Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

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torulf
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Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by torulf »

I am looking for an inverter that handles 350V 500A that is as small as possible.
Any one got a suggestion?

I am putting a Leaf motor in a Reanult Twizy, and there is not much room to spare.
If i am to use the leaf inverter i need to put it standing up behind the passenger seat. Which makes it go outside of the car.
If the inverter was a bit less lower / slimmer it would work better.
It is doable, but then i need to build a cargo box back there to hide it in / protect the leaf inverter from the elements.
i am leaning towards this solution. I have a zombieverter already.

I could also switch back to the stock motor, but i would still need an inverter for it, as i already upgraded the battery to a pack from an Outlander.
I have also an inverter from a prius, which i believe might be a bit easer to hack down a bit for size. but i rather look for alternatives first.
I also have an old motor from a think city, and they can handle quite a bit of power too, more than the twizy motor at least. both use hall sensors.

I happily use open inverter based electronics if available, or if there is already a complete solution out there. Like VESC based or similar.
I do not have racing team budget, this is just for fun :)
arber333
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by arber333 »

torulf wrote: Sat Dec 13, 2025 7:56 pm I am looking for an inverter that handles 350V 500A that is as small as possible.
Any one got a suggestion?

I am putting a Leaf motor in a Reanult Twizy, and there is not much room to spare.
If i am to use the leaf inverter i need to put it standing up behind the passenger seat. Which makes it go outside of the car.
If the inverter was a bit less lower / slimmer it would work better.
It is doable, but then i need to build a cargo box back there to hide it in / protect the leaf inverter from the elements.
i am leaning towards this solution. I have a zombieverter already.

I could also switch back to the stock motor, but i would still need an inverter for it, as i already upgraded the battery to a pack from an Outlander.
I have also an inverter from a prius, which i believe might be a bit easer to hack down a bit for size. but i rather look for alternatives first.
I also have an old motor from a think city, and they can handle quite a bit of power too, more than the twizy motor at least. both use hall sensors.

I happily use open inverter based electronics if available, or if there is already a complete solution out there. Like VESC based or similar.
I do not have racing team budget, this is just for fun :)
Didnt we see that Outlander rear inverter uses 600A IGBT?
Heres how Romale did a lobotomy to inverter and used Openinverter brain
https://openinverter.org/forum/viewtopi ... 586#p73586

Apparently 127kW from inverter!!!

To get it to down size you can cut the front side off and reweld the resulting hole. However you could also make your own casing and and remove the OEM chiller... I will search for some photos because i have seen this done...
arber333
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by arber333 »

Found some photos of downsizing outlander inverter...
Attachments
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-06 ob 16.54.33_40f241ea.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-06 ob 16.54.29_2bcb2112.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-03 ob 19.49.01_0e30de60.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-03 ob 19.48.59_19738ee4.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-03 ob 19.28.08_ef1adb16.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-03-03 ob 19.25.24_22153be2.jpg
WhatsAppova datoteka Slika, 2023-02-25 ob 16.20.04_e137634d.jpg
IMG_0536.JPEG
torulf
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by torulf »

Oh! Thank you!

Well that could be an option as well, is it hard to make this inverter work with EM57 motor?
Thinking about the resolver..
arber333
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by arber333 »

torulf wrote: Sat Dec 13, 2025 9:58 pm Oh! Thank you!

Well that could be an option as well, is it hard to make this inverter work with EM57 motor?
Thinking about the resolver..
No you would use Openinverter brain with resolver support. See the wiki
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Main_Board_Version_3
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Mitsubish ... r_Inverter
https://openinverter.org/wiki/OEM_Inver ... dification
arber333
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by arber333 »

torulf wrote: Sat Dec 13, 2025 7:56 pm I am looking for an inverter that handles 350V 500A that is as small as possible.
....
I could also switch back to the stock motor, but i would still need an inverter for it, as i already upgraded the battery to a pack from an Outlander.
....
I do not have racing team budget, this is just for fun :)
Why not use outlander rear motor then with outlander rear inverter. You will have native resolver connection and zombie control. Motor provides 73kw from 320V pack, that should be enough for some good cheap fun.
torulf
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by torulf »

arber333 wrote: Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:31 am Why not use outlander rear motor then with outlander rear inverter. You will have native resolver connection and zombie control. Motor provides 73kw from 320V pack, that should be enough for some good cheap fun.
Yeah, would probably have been a better option. Now i have already cut the Leaf motor to size and built drive shafts for my combination.
I have not seen any pictures in the box on top of the outlander motor, i would need to cut that off. But i do not know what is in it.
I have 5 EV motors lying around here, i think it is best to put one of those to work before curiosity hoarding more stuff :)
The height for the motor in the twizy is max 25cm before i need to remove back seat. I don't need a back seat, but if i remove it i need to reregister the vehicle and that might not be that easy with this tune up. :)
arber333
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by arber333 »

torulf wrote: Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:50 am Yeah, would probably have been a better option. Now i have already cut the Leaf motor to size and built drive shafts for my combination.
I have not seen any pictures in the box on top of the outlander motor, i would need to cut that off. But i do not know what is in it.
I have 5 EV motors lying around here, i think it is best to put one of those to work before curiosity hoarding more stuff :)
The height for the motor in the twizy is max 25cm before i need to remove back seat. I don't need a back seat, but if i remove it i need to reregister the vehicle and that might not be that easy with this tune up. :)
Hah!

Hm... then your best bet would be openinverter brain and wired into outlander inverter. Then OEM brain does not apply as well as its limits.
torulf
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Re: Anybody know about a more compact inverter for a leaf motor?

Post by torulf »

After spending a few hours reading forum threads and the wiki i have now ordered an OI board and an Outlander inverter.
Thank you Arber for pointing in a direction that seems doable.
I did not realize how cheap the Outlander inverters can be.
Now i just need to wait until the fun begins. I want to find the DESAT pin on the gate/IGBT drivers, if any.
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