[WIP] Mercedes Sprinter / German-e-cars Plantos EV
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2024 1:21 pm
So, I bought an electric van that was broken, and it was made by a small German company that already went bankrupt.
This one was one of their last, in 2015.
It basically is a Mercedes Sprinter with a Siemens ELFA2 drivetrain (motor and inverter) mounted to the 6 speed gearbox. That wasn't really necessary, but it worked.
The battery was a whopping 200 Winston Thundersky cells giving 40kWh at 700kg so it was a nominal 650v system
The van could drive up to 120km.
It is in fact a 9 seater van, and heating was done with a diesel heater. Because there wouldn't be much left of the range in winter heating the whole van.
The battery gave out because 2 cells died and that's how I bought it, broken.
I couldn't bring the Actia BMS back to live. It was in some kind of error state, and there is literally zero support or information, even though talking to people from Actia who knew about this project!
But, the whole thing is CAN bus controlled with all kinds of black boxes with no info.
Since the BMS had errors, the whole system did not get operational. And it never will, because I removed the BMS.
Luckily, I got some CAN bus documentation on the Siemens ELFA2 drivetrain and some help from a Siemens person.
So I spent some time to create my own VCU which also imitates a battery, based on an Arduino with CAN shield.
There is a start-up sequence to do, the Siemens drivetrain asks for Precharge and so on.
This week, I finally got it driving with the VCU using the original Mercedes throttle pedal.
Just around the parking lot. That was quiet the milestone for me!
But there is still lots to do:
- electric vacuum pump broken
- power steering is not doing anything (one of the many black bloxes is not controlling it)
- ABS / speedomotor problem
- brakes have been used for a while, might not be usable
- getting the original Valere 22kW chargers to work or bidirectional charger
Most important thing on the to-do-list: Building the battery in the rear.
I intend to put it over the rear axle inside, on the loading floor.
For this I purchased an BMW IX3 battery of 80kWh.
This means I will stay below 400v level, not using the whole power available (as amps are limited)
In the end I would like to add batteries, if weight allows it, to get to 600v, or 100 to 120kWh.
And getting more power.
I must say it is quite interesting to drive with a silent motor on a gearbox. You of course shouldn't be using the clutch to often, but when reversing it is necessary (at lost for now, the motor just goes into drive state).
There is zero indication that the motor is still making revs while you are releasing the clutch. Takes some getting used to.
This one was one of their last, in 2015.
It basically is a Mercedes Sprinter with a Siemens ELFA2 drivetrain (motor and inverter) mounted to the 6 speed gearbox. That wasn't really necessary, but it worked.
The battery was a whopping 200 Winston Thundersky cells giving 40kWh at 700kg so it was a nominal 650v system
The van could drive up to 120km.
It is in fact a 9 seater van, and heating was done with a diesel heater. Because there wouldn't be much left of the range in winter heating the whole van.
The battery gave out because 2 cells died and that's how I bought it, broken.
I couldn't bring the Actia BMS back to live. It was in some kind of error state, and there is literally zero support or information, even though talking to people from Actia who knew about this project!
But, the whole thing is CAN bus controlled with all kinds of black boxes with no info.
Since the BMS had errors, the whole system did not get operational. And it never will, because I removed the BMS.
Luckily, I got some CAN bus documentation on the Siemens ELFA2 drivetrain and some help from a Siemens person.
So I spent some time to create my own VCU which also imitates a battery, based on an Arduino with CAN shield.
There is a start-up sequence to do, the Siemens drivetrain asks for Precharge and so on.
This week, I finally got it driving with the VCU using the original Mercedes throttle pedal.
Just around the parking lot. That was quiet the milestone for me!
But there is still lots to do:
- electric vacuum pump broken
- power steering is not doing anything (one of the many black bloxes is not controlling it)
- ABS / speedomotor problem
- brakes have been used for a while, might not be usable
- getting the original Valere 22kW chargers to work or bidirectional charger
Most important thing on the to-do-list: Building the battery in the rear.
I intend to put it over the rear axle inside, on the loading floor.
For this I purchased an BMW IX3 battery of 80kWh.
This means I will stay below 400v level, not using the whole power available (as amps are limited)
In the end I would like to add batteries, if weight allows it, to get to 600v, or 100 to 120kWh.
And getting more power.
I must say it is quite interesting to drive with a silent motor on a gearbox. You of course shouldn't be using the clutch to often, but when reversing it is necessary (at lost for now, the motor just goes into drive state).
There is zero indication that the motor is still making revs while you are releasing the clutch. Takes some getting used to.