openinverter forum

Hi Guys,
I've been working on this project for a while now and never got around to posting. I've got a beetle running a leaf motor and inverter with the open inverter kit. Its mounted to the VW transaxle. In the front I have 16kwh of Pacifica lg Chem modules connected to gen1 volt slave modules and the simpbms module. At this stage i am just running a 3.3kw TC charger, I would like to integrate fast charging at some stage though. It went for its first test spin last weekend . Unfortunately I haven't been very organised with logging my build but I'll put up what I have.

Very nice, I like that box that you bolted on top of the inverter. Whats in there?

Very nice! Looks clean overall.
I assume the box johu is referring to is a charger? Or is it something else?

Would you happen to have your module wiring for the module -> Volt Battery Interface Control Modules? I've got 12 cells wired, and given how much of a pain those pins are to work with, I'd rather not do stuff three times. (I did it twice already hahaha)

I did a spreadsheet here, covering what should be the lowest voltage module (module 4?) here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=714&start=75#p18638

-Matt

I love it. Looks like it's going to be very quick.

Thanks for the kind words guys , yes the box is the 3.3kw TC charger Johannes. Matt I can't find the last page of my primitive drawings but see below. I pretty much just repeated the pinout of the LG modules into the wiring diagram of the volt slaves.

Hehe, same thing I was working from basically. Can you confirm module 4 is the lowest voltage, starting with with the 12 pin connector, then the 6 pin? Then module 3/2, then 1 with 12, 12, ending with 6 pin? That's what I worked out.

I'll get the spreadsheet up in my thread when done, probably on the wiki somewhere too.

-Matt

That is correct

That's clean!

Dusty4 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 8:48 am Thanks for the kind words guys , yes the box is the 3.3kw TC charger Johannes. Matt I can't find the last page of my primitive drawings but see below. I pretty much just repeated the pinout of the LG modules into the wiring diagram of the volt slaves.

Oh, silly me, I thought it covered the inverter DC inputs! And had some additional magic in it. Now I see that's further back in the picture.

How did you connect the Leaf motor to the VW transaxle??? Did you use off the shelf or custom make stuff??

Steve

plugbug67 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:26 am How did you connect the Leaf motor to the VW transaxle??? Did you use off the shelf or custom make stuff??

Steve

custom made by a local machinist, the spline is the leaf reduction input machined so the VW clutch spline would press in, then tack welded

Spent a bit more time on the beetle this weekend, wired in the 240v charge inlet and interlock to prevent driveway, and plumbed in a small radiator to keep the whole lot cool. Just have to secure some of the wiring and i'm all finished in there.

Looks super tidy.
Just one note, it looks like the pump sucks cold water from the radiator, put it through the motor then the inverter. Normally you would reverse that as the motor produces more waste heat than the inverter. Also the motor can tolerate higher temps. Maybe not so relevant in cold climate but Australia, hmm

Thanks for the feedback Johannes, I'll have a look at changing that.

Nice word Dusty! I'm planning to do about the same thing with my Beetle only with a Prius inverter. Do you have a picture of the adapter plate?

Nice build!! Thats a simple connection to the motor seems solid, did it need the tack welds or would the coupler have sufficed just coupled mechanically. Is there a spline? The leaf drivetrain fits well in the bug !! its a great drivetrain quite durable and efficient. I did notice one problem, apparently the steering wheel is on the wrong side of your bug!!

Hi Dusty,

Can you let me know the list of parts you used for this conversion as I am wanting to do the same to my 70's Bug. I was thinking about using the Outlander rear motor but the Gen2 leaf looks to be a good fit.

Thanks
David

Hi David, pretty much a leaf motor and inverter with an adapter plate made to fit the the original transaxle. I would have liked to keep the reduction gear from the leaf but I would need to change the rear end to a later i.r.s to fit it. In Australia it is very hard to get a car licensed with suspension modifications.

Haven't updated this in ages, so this will be a bit of a photo dump. Finally got the car road registered this week, will be doing some range testing, parameter fine tuning and joy rides with the family.

Nice! This gives plenty of inspiration for my VW T2

Good work and nice to see another classic converted to the future tech!

Fantastic! Know the time difference will be awkward but would you be up for coming on my podcast, DIY EV Chat, to talk about your project? Previous episodes here:

bobby_come_lately wrote: ↑Wed Apr 20, 2022 6:59 am Fantastic! Know the time difference will be awkward but would you be up for coming on my podcast, DIY EV Chat, to talk about your project? Previous episodes here:

Thanks for considering myself and the bug Tom Life's pretty busy for me at the moment, so it's a reluctant no for now. But I'd love to in the future.

I've done some range testing and tuning over the last few weeks, I can get about 100km highway driving and 150km+ around town. Pretty happy with that considering the small battery.
Performance wise I am stoked, 0 to 100 in approx 5.5 seconds and hoping to take it down the 1/4mile soon. I anticipate it will be in the 13sec range. It definitely turns heads cruising around . I'd like to get some sort of fast charging sorted so I can venture a bit further from home.