Crossposting a very long post to a virtually unrelated thread is rather frowned upon in most forums.

 

FORScan Codes:

 

@ S Keith Steve, can you please confirm the bolts pictured on the relay are 10mm? Also, how long should the wires be for the connection from the relay to outside the HVTB?? I'm building one of these to ship out of state and I need to know what size connectors to use. Thank you. By the way, this and the related threads contain a wealth of knowledge and you've been incredibly helpful (and patient.)

 

i did my blind - and that is the same query that i had.
after the charger was built, i sat it out on the concrete driveway out of harm's way.
i had it plugged into an outside outlet which was controlled by a switch inside and was also
using a surge protector in the setup. hooked a voltmeter to the output of the charger.
i flipped the switch and went out hoping that nothing had
blown up
i think it was reading 406 volts
i didn't make any changes so i was presuming that it was changing (And it was)
Did you get the charger figured out?

 

Some had asked about photos of an assembled unit. These are pictures of the one my mechanic friend and I assembled yesterday. It's pretty much exactly as S Keith wrote it up except we soldered connections instead of using wire nuts. We also modified two fuse holders to protect the diodes (they are wrapped in blue tape.)

Note: These are for illustrative purposes only, you should have a professional assemble this for you. In other words, I am not responsible for you frying yourself or someone else.

 

Nice.

 

One other thing I would add is there is NO need to either remove the HVTB from the vehicle or even unbolt it and try to tilt it. You can do this with the HVTB in place. You need to completely remove the cargo interior trim panels, not just loosen them, remove them. Remove all of the top bolts from the HVTB...super easy access. There are two bolts on the sides about mid-battery with straps attached. You can get to those with channellocks. Moving toward the front of the vehicle, also on the sides of the lid, are one more bolt on each side. These are the tricky ones to get to. If you have one of these:

You can cut down the bits to make them shorter and it will fit. Remove those and the final 2 on the front edge of the lid which are easy to access with the rear seat moved out of the way and you can remove the cover to access the relay.

 

This is, I believe, a summary of the collective thread wisdom for the procedure. I added a few notes/thoughts. Usual disclaimers about don't try this at home, hire a professional, risk of electrocution/death, etc.

Note 1: the entire battery casing is plastic, only the covers are metal, as are the points where the screws go in. You don't want to damage the casing by over tightening anything or prying up on it.

Note 2. it is essential for proper battery cooling that the HVTB covers fit and seal properly, do not bend them and do not damage any seals.

Note 3. EVERYTHING can be done with the battery in place in the vehicle.



Safety is obviously foremost. .

IMPORTANT: The charger described in this thread produces approximately 380 volts, but at low amperage. The two ring connectors are exposed on the short harness that attaches to the HVTB battery relay. NO NOT TOUCH those if that harness is connected to the charger and the charger is plugged in. There would be no reason for you to connect that harness to the charger until AFTER it is installed on the HVTB. I purchased red 3D printed safety caps to protect the female connector of the short harness.

Be very familiar with the photo of the relay block in post #53. He circled the positive and negative connection points on the relay block in red(+) and black(-). The terminal ends on my harness are color coded the same way, which is obviously the standard.

IMPORTANT: Remove the big orange service plug from the HVTB when working on it.

Needed:

Security Torx bits
Trim panel tool
Ratcheting screwdriver with bits.


I would suggest you go in this order:
1. Disconnect 12 volt battery, put it on a charger.

2. Remove orange service plug from HVTB

3. Completely remove trim pieces in rear cargo area. Here's a good YT video (Note: he made a mistake at 1:04...open that little cover and remove the fastener from there, not the way he did it, and you won't break it.) You will need a trim tool. Both sides are similar.:


4. Remove HVTB AC vent. Note: scroll down for 09+ models:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/85demexnlo...draft.pdf?dl=0

5. Remove large cover fasteners . Note here is a video of a guy opening up a battery after it has been removed from the vehicle showing you bolt placements. You, of course, are going to be doing this in place. The top ones are easy...super easy access. There are two bolts on the sides of the lid about mid-battery with straps attached (0.48 of video). You can get to those with channellocks. Moving toward the front of the vehicle, also on the sides of the lid, are 2 more bolts (0.56). Those are the hardest ones to get to. Buy one os these low profile Use one of these ultra low profile sets and you can get to them(credit to elborak for finding this set.)


Then remove the final two bolts on the front edge of the lids (1.04). Super easy access with rear seat moved out of the way



6. At this point you should be able to remove the large cover towards the front of the vehicle.

7. Access the relay in the HVTB per post #1.. There are written directions and high quality photos. Here's a YT video of someone who has opened up the HVTB in place in the vehicle and is getting ready to install a harness.::

8. Attach the short harness per the photographs paying close attention to polarity.

9. Reassemble relay into HVTB


10. Route the harness out of the battery so that the female connector with the red safety cap is hanging outside the HVTB casing. Consider notching the casing as you don't want the lid to cut into the harness and short out the HVTB. That would be the definition of a bad day.

11. Reinstall HVTB lid being mindful of torque specs.

12. Reinstall duct for HVTB AC system.




CHARGING PROCEDURE:
Remove orange service plug completely
Remove red relay harness safety cover
Connect charger to relay harness
Plug charger into 110VAC supply
Install orange service plug
Charge for 4 hours
Remove orange service plug
Unplug charger power from 110VAC supply
Unplug charger from relay harness
Install red relay harness safety cover
Install orange service plug
Reinstall/connect 12 volt battery
Clear any codes from vehicle with scan tool or equivalent.
Start vehicle, allow to run until ICE shuts off and vehicle goes into HEV mode.
Thank S Keith. This all started with his ingenuity.

At full charge under a low current (0.5A), the FEH battery will be full at between 353-358V (approximately).

 

Thanks GatorJ. Nice collation of S Keith's (+ a few others) great instructions. And I love the tip of cutting down an offset bit for getting to the side bolts.

 

Well, I can attest that this charger works. The charger pictured above was shipped out of state to the owner of an '09 FEH with a HVTB discharged to the point the vehicle would not start. He left it on an 8 hour timer with a fan blowing on the battery and it immediately started. The vehicle was left running for several minutes and it went into EV mode. I was sent a video of the FEH running normally.

A sincere thank you to Keith and the other thread contributors.