I get asked a lot of questions about these vehicles - here I'll try to summarise some of the most common ones.

 

Batteries:

There are 27 6 Volt Saft monoblocks in a Berlingo (162V total), held in three boxes beneath the vehicle and one under the bonnet.  Each box has a removable fuse and a link accessible from the outside.  The batteries must be maintained by adding water only after a special maintenance charge - this is required approximately every 4000 miles.  This can be done by a dealer or by using the evLite watering kit which I make.

The batteries are no longer available new.  So it is important if buying a vehicle to get one with good batteries.  The only good indicator of this is to drive it - the range should be at least 40 miles if driven carefully, and the "recharge" light should not come on when the energy meter is above 20%.

Please remember that if the vehicle has been sitting idle for a long time, or has been used for very short journeys only, the batteries will need several "cycles" of use before the full capacity will return.  

It's important to drive carefully and don't over stress the batteries during the first drive - and if possible, perform a balance charge using evLite.  Let the charger stop completely, do not unplug when as soon as it reaches 100%.

 

Motor:

The motor is a seperately-excited DC machine.  It has brushes which do need to be replaced, usually every 20,000 miles but they should be checked every time the watering is done.  If the brushes wear out completely, the motor commutator will be damaged, and possibly the controller as well.  

I sometimes have replacement brushes available and provide instructions for changing them.

Another problem that the motor experiences is the build up of carbon dust from the brushes - in wet weather this sticks around the brush plate and causes electrical leakage.  The controller will detect this and switch on the electrical fault lamp.

The final thing to keep an eye on is the motor blower, mounted under the bonnet to the right of the battery box.  This should run all the time when the ignition is on, and the grille should be clear of any obstruction.  

 

Controller 

The aluminium box under the bonnet contains the motor drive (an IGBT chopper), the battery charger and the DC-DC converter. 

These components are generally quite reliable but as with any electronics, problems can happen.

Some tips to avoid damage:

  • Make sure that the left side of the radiator has coolant and that it flows when the ignition is on.  The right side is the battery coolant.
  • Check regularly that the 12V battery is in good condition.  If it is not, the DC-DC converter will eventually explode in a nasty way. 
  • Do not remove a 12V battery lead without first taking out a traction battery fuse.
  • Don't drive in the red!  This is more superstition than anything else, but it's not good for your motor or batteries either, and controller blow-ups are probably less likely if you have a light right foot.
  • Check that the radiator fan starts near the end of charging.  This sometimes seizes up, but is needed to prevent the control box overheating.  If the charger stops early, this is usually why.

Some "glitch" problems (cooling fan sticking on / car refusing to start) can be solved by resetting the computer by removing one of the traction battery fuse/link blocks located behind the 12V battery, waiting for a minute and then putting it back firmly.  Make sure that the charge lead is unplugged before doing this!

If the worse happens, I sometimes offer to repair problems for people, if the box is removed and posted to me - here is the guide for doing that.

 

Heater

The heater can "lock out" if allowed to run out of petrol, or occasionally does it anyway.  To reset it, remove both the electrical connectors from the top and then put them back.  

 

Mechanical

The rest of the vehicle is quite straightforward and similar to the petrol/diesel version.  The CV joints and brake pads and discs will need attending to, as will the wheel bearings.  The brakes get very little use due to the powerful regenerative braking, but this tends to result in the discs becoming rusty and the calipers seizing.  Maintain those to prevent the range from being affected.

 

Driving tips

The following points can be considered good practice for prolonging the life of the battery as well as maximum range per charge.

 

  • Drive "gently", keeping the eco-meter in the green zone as much as possible.  
  • Use regen as much as possible when slowing to a stop or descending hills - don't brake sharply at the last minute.
  • Make sure the tyres are well inflated (but not above the maximum pressure shown on the sidewall) 
  • Don't try to exceed 55MPH unless descending a hill.
  • Recharge whenever possible unless the trips you are making are very short.  Try to go below 50% about once a week.
  • Do not "hold" on a hill using the accelerator, this can damage the motor.
  • Similarly, do not try to extract the vehicle repeatedly if stuck in mud. 

 

Aim to do the battery maintenance when (by experience) you know that it will take around 12-15 litres.  This may be sooner than the "water light" illuminating.

In the winter, block air from the right hand side (battery side) of the radiator using a piece of card or plastic.  

 

Faults

 

[Caution, do not act on any of the information given here unless you are a competent person to be working on high voltage electrical circuits.  No responsibility is accepted for your actions, and the information is not guaranteed to be accurate]

 

Q: The insulation fault code has appeared and won't go away even after cleaning the motor

A: There is an intentional reference voltage (50% of the pack voltage) applied to the chassis at a low current, and if the controller measures it deviating from that for a period of time, it will put the fault light on. This can be measured using a DVM, and you can disconnect parts (e.g. the motor field connection) to see where the fault lies.  Dead shorts can be found using the resistance scale of the meter.

Once the leakage is gone, the light will go out.  Unfortunately the fault is commonly a genuine insulation breakdown in the motor field winding.  This can be difficult to repair.

 

 

Q: The car has been sitting for a long time and it doesn't start or charge and evlite doesn't go past the initialisation screen.

A: The likely cause is that the batteries have become very flat, the voltage is too low to run the computer (so evlite can't communicate with it).  

 

The normal way to solve this is to simply connect the charge lead and wait for at least 10 minutes.  Provided the 12V battery is good, it should eventually start and charge the traction battery.

Some people have reported charger damage during this operation - possibly with an extremely flat (0 Volt) battery this could be a risk.  Therefore, if you have the facility, connecting an external charger or power supply to bring the batteries up to their nominal voltage first may be a good idea.

 

Once it has started charging, I would recommend doing a balance charge or maintenance charge and following the advice in the evlite manual about "breaking in" the batteries.