Hollis H-160 DPV Upgrade

[mogden]

I purchased an H-160 years ago before I knew much about scooters and before I was tech certified. It always had trim problems, as if it were meant for sea water, and it had a run time of about 1h15.

Three years ago I decided to upgrade it from NiMH cells to LiFePo4 cells that doubled the run time. The battery change meant a new charger and because of the different voltage, a new controller.

With only hand tools (okay, a table saw too) I was able to create a batter holder and mount.

I also decided to get into electronics, so I designed, programmed and tested a new controller that has some features that make it much nicer than the original. I've since done hundreds of dives on it in tough conditions (lifting and hauling big items) and it's worked great.

As for the bouyancy/trim issue I chose a quick-and-dirty solution. Right now it trims to about a 10 degree angle (I'll fix that if I get bored) and a double-ended snap makes it negative. Without it the large tow-lanyard swivel acts like an anchor and the DPV floats.

If anyone is interested in upgrading their H-160, let me know and I'll pass along the PCB schematics, programming and some instructions.

Jvanostrand, thanks for posting. I like yourself have an H160 and would like to upgrade to LiFePo4 batteries. If you could please send me the drawings, programming and any other information you may have.
Thanks
Mark Ogden

 

[jvanostrand]

All my files can be found at:

jvanostrand/H160-DPV-Upgrade

 

[Rvbcave]

Can anyone give me the specific charger used on the H160? Need to help find a replacement.

Best Regards,

 

[jvanostrand]

A friend bought two used H160s and two chargers had problems. He found that the best solution was to fix the broken chargers. He tok them to an electronics expert.

If you choose to buy a new charger you should know a little about chargers. First, chargers are made to work with certain battery chemistries. For example you shouldn't use a lead-acid charger (like for your car) on a NiMH battery pack (like your DPV) even if the voltages are the same. Second, voltage matters. Each chemistry has their own voltage ratings which applies to one cell. If the battery is made up of several cells that are wired in series you have a higher voltage which equals the cell voltage times the number of cells in series. The H160 uses NiMH chemistry cells and has 23 in series so it has a nominal voltage of about 28V and charging voltage of around 32V to 36V. Finally the energy capacity of cells matters a somewhat. Chargers are designed to provide a certain amount of power, usually rated in amps. If you choose one with lower amperage it will take a long time to charge the battery. You can roughly estimate the number of hours to charge by dividing the battery's amp-hour rating by the charger's amperage. For he H160 a 3A to 4A charger works.

So you need a charger suitable for a 16 amp-hour, NiMH, 23 series cell battery pack. That's what you'd as a vendor for.

Some vendors sell chargers that they can easily reconfigure for a battery count. So if you find a vendor that has a 24 cell charger, ask if they can configure it for 23 cells.

 

[tbone1004]

@Rvbcave, since you are in the US, I would call Rabbit Tool West and ask if they have any chargers for 23s battery packs. I believe they were the ones who made the packs for that scooter to begin with. If they weren't, they are still the go-to for NiMH DPV batteries so would be a good resource.

 

[Rvbcave]

Thanks T Bone!

 

[SHADOW/LAFD]

I purchased an H-160 years ago before I knew much about scooters and before I was tech certified. It always had trim problems, as if it were meant for sea water, and it had a run time of about 1h15.

Three years ago I decided to upgrade it from NiMH cells to LiFePo4 cells that doubled the run time. The battery change meant a new charger and because of the different voltage, a new controller.

With only hand tools (okay, a table saw too) I was able to create a batter holder and mount.

I also decided to get into electronics, so I designed, programmed and tested a new controller that has some features that make it much nicer than the original. I've since done hundreds of dives on it in tough conditions (lifting and hauling big items) and it's worked great.

As for the bouyancy/trim issue I chose a quick-and-dirty solution. Right now it trims to about a 10 degree angle (I'll fix that if I get bored) and a double-ended snap makes it negative. Without it the large tow-lanyard swivel acts like an anchor and the DPV floats.

If anyone is interested in upgrading their H-160, let me know and I'll pass along the PCB schematics, programming and some instructions.

Hi,
Could you please send your controler upgrade schematic? I want to upgrade my Hollis H160 with A123 20ah batteries.
Thanks in advance!!!!
shadowamplification@yahoo.com
Best,
Shadow

 

[jvanostrand]

Scroll up 6 posts.

 

[SHADOW/LAFD]

Scroll up 6 posts.

Thank you very much for sharing all of your knowledge on this. My stock controller is my primary issue with mine. I wish I had access to one of your PCB’s. If you have any extras I am happy to donate. Will mouser part number DRV1093ZPWPR work for a stock board replacement driver with 8 A123 20ah batteries?

 

[jvanostrand]

I'm only an electronics amateur but that part looks like it's for controlling brushless DC motors. The motor on the H-160 isn't a brushless motor. All it needs is voltage. For different speeds the stock controller simply adjusts the voltage given to the motor to 18V, 24V and 30V using PWM for efficiency. On speed three there is no PWM, it's just feeding battery voltage directly to the motor. If you rigged a switch up between the battery and motor you could eliminate the controller. The controller also did two other things which were kind of important. First it checks battery voltage and when it dropped to a certain level it would put the scooter in what I called "limp mode". This saved the batteries from damage due to over-discharge. Second it would detect high amperage and cut out temporarily. I think the idea was to prevent the fuse from blowing, because a blown fuse means swimming back.

The PCB schematic can be given to any of the on-line PCB manufacturers and they'd mask and etch it. I etched them myself using gloss printer paper, a laser printer, a plastic laminator (although I've used a clothes iron before) and etching fluid available from your local electronics parts store. Start to finish can be as quick as an hour.