Resistor upgrade for the troublesome MLEC

[Jim DeMarco]

Hi all. We have been working on a permanent fix for the trouble prone pre-charge resistor on the MLEC. We expect to have a solution soon, so that this common failure will not reoccur ever. The price to do so should be less than it has been to replace the whole board as well, though it will still require dropping the traction battery. We have some of the special resistors ordered and are anxious to try them when they arrive. Once we know how much space they require for mounting, we can retrofit any Th!nk. And when cars come in with the problem it will become our standard repair. We'll let you know as soon as we have it sorted. Jim@ FDA Automotive Service.

[Brad]

Great news!

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

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[Mike Overton]

Jim,

So what is special about the new resistor?   Higher power to not blow?    Positive Temp Coefficient (PTC) to increase resistance as it warms up?

Mike

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[foreignaffairs]

Mike,

Far higher power handling.

Jim

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[Frank Smith]

Greetings,

Werner Cornelius of Germany has already done this. His solution moves the pre-charge resistor off of the MLEC card and will even work in cases where the MLEC card etches to the original pre-charge have been damaged beyond repair. NO modifications are required to the MLEC card regardless of the status of its own pre-charge resistor. He posted this solution the the Think Facebook group. I have attached his notes and photos.

He used a resistor from a German manufacturer but I am considering these resistors that are made in the US. https://riedon.com/resistors/view/brs/ 

Werner recommends using a 100 OHM resistor over the original 47 OHM resistor.  The BRS100 and BRS200 are available from local distributors in the 100 OHM variety. I have ordered a BRS200 to verify it will fit in the space available. If not I will be going with a BRS100. The BRS150s are not available from the distributors and have to be special ordered which has a higher cost.

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/search?cat=&q=BRS100-100RJ&r=true

https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=BRS100-100RJ8

Frank Smith

[foreignaffairs]

Our upgrade is similar in that it moves the resistor off the board as well. Resistors come from the US and are more available and less expensive. A warning however: We have seen the MLEC board itself ruined by excessive heat and unusable on some occasions, causing other circuit problems such as isolation faults.

Jim

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S10+.

-------- Original message --------

From: Frank Smith <frank....@gmail.com>

Date: 5/8/20 10:41 AM (GMT-08:00)

To: 2011 Think EV Owners - Oregon <2011-think-ev...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: Resistor upgrade for the troublesome MLEC

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[Jacob Field]

Hi Jim,

How much do you charge for the resistor upgrade? Didn't need it when you first sent this message, but I'll need it eventually now—family member went and did exactly what you're not supposed to do this morning...

Thanks!

- Jacob Field

On Thu, May 7, 2020, 1:40 PM 'Jim DeMarco' via 2011 Think EV Owners - Oregon <2011-think-ev...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi all. We have been working on a permanent fix for the trouble prone pre-charge resistor on the MLEC. We expect to have a solution soon, so that this common failure will not reoccur ever. The price to do so should be less than it has been to replace the whole board as well, though it will still require dropping the traction battery. We have some of the special resistors ordered and are anxious to try them when they arrive. Once we know how much space they require for mounting, we can retrofit any Th!nk. And when cars come in with the problem it will become our standard repair. We'll let you know as soon as we have it sorted. Jim@ FDA Automotive Service.

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[foreignaffairs]

Jacob,

I expect the total to be in the $300 range for a permanent fix.

Jim 

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S10+.

-------- Original message --------

From: Jacob Field <jacobtim...@gmail.com>

Date: 5/23/20 6:05 AM (GMT-08:00)

To: 2011-think-ev...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Resistor upgrade for the troublesome MLEC

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[Jacob Field]

Thanks, Jim! I'm a ways off from Portland, so I may try it myself, but if that ends up looking too expensive, I may head your way. 

How busy are you currently/do you expect to be?

Thanks!

- Jacob 

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[foreignaffairs]

The labor is the major expense. If you can drop the traction battery on your own and have a few special tools, you will save a lot.

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[Jacob Field]

Definitely. My main concern is not having a lift or enclosed space to drop and open the pack in. Looking around to see if someone local has a shop/lift I can rent for a day.

Thanks!