R26 Battery move to wheel well - R26

Discussion in 'Electrical & Interior - Security, ICE, Wiring Loom' started by Bob Thompson, Dec 28, 2020.

  1. So, I’m sure this has been done a thousand times before but I just wanted to share my project.

    Having gotten the cable from the engine bay to the boot area already, removing the rear seats and associated accessories. I had a bit of a head scratcher as how to securely fix the Battery in a logical way... not wanting to damage the fibre/plastic wheel well tub with drilled holes as I have seen elsewhere.

    I decided on making a bracket... bought some 3mm alu sheet and cut down to a strip of 150mm. I wanted to utilise the fixing screw for the spare wheel within the bracket to provide optimum strength.

    A lot of project Binky (if you haven’t followed that on YouTube the I suggest you go and watch the very in depth mini/gt four conversion they have building over the last few years) inspired me to make a nice bracket and plenty of CAD (wink).

    Phase one complete - hand bent on an old carpenters vice and dead blow hammer, rivnuts and M5 fasteners used. Every part that contacts the body will be insulated with foam padding to stop any squeaks/rattles. The battery tray will attach to this bracket, three M5 fasteners will be attached to the top of the bracket to connect to the body.

    I’d love to drill some holes and swage the edges to “add lightness” to the design, but for a first attempt I’m pretty happy.

    d56676064c69f4d2b2895a38af9a5b78.jpg
    77df58ce82d196ccf70d6a0ee477eb86.jpg
    aa41e8cef356656ad9ffce0622fb4c1b.jpg
    95a7fcd72e6d3f73b33bbf9c461c082b.jpg
    68a1d37d77f94cce91e89835e2de4386.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  2. Nice fabrication skills. If you have the standard battery are you drilling the wheel well for the battery vent tube?
     
  3. Nice fab, amazing what you can create with basic tooling

    Are you using a standard battery or a lightweight ?

    if using a standard have you thought about a battery box to enclose it ?

    please tell me you will be using a mega fuse close to the battery
     
  4. Morning,

    Thanks man - yeah I’ll be drilling the small hole for the vent tube... as for the moment I’m using the standard battery. My Logic would tell me a lower position to drain any leaks, but I’m not sure yet.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  5. Thanks Paul, really appreciate you kind words!

    Standard battery at the moment - I’ll be using a mega fuse for the interconnect battery cable and then building a small fuse box in the engine bay to house everything nicely.

    Plan for the engine bay is to have a heat shield which houses the ECU and all the electrical connections and build an intake housing for a nice ITG cone filter.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  6. No one has put a light lithium battery yet? I believe that the sense of displacement with a smaller super light battery is lost.
    Otherwise I like how the relocation was done.
     
  7. @Bob Thompson

    This is my battery relocation in the R26, not the best pic but gives you an idea 1694A400-9A2A-459D-BC55-91A6307FBBBB.jpeg
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  8. Now that is a serious build! Nice work man!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. regular lead-acid alternator not able charge Li battery correctly
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  10. I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of a lithium battery for a road car, the charging the standard alternator would give could cause some issues, I think. Although, I’d love to hear if people are running them in ‘fast road’ cars.

    Thanks man, the main reason for the move was to get the weight off the front axle and give some space in the engine bay.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. Update: she’s in and snug - will do a shakedown test to make sure all is well. Mega fuse holder broke so I’ve ordered another Renault battery terminal which has the fuse holders in.

    Put the positive cable in ducting to protect as much as possible. Battery vent/drain installed.

    Was worried pushing the start engine button - ‘please be kind frenchie’ - started up a charm. I must’ve done something right!

    80% happy with it, which is a win in my book.




    57f54ddc58378429289cf69b31affa81.jpg
    cb44585eca30a9563a9d5dda3133b4aa.jpg
    f27e320ffded2dc88a21736d872c0e07.jpg
    4d0e76d966931ec1d0fb32a09d380617.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Filo and Poppaboost like this.
  12. Looking good there, very neat

    Defo need a fuse close to the battery
     
  13. Cheers Paul, yeah it’s high priority to get the fuse sorted - was gutted the enclosure broke.

    I love your setup - quite a commitment I’m sure. These mods always take a lot of time. I’d imagine your Meg is a track monster, is it still road legal? Or too hardcore for road driving?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  14. Road legal, bought it built but have spent 6 months making a good car better (haven't driven it in anger yet) hopefully it'll be out on a few trackdays in the near future and my son will do a couple of rounds of Timeattack in it.

    Bit more info here - https://m.facebook.com/DrivewayMotorsport.Project3
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  15. Wow that’s a nice feed! We always have to make our cars ‘ours’ and always nice to be part of a good car community. I’d spent too long in VAG cars, nice to be back in a renaultsport.

    I see you too had a 200 before, I miss mine! That high revving 2.0ltr is hard to beat.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  16. ad3fce9d940d7565d261469c53532e7f.jpg
    04c9658ccbe896ff5aa1f14b01932ab0.jpg
    6cf07cd5e375e53201cc18250dfc946f.jpg
    ab45a4a473b2f85d1c33e53c3501b300.jpg
    83558729523184eb16d4f942959e7306.jpg
    8e028ef939d493cda6392ed83854ad3f.jpg
    7a6188fad80b0cd3ec991faece3a09d2.jpg
    f02e00479427f1080dc2cc04667807b4.jpg


    Phase 2 of the project now underway - with the battery gone from the engine bay this has allowed me to make a nice heat shield for a custom airbox / ECU housing.

    I will install all the ECU and mega fuse box on the floor of this new unit, then add a cover for those items to keep them out of the elements. I must remember to include some drain holes...

    Hopefully it won’t sound too crazy! I’ve really enjoyed it so far.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Poppaboost likes this.
  17. Very impressive work going on here, only thing I’d be inclined to mount ECU as high as possible on the sides as have seen moments when hitting deep water it can come up to top gearbox and scary close to generic battery box, up higher would also keep it away from any lingering damp at bottom of container plus engine bay heat natural rises so upper section of bay would be warmer than lower part keeping moisture out ECU
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  18. Now that is some very helpful advice! Thanks Bobsan - I was hoping to avoid having to extend any cables from
    The ECU (which is why I’d chosen the lower point) but for the safety of the ECU I’ll take it high... I could even make a roof for the shield and mount it on top.

    You the man [emoji1360]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    bobsan likes this.
  19. Excellent work there, nice to see some home engineering
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  20. Happy to help and we look forward to the finished item, could even start small production as recon few might want same
     
  21. Ah thanks for your kind words guys - it means a lot!

    The templating is the part that takes the time so now I’ve got a template - there’s a couple of things I’d do differently (like invest in a small sheet metal bender!) but overall it’s going well.

    Nothing like having a project to work on eh!?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  22. So the day started as most do... lying in bed thinking about what a nobhead I’ve been... yesterday I built a little bracket for the sensor to sit on that’s mounted to the battery box.

    I had planned on mounting it to the top flange, and then it dawned on me (before dawn) that of course this would then be to high and half way through the bonnet. So some creative reworking of the piece led me to mount it the same highest and location as the battery box point.

    Secured with pop rivets and insulated with some foam double sided tape to stop any rattles.

    Have a look at that monster ITG cone! OD 83mm - I’d inherited this from a friend - from his polo GTI, 1.8t on stage 1 with 276bhp, the top end of the engine range that this filter freed up was something I’ve been craving for a while.

    Just waiting for the silicone hoses and elbow before I can do the final fit and test.


    02d3d0ed930c615f3b2b6fcba83c41f9.jpg
    31f020416b1d9edccb759fe385c44953.jpg
    2edcf0d6f80e5d6f8a35bd43f513a21f.jpg
    f7a5d336422ef95f972400c01f6ab12d.jpg
    a94340971d428af01415faf2c45f1f38.jpg
    75f9b4c2e2c865eb841342f32eb47395.jpg
    7895478bba8a9aea5ddb8d60191821fa.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Poppaboost likes this.
  23. Nice work Bob.
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.
  24. So a little update, work has been extreme recently and have not had much chance to work on the Meg.

    But finally I’ve got the filter/heat shield in! It’s the first fit, so I’m going to be fettling the setup - plan on having the ECU in its own compartment but want to see how I get on with space so far.

    The new Fuse box is mounted to the side of the heat shield too, it was a bit of a pain but managed to keep most of the original crimped ends. Annoyingly the heat shrink did not want to play ball... will readdress this on the 2nd fit along with wrinkle paint and heat tape on the external walls of the heat shield.

    4d35896d2914b94f9cea41c35e66f096.jpg
    39b1eb18a143451016f6e9e20a945adc.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Poppaboost likes this.
  25. Excellent work this!
     
    Bob Thompson likes this.

  • Share This Page