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

[EVDRIVER]

So how do you cover the large hole? I hope it's not with the charger as that is not a reliable seal. I'm not sure I'm following exactly but I thought you guys were going to make a recess for the circuit board below not a full cut out in the aluminum, other than the wire nut I would not have any penetrations to the inverter space.

 

[TonyWilliams]

So how do you cover the large hole? I hope it's not with the charger as that is not a reliable seal. I'm not sure I'm following exactly but I thought you guys were going to make a recess for the circuit board below not a full cut out in the aluminum, other than the wire nut I would not have any penetrations to the inverter space.

It will have a dedicated, welded cover.

 

[JasonA]

Don't worry about it EVDRIVER.. if anything.... I'll have the whole inverter assy sealed in a bath of 3M Fluorinert :lol:

Something I've very familiar with... and do all the time.

And yes, HV and Fluorinert work perfect together!

Jason

 

[EVDRIVER]

So how do you cover the large hole? I hope it's not with the charger as that is not a reliable seal. I'm not sure I'm following exactly but I thought you guys were going to make a recess for the circuit board below not a full cut out in the aluminum, other than the wire nut I would not have any penetrations to the inverter space.

It will have a dedicated, welded cover.

Thanks.

 

[JasonA]

So it's bolted up.. just about cabled up.. ready to fire up...

but now I have a BBQ and pool party to goto..

Tomorrow looks to be the day..

 

[JasonA]

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

Well, I'll just say sealed up, and talked for almost an hour to my engineer buddy Thomas (who was at the BC2BC rally meet with my wife and I) with my cell phone on speaker mode laying right on top of the inverter cover :lol: and watching the amps go into the battery.. no issues..

Called another friend on my wife's AT&T iPhone... and put it right on top of the plate... NO ISSUES while charging.

So I think all is well. Drove 158 miles today with it..

Perfect.. just got home..

 

[TonyWilliams]

Congrats!!

 

[JasonA]

Congrats!!

Thanks Tony!! Big thanks to you! that "0001" template worked out beautifully as a master for the waterjet guy! Very little mods needed on my end. Just most of the R&D time for final fitting, countersinking, more fitting, etc,etc..

but worth it in the end.. now we can punch these things out really easily. And best part!! 10min flat and its back to a stock looking vehicle again.

RF interference :roll: Maybe I should wear tinfoil on my head as well..

Open source ALL THE WAY!

Next step.. Bigger batteries!! (and yes! they are coming!).. and liquid cooling!

Tesla can't have all the fun

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you guys put together a dual battery LEAF with two 10kW (40 amp) chargers and dual J1772 ports (and toss the 3.3kW), I'll drive that in BC2BC-2014.

It need the CHAdeMO to charge both batteries as one.

For frequent DC charging, battery cooling is a must.

 

[gbarry42]

Good job on the charger! Congrats! Has it operated yet? I don't see connecting cables.

With regard to the RF issue, the cross section of insulator area between two bolts forms a "slot" (or waveguide) which can act as a "window" to RF signals. The characteristic of these openings is that they kill any frequencies below a certain value (depends on actual dimensions), and passes everything above. So, don't hold the phone next to the gasket

Also, if it can get in, it can also get out (emissions), Really, there's not much to worry about, unless you've got microprocessors or high power switching FETs in there :shock:

My guess is you'll be fine especially once the hood's closed. The time to really worry is when you start selling kits to other people. Meanwhile, I'd keep the ideas open for a metal gasket, conductive gasket, metal wrap, or aluminum headgear.

 

[JasonA]

I just may be driving along with you Tony!! In a 2nd Leaf!! I'm currently looking and scouring (in my free time ) for a junker or a wrecked one to start modding..

With a little help from Victor (Metric Mind) and the rest of this wonderful community, the Leaf can be made into a great, long range car!

Gbarry, I did also try my ham radio gear (2m, 440m).. as well as telemetry gear we use on our drones and aerial planes and helis (900m-1.2ghz... 2.4-3.6ghz and of course 5.4ghz)...nothing seemed to wig out the Leaf's controller. However there is lots of RF saturation up front with clock and GPS timing signals as Jeremy will even tell you.

I'm just waiting on my plastic cable glands to arrive (today) and then I can drill the final hole and we're golden..

Next step is to put one one (or 2) on Tony's RAV4

I can't wait!!!

 

[JasonA]

IT'S WORKING GUYS!!!

Just did a nice full charge at about 7.2kw to 80% in under 2.5hrs from where is let the pack sit at!!

I'll let the YouTube video speak for itself..but I just came back from a fast drive and plugged the Leaf in again.. perfect!!

BIG THANKS AGAIN TO Tony for that day at your house!!, all the guys there helping, Greg, gbarry,etc... Jeremy of course!! KillaWatt with us all the way in spirit and for helping with the connectors!! GregH for the continual support for all the CANbus data and cool display stuff!!!

All the guys at the meets that I've recently met like Boomer and the rest here! All the open source and great minds, it's a great crowd to be apart of. That 3d printer connector totally blew me away and get's me thinking about things!!!

And the great part is, NOTHING HERE IS HIDDEN!! we're doing this to better the Leaf and EV community!!

On more thing and thank you and then I'll stop rambling.. Victor from Metric Mind (EV shop in Oregon) recently got axed on here supposedly because he started to post his Leaf pics and Brusa setup's and a "few" individuals didn't like that and possibly felt "threatened :roll:

I'll say that Victor gave me a TREMENDOUS amount of phone time and support for no cost in helping with tuning the Brusa just right with the Leaf. He's a great guy who's willing to help out and I'd like to personally say THANK YOU Victor for your help today!

I know where my next units and cables will be coming from!!

Anyways... next is Jeremy's Leaf.. and then Tony's RAV4 EV!!!

I cannot wait!!!

Jason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5al2mxSIEl0&feature=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[gbarry42]

Oh, that is sweet. You know, watching you guys pull the parts out of your cars, hacking up adapter plates, dropping bolts, wondering if the chargers can be programmed to behave, it's all kind of a wild ride and then suddenly,

IT'S WORKING GUYS!!!

Just did a nice full charge at about 7.2kw to 80% in under 2.5hrs

Everything just changed. It's no longer a theory. It's real.

Appreciate your mistaking my hanging around as "help", but at least I took a few pictures! 91040 is probably one of the guys you were thinking of at Tony's garage party.

 

[JasonA]

Oh, that is sweet. You know, watching you guys pull the parts out of your cars, hacking up adapter plates, dropping bolts, wondering if the chargers can be programmed to behave, it's all kind of a wild ride and then suddenly,

IT'S WORKING GUYS!!!

Just did a nice full charge at about 7.2kw to 80% in under 2.5hrs

Everything just changed. It's no longer a theory. It's real.

Appreciate your mistaking my hanging around as "help", but at least I took a few pictures! 91040 is probably one of the guys you were thinking of at Tony's garage party.

EVERYBODY helped allitle that day!! Yeah.. Phil & EVDRIVER cannot claim they have the "only" units anymore and try to close out anyone this setup :roll:

This is 100% opensource free knowledge!! ..anybody can do this.. the info and CAD/dxf files will be posted here.. somebody need help, just ask us..

Want to run more power, buy multiples and do what Victor is doing!!

I'm already planning a 2nd Brusa!!! HAHAHAHAHA... I have space for a 2nd J1772 upfront.. Ohhh yeah!!

 

[DaveEV]

Well done guys, well done!

 

[JeremyW]

Thank you to the many people who made this possible. There are many good minds at work here.

I am proud to have helped in some way to improve the usefulness and lifetime of these electric vehicles. I believe there will be many more aftermarket improvements to the Leaf in the coming months and years, and I hope their development will be open and free as well.

"Pics or it didn't happen"

Automatic mode, 5A to start off...

Ramped it up a bit... I think later I saw as high as 17.5 or 18A

 

[JasonA]

Yeah..I went to top it off this morning before a long drive and it was peaking at 18.3a

I laying in bed last night thinking... "yeah.. 2 will fit up there nicely" :lol:

But I think Victor's solution is more elegant.. in back for that reason!

 

[mwalsh]

Nice going. Well done.

When someone develops a kit, I'll definitely give it serious consideration.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Hey Jason,

FYI, Phil was never trying to shut anyone out on anything, as you know he has helped people on this forum immensely. So before any FUD is started I can tell you that he is unable to discuss much on third party charging as he is bound by an NDA on this topic as he is doing work with a third party on a related venture that prevents him from speaking on this topic for a specific time period. So now you know why he can't speak on this topic in any specific detail. Some people on this forum that contacted him a while ago already knew this and now you do as well.

FYI, I don't think Phil made any claims about being the only person with an aftermarket charger, not in any bragging sense, not everyone that has one posts on MNL and in no way was Phil trying to prevent anyone from doing this. There are many accomplished EV builders that have added these exact chargers to factory EVs, including LEAFS. Let's not forget not all enthusiasts come to this forum or even post online

 

[EVDRIVER]

I like the general plate design but I am confused about why it is a two piece design. Tony said the small piece is welded on so why is it not one single plate with a recession for the circuit board underneath? Do any of the Brusa mounting screws penetrate the space inside the inverter cavity?

I did not machine my plate because I was in a hurry to get the charger mounted, the entire charger mounting project took about 3 hours not but I would prefer to eventually have a single piece plate design that is machined out from the bottom for clearance.