Saturday, January 19, 2008

Next project - an electric Jeep Cherokee

Having completed my electric Porsche 914 conversion I've got the bug (and my wife Jill wants an electric vehicle to drive around). So, I have another project. Welcome to ElectroJeep, where I will be converting this Jeep Cherokee to electric:



Basic specifications will be:
  • AC55 motor & DMOC440 controller from Azure Dynamics
  • 316 volt flooded lead-acid battery pack (26 12-volt batteries)
  • Charger: likely Zivan NG-3, but still investigating
Right now, I'm in investigation, planning, and ordering parts phase. This will be more challenging than the Porsche, because I am not going with a kit. Also, my wife and youngest daughter will be much more involved in the process, since they will likely be the main drivers of this one.

Stay tuned!

Edit: Jill says she will likely call it "Jeep Lightning".

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow and Wow again!

Impressive stuff. I have a 95 Jeep Cherokee, and started thinking (just a few days ago) that I wanted to turn it into an EV. I started researching how to do it when I stumbled onto your site. You are already doing what I want to do, and man did I learn from your sharing, thanks!

Seeing all you went through is now making me double guess on trying to tackle it myself (not being a mechanic nor electrician by trade).

Awesome work! Wow, let me know if you decide to sell that! : )

Awesome!

Brian
Pittsburgh PA
Malakhamaveth@Yahoo.com

Ross Cunniff said...

Brian,

I'm not a mechanic or an electrician myself. It's all pretty straightforward if you take your time and pay attention. You can learn all the required skills as you go. The most exotic skill required is welding - but with a wire-feed arc welder, a little practice, and you'll be good at that too. You will need to purchase a good set of tools (jacks, jackstands, sockets, torque wrenches, box-end wrenches, allen wrenches, torx bits, etc.) but the bigger pieces of equipment can be rented - engine lifts, etc.

I highly recommend that you by "Convert It" from Electro Automotive - it has a ton of info on things to think about when converting.

Glenn said...

Ross,

What made you select a AC motor over a DC Motor, and what do you expect the range will be with its regen capibility.

Glenn