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

[JasonA]

Here's the unit plugged in and on a fresh 100% charge this morning.. sorry about the large pic size..

Time to get cracking!!

And spark'in :shock:

 

[JasonA]

Picked up the final mounting plate from the WaterJet guy today.. turned out perfect!

Getting ready to cut....

During the cutting process... he can cut up to 7" thick titanium perfectly smooth..

And the final product.. ready for fitting!!

Time to get some longer 8mm bolts for the plate now and get mounting!!!

 

[JasonA]

Got some goodies from KillaWatt!! thanks buddy! time to start that wiring. As night falls, it was time to play abit with the Brusa and Greg's unit (name of unit still unknown??)..

Anyways, wired up everything here on the bench, and hooked up the CAN bus lines to a 15ft piece of CAT5e cable.. and the Greg's unit imediately started to display data on the Brusa screen.

On the PC side, Brusa is now set to CAN mode and some parameters I'm playing with like Greg & I discussed were to turn off PILOT CONTROL (or injection?).. right now the Brusa won't show alot not hooked up to a main battery but it does give the green light on the CAN side!!

Next step, time to get this darn plate mounted and commence HV wiring!!!

ZAAAAPPPPP!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[gbarry42]

Lookin' good!

Hooray for straightforward text info

You know, you could alter history, and choose a name the device yourself. There's a long history of things not being named by the guy who developed it (else we'd all be running "Freax")!

 

[JeremyW]

Congrats Jason. Good news is that I have Monday-Thursday off next week, so lets get this locked down!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Congrats Jason. Good news is that I have Monday-Thursday off next week, so lets get this locked down!

I might be up in LA on Tuesday for an EV thing. Where are you boys planning on doing this?

 

[JeremyW]

Congrats Jason. Good news is that I have Monday-Thursday off next week, so lets get this locked down!

I might be up in LA on Tuesday for an EV thing. Where are you boys planning on doing this?

Probably Jason's house in Sylmar. I'll text him to see what his schedule is.

 

[JasonA]

Hey guys, just got back in.. Jeremy, got your txt but was just a busy weekend... I'm "kinda" busy this week but the afternoon's and evening's are always free usually.

I still need to make the J1772 splice cable that goes to the Brusa.. maybe tomorrow.. if Tony's in the L.A. area (LA's a big place!) then atleast he's close and my 240v is up and running so you both can charge.

Besides that, pretty much everything is about ready to connect up. Tony, call me or PM and let me know what time you're free on Tuesday.

Jason

P.S. I'll work on my input cable tonight.

 

[KillaWhat]

P.S. I'll work on my input cable tonight.

Just a suggestion.
You will find that there is not very much length to play with once you get that J1772 socket assembly out and on the bench.
I staggered my actual connections so they would not overlap, but if I had just done them "all in the same direction", it would have placed my new Metripack connectors beyond the ability of the orange tubing to cover them.

So, I connected the 2 "HOT" wires from the 480 connector close to the pins from the socket, but then moved a couple inches farther up, and connected the pilot and "ground" so the wires came off TOWARDS the J1772, and then they make a tight 180 back the way they need to go.
Kept all the connectors hidden under that orange tubing, and didn't crowd the J1772.

I hope my explanation is clear enough to figure out what I meant.
You will see what I mean when you get in there.
If not, give me a call.

Good luck.
Buddy

 

[JasonA]

I worked on the input cable some last night.. will take pics here in a bit.. Later today I'll pull the Leaf in the garage and start pulling stuff off for final assy including the J1772 cable. One issue I've been pondering is i have short cable glands and my test plate is 3/8" thick. but my friend said "just drill the hole and NPT thread it from the top"

I'm like yeah! no nut on the bottom to fall out! That was easy™ (just in case Staples gets pissed)

Anyways... chugging along slowing on coffee this morning.. Need to get ahold of Victor at Metric and ask a question about the Brusa..

 

[TonyWilliams]

I would probably not use National Pipe Thread!!!

SAE National Fine or National Course (alternately called Universal National Fine/Course).

Or, basic metric mm x thread pitch.

I would put a steel thread insert in the 3/8" AL.

 

[JasonA]

Ok thanks! Maybe I'll just search for a longer Cable Gland today. A .5" or 1/2" or longer would work. I like the idea of NPT units like KillaWatt used but if locktite applied, I'm not worried..

http://www.alliance-express.com/NPT-cable-glands

I can score some locally that are .591" long..

 

[webfootguy]

In the last week, I got a chance to check out the leaf charger upgrade that Victor Tikhonov (metricmind.com) put together.
Using the BRUSA charger (1 to 3 chargers) running straight off 240v with a separate input, he can charge at up to 13.3kW.
He choose to use the space in the rear (where some folks stuff a spare tire, such as in Australia) to mount the charger(s).

Neat stuff.

Thread here:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13480" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Details and pictures here:

http://www.metricmind.com/leaf/main.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Phil H.

 

[JasonA]

Ok, modified the Leaf's input harness for the last 2 days. Just been swamped but now had some free time to knock it out. Thanks to KillaWatt for the 480 & 280 connectors for testing and fitting. I've really never worked with these type of "Delphi"/ Metripack connectors before but now that I've gotten use to them... I REALLY LIKE THEM!!

Anyways, following in KillaWatt's foot steps, this is what I did...

Pull "Astro" in and ready to prep (and yes, that really is a Mitsu Pajero)

Well this looks familiar.. the long road ahead...

Gotta pull the plug!! (on both coal and the pack!)

Ok, to get the front J1772 input harness off, you have to take off the top fascia with the "pop-pins".. these come off easy so you can get to the bottom 3-pin harness in front of the condenser.

So this is what the J1772 looks like ready to be torn apart... as KillaWatt said on pg.15 (he has TONS OF PICS).. you HAVE TO BE VERY careful in dissecting the harness. Nissan went to great lengths to wrap and shield this up so TAKE YOUR TIME AND DON'T CUT ANY WIRES!!!!

Nissan runs the pilot and the outside temp sens on an ext 3pin connector. As seen below..

The 3 main power lines that feed that BIG ASS ORANGE CONNECTOR (the only thing it does) are shielded.. and even the individual cable shields have pins (they are not common) so Nissan can take leakage readings from L1, L2 & N ?? Pretty crazy but this is what it looks like..

To get to the meaty part of it all which is here...

And then finally!! you get to the MOTHER LODE!!! that glorious copper!!

If all is said and done right, with the 480 MetricPack.. 280 MetricPack.. L1, L2, N and Pilot.. it's all put back in place and hidden to look like this...

Youtube vid is here if interested.. nothing big, just fluff..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwKCU45TnXQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[JasonA]

Well unfortunately, our original plan is not going to work without a spacer. The original foam template, and thin plate we cut out at Tony's house was fine but problem is we never had the control board fully mounted back in with the wires all setup. Only when Jeremy was ready to go home that night. There's just not enough clearance, and it's too tight.. So it's spacer time.

Problem is, my waterjet guy is swamped for the next week+ on the new Transformer's movie for the studios... so.. it's freehand fab time!..

I made 2.. one he can use as a scanning template and one as my test.. plus a 3rd that's already pre-drilled (for Jeremy)..in the end.. after about 3 hrs of making them.. a perfect fit..

I did leave abit more meat on the inside, no need to worry. Going to try here in a bit. If not then it'll use the thin plate for fitting..

Can I get this hooked UP ALREADY???

Perfect fit.. abit tight but good. Hood closes fine..

Screws.. and wiring!!

 

[EVDRIVER]

What covers the large hole in the cover? How does this get sealed?

 

[Ingineer]

Also note that by using plastic rather than aluminum, you are compromising the shielding of your inverter. For instance, A stray cell phone signal from a nearby phone could cause big problems, even possibly leading to damage.

I highly recommend you use an aluminum spacer!

-Phil

 

[Stoaty]

Does this mod void your warranty?

 

[JasonA]

Does this mod void your warranty?

I own the vehicle.. I purchased it cash outright, free and clear. Technically, I'm not modifying the vehicle at all except the input harness. AND I've already acquired another STOCK one just incase.

This can be pulled of in 10min FLAT.. that's it. All cables off and it's a stock vehicle.

As for Phil's comment, the Aluminum plate is bolted down to the case by all the screws, so it's technically grounded and sheilded as well. The Brusa is screwed to the aluminum which is bolted down, HENCE grounded as well..

If there are any weird issues.. then I'll have my Waterjet guy cut out one for Jeremy, Killawatt and myself

As for the sealing... it's already done.. this was just a test fit.. KillaWatt and I talked about gasket material, etc..

Done.

 

[KillaWhat]

Also note that by using plastic rather than aluminum, you are compromising the shielding of your inverter. For instance, A stray cell phone signal from a nearby phone could cause big problems, even possibly leading to damage.

I highly recommend you use an aluminum spacer!

-Phil

Oh......man
I really don't want to cut another "gasket" out of aluminum :-(