10 Things you should do for converting VW Beetle to an electric car

When everyone is talking about noise pollution and exhaust fumes pollution, it would be best to go in for Electric Vehicles. With escalating prices of fuel and the green revolution that is revolutionizing the whole world, it is obviously the best option to go in for. But car owners are not very familiar with electric vehicles and unsure about its use and maintenance. Even if they do decide to go in for one, the price is prohibitive. The cost of an electric vehicle ordered directly from car dealers is close to $40,000! So is not affordable by any means to most people.

VW Beetle electric conversion

The only alternative therefore is to convert a fuel engine into an electric one, and the most popular one is the Volkswagen Beetle (models before ‘95 and not computerized), because of its design and also because it is lightweight and available. It is also cheap and can be easily converted. If you look around in garages, you might land on one that is damaged and so could be very cheap. Also many DIY Kits for conversion are easily available, especially for this, ’small wonder’! All that needs to be done is to remove the fuel engine, fuel tank, pipes, exhaust pipe etc. and retrofit it with the electric one, directly, for efficient power transmission. This can be done as easily as in your garage provided you have the necessary tools and the basic knowledge of cars.

There are 10 steps for conversion into an EV, with the DIY kit.

1. Make sure that the Electric Motor Shaft and the transmission center core are in sync. And slide the coupler onto the series motor and tighten all the screws. You can remove the car transmission first.

2. The motor and transmission system is then jacked or hoisted up and slid into the space occupied by the engine. After cutting, tighten the bolts.

3. Four to six batteries can then be mounted and welded or bolted onto the car frame either under or behind the back seat of the Volkswagen. You could also use assembled batteries which are easily available.

4. Mark both the positive terminals of one Ga cable, red. Pass this long cable from the back of the car to the front. First pass it from the back seat, then in between the front seats through the firewall.

5. The throttle-box is then secured in the inside of the firewall. For this you could use self-tapping screws for ease. Then, to mount the throttle cable sleeve, measure the correct distance from the throttle box and fix an ‘L’ bracket. Adjust the right range of travel after fixing the cable to the throttle-box.

6. Look for a proper place in the engine compartment of the Beetle and mount the contactor, fuse, and controller and shunt close together so as to keep the cable short.

7. Next, the Amp meter and volt meter have to be mounted. For this you can choose any spot on or near the dashboard of the car.

8. Get the wiring diagram of the electric car. After carefully going through the diagram connect all the wires from the motor, batteries, controller, etc. This process is a little tricky.

9. Connect the light gauge wire to the volt meter and amp meter and the car is ready for a test drive. Keep the car in neutral with the parking brakes or keep it on the jack while first running it.

10. Now, the battery-pack and the main charger can be connected. The car can be driven. Be sure to keep it charged after your drive by plugging the batteries to a power source.

Without the know-how it would be better to outsource it. But it is not surprising that in a class called ‘Passages’ where students choose a project and develop it, a high school senior of an Alaskan school Bart Graham, converted a VW Beetle to electric. All that he did was to get a DIY kit online and follow the instructions. He chose this project to cut down fuel expenses and emission. The whole process cost him only $3500.

In one year 15yr old Ashton Stark converted his grandpa’s 1972 Beetle to electric. Packed with 9 golf cart batteries and a single motor shaft Ashton can cruise down in his car at 45mph for a distance of 45 miles when the batteries are fully charged. Of course he has to wait for his driving license to drive his car. So with a little skill and knowledge of cars you can easily convert the VW to an Electric car.