I'm trying to put a
Nissan Leaf drivetrain into a classic Mini. Getting the complete Leaf components working on a bench has been
somewhat frustrating, and is ultimately not the ideal solution—it's a cost-saving measure vs buying aftermarket components.
I'm at the point where I'm ready to shell out more for BMS, charging, and DC-DC conversion, but it seems like a shame to spend another $3k on components that are (arguably) inferior just because I can't communicate with the components I already have.
I'm a software engineer by trade, so I was thinking about building a CAN controller for these components, but I've never messed with an Arduino, the CAN protocol, or anything specific to an automobile's proprietary communications protocol before. It seems like something that would already have been done by someone more knowledgeable, but maybe this hobby is still a niche of niches.
Before I go back through 8 years of this thread, is there a summation somewhere? I've read that the Nissan Leaf CAN bus messages have all been decoded, but I can't find any central location for information that might help me actually control these components...
Edit: If anyone stumbles on this thread from the Greater Internet, a summation is that the first 40 pages talk about decoding and general CAN interface stuff, and after that gets into controlling the charger and motor a bit. Lots of info, but no I-can-use-this-component breakthroughs yet...This forum seems like a good place to search for more information:
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewforum.php?f=44
Thread on "active" CAN bus stuff (getting info from the BMS/LBC):
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=11676
There is also a pretty good forum for general EV conversions here: https://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/
Here's a spreadsheet of all the decoded Leaf CAN messages: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EHa4R85BttuY4JZ-EnssH4YZddpsDVu6rUFm0P7ouwg/
Here's a thread that ends with some success in controlling the inverter: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=25027
More inverter details from that thread: http://productions.8dromeda.net/c55-leaf-inverter-protocol.html
Jimma Hanna's video on getting the DC-DC converter working: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMhcHkOg-Mk