Disclaimer

Information presented here is for guidance only. No responsibility is accepted by this website or its contributors for its accuracy or impact of using such information. If you are not confident, or feel that you cannot complete any work listed here safely, then seek professional advice.

General Servicing

Before doing any significant work on the Berlingo the high voltage and 12v battery should be isolated...

Fault Finding

A very slight (almost imperceptable) shudder can be felt around 5-10 mph while accelerating or decellerating.

It is important to not drive the vehicle for more than about 5 miles after the first shudder is felt. Continuing to drive for any distance other than obsolutely necessary could result in very expensive damage to the motor commutator. Left uncheck this will progress to juddering at low speed and eventually the van will completely stop after about 10 miles.

Arsharpe/drafts/berlingo_brushes

Required Tools

EvLite for battery watering.
Torx set ??

Maximising Range

Current Consumption

Each accessory draws a certain amount of current and, to a small extent, will therefore affect the maximum range of the vehicle.

Accessory	Current Drawn	Approx Mileage Impact
Windscreen Wiper
Heater
Lights
Rain	15%	9 miles

Techniques

Because the energy lost from drag is not linear with speed, the slower a vehicle travels the less overal energy is used. This can affect the range by as much as ?? %.

Low Stress Driving Near Maximum Range

Driving upto the maximum range can be stressful experience. The following process will allow you to make good progress and automatically takes into account the affect of rain, slightly binding brakes, hills, etc and minimises the risk of not reaching your destination.

Determine the optimum maximum range prior to required trip.
Plan the trip
Monitor energy usage during the trip

Determining the Optimum Maximum Range

Prior to starting the actual long trip, if you have not already done so, determine the maximum range of your vehicle at the optimum conditions of slow speed and in dry conditions as follows:

Choose 3 representative circular routes of about 15, 5 and 2 miles
Start with a fully charged vehicle
Reset the odometer
Drive around the representative route several times at 35 mph to use up most of the charge.
Then drive around the successively smaller routes to use up most of the remainder without being stranded.

The Trip

With GPS	Without GPS
Plan the trip
Make sure that the journey is less than the maximum vehicle range. Allow adequate time for the trip given worst case conditions (e.g. rain)
* Print one of the following overlays 40 Mile, 50 Mile or 60 Mile Blank and annotate with the expected mileage points	*Use a route planning facility similar to http://www.multimap.com. Enter your desired route (using the shortest route option if necessary). Create a table of locations against elapsed mileage. For multimap: Select the "Print" option from the web page (not the browser). Copy and paste the route table into a spreadsheet (e.g. [excel spreadsheet]. If necessary create a formula to calculate the elapsed mileage. Determine locations that are approx 5 miles (approx 10%) Print the Blank Overlay on a transpency Annotate the overlay with the locations.
Monitor Energy Usage
*Approx every 5 miles read the remaining mileage from the GPS and check the remaining charge for the given mileage.	*As you arrive at each location check the remaining charge for the given location.
If the charge meter is significantly above the expected mileage/location, you can afford to increase the average speed a little. If the charge meter is below the expected mileage/location, then you need to decrease your average speed, until the charge meter is on target again.