass.
The kerb weights changed a lot depending on what engine and gearbox was fitted, the lightest being the K series 1.8 which came in at 1457kg, the heaviest being the KV6 2.5 at 1650kg. The only difference to the vehicle was a change in front spring rate, to carry the extra mass of the engine/automatic box.
The TD4 manual weighs 1593kg for an manual, and 1640kg for the auto, the extra mass being due to auto box being heavier.

The rear springs are pretty much the same, as the rear vehicle weights remain the same, regardless of what engine is fitted.

Once the EV FL1 is equipped with all it needs to make it work, it would be pretty easy to correct any issues with ride height, simply be fitting stronger or weaker springs where needed.

Excellent new video Ali. It's good to see the new motor assembly in place. Just that last mount to make, and you're done.

Don't forget to level the unit, so the drive shaft on the RHS, is pretty much in the same orientation as it was, but you can take the measurements from the LHS for this.

Latest video catching up with the bracket making etc.

Nodge68 said:

Excellent new video Ali. It's good to see the new motor assembly in place. Just that last mount to make, and you're done.

Don't forget to level the unit, so the drive shaft on the RHS, is pretty much in the same orientation as it was, but you can take the measurements from the LHS for this.

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Thanks John, It's always hard to know what to cut out and what to leave in and 30 minutes on making a bracket is a little longer than I planned but I guess most of the content is relevant.
I have the drivers side mounted on timber for now and it's approx correct height wise but I'll confirm that before finalising the motor mount. It's nice I have the gearbox mount and tie bar to confirm the other locations.

Alibro said:

Latest video catching up with the bracket making etc.


Thanks John, It's always hard to know what to cut out and what to leave in and 30 minutes on making a bracket is a little longer than I planned but I guess most of the content is relevant.
I have the drivers side mounted on timber for now and it's approx correct height wise but I'll confirm that before finalising the motor mount. It's nice I have the gearbox mount and tie bar to confirm the other locations.

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It looks good Ali.

I wouldn't get too worried about it being slightly off balance, that is normal for the KV6 anyway. If the KV6 lower tie bar is removed, the engine rocks over to a different angle, which proves its off balance.
It's definitely better to have the balance correct (like a swinging hammock) as this will mean the tie bars are only taking drive torque, and not engine weight too.

Nodge68 said:

It looks good Ali.

I wouldn't get too worried about it being slightly off balance, that is normal for the KV6 anyway. If the KV6 lower tie bar is removed, the engine rocks over to a different angle, which proves its off balance.
It's definitely better to have the balance correct (like a swinging hammock) as this will mean the tie bars are only taking drive torque, and not engine weight too.

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Yeah, the TD4 is the same so I'm not worried about getting the balance perfect but it needs to be close. I think if I drop straight down from the mount to my bracket I should be pretty close. I haven't decided on the design yet but may make a delta shape it to pick up on the mounting bolts at the IRD and motor.
Or I could weld some captive nuts to the bracket and bolt into it. Whatever the design it has to be bolted in.

Bolting is sensible Ali. I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable solution though.

So the motor bracket is moving along VERY slowly as I'm tired every evening I get in from work so only working on it at the weekends.
I did make good use of Paddy's day though but not on the bracket.
I called into an EV breaker around 40 miles from me and agreed to purchase this.



This morning I cleared space for it in my van and collected it.
It's a 35.8kWh pack from a 2020 e-Golf that looks like it fell off a transporter as the roof was damaged along with every panel and a wheel broken off. The ad for it claimed the car had 167 miles on the clock and having looked at the car I can believe that's true. The brake disks had surface rust but the inside of them were still shining like new with no brake dust to be seen. Kind of sad really but hey ho, someone else's loss is my gain.
The guy wouldn't shift on the price but I did get him to throw in the cable and data connector. I don't know if I'll use them but it's good to have the choice and buying these items separately would be well over £100. The same pack is available from 2nd life EV for around £2.6k more than I paid so I wasn't fleeced but it was still a lot of money so now I need to make sure I don't waste it.

I was a bit shocked at how heavy it is as my hoist struggled to lift it, even with the boom at the 1.5 tonne mark. I was just about able to lift it high enough and long enough for my wife to drive the van away leaving it hanging. A bit more manoeuvring and I had it on the hoist as you see.
Now I need to get my finger out and finish the motor bracket so I can move the car out of the way. I have the pack wrapped in plastic to keep it dry but I want in the garage as soon as possible.

Wow Ali. That's a sizable purchase, but an excellent one. With under 200 miles on that battery pack, it will do you decades.

I'm looking forward to seeing just how you make use of it now.

That won't fit in the boot floor caddy!!

Hope the wires in the socket that is connected don't short out, or is this just a sensor or charge connection?

If I bought something like that it would keep me awake thinking about where to mount it!!

Rip little Golf......

Looking forward to next installment.

andyfreelandy said:

That won't fit in the boot floor caddy!!

Hope the wires in the socket that is connected don't short out, or is this just a sensor or charge connection?

If I bought something like that it would keep me awake thinking about where to mount it!!

Rip little Golf......

Looking forward to next installment.

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As far as I know the e-Golf BMS is CAN controlled with the balancing happening in each battery module so the leads are only data.
Just to be sure though the first thing I did before touching the pack was check for voltages.

As for where they will fit that remains to be seen.

Nodge68 said:

Wow Ali. That's a sizable purchase, but an excellent one. With under 200 miles on that battery pack, it will do you decades.

I'm looking forward to seeing just how you make use of it now.

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I have to say I never thought I'd get a battery this size straight off and for it to be basically brand new is a real bonus. 100 mile range should be easy.
There are a couple of issues with it though.
I was hoping to use the Leaf BMS and charger but it is only 88S where the Leaf pack is 96S. This means I can't use the BMS and can only use the Leaf charger with a lot of care, ie monitoring the voltage and turning off the charger when it reaches a set point.
It also means I may be down on power as the voltage will be lower.
I think I have two choices then, buy another two 4S modules or use a different BMS/Charger. The guy I bought the pack off said today he has another e-Golf coming in so I think he plans to break up the pack in it and sell the modules individually so I may go that way but they are silly expensive on eBay so I'll report back when I know what he is doing.

Alibro said:

I have to say I never thought I'd get a battery this size straight off and for it to be basically brand new is a real bonus. 100 mile range should be easy.
There are a couple of issues with it though.
I was hoping to use the Leaf BMS and charger but it is only 88S where the Leaf pack is 96S. This means I can't use the BMS and can only use the Leaf charger with a lot of care, ie monitoring the voltage and turning off the charger when it reaches a set point.
It also means I may be down on power as the voltage will be lower.
I think I have two choices then, buy another two 4S modules or use a different BMS/Charger. The guy I bought the pack off said today he has another e-Golf coming in so I think he plans to break up the pack in it and sell the modules individually so I may go that way but they are silly expensive on eBay so I'll report back when I know what he is doing.

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It would make most sense to get the additional cells if you can, to bring the golf pack up to the same configuration as the Leaf pack. As well as being able to use the Leaf BMS and charger, it'll also increase the kWh rating, so it's a win win.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Golf pack without the top cover on, and some technical specifications of what's inside would be interesting too.