Next up on the bench for hacking is the Lexus IS300h inverter. I believe this one is also fitted to the new model GS450h and LS hybrids also. Have another few Lexus inverters on the way including a few 2009 GS450h units that are available quite cheaply. Should work out nice for people who need more power than the Prius and /or rear wheel drive solutions.
Today managed to get the IGBT driver woken up and running in the IS inverter.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:32 pm
by Jack Bauer
First look inside the GS450H inverter. Uses the same connector for the igbt driver board as the Gen 3 Prius.
I'll be honest and say I didn't even know about the longitudinal layout of the Lexus GS hybrid drivetrain. It seems a better approach to the RWD conversion I am trying to do, rather than grafting a Leaf motor onto the driveshaft or trying to fit the motor and reduction gear into the rear subframe.
So I'm watching your progress with the GS450H integrated drive gearbox with great interest on YouTube.
Do you think that gearbox alone will be good enough to drive a medium weight car without an engine inputting power? Possibly if you can get both electric motors to contribute by locking up the front input shaft...
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:06 am
by Jack Bauer
Oh it's very much possible :
Naturally this guy decided not to share (probably planning to be the next Elon) so I'll just have to go do it.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:13 am
by sfk
Wow. That's pretty impressive. I'm not so sure about using Leaf drive components now....
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:41 pm
by Jack Bauer
I'm using a GS450h gearbox in my E65 conversion. At 2640kg it should prove the system:)
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:48 pm
by sfk
Most definitely. I'll be approx 1 ton lighter.
If I was to assemble a shopping list of components, what should I be looking for?
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:57 pm
by Jack Bauer
You would need the gearbox with the aux oil pump (beware many ebay sellers remove this as it is a common failure part on the gs450h), inverter, hv cables and if possible the lv harness as of course all the connector plugs are custom.
Started in on the GS450h inverter today. Our friends in Toyota are being extra sneaky with this one ...
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:09 pm
by Jack Bauer
Development board for the is300h inverter arrived and it fits:)
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:51 pm
by johu
Beauty
Nice logo, too
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 10:21 pm
by mfox
Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:06 am
Oh it's very much possible :
Naturally this guy decided not to share (probably planning to be the next Elon) so I'll just have to go do it.
That is great , but did you see what voltage does he use ? it is about 650V nominal ..
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:03 pm
by Jack Bauer
650v is not needed. Don't worry I'll prove it:)
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:30 am
by ra_XOr
Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:03 pm
650v is not needed. Don't worry I'll prove it:)
Will using lower voltage affect the power output of the transaxle units?
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:51 am
by Jack Bauer
No just the top speed
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:02 am
by sfk
What voltage are you thinking and what top speed does that translate to?
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:27 pm
by steveknox
I've got a gs450h gearbox in my garage waiting to go into an rx-8. Been building my own inverter but this is a far more realistic proposition. I better start hitting up my local breakers for inverters!
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 5:53 pm
by Jack Bauer
Well the boost converter in the GS450h inverter is playing hard to get. Identified quite a few signals but still not firing the igbts.
Gets rather frustrating when you realise this has been done before but not shared. That said the Toyota stuff continues amaze. It's just been designed to be totally fail safe.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 6:34 pm
by tom91
You have not managed to blow one up yet? That is quite impressive.
Does each component/section look like it could be a standalone part? I would believe they share quite a lot amongst their various models.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 6:46 pm
by Jack Bauer
Can't kill them. They seem to use asics for the igbt drive that simply will not allow anything destructive to happen. They even have their own temp sense so if you let the heatsink hit 90c they ignore the pwm. The prius gen3 inverter is very integrated although the dc dc can run standalone. These older Lexus inverters are modular.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:36 pm
by Jack Bauer
And the booster is boosting!
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:44 pm
by arber333
Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:36 pm
And the booster is boosting!
Nice work JB! Now i can get one for my 406c!
What do you think IGBTs have in term of power?
Can you try to run Aux circuit with 380Vdc too?
tnx
Arber
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:19 pm
by Jack Bauer
Boosting from 20v to 250v. The gs450h inverter does not have a dc dc built in. Its just a dual inverter and boost converter. Rated at 37kw from what I can find online.
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 7:26 pm
by sfk
Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:36 pm
And the booster is boosting!
Nice work!
Re: Lexus Inverter Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:37 pm
by tom91
So much effort to turn on a light bulb. But hats off to you, another one in the bag.
