John Deere E-Gator rebuild(Picturestory)

John thank you for the part- link i did not know that link before !!!!

I dont use a BMS on my Li-on Battery but i balance it before i solder them .
May the future will show how long this Accu will live without BMS !!!
So if you have enough money you better use a BMS

To our questions..........

My Curtis Sep-EX Controller stop´s if the Battery is longer time under 37,5 Volt thats a safty feature, i test it unintentionally on a long trip so the Controller stops the Gator long before the Battery is damaged .

The E Gator Controller-Software - default settings are set for Acid Batterys thats why i use a a s13(54,6 Volt) Lion Cells .
I know that the Max possible Voltage for this Controller is 65 Volt but the Controller software default Seeting is set lower so may it is possible that the Controller dont work with a s15 lion (63 Volt) i dont test and know that .

Also i could not change the Settings with the Curtis programming Handbox because this Controller is Password protected .
So you must work with the Factory Controller Settings(Acid Battery Settings) !

So if your Gator is Speed limited to 10km or 25 Km the only way to manipulate the Speed is to change the Tachopol -Sensor- Wheel that´s the little Wheel on the DC Motor (fewer Magnetpoles the faster the Motor rotates) .

so more or less The Photo story comes to an end .

I mount a cheap Amazon Radio(work well!) that had speakers inside and i mount 12Volt Socket outlet for connecting all kind of 12 Volt equipment


and i weld roof rack and mount it on the roof now i had more storage place .


John ....my gator is a first Generation Modell V.1.0 i dont know if newer TE _Gator had the same controller and wiring but on mine i dont had to change any Wiring the only thing i change is to mount a Battery Switch and a 250 Amp ANL Fuse !!!!
And i change the charger to a Lion 10 Ampere Charger because the old charger is a acid charger and not for Lion Voltage !!!


i change the originally 48 Volt Socket against this Default 230 Volt Socket outlet (Picture) the little Battery switch is not the Main Switch it is for the DC-Side of the Lion-Charger.
I only had to connect the wires from the old 48Volt Socket to the DC-Side of the Charger .

on this out of focus Photo you can look at the charger it is now mountet inside so i can connect the Vehicle Directly to every 230V Socket anywhere (In Europe :lol: )



greetings
Martin

Looks great!
I think my Toro has the same speed limit - 25k forward, 10k reverse. Probably the same Sevcon controller too.

Might pay to test your individual cells occasionally in case you get a low one, I had one of mine go low prematurely last week and the BMS alerted me to it before I caused damage.

Love the idea of a radio!

Thanks for the responses.
Got my eGator in from winter storage today.
The controller in mine is a Curtis PMC Sepex 1264-5403
I can only guess this is the original Deere one.
My plan for batteries is to assemble (or buy) a pack out of a Nissan Leaf salvage car. The Leaf seems a better choice than the Chevy Volt batteries.
I will put on a BMC.
Interested to learn John Deere password protected the controller....going to see if I can 'acquire' the password.
Still researching and learning. What is the purpose of the 500 amp shunt you reference?
Thanks again
John

You've got me excited about going to lithium (sometime this year).

If you are trying to 'age' your machine this might help

1999 Model (SN W0E4X2E001001-001705)
2000 Model (SN W0E4X2E001706-003212)
2001 Model (SN VGE4X2E010001-010274)
2002 Model (SN VGE4X2E010275-010787)
2003 Model (SN W0E4X2E011001-011389)
2004 Model (SN W0E4X2E011390-011771)
2005 Model (SN W0E4X2E011772-012068)

Taken from
https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc-services/v1/image/getAttachment/E_Gator_Utility_Vehicle_Electric_Turf__mfg_1999___2005___Introduction?a=6465&br=1155&locale=en-US

and for all gators
https://www.scribd.com/document/330782970/John-Deere-Gator-manufactured-year-from-serial-number-lookup-table

The shunt tells the BMS how much current you are pulling (or charging), so it can then calculate your state of charge from how much current was removed from the pack. Most BMS including the Zeva use them.
My lithium battery peaks in the low 300A range, hence the need for the larger 500A shunt.

A shunt is basically a giant resistor, of a very low resistance, whose value is precisely known, and by measuring the tiny voltage drop across it the current can be calculated.

Bought a used 2015 Nissan Leaf battery and it's arriving Mon or Tues.
48 modules making up a 24 kw battery.
planning on using 7 modules to make a nominally 48 volt battery for the gator initially.
Car was driven into the shop before dismantling. Had a 2/3 charge.
Thinking I'll initially play with the seven module setup, no bms. Just have to find a charger.

That should be a weapon! They have a fast discharge rate compared to the LiFEPO4 cells in mine!

Thats sounds really good !!!

Posted a writeup on my eGator conversion in a separate article. Thanks to everyone who went before me that I learned from!

Great thread.
Thanks for taking the time to post.

-methods

Thank you! Little update: Meantime the e- gator still work fine the, the accu still in good condition, the Panasonic cells worth the money.. In summertime my gas-car make hollyday and in wintertime the gator had a break .

Greetings
Martin

jealous

I spent all my money on Whisky, Women, and Lawyers.
None left for an 18650 project

Live the Dream

-methods

I'm looking at buying a 1999 E-Gator that seems to have dead batteries. I am thinking of flipping over to lithium and I wanted to ask what the maximum draw of the motor was? I have the old service manual but it only references a 56A draw in reference to the endurance. The batteries I am looking at have a max continuous of 100A and a burst of 350A but only for 3 seconds. Will this be enough?

My property has a 200' (60m) high slope with a 20% grade. Will the e-gator be able to tackle this with a full load?

Can't really answer. I have been running mine on a 7 pack of nissan leaf modules without issues.I don't know what the specs for max amperages is.

Hi

I use my Gater sometimes for Heavy Load transportation.. Brick Stones...400-500 KG, but only for short Range.
So first i fused my Accu with a 150 Ampere Fuse this Fuse will blow up after short Time so now im using a 200 Ampere Fuse and all is Fine.
This 150 Amp Fuse blow up with no haevy load but i drive my Gater up hill for 300 meter and the Fuse was History.

So i cant tell you what the Continous Ampere was because it depants on what you used our Gator for but a Accu with only 100 Ampere Continous Max is defintly to low.

Sorry

Greetings from Austria
Martin

sorry i had an old update and forgotten it............ (the Controller does made 400A max for short time but continous it is between 100-130 Ampere)

So 100Amp is really to weak for this Vehicle i think that the newer Gater still need the same Specifications....?!