eRover 75 - some information about the conversion

[efb]

In another thread, this video of my electric car conversion came up and I would like to give you some more detailed information here:

I have to put in front that Aunt Google translated the text for me, I hope there were no irritating formulations ...


It started when my beautiful 2000 Rover 75 2.5 V6 2018 broke with engine failure. After only 150,000 km. An economic total loss.

Electromobility has interested me for a long time. But if an electric car is a nice one. And there is currently no nice one, especially no limousine. And so the idea for the conversion came up.

At first I just googled for a few weeks. There were some completed conversions, but no Rover 75. There have been many successful and even more unsuccessful conversion projects. There were a lot of different variants to convert, in the end it was clear to me:

- Rover 75 (of course)
- AC motor (maintenance-free and energy recovery - recuperation possible)
- Curtis Controller (good experience, easy to program, can withstand 110 volts)
- LiFePO4 batteries (durable and good power to weight ratio, distributed on the front and rear because of the weight distribution)
- 22 kW battery capacity for a safe range of 100 km, even in winter
- EMUS BMS (very well documented, good to program, interface for Car-PC)
- 3 x 3.3 kW charger (i.e. almost 10 kW maximum charging power, can be regulated)
- Type 2 plug (charging possible anywhere on the go)
- PTC heater 2x2 kW (easily controllable, sufficient power)
- Mercedes power steering pump (for power steering, simple and self-regulating)
- VW brake pump (vacuum for brake booster)
- DC / DC converter DMC 900W (as replacement for the alternator)
- Service isolating switch
- Special DC fuses (arc-extinguishing)


And a few more measures to prevent electromagnetic interference from the on-board electronics:
- Aluminum boxes for batteries and controllers
- Shielded high-voltage cables
- All components with CE marking

The car was now dismantled (engine, tank, exhaust, cooling system, air conditioning, engine control) and everything was weighed so that I knew, for example, where and how many kg I could reinstall later.

Heiko Fleck is a well-known electric car conversion specialist in Germany, I bought the motor-controller combination from him and he also brokered a company for me that flanged the motor to my old gearbox. (the clutch is retained, when driving you usually use 3rd gear in the city, 4th / 5th gear overland, shifting is little)










After I had installed the motor and the controller, I got eight old 12V batteries = 96 V. And the car drove silently across the yard!


Only now have I gradually bought and installed all the other components. The largest item was the LiFePo4 batteries (34 GBS 200 AH, 3.2V). Each battery weighs 5.5 kg, so it adds up to a lot of weight. Therefore, the Rover also got diesel springs at the front and rear.







What I particularly enjoyed was integrating the components into the vehicle electrics and electronics. The aim was to deviate as little as possible from the normal operation of the vehicle. Visually, too, shouldn't change much on the dashboard. In the video you can see part of the circuit diagram as a background, it became quite extensive.




The BMS (battery management system) plays a central role in electric cars. Adjusting the system until it ran properly took a lot of time.





But it's worth it: the system controls and monitors the charging process and the parameters of the batteries when driving and recuperation as well as the range. It also has 68 temperature measuring points to detect overloads in the high-voltage system. The display via the car PC or smartphone is also very convenient.


The heating also had to be rebuilt, here I replaced the heat exchanger with PTC elements and integrated the whole thing into the automatic heating system.





After the conversion, the vehicle still had to be registered. In Germany only a few test centers do this, I was lucky that one in my area had agreed to do so. Two examiners, an electrician, three hours and a test drive. You can imagine that afterwards I was really happy that everything was okay.

And how is it in everyday life?

The car drives very pleasantly and the electric motor is an excellent match for the Rover 75. In the city you can travel very quickly (if you want). When overtaking on the expressway, however, you mustn't forget that you are no longer driving your V6 :-).

You have to watch out for pedestrians, they sometimes just cross the street by ear ...

The batteries are the most expensive part of the upgrade. So I designed them to be enough for my routine routes. These are rarely more than 80 km a day. In summer the maximum range is 140 km, in winter at least 100 km. That fits. For the rare longer tours, e.g. on vacation, my wife's car has to serve.




At home I usually charge a few kW overnight, which is best for the batteries. If it has to go faster, it charges with 10 kW, i.e. a good 100 km in two hours. I hardly need that, but it feels better when I can.

So far (approx. 3000 km) everything has been great fun with the eROVER 75, I hope it stays that way :-)


Ernst

[trikey]

Fantastic work, the conversion looks amazing, well done.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tantallon]

Das ist technische Exzellenz .Sie sind ein Verdienst an sich selbst .Gut gemacht!

[macafee2]

what you have done is very impressive.
Have I understood correctly, you still manual use the gears of the original gearbox?
It is amazing what people in their garages create.

macafee2

[Sjonnie]

Excellent! I enjoyed the read and hope to read more about this unique car.


German ingenuity and British class. What a perfect combination!

[cantabro75]

Danke thanks a lot and my congratulations on this, you open a way to use longer our cars, mine is Diesel and seems a nice way to keep it alive when in a few time will be near imposible to drive a diesel car in EU

[efb]

I have to say: I am surprised about the positive feedback and would like to thank you very much! I have already read many german threads about electrical conversions and often there is a useless discussion between eMobile advocates and opponents. In a country that builds a lot of good gasoline and diesel vehicles, of course, you read a lot about why an electric car can't be the right one, I think that's normal...
I am very happy about this impartial reception here.

Originally Posted by macafee2

Have I understood correctly, you still manual use the gears of the original gearbox?
macafee2

Yes, this is the easiest way to convert. The electric motor gets a flange and the old flywheel is attached to it. You can still use the clutch and shift gears, but as I said, you do it much less often. And I actually don't use 1st and 2nd gear anymore.

[Azur]

What a great job you have done Ernst, congratulations. Really impressive. I hope to see the car at the next international meet in Bavaria.

Regards,
Emiel

[planenut]

Outstanding Ernst. A fine example of ingenuity, well done.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by efb

I have to say: I am surprised about the positive feedback and would like to thank you very much! I have already read many german threads about electrical conversions and often there is a useless discussion between eMobile advocates and opponents. In a country that builds a lot of good gasoline and diesel vehicles, of course, you read a lot about why an electric car can't be the right one, I think that's normal...
I am very happy about this impartial reception here.





Yes, this is the easiest way to convert. The electric motor gets a flange and the old flywheel is attached to it. You can still use the clutch and shift gears, but as I said, you do it much less often. And I actually don't use 1st and 2nd gear anymore.

I'm surprised you are surprised. Most of us would not have known where to start or even think it was possible

macafee2