2000 Ford Ranger EV

[ajbessinger]

My "new to me" 2000 Ford Ranger Electric. Only about 1800 of these trucks were built, and most were crushed by Ford in 2004. This is one of probably about 2-300 survivors, thanks to the efforts of groups like Plug in America to save them from the crusher.
This truck in particular has only been driven 6,677 miles in its 19 years on this earth, so it definitely hasn't seen much action. It was originally powered by a 2000lb Lead Acid battery pack, but has since been swapped out for LiFePO4. The current pack is dead from sitting for the last 6 years or so, but I have every intention to get it back on the road, and use it for as my daily driver!

 

[kunar]

This is awesome, thanks for sharing

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Very interesting.

What do the fuel gauge and water temp gauges do, just "extras"? What is the difference between D and E for gear selection?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I've always wanted one of these. Welcome aboard!

 

[ajbessinger]

Very interesting.

What do the fuel gauge and water temp gauges do, just "extras"? What is the difference between D and E for gear selection?

The fuel gauge and the DIstance to emptying gauge actually serve two different functions. Your distance to empty could vary widely depending on driving conditions, and they are really just an estimate. The the industry we call them a “guess-o-meter”. The “fuel” gauge is the real readout of how full the battery really is, if you look close, you’ll see that on there’s a plug instead of a fuel nozzle on the symbol.
The coolant temp gauge is exactly that, coolant temp. The motor, inverter, charger, and a few other things are water cooled.
D is normal drive, and E is “economy”. Putting it in E increases the regenerative breaking (uses the motor as a generator to recharge the battery when slowing down) and also limits the top speed to 65 (does not limit the power/acceleration though).

 

[ajbessinger]

Just got the battery pack removed today. It’s I’m pretty sad shape from sitting for so long, but I didn’t expect any better. Any-who, here’s the pics.

Needless to say based on the voltage reading above, this pack is pretty far gone (voltage should be between 280-360v)

 

[ajbessinger]

I just uploaded a video tour/walk-around of the truck yesterday. Here it is:

 

[ajbessinger]

Just uploaded a video detailing the battery pack removal.