In for a Dime, In for a Dollar Part Deux

Here it is almost another year later, with much to report and at the same time limited progress. We noted at the end of the previous post that the EVTV charge controller in the Porsche had failed and prospects for a direct replacement were dim. A little exploring turned up a charge controller from Thunderstruck Motors that seemed to fit the bill with the added benefit that it managed the J1772 charge port as well as the DC/DC converter.

It listed support for SOME Lear chargers, so I forged ahead with a direct replacement for the fried EVTV charge controller. Turns out my Lear (Chevy Volt) charger is one that's not supported, so after an extended attempt to get it talking appropriately on the CAN bus (support from Thunderstruck was outstanding by the way), I threw in the towel and ordered the charger that the controller was designed for, the Thunderstruck TMS2500. This is a very impressive product: light weight, air cooled, very quiet, and it worked great first try.

So why not go whole hog and add the BMS to keep tabs on the battery pack? Even Jack Rickard relented on his opposition to BMS's after having a Better Place pack like mine nearly burn his shop down. I added a BMS Controller with three satellites and sprang for the BMS Display. After installing all of that kit, I finally have the Holt Grail of instrumentation, a comprehensive real time view of the state of the battery pack. Installation was straight forward if messy, so this was a real opportunity to tidy up a lot of things that got grafted into the rear harness over the years. First thing was to consolidate the mid pack contactor, DC/DC fuse, and two control relays into a box where they are vastly more maintainable than the former location hanging underneath the platform.

Each positive connection plus one negative per harness gets a BMS lead which doesn't seem so bad until you realize that adds up to 104 leads for the 96 cell pack. 

It gets a bit disorganized, 

but nothing a few zip ties can't handle.

With everything in place it makes for an attractive installation.

So after finishing up the job, what do you do the very next day? I say take it to a car show!

Between the new Scott Drive Inverter/Motor Controller and the Thunderstruck charging system and BMS, the Porsche is a smooth ride with nearly all the kinks worked out. Meanwhile the poor MG has been languishing in the garage ...