Echo-Troll Modding Thread (2005 Toyota Echo)

[Superfuelgero]

Its not a balancer. The d-series are internally balanced. It is to lessen the harmonic "pulses" that resonate and grow into destructive forces. This is why I referred to it as a dampener. I don't claim to know what rpm range that will affect your engine, or how long it would take.

Its not that heavy. Maybe a 3lbs (max) difference. You can try to find a OEM one from a non-ps/ac car (or throw it in a lathe). But, the effort at that point is so small, you should spend it elsewhere.

Just as I mod the Honda more, the more I realize Honda did it right from the start. Any gains are small, and from narrowing the vehicle purpose further with more expensive materials.

[/threadjack] sorry echo

[echo-francis]

I receved my 5500k h4 led headlight from ebay





installed one before the picture











the light aim a little higher now but I was able to look at them 25-30 feet away 3.2 feet from the ground for a least 20sec with out hurting my eyes. the only down side is that the high beam are really shy. I notice it but thats about it. but I never use my high beam so its ok
i did a amp draw test with that battery and some diodes to drop the voltage



and here are the results
normal h4 4.71A 13.13V 61,8423W
h4 sylvania eco bright 4.18A 13.3V 55,594W
h4 leds 1.76A 13.64V 24,0064W
that may not be a good test for everyone because my voltage fluctuate
but that is good for me because i dont use my alt
the installation is really easy: took me 7 min per side at -10c temp
I plan to power them with resurrected labtop batteries like I do with my ewp to not drain my main battery



this is my new battery pack in construction. all those cell have a energy density of 160wh/kg not bad for old 18650 battery.
new good 18650 li ion battery have about 220wh/kg
lifep04 have about 85-125 wh/kg
nimh have 50-80 wh/kg
nicd 40-60 wh/kg
lead acid 30-35 wh/kg
supercapacitor 4-6 wh/kg

[deejaaa]

impressive battery array/choice.

[mcrews]

Why would you post A pic looking at the car????
Please show a picture of the wall you aimed at. And a before and after would be best!
I find it some what foolish that we demand aba testing of some mod that effects no one but the op and yet when it comes to ineffective lighting which affects other drivers we don't demand a proper test.....

[echo-francis]

forgot to post that pic lol



if my car face a wall I will post before and after

[echo-francis]

just finished and tested my 2 battery packs



the green battery pack is the one that power my ewp
the bigger battery pack will power my led headlight for about 4h30
the other battery pack will power my blower motor by my pwm
they can exchange job if I need one of those more then the others



and randomly this is my 66k miles/106k km right front brake pad

[markweatherill]

I've been seeing these LED drop-in kits for a little while. I'd be very interested to know how these hold up long term.

[yoyoyoda]

Originally Posted by echo-francis

and here are the results
normal h4 4.71A 13.13V 61,8423W
h4 sylvania eco bright 4.18A 13.3V 55,594W
h4 leds 1.76A 13.64V 24,0064W
that may not be a good test for everyone because my voltage fluctuate
but that is good for me because i dont use my alt
the installation is really easy: took me 7 min per side at -10c temp
I plan to power them with resurrected labtop batteries like I do with my ewp to not drain my main battery



this is my new battery pack in construction. all those cell have a energy density of 160wh/kg not bad for old 18650 battery.
new good 18650 li ion battery have about 220wh/kg
lifep04 have about 85-125 wh/kg
nimh have 50-80 wh/kg
nicd 40-60 wh/kg
lead acid 30-35 wh/kg
supercapacitor 4-6 wh/kg

Ok, wait, stop!

Lithium ion batteries are VERY DANGEROUS.

Mixing battery brands is BAD.
Wiring in series willy nilly is BAD. It requires special consideration to each cell's voltage, each cell must be charged equally or else BOOM.
Usually Laptop batteries don't have protection circuits built into each cell, so wiring these batteries up willy nilly is a disaster waiting to happen.

it's not possible to charge li-ion in series and stay balanced without individual leads going to each cell. This requires charger with multiple channels or balancer module. safest way to charge li-ion cells is in singles! multiple li-ion cells can be charged in parallel. make sure cells are within .5v of each other to prevent excessive currents as cells start to balance each other. charge rate should be set to 1c of lowest rated cell in stack. http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=161299

I have been a member of candlepowerforums for many years and it has taught me a very wise lesson, don't mess with lithium ion batteries, old and used recycled laptop batteries are an OK source for them but they still aren't safe! The worst source you can get are cells made cheaply in China.

I personally would never use /anything/ but brand new Sanyo 18650's with a protection circuit built into the base of the battery. To prevent overcharge and undercharge.

I'm 30 years old in 2 months and I intend upon keeping the clock ticking, as a result I no longer use any Lithium Ion batteries larger than 14500, 18650 is no longer allowed in my house.

And here I see you are wiring tons of them in parallel/series without a care in the world! WHOA!, it is a disaster waiting to happen!

I will post some examples of what can happen when you aren't 100% careful with charging and discharging them.

A Guide to Lithium Ion Cells in Flashlights | RigCast

greatest danger using li-ion cells occurs during re-charging

It is obvious that there are still an unknown number of people who have not yet heard about the dangers with Li-Ion charging. Once you hear about it and understand, then you can take the proper steps to ensure safety.

There are some that believe any of these threads talking about the explosions and fires that can happen relatively easily with Li-Ion charger is like Big Brother trying to shove something down everyone's throat. In reality, it is a thoughtful campaign to simply make people realize that charging Li-Ion cells is not like charging NiCad or NiMH.

Thanks for all the information in this thread.

Ultrafire 18650 3000mA exploded

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...explosion&sm=3

Don't build that battery pack unless you get /someone experienced/ to do it!

Or better yet, get a pre-made battery pack from a Remote control car or an electric scooter!

it's extremely hard to cause a NMH battery to explode. VS it's relatively easy to cause a li-ion cell to explode by overcharging.

NiCD or NiMH isn't without its dangers, don't short circuit ANY battery... for example, but they are a significant measure safer than Lithium Ion technology!!

If you want to make a battery pack for the LED headlights, use a NiMH battery pack and get a proper charge controller!

Failure to do so could result in your car having this kind of thing go off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjF2lcVAHZo

[echo-francis]

Every Time I charge a battery pack I manually check the balance of each cell and it is between 0v and 0.01v

[yoyoyoda]

Originally Posted by echo-francis

Every Time I charge a battery pack I manually check the balance of each cell and it is between 0v and 0.01v

Just be sure that you are taking into consideration the long term view.

The one day that you skimp on this required procedure is the day that something could go wrong.

If you are going to keep on using these kinds of batteries then get a proper charge controller which does all of these tasks which you are doing automatically.

And stop soldering directly to the 18650 cells, the thermal runaway temperature threshold for Lithium Ion is only a mere 120 degrees centigrade, a temperature which your Soldering Iron can EASILY exceed.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...afety_concerns

Lithium-ion cells with cobalt cathodes (same as the recalled laptop batteries) should never rise above 130°C (265°F). At 150°C (302°F) the cell becomes thermally unstable, a condition that can lead to a thermal runaway in which flaming gases are vented.

During a thermal runaway, the high heat of the failing cell can propagate to the next cell, causing it to become thermally unstable as well. In some cases, a chain reaction occurs in which each cell disintegrates at its own timetable. A pack can get destroyed within a few short seconds or linger on for several hours as each cell is consumed one-by-one. To increase safety, packs are fitted with dividers to protect the failing cell from spreading to neighboring cells.

This is the reason why the batteries explode upon charging, getting them too hot will cause thermal runaway, so not only do you have to monitor voltages but you also need to make sure that each battery isn't getting too hot.

Manufacturers generally recommend keeping them under 60 deg centigrade.

There is also only a certian voltage range that you can forseeably use them in, generally below 3.5 volts is going to cause permanent damage to the cell, causing reduced capacity.

Any one, or all of the above. If the cell discharges below a certain voltage, cell damage will occur. This is permanent damage and cannot be reversed. Depending on the manufacturer and the particular cell, damage begins to occur to LiCo/ICR Li-Ion cells at somewhere below 3 Volts OC (open circuit voltage). A LiCo cell is considered "dead" at about 3.50 Volts OC. From this voltage level it really doesn't take very long for the cell to drop below 3 volts, for whatever reason, as there is very little capacity left.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...n-safety/page4
http://www.fortbendrc.com/tips/Lithi...erySecrets.pdf

Also, use fuses!!!

I want to make sure you are aware of the dangers involved and the fact remains that you could easily use much less dangerous cells like NiMH, there is absolutely no hard requirement to be using Lithium Ion batteries in your setup.

Be safe! and here is an idea, register an account over at candlepowerforums.com and ask the experts there what to do.