Converting to electric running

Just about to dive into this project, converting my recently acquired 2005 Jimny to an EV.

I converted a BMW a couple of years ago, and am following the same basic design principals:-

Misubishi Outlander phev motor, charger and inverter
BMW 330e battery packs
Self written, design and built control electronics for driving and charging.

I chose the Jimny after the BMW because:-

* it's a simple design (important when you need to keep ABS etc alive with no engine)
* its a bit different
* the chassis based design and high ground clearance give room for batteries
* its aimed at shorter trips, kids to school, running round town etc, so no motorways so high speed and motorway use not required

The gearing requires that the motor drives the transfer box in L, i'm going to remove the prop running forward so its RWD only.

Q1 - My Jimny has the electrically operated transfer box. Is there a pin out for the connections and am i likely to be able to hard wire the to L, or am i better off swapping to a manual transfer box for simplicity ?

Q2 - If i disconnect the vacuum lines to the front hubs, is the default disengaged ? They appear to spin freely on the 2 post lift.

Q3 - I've scoured the wiring diagrams and there doesn't appear to be any CAN bus at all. I do however see a connection from the ABS to the engine ECU, but it looks like just 1 wire - does anyone know what this is used for as i intend to remove the engine ecu

Q4 - How easy is it to lift the body off, easier to work and corrosion proof - i have a 2 post lift. Is there a step by step guide to lifting the body ?

I'll be starting a build thread soon

thanks


 

1) The electric transfer box just has a motor that moves the selector shaft. You could just connect the motor to 12V and wind the shaft all the way to 4WDL then disconnect the motor and it will stay in position. Don't leave it on as it will burn out, there are limit switches that turned it off via the controller.
The wires to the motor are red/white & red/blue

2) the hubs change state when vacuum is applied to alternate ports and are held in 2WD by magnets, so once they are free  they will stay free if the pipes are disconnected and plugged.  You can remove the hub and push the centres into 2WD manually then refit.

3) don't know. There is definitely a wire to the 4WD switch, so this will need the switch disconnecting, the wire you mean is labelled "Idle up" on the block diagram. I don't know why you'd tweak the idle up, unless it is to stop the engine stalling if you hold down the clutch and the abs pump is running flat out?

4) never tried, but it is fairly easy, disconnect steering, wiring and brake pipes and undo the mounts and it should lift off.

I wouldn’t have thought there was any need to remove the vacuum pipes to the front hubs, without an engine there will be no vacuum anyway.

You might find that the 4WD controller will get itself confused in low range, but with no vacuum, so disconnecting the transfer box motor with the TC in low range and bridge the vacuum switch near the solenoids might be an idea.

Or you could remove the 4WD controller, I would imagine there is a market for these.


What sort or range are you hoping for?

> Or you could remove the 4WD controller,

yes i expect i will do this once the transfer box is in L.

> What sort or range are you hoping for?

I have 2 x 12kwh packs to go in, and i should see 3.5 miles/kwh, so 84 miles which is about what we get from our Zoe. If i add a third pack, then half as much again.

Looking forward to the build thread.

Someone was here yesterday looking for an engine...

Just a thought, running the transfer box in low will be horribly noisy won't it? 

Assuming the jimny you have acquired is in running condition, try putting it in low range and getting up to speed, even at 50 kph you'll see what I mean. 

I haven't actually opened up a jimny transfer case myself but from the diagrams I have seen the straight cut planetary gears is what's making the gear noise. 

You are also potentially introducing more "whip" in the drive train than nessecary due to added backlash in the system. High range I believe is straight through / direct drive so much less backlash? 

Just a thought