# Chinese quad w/ chinese batteries!!!!!!



## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

Hi all I'm new here....But I am going to do a quad conversion.....












this is the quad..Its a 200 cc Hi-bird I got a great deal on it and now that I have a good job I can afford to convert it. The original plans was to have it done by X-mas 09.....But work has interfered with that schedule.

My plans are to NOT spend 5 grand on the conversion, and to have a 75 mile range( don't laugh I think its doable) and a decent cruising speed---40-45 mph... I am getting some help from a trusted source for conversions..he says he can make it a rocket...but my wife and children will be driving this thing occasionally and speed is not the greatest factor in this conversion I prefer range, because when I go out riding I trash this thing and usually go thru a solid 2 gal. of gas....So I also need to make this thing waterproof and shockproof( I tend to take jumps on this thing alot) and user-friendly...
I'm not the smartest guy but I do learn quickly when I am interested in something...

So my history on vehicles is quite extensive....I was raised mostly in Alaska doing four wheel drive conversions from the time monster trucks started becoming popular I usually only have one or two people ever help me out with any automotive work because I like to know whats being done and to make sure its done right. My electrical background is limited to automotive knowledge mostly...I am a gearhead and I really like the idea of ev stuff...This should be loads of fun for me...

For now, with the workload I have I will be transforming the 12 volt system on the quad to lithium power for the rest of the year. Then as soon as work will allow I will be doing the full conversion hopefully by late spring.....


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## fishguts (Dec 19, 2008)

Sounds like a cool project!

Check this out: http://www.atvsource.com/articles/press_releases/2007/020707_first_geo_country_electric_quad.htm


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## Gene (Apr 8, 2009)

This is the same quad i used for a conversion.

Currently i'm running on 48v, 4x 100ah12v batterypack, using mars me708 motor and alltrax 4844 controller.

Top speed of 80kph (about 50 mph) and a range of 30 km (about 18 miles).
It's not a rocket but has a decent acceleration.

Good luck with your conversion, i'll follow your build, might get some good idea's to improve mine.


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

Gene said:


> This is the same quad i used for a conversion.
> 
> Currently i'm running on 48v, 4x 100ah12v batterypack, using mars me708 motor and alltrax 4844 controller.
> 
> ...


Nice looking ride you got..So have you taken it out playing yet???


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Does your donor have a manual transmission, or a CVT?

There have been some interesting threads here on the use of CVTs for EVs. Ideally, you would NOT want the CVT to free-wheel when power is removed. Someone suggested it would be easy to modify the CVT to prevent "going into neutral."


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

PhantomPholly said:


> Does your donor have a manual transmission, or a CVT?
> 
> There have been some interesting threads here on the use of CVTs for EVs. Ideally, you would NOT want the CVT to free-wheel when power is removed. Someone suggested it would be easy to modify the CVT to prevent "going into neutral."


Mine's a four-speed with reverse...But I think we'll be going direct drive anyway.. just seems smarter for the use.


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## Gene (Apr 8, 2009)

I'm also using direct drive, 14/52 ratio is a good compromise between acceleration and top speed for me, depending of what you want from it and what you motor can handle you can play with the gear ratio for better acceleration or better top speed.

What playing is concerned the quad is a bit overweight because i'm using rather big batteries, so jumping it is not recommended, but i can do a donut with it in the dirt, no problem. Also chinese bearings, brakes and shocks are not as solid as they should be.


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

Gene said:


> I'm also using direct drive, 14/52 ratio is a good compromise between acceleration and top speed for me, depending of what you want from it and what you motor can handle you can play with the gear ratio for better acceleration or better top speed.
> 
> What playing is concerned the quad is a bit overweight because i'm using rather big batteries, so jumping it is not recommended, but i can do a donut with it in the dirt, no problem. * chinese bearings, brakes and shocks are not as solid as they should be.*


Yeah I know that part already...Certain parts will be upgraded...


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

So here's the update on the quad...

I just got done testing the headways that I'm using for the 12 volt system. I am more than pleased with the results!!!

I took some pics, but I forgot to take one with the pack installed in the quad. Oh well it looks and fits great, which is an important part of the process.

So I started with a test of the old battery, while cranking it over it read 10.2....
then I tested it out of the quad...and it barely read 11.7...Its a 3 yr. old battery I was surprised it was that good..

Then came the fun stuff.....Tested the headways before install and got good reading of 13.8. Safely below maximum charge range, Once again I tested the headways while cranking the motor over and BAM 12.7 while cranking with all lights on and the cooling fan running. So here's some pics and I'm a happy camper.


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

So after a few days of sitting out in the cold(28-41degrees) I decided to give it another real world test....Cranking over with kill switch off..Got lowest reading of 10.18v while cranking over first try. The second cranking lasted about 15 sec. First reading on second crank 10.85v. on the third cranking I got a low reading of 11.7v. So how come it gets higher the more I use the pack?? All the while the kill switch is off. Oh well I'll give it a couple more days then test it again.


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## Jeff (Sep 25, 2008)

crashnfool said:


> So after a few days of sitting out in the cold(28-41degrees) I decided to give it another real world test....Cranking over with kill switch off..Got lowest reading of 10.18v while cranking over first try. The second cranking lasted about 15 sec. First reading on second crank 10.85v. on the third cranking I got a low reading of 11.7v. So how come it gets higher the more I use the pack?? All the while the kill switch is off. Oh well I'll give it a couple more days then test it again.


Gosh, that's a stumper! I've no idea 

Just kidding. When doing your load test, the cells warmed up a little from the high current load. The cells internal resistance (12mohms? @20c IIRC), becomes a resistor, and discarded some of the cell energy as waste heat.

As the cells heat up, the internal resistance drops. It would have continued to drop as the cell temperature increased to about 40 degrees Celsius. I suspect the cell resistance was somewhere close to 20mohms+ when you began the tests.


Regards, Jeff


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

Thanks for the info jeff I'm still learning about this stuff daily..But is sure is nice to know that I started with good equipment to begin this learning curve.


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## crashnfool (Sep 26, 2009)

Well its been about a year since I started with the conversion....None of which has gone well..due to life happening....But just wanted to update on the battery pack..It still rocks!!!

I have quit using it on the quad(the carb went poo-poo) so I used it on one my motorcycles for most of the summer....Worked great.... I did just for fun try to start my full size chevy truck with it...once again success!! and actually just used tonite to jumpstart someones car when I got home. This pack just wont quit. I'll take it to work next week and run some tests on it just to see how its holding up...not that I need to just for giggles I guess.


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