Adding a Brusa charger under the hood for '11/'12s

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JeremyW

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
1,575
Location
San Gabriel, CA
Welcome! This thread is dedicated to those with 2011 or 2012 Leafs and are interested in adding a Brusa charger (or chargers, more on that in a bit) under the hood in place of the original inverter cover. It turns out the original cover (which looks like a “valve cover” for an engine) is mostly hollow, and replacing it with a flat plate leaves enough room for a second or even a third on board charger. The two originators of this modification are Ingineer and EVDRIVER, but they have decided to not share the details on how they accomplished mounting and interface with the leaf. With the help of many bright minds, I have not only succeeded installing a Brusa in my leaf but also wish to share how I accomplished it and how you can too.

With a single Brusa NLG513 under the hood combined with the existing on board charger in the trunk, your Leaf will able to charge at the maximum rate that most public EVSE’s around are rated for- 30A and 208V for around 6.24 kW draw. With a 32A or higher rated EVSE at 240V, the maximum draw is around 7.68kW. I estimate my charge time at full power is around three hours from near empty to full. This is a bit faster than a 2013 Leaf with the 6kW charger.

The increased rate is a game changer, and to me is often more convenient then a thirty minute fast charge, since I can often have lunch or otherwise occupy my time doing something else while charging instead of waiting for a fast charge to complete. I feel that it has significantly improved the usability of my vehicle.

Here’s a breakdown of what is required:
1. Purchasing one or more Brusa NLG513 chargers either air or water cooled. If going for two under the hood, water cooling is required due to heat and possibly space issues. I would recommend hotter climate owners stick with water cooling even if only getting one. The air cooled units de-rate under high temperature, as I have experienced personally with my air cooled unit in Southern California. See the second post on current pricing and group buys available.

2. A mounting plate and high profile gasket. This is what took a majority of the development time. A pattern is available for you to get a plate and gasket water-jetted or CNC-ed. You will also need new mounting bolts since the plate is substantially thicker than the old cover. See the second post below for more information on availability of plates and gaskets.

3. Modification of the J1772 inlet of your leaf. This involves splicing into the shielded wires directly after the inlet. This part is replaceable if you wish to return the leaf to stock form, and we use metri-pack connectors to allow disconnection of the AC cable so removal of the charger is relatively easy to reverse for a quick trip to the dealer. The connectors hide well in the tubing of the pigtail.

4. A Leaf DD (or similar device) to listen to the leaf’s EV CAN bus for the existing onboard charger messages and relay parameters over the bus to the Brusa. You will need to splice into the CAN lines running to the inverter so that the Brusa can be added to the bus. As scary as that sounds this splice is easily hidden. The CAN bus is meant to have many devices on it, and the Brusa behaves properly and does not conflict with termination or message ID’s used by the Leaf’s systems. The onboard charger gives pilot, proximity, current, and line voltage over the CAN bus which greatly simplifies command of the Brusa. There is an Automatic mode that the Brusa supports, however one would have to manually add current control (to dial things down for lower power EVSEs) and a proximity circuit to cut charging current when removing the plug. Thus, CAN mode is the easiest way to go, with the Brusa acting as a slave controlled by the Leaf DD.

[Below to be updated with more info ASAP! Thanks for your patience! –Jeremy]
The Brusa Models - Features and Pricing
Currently, we are using the NLG513. It’s rated for 3.6kW and puts about 3.3kW into the battery, much like the existing Nichicon charger. However, this sucker is built like a tank, more compact than the Nichicon, and comes in air and water cooled variants. It also fully isolated and contains many protection circuits to prevent destruction of itself and leaf. It’s very well designed and very high quality. The retail price with cables is around $2600, with our group buy it’s around $2,200.

Mounting Plate and Gasket
This was in my opinion the toughest part of the development. We got a bit fooled in the beginning thinking that you could simply replace the top cover with a thin sheet of aluminum and go from there. The trouble is that there is a control board (and associated mounting bracket) for the inverter that sits proud of the cover mounting plane, meaning you must have a plate that is thick enough to “contain” the board protrusions. JasonA and Tony Williams have been very helpful in making template mock ups and eventually making a great template that allows a water jet or CNC machine to cut out a plate that
Modification of the J1772 Inlet

Control of the Brusa via CAN using the Leaf DD
[Will update soon, Jason and I are using prototype units. Working with GregH on testing for automatic amperage selection and ramp down of the Brusa]

Final Installation
[TBD]
Total cost is expected to be around $3000-$3500.

Here are some additional reading materials you may find useful:
The Leaf Service Manual. You may download this for $20 from http://nissan-techinfo.com
Brusa NLG513 Data Sheet
Brusa NLG513 User Manual
Brusa NLG513 CAN Command Matrix
Metric Mind Website on the Brusa
Metric Mind Website on Victor's leaf with three :shock: water cooled Brusa's under the trunk
ChargeStar Software Download (probably not needed if just controlling using CAN)
Charging Profile for Leaf if using Automatic control

Finally, a word of caution: Electricity is dangerous. The leaf uses 400V DC for the main traction pack, and is not something to be taken lightly. It will kill you if you try to work on this live, and the pack has sufficient energy to weld tools. DC causes muscles to contract meaning your body could end up clamping down onto a lethal shock. Before performing ANY work, disconnect the 12v negative terminal and pull the main traction pack fuse located in the center of the rear passenger floor.
 
This upgrade requires replacing the "valve cover" aka the top cover on the inverter module with a flat sheet. This gives me the room I need to mount the Brusa.

Here's a crop of a picture I took of Ingineer's installation at The Green Drive Expo last year:
s76nlLyl.jpg


Here's a picture of Ingineer's installation at (I beleve) Plug-in-America Day last year curtisy of 'gromett.' Note Engineer switched to a L6-20 cable set at some point to allow a seprate input source besides the J1772 inlet into the Brusa
T0xw28


Here's a normal 2011/2012 under the hood shot:
hJ9hc0w.jpg


Here's a picture of the inverter with the cover removed with the cover upside down in the foreground:
jGjD9QZl.jpg

[Taken from this PDF from a report from Oak Ridge National Lab]
 
I am very interested in this. As I would rather keep my 2012 SL than have to get a 2013/14 when my current lease is up. Is cheaper to add a Brusa charger than to pay for another lease and buy out the car in the end by my guesstimation. However Phil did say that his Brusa setup required LEAFSCAN in order to work. So you will have to build some kind of CAN interface in order to control the charger as well.
 
JeremyW said:
The Brusa has a CAN interface, and will listen for the maximum current requested by the battery control module.

Is it correct to assume that it is OK if the charger supplies less than the maximum BCM requested?

Disclaimer:
The reason I ask is that I want to slowly gather info needed to start a tread on how to get solar panels DC directly in the battery, no DC-AC-DC conversions and no other batteries involved. This is going to be a longer project than yours, if I am the only one working on it :oops: .
 
camasleaf said:
JeremyW said:
The Brusa has a CAN interface, and will listen for the maximum current requested by the battery control module.

Is it correct to assume that it is OK if the charger supplies less than the maximum BCM requested?

Disclaimer:
The reason I ask is that I want to slowly gather info needed to start a tread on how to get solar panels DC directly in the battery, no DC-AC-DC conversions and no other batteries involved. This is going to be a longer project than yours, if I am the only one working on it :oops: .
To charge the Leaf battery, you must supply exactly the right voltage it wants as a function of the state of charge and the current. The solar array will have its own voltage vs current curve, which will also vary with the sun angle and the temperature. Therefore you must have a DC-DC converter from the solar. You can skip the conversion to 60 Hz AC, but the DC to DC conversion will use higher frequency AC pulses.
 
tbleakne said:
To charge the Leaf battery, you must supply exactly the right voltage it wants as a function of the state of charge and the current. The solar array will have its own voltage vs current curve, which will also vary with the sun angle and the temperature. Therefore you must have a DC-DC converter from the solar. You can skip the conversion to 60 Hz AC, but the DC to DC conversion will use higher frequency AC pulses.
Assuming the on-board charger will accept DC on its AC inputs (probably just rectified first thing anyway), the OBC can act as the DC-DC of which you speak. It has a wide voltage input 100-250VAC and puts out exactly what the battery management tells it to, so it might be possible to connect a string of PV with ~200VDC at peak power directly in this fashion. You have to make sure it doesn't over volt the OBC at open circuit voltage on the array, though. The PV input could be run closer to 120VDC if you're connecting a Level I size array. Assuming there aren't major problems with the above scheme, (I claim no knowledge and can make no promises/endorsement of such a risky maneuver) the only custom bit might be a microprocessor that measures the DC voltage/current from the PV array and accomplishes MPPT by adjusting the pilot signal on the J1772 inlet to match the power level that the panel can provide. There might be time response/stability issues, but it seems plausible that something like this could work. While it might be fun to try it, just to see if it can be done (assuming you don't mind taking chances with your OBC), it does beg the question, why? Solar charging of the LEAF will be better with a typical grid tied arrangement. I can only see attempting the direct DC connection if you live off grid, or want to drive across Nevada at a rate of 100 miles per day.

Howdy
 
I wish you guys with the wild "direct from solar" idea would take it somewhere else. It will just derail what promises to be an interesting thread.
 
davewill said:
I wish you guys with the wild "direct from solar" idea would take it somewhere else. It will just derail what promises to be an interesting thread.
I asked a moderator early this morning to move the two unrelated posts to http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=7430" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It is weekend, I am sure they will do that. I apologize.
 
I purchased the Brusa off ebay for $1100. Aparently the seller has three more for sale. Not sure if they are listed at the moment, but the seller is '-56ItemstoSell' Again, not endorseing anyone but I figured I let everyone know who is thinking about taking the plunge. My charger should arrive on Wenesday.

camasleaf said:
JeremyW said:
The Brusa has a CAN interface, and will listen for the maximum current requested by the battery control module.

Is it correct to assume that it is OK if the charger supplies less than the maximum BCM requested?

Yes. I have knowlage from Ingineer that the request is essencially the maximum that would be accepted, essencially what it could take given a 50kW capable quick charger was connected. The Brusa will operate for values exceeding 3.8 kW but at a reduced rate if the BCM request is below 7.2kW.

I'm working on LeafCAN firmware in parallel which is good, because I think I'm going to need to make a CAN bridge for it. The Brusa has commands and broadcast messages that I don't think will be compatable with the leaf. I don't see anything in the CAN doumention [which is on the evtv forum and I will eventually post it here] that would alow listening for custom CAN messages. Fortunatly there are many ways to interface with the unit and the power side is very configurable.
 
I would be very interested in doing this mod, but I'll be honest.
I'd like to see you guys get it worked out first :)

I have no problems with the mechanical and electrical install, but the words CAN buss strike fear into my wallet.

I will watch your progress closely and with appreciation.

Thanks
 
KillaWhat said:
I have no problems with the mechanical and electrical install, but the words CAN buss strike fear into my wallet.

Is about my same fears.. I have no problems with outlaying money to do it. However messing around with the CAN bus is what worries me. I have the mechanical skills to do the job. Just the software and programming understanding is where I am seriously lacking.
 
I read the documentation.
Nice!
I can visualize a really nice fabrication of a new "valve cover" to hold the charger.
I look forward to seeing where this leads.
Could not see the pictures of any of the installed units, and I'd be very interested in them.
Thanks.
 
KillaWhat said:
I have no problems with the mechanical and electrical install, but the words CAN buss strike fear into my wallet.
The devil you know, I guess. I feel quite the opposite. To me, the mechanical stuff is daunting. There are plenty of simple, inexpensive dev boards out there that can connect to two CAN buses and do translation/bridging. All we need are the details of what each side wants, then creating a simple bridge is just a little programming and testing. Phil had some advantages, his huge EV experience most of all, and owning a Consult III, but it's quite doable.

BTW, I can't find the post now, but at some point, I got the impression that Phil may have reprogrammed the Brusa rather than going the bridging route...or it may have been a combination of the two.
 
davewill said:
BTW, I can't find the post now, but at some point, I got the impression that Phil may have reprogrammed the Brusa rather than going the bridging route...or it may have been a combination of the two.
From my cursory reading of the Brusa documentation, in the CAN mode it runs pretty much as a slave responding to commands, it uses no local programmed charge algorithms, so I think you only need to bridge the charge acceptance CAN information from the battery controller to the CAN commands the Brusa expects. Hence, the role of LEAFSCAN as that bridge in Phil's case?, or any other microprocessor you choose to put up to it. I don't think you need to program the Brusa, just talk to it with the commands it wants.

Sorry for the earlier off topic post. I will refrain from replying to of topic items in the future.

I am actually more interested in the Brusa install, myself. I have two of them with the hopes of making a ~10kW buddy stack that will make more complete use of 14-50 RV infrastructure (yes, I know this means changing the inlet, too). Worse case, if it doesn't work out, I will have an extra charger to sell.

It is not the most demanding part of the project, but I would be willing to do the CAD design bolt pattern for the mounting plate and provide the drawing (for those who want to do it themselves or take it to a local/online shop). I have access to a CNC mill, so I would even consider fabricating plates for others at the cost of aluminum plate. If this work is already done elsewhere and share-able, I will not attempt to duplicate it.

Howdy
 
How are others thinking about going after the pilot signal from the EVSE? Presumably this is available on CAN as well, if one manages to decode it. I was considering the less elegant approach of using the CAN "bridging" microcontroller to monitor the PWM pilot signal directly off the inlet (anything available over the OBC demand would be a charge instruction to the Brusa, up to what the battery controller allows), but I suppose that approach involves a bit more wiring harness intervention.

Howdy
 
hgoudey said:
... I am actually more interested in the Brusa install, myself. I have two of them with the hopes of making a ~10kW buddy stack that will make more complete use of 14-50 RV infrastructure (yes, I know this means changing the inlet, too). Worse case, if it doesn't work out, I will have an extra charger to sell. ...
I would think that once you had the bridge going, the number of Brusa chargers behind it wouldn't matter very much. They should just cooperate as designed. Changing the inlet should be straightforward, too. I would think the challenge will be either finding space under the hood to mount the second Brusa, or running heavy cable to wherever you do find to put it.
hgoudey said:
How are others thinking about going after the pilot signal from the EVSE? Presumably this is available on CAN as well, if one manages to decode it. ...
Wouldn't that just connect directly to the Brusa?
 
hgoudey said:
From my cursory reading of the Brusa documentation, in the CAN mode it runs pretty much as a slave responding to commands, it uses no local programmed charge algorithms, so I think you only need to bridge the charge acceptance CAN information from the battery controller to the CAN commands the Brusa expects. Hence, the role of LEAFSCAN as that bridge in Phil's case?, or any other microprocessor you choose to put up to it. I don't think you need to program the Brusa, just talk to it with the commands it wants.
That's my thinking too. A bridge shouldn't be too hard to do. We will see! :)
I am actually more interested in the Brusa install, myself. I have two of them with the hopes of making a ~10kW buddy stack that will make more complete use of 14-50 RV infrastructure (yes, I know this means changing the inlet, too). Worse case, if it doesn't work out, I will have an extra charger to sell.
That's going to be a challenge! I'm not sure if there's room for a second one under the hood. You may need to motify your hood. :shock: If you're thinking of putting it in the back I think the ac lines are a bit thin, you'd have to run new ones which requires dropping the pack. Sounds like a whole bunch of work but it would be pretty bad ass!
It is not the most demanding part of the project, but I would be willing to do the CAD design bolt pattern for the mounting plate and provide the drawing (for those who want to do it themselves or take it to a local/online shop). I have access to a CNC mill, so I would even consider fabricating plates for others at the cost of aluminum plate. If this work is already done elsewhere and share-able, I will not attempt to duplicate it.
Since Engineer isn't sharing his plate, I say go for it. :mrgreen:

I guess I'll have to contribute heavily on the CAN and AC side of things. Also, battery connections. I think we'll have to go in from the DC/DC converter HVDC cable. Also, this might be obvious but the Brusa wants a precharge resistor when hooked up to a pack. Does the leaf provide "precharge" to all devices on the HVDC bus? Obviously it has contactors that de-energize when the Leaf is off and not charging, but it seems like there would have to be a precharge sequence for the inverter/DC-DC/charger...
 
Since Engineer isn't sharing his plate, I say go for it.

I spent a little time under the hood today.
The plate needs some raised threaded mounting points to accept the small tank on the passenger side, which can remain in its current location, and some on the drivers side, where the other small tank needs to be relocated. No biggie.

If you have the know how and are willing to fabricate the plate, great news.

I'm slightly worried, or at least concerned about making this install reversible.
I'm still under warranty, and Nissan already replaced my charger under warranty.
If I have an issue with any major drivetrain component, I'm thinking it would be a good idea NOT to have them open the hood and discover THIS deal sitting there.
The dealer was SURE my HID high beams caused the charger damage??
This would give them apoplexy.

If we accept the current j1772 cable diameter as sufficient to carry the 32? Amps of 240vac we will need, and if we could locate a plug and socket that match the setup where this cable leader from the J1772 inlet meets the car, we could fabricate a short cable with a "T" tap to get our AC for the new charger and it would be instantly reversible and removable without damaging the current wiring.

Have not gotten into how the 3.3 charger interfaces with the high voltage pack, but I'm guessing there is a similar plug setup for that as well.

Anybody think we can acquire these plugs ?
 
Although Ingineer hasn't poked his head in this thread yet, he does have good pictures of the orignal charger and assosiated wiring:

Ingineer said:
Did some nosing around to satisfy curiosity, and here's what I found:


pic

With the "hump" cover removed.


pic

Here's the back of the Charger. You can see the water cooling lines entering from the bottom and the cooling channels in the aluminum casting.


pic

Here you can see they added in an EMI filter. This is not shown in the service manual. The wiring from the front of the car appears to be about 12awg. The 2 small black wires are the pilot signal from the EVSE and the handle interlock.


pic

The Charger is made by Nichicon.
 
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