Hisun Sector E1

[Mississippi]

We're all electric at our hunting camp and I'm looking at an E1 to replace my Ranger EV.  Anybody got any experience with these UTV's out there?

[Gorj]

I have an E1 and am happy with it. Very quiet. No gas, oil, filters, plugs, etc to worry about. I just plug it in once a week. I have installed a radio and an LED light bar.  It has more power than you will ever need.

[Osney]

I have a Vector E1 (as they're called in the UK), and it's good, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend them. They're underpowered and mine certainly struggles on the hills around where I live (Fife, Scotland, so hills, not mountains). One particularly annoying thing is that after about four or five miles of use, the slightest hill has the screen throwing up a 'low voltage' error as the batteries can't seem to supply enough power. After about ten miles it just gives up altogether, even though the battery charge indicator on  the dash is showing full or one bar off full. It's been back to the dealer twice, and had the whole battery array replaced, but it still does it. Now waiting for advice from the UK importers before it goes back a third time.

It's also go more grease points than is entirely reasonable, and is quite difficult to clean effectively if it gets muddy. The lack of front mudguards means it throws mud (and cowpats - this is a livestock farm!) at you. I've asked about the full cab kit for it, but have yet to be given a price let alone availability. Meantime some DIY rubber mudflaps help, but why not an option to start with?

On the plus side, it's wonderfully quiet and does pretty much everything I need it to do - when it works!

[Gorj]

I am sorry you have had the issues list. I have a friend that has had an E1 for about a year and he had a battery issue since he brought it home.  They finally fixed it by replacing one faulty battery.  I have had mine just six + weeks and it has more power than I need. I have small mountain at the back of my place and it goes up it like a jack rabbit. Haven't gone through any heavy mud yet so no experience.

[Osney]

Thanks. That's useful information. Mine has always struggled with hills, and I was worried that was just the way the buggies worked. I thought my dealer had already replaced all the batteries, but I'll check with them about that. They've certainly replaced some of them.

[Gorj]

Battery voltage may not be the issue. The issue may be what the amps/wattage of each battery is under load. Have your dealer run a load test on each battery to see if they are up to spec. A battery can show its rated voltage but fail under load.  Today I was splitting logs in my pasture and pulled my log splitter  and a full load of split oak logs in the bed up a steep bank in 4wd and in low without any problems.

[Cougsfan]

I have an E1 and love it for how I use it.  I'd be worried to use it for hunting as the range on a charge is limited.   Seems to me the 45 miles per charge is optomistic.   When the batteries get low it does have troubles on hills.

[Osney]

25 minutes ago, Cougsfan said:

I have an E1 and love it for how I use it.  I'd be worried to use it for hunting as the range on a charge is limited.   Seems to me the 45 miles per charge is optomistic.   When the batteries get low it does have troubles on hills.

I always assumed 45 miles was optimistic, but 5 miles isn't really good enough for anything! All but one of the batteries on mine have been replaced now, and I haven't had a recurrence of the 45c3 error in the past few days. I've not been pushing it that hard though - need to go for a long run and then try a hill. It's frustrating, because it could be such a good little buggy for what I need, if it would just work as advertised.

[Gorj]

Some of these battery issues may be due to the BMS (battery maintenance system). I own a hybrid vehicle and there is always talk on the forums about issues with the BMS. It seems like with electric vehicles the BMS is the brains of the electrical system. I wonder if the dealers that are servicing these electric units really understand what they are working on! 

[Osney]

7 hours ago, Gorj said:

Some of these battery issues may be due to the BMS (battery maintenance system). I own a hybrid vehicle and there is always talk on the forums about issues with the BMS. It seems like with electric vehicles the BMS is the brains of the electrical system. I wonder if the dealers that are servicing these electric units really understand what they are working on! 

It's certainly a steep learning curve for repair shops used to dealing with petrol engines! The other thing that can impact on performance with electric vehicles is if the cables are not well connected, or there's corrosion in the terminals. I've got a couple of books on converting ICE cars to electric, as I'm thinking about doing that to my classic Alfa Romeo. I just need to find time to read them properly, then identify all the various components in the UTV and test them one by one!

[Cougsfan]

The Hisun (and other electric UTV's ) really just use golf cart technology. Lead acids are stone age compared to some of the newer technologies, but the newer technologies haven't made their way into UTV's yet.    And the new technologies will all probably be outdated in a couple of years too.  

[Gorj]

There are a few SxS's that use newer technology, ie. lithium batteries, but they are really pricey. The gel batteries in the E1, even though very heavy, work well and are not as temperamental as the lithium.  The heavy batteries also give the E1 the ability to pull a heavy load without loosing traction.  For example, I got my Dixie Chopper lawn mower stuck in deep mud a while back. I was able to pull it out with the E1. 

[Osney]

Yes, there's nothing wrong with tried and tested older technology - as long as it works! There's a company over here in the UK that have developed a lithium ion battery powered quad bike, which looks brilliant. The only problem is I could buy four Honda ATVs for the same price. I know gas is getting expensive, but even so it would take a long time to recoup that price difference!

What I'd really like to do is find someone else reasonably local who also as an E1, so that we could compare notes and maybe I could try theirs out. At the moment they're rather thin on the ground in these parts though.

[Gorj]

The local Hisun dealer has sold only four E1's in this area. Like me, they use them on their farm/ranch.  Chickens and cattle are big in this area of Arkansas. Part of the reason more are not sold here is Hisun is not pushing them in order to sell their gas models. Those who want them have to wait six to 10 weeks to get one.  The Hisun distributor in the USA is in north Texas and unlike most Texans they are not to customer friendly! I also have found the inability to purchase certain vehicles in the automotive world. Eighteen months ago I wanted to purchase a plug-in hybrid from Hyundai. I discovered they only sell on the east and west coast of the US.  Dealers can not even get them! So I ended up buying a Hyundai Ioniq hybrid. I have really enjoyed it, especially the mid 50's mpg. But if I could have bought the plug-in version I could have gone about 30+ miles on electricity, and most of my round trips from home are less than 30 miles.

[spp1]

Hi

Just got an E1 and am trying to source a service manual....any suggestions apart from a dealer?  The owners manual is fairly basic, with no mention of the regime for greasing the suspension (there seems to be multiple grease points).
The silent running is great ....only spoiled by an annoying front suspension squeak.... hence the question! 

[Gorj]

I have not found anything but a pdf file that list the specs. Hisun does not seem to customer friendly. I have managed to get my local dealer to photo copy some mechanical and wiring diagrams.  If you don't have a good local dealer you are on your own with Hisun.  They are more of an assembler than a manufacturer. They are shipped in from south east Asia in pieces to North Texas, assembled and then shipped to dealers.

[Osney]

I've not found anything for my UK spec one either, and I agree with you about the grease points. Have you discovered how many there are on the driveshaft under the battery controller? Virtually impossible to get at without putting the thing up on a ramp and removing the bottom cover! My front suspension has got very squeaky now I've put a couple thousand miles on the clock, and I'm looking into replacement suspension bolts and steering rod tie ends as the whole thing is much looser than it should be!

I would assume that the suspension hardware would be similar to some of the other Hisun UTVs, but I'm not sure which model is closest in specification. There's quite a few workshop manuals for the other models on line. It might be worth having a look through them for information on the greasy bits.

[Cougsfan]

6 hours ago, spp1 said:

Hi

Just got an E1 and am trying to source a service manual....any suggestions apart from a dealer?  The owners manual is fairly basic, with no mention of the regime for greasing the suspension (there seems to be multiple grease points).
The silent running is great ....only spoiled by an annoying front suspension squeak.... hence the question! 

My dealer gave me a complete and thorough service manual loaded on a thumb drive with the purchase of my E1.   A dealer shouldn't have a problem with sharing one with you.   As I would expect, there isn't a section on suspension squeaks.   The unit is quite quiet.   If the rig made any engine noise, you probably wouldn't even notice those squeaks.

If you have greased all the fittings I would spray down where the shock springs rub against the shock body with silicone spray.    My guess is that is where the noise might be coming from..   

[spp1]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the quick responses, much appreciated. I'll check out the hidden grease points , try the spray on the shock and chase the dealer for a manual.

[spp1]

Hi - Update on the squeaks..... WD40 on the shocks and the real nasty squeak ahs gone... thanks. 

On a slightly  different note has anyone been adventurous enough to use the 'Delta-Q' software to monitor the battery charging ....apparently it's just plug in a USB  stick to the charger to download the info,  then  install free software to view on a PC.