Home --> How To Guides 

Okinawa Ridge electric scooter retrofitted with PureLithium battery

Written By: Kamlesh Mallick & Atul Gopal
Introduction
​Learn how to replace the lead acid battery in your Okinawa Ridge electric scooter with a Lithium-Ion battery with this battery replacement guide. The Okinawa Ridge can support Lithium based batteries that operates at a voltage of 60V. 
Tools 
  • Star ScrewDriver & Spanner to remove original lead acid battery
  • ​35 Amp rated Discharge Connector that goes into the Battery
  • Multi Meter to measure the Positive and Negative nodes of the PureEV Lithium Battery
  • Soldering Iron Kit to connect the Okinava Ridge controller with the PureEV Battery
  • Duct Tape
Choosing the battery pack - PureLithium Battery
Choosing a Lithium battery is most important aspect of any conversion. Ensure that the battery you use is a certified battery to be used in Indian conditions. For this conversion we use a Made In India battery by PureLithium, a startup based in Hyderabad.
The battery can store 2.5 kWh worth of energy and is the same battery used in the ePluto 7G electric scooter also made by PureEV.
You can watch our battery review video to understand more about the battery, the BMS etc. We also did a range test.

Check minimum requirements to use the Pure Lithium 2.5 kWh Battery
  • You electric scooter must have a 60V system - 60V old battery, 60V rated controller, 60V based motor
  • Your Motor Power Should not Exceed 2 KW Peak Power draw
  • Controller Peak Rating Should not be more than 35A
  • Female Connector to the Battery Input should be IEC 3 Pin and Rated above 35A

The Okinawa Ridge meets all the above conditions. It has a 60V system, the controller is rated at 30 Amps.
The peak power of the motor is around 1.2 kW. Thus the PureLithium 2.5 kWh Battery can be used for this conversion.

If you want to use a battery from another manufacturer, please ensure the battery is certified and also find out the minimum requirements of the battery pack from the battery manufacturer before installing it on the Okinawa Ridge Electric Scooter.

Here are some details of the PureEV battery pack
Picture
PureLithium 2.5 kWh Lithium battery pack
Video Guide
Step 1
⚡​ Power off the scooter by turning off the MCB
  1. Use a star screw driver and spanner to take out the plastic casing under the seat.

  2. Refer the controller current rating. Refer - 2 in image.

  3. Power off the MCB of the scooter before you begin. Refer - 1 in image
Step 2
  1. Use a spanner to remove the metal clamp holding the Lead Acid Batteries in position.
    ​
  2. ⚠️ Caution : Be careful of the wires while taking the clamp out.
Step 3
  1. Use a screw driver to unscrew the screws that connect the connector wires to the positive and negative points of the lead acid battery.

  2. There will be total of 5 individual lead acid batteries. Remove them all one by one.
Step 4
  1. There are 2 metal cases that houses the batteries. The top and bottom case cleared of any debris.

  2. Once all the lead batteries are removed, clean the metal cases that houses the batteries.

  3. Store the lead acid batteries in a safe and dry location.
Step 5
Picture
Battery in upright position
  1. The PureEV Lithium Ion battery dimensions are 
    170mm(L)x155mm(W)x335mm(H) & 1mm(THK)

  2. You can place the battery in an upright position, but that will eat into the boot space.
    ​
  3. We opted to use the bottom case and position the battery in a tilted position as seen in next steps.
    ​This gives us more boot space.
Step 6
  1. Do understand that the PureLithium battery contains a single connector for charging and discharging.

  2. Use a multimeter and check the positive and negative terminals of the charge/discharge connector.

  3. If the multi meter shows a positive voltage, then the point connected to the red pin of the multimeter is the positive contact and the black pin of the multimeter is the negative contact.

  4. If the multi meter shows a negative voltage, then the point connected to the black pin of the multimeter is the positive contact and the red pin of the multimeter is the negative contact.
     ​
  5. Use a sketch pen and mark the '+' and '-' ends of the connector on the battery as seen in the photo.
    ​
  6. ⚠️ Caution: The reason we mark the '+' and '-' ends of the connector, is because we need to connect the controller wires to the correct terminal. Any wrong connections may result in issues.
Step 7
  1. Get a female connector to the Battery Input which is a IEC 3 Pin and Rated above 35A

  2. Make a note of the wire, from the connector's positive side and the wire from the connector's negative side.
    In this case as seen in the image, the yellow wire is from the connector's positive side and the black wire is from the connector's negative side.​
Step 8
  1. Do understand that the PureLithium battery contains a single connector for charging and discharging.

  2. ​Connect the connector's positive side to the positive wire from the Okinawa Ridge's controller.

  3. ​Connect the connector's negative side to the negative wire from the Okinawa Ridge's controller.

  4. Apply some soldering on the connectors to ensure the connection is firm.
Step 9
  1. Add some duct tape over the connections to protect the connections

  2. Connect the connector to the battery pack.
Step 10
🛵 Now that all connections are complete, it's time to test!

  1. Turn the key on and check if the LCD panel turns on. The LCD should turn on with the battery status indicator. 

  2. Place the scooter on the main stand and twist the throttle. Check if the motor is spinning.

  3. The speedometer should go upto 43 kmph in Economy mode and go upto 63 kmph in Sports mode.

  4. Ensure the battery fits snugly and pack it with thermocol or other soft packing material. This ensures the battery is stable.

  5. To charge the battery, disconnect the connection to the controller and place the charger's connector.
Step 11
  1. Replace the plastic casing using the spanner.

  2. Your Okinawa Ridge Lithium Ion conversion is ready to ride!
Conclusion​
While, it's perfectly possible to remove the battery, this guide assumes that the user will not remove the battery everyday and charge the battery from within the scooter.
If you have to remove the battery, just ensure the padding keeps the battery firm.
​
We have used the converted Okinawa Ridge with PureLithium's 2.5 kWh Lithium Ion battery for 5+ days, we found that the scooter did 122+ km and still had 2 bars remaining!
The ride was in city riding and was a combination of Eco and Sports mode.
With lots of Sports mode mixed with riding in Economy mode, we expect the scooter to go around 90 km per charge. 
The Okinawa Ridge suddenly feels more lighter as we have replaced a heavy lead acid battery weighing 50+ kg with a lighter Lithium-Ion battery weighing 18 kg.

Overall this conversion was an interesting process and the Okinawa Ridge can be used for many years by adding a new Lithium-Ion battery.
If you have done the same conversion, and have done it better, do share your pics or comments and we shall add your suggestions in the guide.
comments powered by Disqus