Passenger Side View of the EngineDriver Side View of the EngineTrunk View of the VanOne of the Battery PodsBatteries all cleaned up
OwnerJared Leverington
(former owner, EV has been sold)
LocationMurphy, Texas United States map
Vehicle1993 Dodge Caravan TEVan
This is a full size ZEV (Zero Emission
Vehicle) designated the TEVan and is
one of 56 purpose built by Chrysler
Corporation to be a full sized battery
electric vehicle. These vehicles were
built at Chrysler's Windsor Ontario,
Canada, plant on the same assembly line
as the ICE powered Caravan. The TEVan
was sold primarily to Electric
Utilities and was not made available to
the public.
MotorGeneral Electric Separately Excited DC
The TEVan uses a 27 hp, 70 hp max (48 kW)
separately-excited General Electric DC
traction motor.
DrivetrainThe TEVan has a two-speed FWD trans-axle
that featured hi, lo, reverse and park;
and is a highway capable vehicle with
speeds up to 70 mph.
ControllerGeneral Electric
Custom made controller made specifically
for the TEVan.
Batteries30 Eagle Picher NIF-200-5 Nickel Iron, 6.00 Volt, Nickel-Iron (Edison)
The batteries are 200 Ah and are all under
the van in pods leaving the cargo area
completely open. Pack weight is 1685 lbs.
System Voltage180 Volts
ChargerMartin-Marietta
HeaterThe TEVan has an 8.8 kW three-stage
ceramic electric heater.
DC/DC ConverterGeneral Electric
The 120A DC/DC converter provided all the
12v power, there is no auxiliary (12V)
battery.
InstrumentationLXT display which reads any codes from the
MCU (Motor Control Unit). Gauges included
motor temperature and SOC (state of
charge, akin to "Fuel Level") using the
stock instruments.
Top Speed70 MPH (112 KPH)
Top speed is from the documentation.
AccelerationAcceleration is quite nice, 180 volts has
a lot of power potential and the purpose
built transmission helps plant every HP to
the ground.
Range80 Miles (128 Kilometers)
Documentation said original batteries got
80 miles per charge.
EV Miles
Current:7,462 Miles (12,006 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity5 adults and full cargo area. Payload of
812 lbs.
Curb Weight5,800 Pounds (2,636 Kilograms)
Sticker on the door shows this weight.
TiresThe original equipment tires were LRR,
(Low Rolling Resistance), Goodyear
P205/75R15 Momentum at 50PSI.
Conversion Cost$120,000 when brand new back in 1993
Additional FeaturesStandard equipment on the TEVan included: Heating & Air
Conditioning, Regenerative Braking, Power Steering, Power
Brakes and seating for 5 passengers plus luggage.
This vehicle was just purchased and it was not running.
It has been sitting since 1997 because of a unknown
problem. I checked out each of its systems figuring out
where the problem was. I ended up finding a few small
problems. There was a bad coil which prevented the van
from getting the run signal and a few blown fuses. Once
I traced all of that down I finally got the run signal.
I took out all of the battery pods and cleaned up the
batteries and added a cheap BMS (Battery Monitoring
System) since it is hard to get to each battery. Since
the van sat so long, mice chewed on some of the watering
lines so I fixed those also. The pods were put all back
in and I drove it around 6 miles around the neighborhood
on the original batteries until I got a nail in the tire.
The tires are all dry rotted so I got new tires coming
next week. I am also going to get the brake fluid
flushed along with the power steering fluid.

This van has been sold, so no more updates on this
vehicle.

Many thanks to North Texas Electric Auto Association (
NTEAA WebPage ) for all the help and tips.

code by jerry