Removing stock controller and using my own.

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MPaulHolmes

Active member
Joined
Dec 30, 2015
Messages
34
What roadblocks does a Leaf put up if you took out the Leaf inverter and stuck in your own? If I took over the contactors somehow, could I push the electronics out of the way and just drive? Or would the steering wheel, brakes, etc... not work? It would be nice to have infinite configurability of the motor, full control over max battery amps and motor amps, separate regen "throttle" so braking is almost never necessary, 200kw for short accelerations, etc... But I don't want to deal with a bunch of error codes that brick the car and can only be cleared by the dealer just because I unplugged something.
 
I think you are looking to have a beautiful fire under your hood...

What (significant) difference could you get by messing with the electronics that is worth the risk of trashing your car??
 
This is something I was dreaming about eventually doing as well. There are so many software locks that have to be cleared by an expensive dealer computer kit, that working on your own car becomes impossible. I would like to get an out of warranty Leaf with dead battery for around $3k and strip it bare of all Nissan software, add 6 - 8 Tesla battery modules either modified into 12S or with 80kW DC-DC converter. I would also remove galvanic isolation requirement and would stick a simple PFC boost stage in front of DC-DC traction converter to make simple 80A 240V charger. I would also replace crappy J1772 charge port with superior port and EVSE from a Tesla.
 
powersurge said:
I think you are looking to have a beautiful fire under your hood...

What (significant) difference could you get by messing with the electronics that is worth the risk of trashing your car??

Way to discourage people from tinkering with their cars. I am not ready to give up on the hope of improving on my cars, although most EVs seem to be locked down.

Of course, the risk is real. So you mitigate it by starting with a heavily-depreciated car. If the car isn't worth much to begin with, then it's not as much of a loss if all goes wrong.
 
powersurge said:
I think you are looking to have a beautiful fire under your hood...

What (significant) difference could you get by messing with the electronics that is worth the risk of trashing your car??
All you do on this forum is tell people not to mess with their car. Over and over in every thread you can. I know that a lot of EV buyers aren't gearheads, and this is probably their first car related forum so maybe you just aren't exposed to the massive amount of tinkering that people get up to in their garages? For instance my ICE car is torn apart (trashed according to you :mrgreen: )and the engine is at a machine shop because when put back together it will make a (significant) difference in the way the car accelerates, stops, turns, sounds, and makes me feel. I suspect that's exactly the same reasoning MPaulHolmes is using.

Now, what possible (significant) difference do you think your naysaying will make in MPaulHolmes' life? Do you think if he's got the ability and skills to modify a Leaf in the way he's talking about, that you will deter him with a couple sentences?
 
MPaulHolmes said:
What roadblocks does a Leaf put up if you took out the Leaf inverter and stuck in your own? If I took over the contactors somehow, could I push the electronics out of the way and just drive? Or would the steering wheel, brakes, etc... not work? It would be nice to have infinite configurability of the motor, full control over max battery amps and motor amps, separate regen "throttle" so braking is almost never necessary, 200kw for short accelerations, etc... But I don't want to deal with a bunch of error codes that brick the car and can only be cleared by the dealer just because I unplugged something.


Based on your comments I assume your are not an EE or experienced in EV systems. That being said this is a very complex project and one that is very dangerous without proper knowledge of HV systems. If you don't have this experience or help by someone that does I would suggest you do not attempt this. Yes you will get manny error codes and there are related system connections and you would need Consult II to even begin to attempt this. No one should ever touch an EV HV system unless they are experienced in this area from a pure safety perspective.
 
This guy is an EE. Check out his projects: https://www.youtube.com/user/MPaulHolmes/videos
 
My new Leaf was a wreck from an auction, but turns out it is in really good shape, so I don't mind experimenting. I'll start with sniffing and see what all the CAN messages are that come along, and perhaps get progressively more and more destructive from there. For me, driving a car around with mechanical brakes and mechanical steering and DIY inverter is the easy part. Unfortunately, the car's firmware controls everything. I guess I could take out the other inverter, then try to turn the wheels back and forth to see if the car steers. I would guess it should. I mean, what if you were driving, and a phase cable came loose magically What would Nissan tell the court if their firmware at that point says "no need to steer anymore! The inverter's gone!" haha.

OK, I've stripped the car down quite a bit now and got it to work lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxp8kX_golA&t=74s
 
VitaminJ said:
powersurge said:
I think you are looking to have a beautiful fire under your hood...

What (significant) difference could you get by messing with the electronics that is worth the risk of trashing your car??
All you do on this forum is tell people not to mess with their car. Over and over in every thread you can. I know that a lot of EV buyers aren't gearheads, and this is probably their first car related forum so maybe you just aren't exposed to the massive amount of tinkering that people get up to in their garages? For instance my ICE car is torn apart (trashed according to you :mrgreen: )and the engine is at a machine shop because when put back together it will make a (significant) difference in the way the car accelerates, stops, turns, sounds, and makes me feel. I suspect that's exactly the same reasoning MPaulHolmes is using.

Now, what possible (significant) difference do you think your naysaying will make in MPaulHolmes' life? Do you think if he's got the ability and skills to modify a Leaf in the way he's talking about, that you will deter him with a couple sentences?


You know, you are absolutely right. I think the 400 volts of electricity the leaf packs makes taking the motor apart to tinker with is a dangerous thing. I am a naysayer in numerous other areas also...

I am against taking a new leaf's whole dashboard apart to install a cool stereo. I am against guys spending $300 for a new marine battery that only runs the headlights and accessories. I also am against people being given the idea to spend hundreds per tire to make the leaf drive like a corvette (which will not happen). I don't need to go on.....

So... Just like any guy has the right to talk about taking the Leaf apart to count how many pieces he has, I have the right to say when I have an opinion. It's called acceptance, and freedom of speech. If you can't handle that, I know where you can plug your j1772 plug... Peace...
 
Hey Powersurge:

I agree with your last post 100%. It never fails to amaze me what people will do/try to do to their car. Then, when they have it all screwed up, they complain that it is not functioning properly. Oh well....since it's their car, they can do whatever rings their bell, eh?
 
powersurge said:
You know, you are absolutely right. I think the 400 volts of electricity the leaf packs makes taking the motor apart to tinker with is a dangerous thing. I am a naysayer in numerous other areas also...

I am against taking a new leaf's whole dashboard apart to install a cool stereo. I am against guys spending $300 for a new marine battery that only runs the headlights and accessories. I also am against people being given the idea to spend hundreds per tire to make the leaf drive like a corvette (which will not happen). I don't need to go on.....

So... Just like any guy has the right to talk about taking the Leaf apart to count how many pieces he has, I have the right to say when I have an opinion. It's called acceptance, and freedom of speech. If you can't handle that, I know where you can plug your j1772 plug... Peace...
Wow must have touched a nerve. You are indeed against a lot of things. It's funny how much you urge others to stick to convention and yet you drive an electric car :mrgreen:
 
VitaminJ said:
powersurge said:
You know, you are absolutely right. I think the 400 volts of electricity the leaf packs makes taking the motor apart to tinker with is a dangerous thing. I am a naysayer in numerous other areas also...

I am against taking a new leaf's whole dashboard apart to install a cool stereo. I am against guys spending $300 for a new marine battery that only runs the headlights and accessories. I also am against people being given the idea to spend hundreds per tire to make the leaf drive like a corvette (which will not happen). I don't need to go on.....

So... Just like any guy has the right to talk about taking the Leaf apart to count how many pieces he has, I have the right to say when I have an opinion. It's called acceptance, and freedom of speech. If you can't handle that, I know where you can plug your j1772 plug... Peace...
Wow must have touched a nerve. You are indeed against a lot of things. It's funny how much you urge others to stick to convention and yet you drive an electric car :mrgreen:

The only nerve that is touched, my friend, is you. You have to be "touched" to continue with your teenage game of "got you last" with this topic. I hope that the site administrator catches your ridiculous posts and puts some restrictions on your account. But thanks for showing all of the readers of this site who you really are...
 
I'll be sure to post any progress w.r.t. replacing the controller. Tomorrow I go to get the title changed from salvage to "not salvage anymore", whatever they call it. It was a $60 fix, and the insurance company totalled out the car. haha. Well, I didn't paint the new panel yet, so maybe a $61 fix after I let my 5 year old paint that spot.
 
Back to your original question, I'm almost more interested in learning how to adjust/tune/tweak the stock controller vs. using an aftermarket one. I've been following you on youtube before I realized you also posted here so I'll keep on watching to see how it goes.
 
MPaulHolmes said:
I'll be sure to post any progress w.r.t. replacing the controller. Tomorrow I go to get the title changed from salvage to "not salvage anymore", whatever they call it. It was a $60 fix, and the insurance company totalled out the car. haha. Well, I didn't paint the new panel yet, so maybe a $61 fix after I let my 5 year old paint that spot.

Paul - post some pictures of before and after - will be interesting to see how you brought a Leaf back from a junk yard death!!
 
VitaminJ said:
Back to your original question, I'm almost more interested in learning how to adjust/tune/tweak the stock controller vs. using an aftermarket one. I've been following you on youtube before I realized you also posted here so I'll keep on watching to see how it goes.

You could try what I want to try but have not gotten to yet...
Replace the motor phase current sensors with a higher current version and trick the controller to think the car is only providing half the power to the motor. The service manual states there is an error state if the IGBTs heat up due to over current but who knows if it would work, they are very well heatsinked. Worst case you blow an IGBT then you swab the IGBTs out for higher current versions. The battery current sensor may also have some concerns if you start drawing 300+ amps from the battery, but that could get swapped out also.

If anyone has info on the IGBT MFG part # and the current sensor MFG part # i would love to start looking into replacements.

Last note here: this is the ENGINEERING section of the forum, if you are not a competent Engineer or skilled trades person who understands the risk/reward of doing testing like this, DO NOT ATTEMPT IT. Lay off Paul, he has been a good inspiration to many with his work.
 
chaz said:
Replace the motor phase current sensors with a higher current version and trick the controller to think the car is only providing half the power to the motor. The service manual states there is an error state if the IGBTs heat up due to over current but who knows if it would work, they are very well heatsinked. Worst case you blow an IGBT then you swab the IGBTs out for higher current versions. The battery current sensor may also have some concerns if you start drawing 300+ amps from the battery, but that could get swapped out also.

If anyone has info on the IGBT MFG part # and the current sensor MFG part # i would love to start looking into replacements.
Would love to know if this works
 
One can not unckeck "voltage drop".
Drove Leaf today at full speed. There is not a lot of reserves.
AFAIK, 24kWh battery is capable supplying 85kW of power.
Though I lost one power bubble during max speed.
Power electronics heated up from 40C to 60C within half a minute.
It was cold outside, 8C.

Leaf is not going to do a lot more without limitations.
Want more acceleration, decrease tire circumference ;)
 
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