My EV shedding Egg - Renault Twizy
Discussion
Back in 2013 when these came out i did a test drive and really liked it. However i thought it was waaaaaaay too expensive for what it is and these where only avaiable with rented batteries. Renault charged 50 per month for the battery which was pointless for me. A few years later Renault sold the batteries to the owners to get out of warranty trouble.
However 13 years later this one came up for 500 with a few problems
brakes shot, front mask broken, battery error, not driven for 3 years
a new homemade battery with parts from our eastern neighbours would set me back ~800 so i thought it was worth a try, worst case i could still break it and make a bit of profit. Transport was also a bit of problem since its too narrow for my car trailer so i had to borrow a trailer from a friend and improvise some ramps.
At home i cleaned it and removed all stickers, came out presentable
The front clip was broken, so i printed a new one and glued it on
New brakes where included, so i replaced them
The last problem was the battery error, the "car" drove fine, but with a error on the dash there was no chance for TÜV (MOT)
A check of the battery revealed that, with an SOH of 83%, it is in remarkably good condition for its age of 12 years. That came as quite a relief.
So after a lot of messuring and testing it turned out that the Controller (Sevcon) must be faulty.
After a lot more messuring and testing i found a dead resistor
Unfortunatly getting the circuit board out is not an easy task and even worse getting it back inside the case as the circuit board (the FETs to be exact) is clamped to cooling plate so i had to improvise a little
And back together
Luckily no more errors
and screwed back together, waiting for its TÜV appointment
If this works out i will have a nearly free Electric vehicle. I dont know the regulations in the UK but in Germany i can sell my Certificate for the Greenhouse gases via a trader and i will get back 320 for driving a electric "car". So, basically, I only paid 180 for the car. I think this might be the first time my man math works out
However 13 years later this one came up for 500 with a few problems
brakes shot, front mask broken, battery error, not driven for 3 years
a new homemade battery with parts from our eastern neighbours would set me back ~800 so i thought it was worth a try, worst case i could still break it and make a bit of profit. Transport was also a bit of problem since its too narrow for my car trailer so i had to borrow a trailer from a friend and improvise some ramps.
At home i cleaned it and removed all stickers, came out presentable
The front clip was broken, so i printed a new one and glued it on
New brakes where included, so i replaced them
The last problem was the battery error, the "car" drove fine, but with a error on the dash there was no chance for TÜV (MOT)
A check of the battery revealed that, with an SOH of 83%, it is in remarkably good condition for its age of 12 years. That came as quite a relief.
So after a lot of messuring and testing it turned out that the Controller (Sevcon) must be faulty.
After a lot more messuring and testing i found a dead resistor
Unfortunatly getting the circuit board out is not an easy task and even worse getting it back inside the case as the circuit board (the FETs to be exact) is clamped to cooling plate so i had to improvise a little
And back together
Luckily no more errors
and screwed back together, waiting for its TÜV appointment
If this works out i will have a nearly free Electric vehicle. I dont know the regulations in the UK but in Germany i can sell my Certificate for the Greenhouse gases via a trader and i will get back 320 for driving a electric "car". So, basically, I only paid 180 for the car. I think this might be the first time my man math works out
Edited by just4u on Monday 18th May 13:06
RicksAlfas said:
Hoofy said:
With you and the chap with the BMW i3, I feel like the PH village idiot. <chews straw>
I feel the same! 
Maybe we can just be content throwing pebbles into a pond whilst these geniuses crack on?
Thank you everyone for the nice feedback. Im far from a genius thought. It was build by human and so it can be fixed by human.
Lets cross fingers for the TÜV inspection on saturday. Afterwards ill try to get more power out of this thing without changing the hardware. The earlier models (blue charging cable) can be unlocked from 80km/h 8kw up to 110 km/h and up to 16,9kw / 130nm. Should be fun.
Lets cross fingers for the TÜV inspection on saturday. Afterwards ill try to get more power out of this thing without changing the hardware. The earlier models (blue charging cable) can be unlocked from 80km/h 8kw up to 110 km/h and up to 16,9kw / 130nm. Should be fun.
E-numbers said:
Hope it goes well on Saturday! These are on my radar- is the ride very poor? I know you can get an HSD coil over kit in the uk that improves it dramatically (so I read).
Well it depends what you expect. Its very very hard because Renault was frightend that the cars may roll over. Steering is sharp and it gets around corners very quickly. Its not comfy at all thought. The Coil over kit it not TÜV compliant, so thats a no no for me.E-numbers said:
Very impressive skills and ability to fix stuff- that is actual sustainability.
Thank you, could have been unfixable for me, guess i was just lucky.
Thank you.
Yes 57€ per year.
In Germany you can choose between 3 insurance options
Haftplicht (third-party liability): Only damage/harm against others will be paid by the insurrer (damage to your own car, theft, hail, animals will not be covered)
Teilkasko (Partial Coverage): Damage against others, hail, animals will be covered
Vollkasko (Full Coverage): Everything will be paid
Also other points will make a difference (Deductible, miles per year, age, garage parked and so on)
Of course, third-party liability is the affordable option, which is why I decided to go with it. I usually choose the cheapest for all of my cars. All my cars are bought and can be replaced, so i see no point in paying an extra. If i crash it, its my fault.
What its like in the UK?
Yes 57€ per year.
In Germany you can choose between 3 insurance options
Haftplicht (third-party liability): Only damage/harm against others will be paid by the insurrer (damage to your own car, theft, hail, animals will not be covered)
Teilkasko (Partial Coverage): Damage against others, hail, animals will be covered
Vollkasko (Full Coverage): Everything will be paid
Also other points will make a difference (Deductible, miles per year, age, garage parked and so on)
Of course, third-party liability is the affordable option, which is why I decided to go with it. I usually choose the cheapest for all of my cars. All my cars are bought and can be replaced, so i see no point in paying an extra. If i crash it, its my fault.
What its like in the UK?
When I was young , I had third party a lot until I had some NCD, but it was usually TPFT, Third party, fire and theft. Strangely though, it is not much cheaper these days than just going fully comp. Underwriters seem to think you're a higher risk if you only want third party!
With a fully comp policy, you're usually 3rd party anybody else's car too (but not hire cars), unless it's a cheaper, classic policy, where this extension is not provided. Some fully comp policies are cheaper because they have no windscreen cover, and some providers throw in legal cover, breakdown etc.
With a fully comp policy, you're usually 3rd party anybody else's car too (but not hire cars), unless it's a cheaper, classic policy, where this extension is not provided. Some fully comp policies are cheaper because they have no windscreen cover, and some providers throw in legal cover, breakdown etc.
Also check what cover your insurance gives you when driving abroad.
Some will only cover you 3rd party only even if it's fully comp in the UK.
Some are very restrictive about how many days in a year you can drive abroad.
Cheaper end of the market won't cover driving sur le continent at all.
My current policy is with Aviva and that gives you fully comp abroad for up to 6 months in a year.
Some will only cover you 3rd party only even if it's fully comp in the UK.
Some are very restrictive about how many days in a year you can drive abroad.
Cheaper end of the market won't cover driving sur le continent at all.
My current policy is with Aviva and that gives you fully comp abroad for up to 6 months in a year.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff