Battery Installation

Battery installation

I wanted to get the batteries as evenly distributed in the car as possible. In fact it turned out that I didn’t have much of a choice when it comes to battery installation. I had one rule, NO BATTERIES IN THE BACK SEAT! So that leaves me with the rear engines compartment and the small space under the front hood.

4*90Ah

2*90Ah

Four batteries are to be placed in the back of the car, two on each side of the Agni. The other two are to be fitted just behind the front of the car, where the original 12v battery was located.

In order to support the 60kg's of batteries in the rear I had to design a support beam that also would act as a rear motor/gearbox support. I decided to make it out of aluminum since it is light and it doesn't rust. This also gave me a splendid opportunity to learn how to TIG-weld.

After hours of puddle control practice and 20 liters of Argon I started with the battery frames. These are made in 3mm L-profile aluminum and the will hold the two pairs of batteries togheter.

The two frames had to rest on something and after consulting a friend I came up with a design that consists of a support beam made of 6mm U-profile aluminum that stretches from side to side in the engine compartment.

Rear support beam

The support beam is fastened on both sides of the engine compartment and also has an "arm" that connects to the original motor mount found on the fiat.

The battery frames fits tightly into the frames welded to the support beam and pack straps will be used to keep them from moving up and down.

This is the finished support beam with batteries mounted.

The battery frames and the support beam have a total weight of about four kilos.