Nissan Leaf Motor Bench Test Spinning the Motor - Thunderstruck VCU
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Күн бұрынI spin up the Nissan Leaf motor in a bench test using the Thunderstruck Motors VCU. I didn't even have a battery to do it! 300mpg.org
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The Thunderstruck Vehicle Control Unit is a device that replaces the car's electronic components that send appropriate signals to the inverter to properly run the motor. This allows you to connect a different battery, throttle, and gear selector to the motor than what would have been in a Nissan Leaf.
This was my first real testing with this setup. At this point, I was still having an issue with the throttle and needed to change some software settings to get it correct. The motor was also NOT performing regenerative braking, due to the fact that it was powered by a source which could not "re-absorb" the energy. (It was only a one-way path from AC to DC with the rectifier.)
The next video covers software adjustments and regenerative braking.
00:00 Intro
1:55 Liquid Cooling Overview
3:39 Close up look at wiring to VCU
6:13 Wiring connections on back of Inverter - CAN wires, etc.
9:14 Battery Pack voltage too low!
10:41 Can I run it from AC instead? Bridge Rectifier.
13:09 Spinning the motor for the first time
14:49 Spinning a Clutch Disc
15:25 Spinning the Original Leaf Gearbox input shaft
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Components used in this video:
Thunderstruck VCU: www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dili...
VCU Manual: www.thunderstruck-ev.com/image...
Bosch Water Pump: amzn.to/2Un6Br6
Bench power supply: amzn.to/2Iwof9l
3/4 radiator hose: amzn.to/2UobgJi
1995 Geo Tracker Clutch: amzn.to/2K3awHz
Hall effect scooter throttle: amzn.to/3eY0lzh
Bridge Rectifier: amzn.to/3koXVLd
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@Tech_1587 3 жыл бұрын
Ben, good simple bench test! There are many things this motor could be used for.
@patricksellhorn6518 3 жыл бұрын
waoo.. nicebench test.. i like it!
@turbo2ltr 3 жыл бұрын
Nice work. Brave to use unfiltered rectified AC. I had Leaf VIN 155 back in 2011 and was probably the first that decoded most of the CAN messages. There is a CAN Messages spreadsheet out there that was based off my original spreadsheet I shared with the community. To this day I still get access requests on my original google doc..
@SirTragain 3 жыл бұрын
Glad to see an update on your project Ben.
@philippaoo 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben, Thanks for that video again. I am watching your channel once in a while and that is so relaxing and informative - in contrast to millions of useless videos on YT. Please Go on for very very long! :)
@TheAnachronist Жыл бұрын
I love that you were able to cobble together DC power like you did with just a rectifier and 240VAC with no battery or even a capacitor. This is awesome.
@peteowens3033 10 ай бұрын
Great! i bought a 2019 LEAF a few months ago. Nice to see what is actually going on behind the scenes with it.
@samnile2 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben Very clear explained as usual Thanks
@SHADOW-bg4mm 3 жыл бұрын
Great video! Was wondering about this motor, i hear it all the time
@Good-Enuff-Garage 2 жыл бұрын
excellent video, simple no thrills but very effective, thank you so much for taking the time to learn us
@AndreR241 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this nice presentation. I always find it a bit cute how much you Americans enjoy having a 220 V outlet. Here in Europe you have three-phase AC with 400 V in every apartment or house (3 x 230 V, 120° phase shifted, usually with at least 64 A per phase).
@ChimeraActual 3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I'm jelious. We do have 240 to our houses, but it's "1" phase. Would have cost me ~$20,000 to get three phase. Never mind China is building good cheap VFD's.
@jjsantala 3 жыл бұрын
Nice video series!
@mathewndebele1960 3 жыл бұрын
Yay, the leaf motor is here.
@Pervypriest 3 жыл бұрын
Don't leaf me
@helianthropy 3 жыл бұрын
Love the little shield bug (?) on the motor toward the end. :)
@ericnelson4540 3 жыл бұрын
He's just there making sure all safety procedures are being followed.
@kenboo4 3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely fascinating !!
@aomanchutube 3 жыл бұрын
Oh this was good Ben!
@dorhocyn3 3 жыл бұрын
Dr. Frankenstein , you’re monster is alive.
@fredflintstone1428 2 жыл бұрын
Brilliant Benjamin.
@-allround- 3 жыл бұрын
Love that wooden heatsink on the bridge rectifier !
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Ha, yeah, well I figured I'd be drawing low current and wood is non-conductive. I mostly wanted to drive a screw through it to keep it from tipping over!
@christopherbrand5360 3 жыл бұрын
If only you said: “FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER!!!” like Mehdi of ElectroBoom :) This is great stuff! I can’t wait to see the tractor run with that motor. So much more power/torque than the original engine.
@fredflintstone1428 9 ай бұрын
Hey Benjamin, I've just watched this video again. It's awesome to see the engineering contained within the Leaf. I bought a used Leaf (one of the first Japanese models 2011) which has been imported to the UK and the car is amazing. My interest in Leaf's is in putting one in a boat. The electric motor conversions that many boat owners install, have really expensive outboards that are tiny compared to the Leaf's. Also the number of spare parts from used Leaf's mean that having spares available is not cost prohibitive. The Thunderstruck kit is awesome.
@TreDeuce-qw3kv 6 ай бұрын
Replacing the Diesel auxiliary in my sailboat is also what I would like to do besides putting one in my Miata. 20-years ago we electrified a new 24-ft river launch with off the shelf parts. It was a learning curve and several expensive parts were lost before we managed to get it right. It has been cruising the river for 20-years now with only a battery pack upgrade since.
@chanakamapatuna1456 2 жыл бұрын
Wow....Great work & explanation Sir...!
@Hi_Its_Alice 2 ай бұрын
I am looking for a Leaf too. Great project demo :) Keep up the good work!
@markeh1971 Ай бұрын
Hi, I like the idea of reusing an old leaf, be it an e+ offering all the parts needed. Indeed there are companies in the Uk now offering this conversion for Land Rovers series I, II, III and defenders using late 40 kWh Leafs as the donors. It’s amazing how little is needed to get it going. Would be good if you let people know how you got on. Take care M.
@LouwrensvanderMerwe 3 жыл бұрын
That's cool!! Thanks for sharing.
@jpl9148 3 жыл бұрын
Time to take a look to the open inverter project
@motorv8N 5 ай бұрын
Just discovered your channel. I have a ‘49 Jeep that would be fun to convert to electric one day. For now I’m really enjoying just understanding what the major components on an EV are, what they look like disassembled and how they work. (I also have a MiniCooper EV with an incomprehensible engine bay full of EV goodness. Now I can begin to see what it all is) thanks again!
@KiwiEVadventures 3 жыл бұрын
What a great video. I'm seriously considering using a Leaf drivetrain in my conversion.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
You gotta get that car home first!
@kelanbarr9646 3 жыл бұрын
Leaf motors are great if you can get the batteries for a high voltage pack. Plenty of other motors+controllers to buy otherwise.
@coolfrost6 3 жыл бұрын
Impressive that the inverter accepted that kind of "Dirty DC" voltage, But a good way to illustrate the opperation. Maybe it would be a idea to add a Motor Start Capacitor, just to smoothen out the voltage a bit. But then again it was just for testing and it clearly worked.
@kschleic9053 3 жыл бұрын
The inverter has a large DC bus capacitor built in for soaking up transients, it is probably doing a fine job of smoothing out the input voltage.
@PedroDomingos 3 жыл бұрын
My thought was exactly the same! I did know the inverter had input capacitors to average that rectified AC current
@Tore_Lund 3 жыл бұрын
That bas a Range extenderodes well for people wanting to run a generator as a Range extender, bypassing the onboard Charger completely!
@franciscoshi1968 3 жыл бұрын
The bus capacitor is very small. You really need to put a bigger capacitor. Another problem is there is nowhere for any regenerated energy to go. So if You Try to use the motor to slow down the bus voltage will go up and you could blow the inverter up.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
The Thunderstruck VCU allows you to set a maximum regen voltage. That protects against overcharging the batteries from regenerative braking.
@lucifer6801 3 жыл бұрын
Very educational
@joeabad5908 Жыл бұрын
Thank you Ben.. You've been an insporation with your GeoMetro EV video. I plan to convert a Suzuki mini pickup to an EV. Ive got all the components from China.
@gomezelectro466 3 жыл бұрын
MUY BUENA LA EXPLICACION GRACIAS
@light12a 3 жыл бұрын
Ben, do you recommend keeping the OEM charger for an EV conversion? If not, is there a better charger you recommend? Thank you so much for posting this! I think my dream of an electric Porsche speedster could be made from the Leaf EV components plus the drivetrain, brake, suspension, etc.. and a Thunderstruck. What a time we live in!
@carlosfranchi5043 2 жыл бұрын
Superb
@pierrec1590 25 күн бұрын
For those of us who do NOT have a 240Vac outlet in our garage, you can configure that bridge as a voltage doubler with the addition of a couple capacitors.
@offgridwanabe 3 жыл бұрын
Brilliant
@Roadstercycle 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben, Do you think the rectifier setup would work the same with a Tesla setup for testing? I have a Tesla motor setup ready to go I just have not found the batteries yet.
@osimmac 3 жыл бұрын
I really wanna use this in the stock leaf to get more direct control of the motor
@Canadaebay 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben, great Chanel, would be interesting if you have to a video of the inverter and charger and how they hook up to a battery and house power charging
@stuartmills2209 Жыл бұрын
Brilliant, well done Sir, can the Nissan ecu be used instead or is it complicated with alarms and other stuff? Thank you
@operator8014 3 жыл бұрын
Gotta build a scooter with that motor now. Would be freaking SICK!
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Well, it's over 100HP. The challenge with a scooter would be to fit a battery pack which is high enough voltage. My Vectrix electric super-scooter runs an AC motor and fits 18 Nissan Leaf cell modules right down the middle for a little less than 150V when charged. Search VECTRIX on this youtube channel for more on that project.
@rupertprice5508 3 жыл бұрын
I must be a bit stupid but full wave rectification of 240 Ac = over 300V dc peak . Thunderstruck vcu obviously has no problems at that voltage . Thanks for video . Prompted me to find out a bit more.
@rillip3 3 жыл бұрын
The wagon wheel effect makes it pretty impossible to tell in the video which way is which, given how fast it ramps up under 0 load. I'll take your word for it that it went an opposite way!
@billbitner9142 3 жыл бұрын
Nice! The minimum voltage on the newer (2013-2017?) inverters is 240 volts. I just saw your next video, where you spun the motor using a lower voltage. Mine wouldn't do that, so my guess is there is a software/firmware difference between years. The nissan leaf manuals states the 240 volt low voltage error in one of their diagnostic codes. This means 72, 3.6 volts cells will run this motor, you may want the original 96. For those curious, it is possible to use an arduino or raspberry pi with a CAN module to talk with these motors.
@billbitner9142 3 жыл бұрын
The motor will also fault if over 400 volts is applied, or you regen too hard and the power supply can't absorb/use the power.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Hey Bill, do you have a link to a project or video showing somebody connecting to it over CAN with an Arduino or Pi? I think we'd all love to learn more about it. Also, when you say the motor will fault over 400V, do you mean the motor, the inverter, a Thunderstruck VCU, or some other original component in a Leaf? I am curious because depending on WHICH component it is, that may still mean that the MOTOR or INVERTER will run just fine over 400VDC.
@billbitner9142 3 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX bbitnerblogs.com/e-miata for seeing the video of me running it via a raspberry pi. www.bbitnerblogs.com/e-miata/archives/04-2020 The high voltage fault is in the inverter, so the stock inverter won't run over 400 volts unless you install openinverter /EVBMW vcu. The bus capacitors are rated for 600 volts, so probably not too much higher than 400 volts,.. ;)
@grillsandaxlegrease3578 Жыл бұрын
Love this material! I'm considering a Regenerative braking set-up on a running 62 Pontiac Tempest where the transmission is in the back fed by the engine speed rope drive. Perhaps a 2nd alternator/generator can add to HP keeping up with engine speed.. Just brainstorming now but is it possible to have a helper motor so to speak to the main gasoline block perhaps to offset the takeoff which is where you waste the most gas.
@mbrenengen 17 күн бұрын
So - EV novice here looking to build an electric houseboat. Rather than converting AC to DC so the inverter can just change it back to AC, is there any way to skip that step? My battery bank at 48vdc will invert to 240v. Is it the 3-phase-ness that requires the OEM inverter?
@peterbradley4916 3 жыл бұрын
Great info! This motor maybe suitable for my range rover P38 conversion (which is quite a heavy lump). I was going to fit dual Hyper 9's, but, they won't fit. This Leaf motor would be a lot cheaper.
@kschleic9053 3 жыл бұрын
I love the bridge rectifier heatsinked to a block of flammable wood:)
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
😄Ha! I was more interested in keeping the bridge rectifier from tipping over with all the wires sticking out of it! I figured a screw into a piece of wood fixed that!
@Roadstercycle 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Benjamin. Look in the VCU code on a computer, you should see where they set the minimum voltage. You should be able to lower the minimum voltage for testing. That's what we do with the Damien McGuire setup for bench testing the Tesla motors on the bench. Just a thought. Great video by the way.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
It doesn't appear that the Thunderstruck VCU has any settings in the software for a Minimum Voltage. The only references to voltage at all in the manual are in regards to precharging and regenerative braking.
@Roadstercycle 3 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX It was worth a shot to see anyway.
@cowboy4309 10 ай бұрын
Can’t wait till the flux capacitor comes out!
@JV-fu8br 3 жыл бұрын
the cucaracha living in the motor finally came out at 15:05
@Angelum_Band 2 жыл бұрын
Hi I wonder if you can give me some feedback regarding the EVTV GEVCU compared to the Thunderstruck version. I have a UQM Powerphase 145 that came paired with a DD45 controller that I am trying to spin. I will make a video of the process if I get to spin.
@2stroketurbo Жыл бұрын
nice
@aviator5177 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben, would you recommend any charger for this system to charge the batteries.?
@TheTimSargent 2 жыл бұрын
Hey there! Love your vids… I’m a systems technologist for an electric power train startup company…. Was just curious… how did you acquire the PID’s for the motor controller and the BMS for all of this stuff to communicate on the CANbus?
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
All the magic of communications was taken care of by the Thunderstruck VCU. www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html
@neliosamch3195 3 жыл бұрын
Ben, Can you connect in serie the motorcycle batteries for the 300 volts? This is very interesting for those who are waiting for a cheaper alternative to convert their diesel engine sailboat to an electric drive motor. My GTIL are working very good. The limiters do not let the inverter export excess of power, everything goes into 16S 280ah for night time and the bill is coming down a lot.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
The batteries in my motorcycle already ARE hooked up in series! In the next video, I add some more to get to an appropriate voltage to power the Leaf inverter.
@countteddy 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben , is the thunderstruck ECU a generic controller ?, ive got some ex IMIEV/PHEV meiden motors and wonder if that would run those ?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
The VCU with run Nissan Leaf, UQM or Coda Motors.
@FrankGraffagnino 2 жыл бұрын
where do you hook up the wires for the "motor temperature sensor"? My EM57 motor didn't come with the black wire harness unfortunately so I will need to make those connections manually :( any ideas? I'm not even sure where that sensor is located.
@akheradmandi 2 жыл бұрын
Hey Mr Nelson, Your videos are great. I have a couple questions on this set-up. Specifically in reference to rpm and as a hybrid with an ice. Anyway to take a few minutes of your time for correspondence? Ill gladly donate to the cause. Thanks!
@dboekel 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Benjamin, have you noticed difference between fwd and rev? I'm asking this because I want to know if this setup works for a boat (where reverse needs the same power / rpm as forward)
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Looks like power is the same in both directions.
@dboekel 3 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX Thanks!
@fredflintstone1428 2 жыл бұрын
If I used the original Nissan Leaf battery along with the inverter and motor in a boat application, could I actually put charge in via the car charger while it was running? I could provide the Leaf's battery with charge from a 10kW solar panel deck via an inverter provides 240V AC (to simulate the car being plugged in at home).
@countteddy Жыл бұрын
i know ive asked before Ben,will the thunderstruck vcu run a gen 3 prius inverter ? (meiden motor )
@high1voltage1rules 3 жыл бұрын
GREAT VIDEO BUDDY” “BUT” You definitely need to make your wires safe! Those croc connectors you have on you bridge rectifier are only rated each at best 3Amps. And when you have full spun up this AC motor there will be a very big rush of current easy pulling 8kw or more! and your bridge rectifier will be getting warm or hot ( needs a heat sink! For constant use!)and to be Honest the dc from the Ac will be noisy and could do with smoothing! Using capacitors and a couple of inductors. There will be a lot of inductance noise through your setup as you have thin wires and investors don’t like this! If you had this going through an OSCILLOSCOPE you would see the noise coming through on the graph! This setup you have could damage your controller for the circuit. Your setup works well. But my friend you seriously need to use the correct wires and connectors being all the same!😉👍 Best of luck! Please be safe. Great video 👍👍👍👍👍THUMBS UP👍👍👍👍👍
@blackterminal 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben what is the minimum voltage this will inverter will work on?
@jappietoutou 2 жыл бұрын
How many version of motors are there ? which years should I be looking for a easy conversion ? ? Thank you
@mdfarizal 3 жыл бұрын
What is the exact DC output form the bridge rectifier? 240v ac with 60-70% efficiency it will about 140 to 170 VDC. If you have multimeter that can handle this DC range.
@ShawnGuertin 3 жыл бұрын
That can be found with maths: 240VAC*√2=339.41VDC - (0.7V*2) for the diodes = approx 338VDC pulsed ON/OFF 120 times per seconds.
@marooned-5 3 ай бұрын
Hello Benjamin! Nice work. it really helped me with my budget ev plans and a simpler and less complexed solution as compared to open source and resolve ev solutions. Could you please tell me it this could work with nissan e power inverter as well? actually i cant find leaf parts here in Pakistan as leaf has just got here but note e power are in significant number and the parts are coming in too. cant find much of the content on e power inverters but thought i should ask you if you ever came across any of those too. Thank you in advance.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 ай бұрын
Sorry, I am not familiar with e-power inverters.
@independenthqusa4170 3 жыл бұрын
Nice Ben thanks for sharing. What is a fair price fot the motor setup?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Prices vary a bit, but I've found just the motor by itself for $500. About the same price for the transmission. www.car-part.com/ is always a good place to go for junk yard searches.
@poppysprojects6725 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben , new subscriber, love your videos, I dont see much on social media about using the charger from the Leaf. Doing a marine conversion and would like to use the complete Leaf system ( batteries, motor, inverter, and charger. Any Thoughts, thanks Tim.
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a great project! I do NOT have any experience using the Leaf charger, so I don't have any advice on that. I DO know a guy who gutted a Leaf, and used the ENTIRE motor/charger/battery, etc. etc. in a cool-looking old kit car. It seemed to work well for him, but he did get frustrated at some points because of the wiring. If you want to gut an entire Leaf, make sure to properly label EVERY wire connector so that you can more easily reuse all the parts in another project.
@SheepShearerMike 3 жыл бұрын
Do to see you are now mentally in a place you can carry on with this project Ben. Have you solved how to drive the PTO? I would think you could use the standard gearbox with double clutch, most of the time leave it in gear then use the forward and reverse switch so you don't need to clutch. Then if you do need the PTO, you will have to use the clutch as before. Also, are you going for the electric hydraulic pump?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Driving the hydraulic pump is still a bit of a puzzle. If the Leaf motor had a tail-shaft, I'd just attach the stock pump there. Electric pumps draw a lot of current, and I'd need a really good-sized DC/DC converter to run that. At this point, the easiest route to go would be to use a PTO-powered hydraulic pump. I think I'm just going to get all the drive system worked out first, and THEN worry about the hydraulics.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
I intend to re-use the original tractor transmission with the double-clutch.
@DJSekuHusky 10 ай бұрын
TIL the EM57 has remarkably similar output power to the KA24DE found in the Xterra and Frontier/ The revised EM does 148HP and 240Lb/Ft, whereas the KA does 148HP and 156Lb/Ft. The question now becomes does the added mass of batteries make it drive worse, or does the higher torque value still make it quicker?
@victorpathen2607 2 жыл бұрын
Great stuff Thinking in terms of 27’sailboat Sources to get this engine ? Thunderstruck ? Salvage ?
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
There's plenty of these motors available through salvage yards. You'll need some way to control the motor, which can be the Thunderstruck VCU.
@videolaudia 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben, nice vid. we wanna swap it in an citroen DS. does the motor turn in both directions in same force + rev?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, it spins either direction just fine. If you needed to swap which was "Forwards" vs "Reverse", that should be no problem.
@tstlavceoceo7066 2 жыл бұрын
I have a 2wheel drive pathfinder and thinking of incorporation a 4wd front diff and driveshaft. Do you think this hybrid setup could work with reasonable benefits.
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
A transfer case would certainly be one way to add an electric motor into a gas vehicle. "Reasonable benefits" depends exactly on what you expect. Seems like a lot of work if you are just going to get a little better fuel economy. On the other hand, if it's a plug-in hybrid, and you can drive the vehicle completely on electric for some reasonable distance, that sounds pretty good. I think that the most efficient way to build a DIY Hybrid would probably be to have a transverse-mount dedicated gas engine directly on one axle, and a dedicated EV system driving the other axle.
@vitaliyyavtukhovskyi5947 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Ben. Why is the motor spinning at a constant speed even after the throttle returns to 0 position?? I did not expect that one... And then to stop the motor you have to turn off the power supply? Again, why doesn't it just come to a stop when throttle is released? Thanks in advance!
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Hi Vitaliy, I still needed to fine tune the throttle settings in the software.
@alibro7512 3 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX The motor needs a load to pull the speed back down. I had the same issue with my Gen1 leaf motor with an EVBMW VCM. I had to bolt on the Leaf Transmission to get it to work correctly and even then it only just slowed down. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/abORi6l7qd2xhn0.html
@floridacoder Жыл бұрын
How much did you spend at the salvage yard? For the ECU?
@jrcarr5507 3 жыл бұрын
Will that little black box work with Fisker Karma inverter and motors?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Specs are listed right on Thunderstruck's page: www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html This is good for Leaf, UQM, and Coda motors.
@jaroslavstava3704 3 жыл бұрын
The AC connection seems dodgy to me. I'd consider adding grounding to the motor and perhaps put an RCD + fuse/breaker in there.
@ChimeraActual 3 жыл бұрын
First to admit I know little about EV motors, still, I have some questions. You said it's a three phase motor. Is it a permanent magnet three phase induction motor? If so why can't you run it off a VFD? Seems simpler than turning 2 ph into DC, then back to 3 ph as long as it's not running around on the street. How many poles? Hp? Frequency range? AC Voltage? RPM? Why am I'm asking? I wonder if I can adapt it to my lathe or Bridgeport. That would be fun!
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
It is a permanent magnet AC motor and the inverter here IS a Variable Frequency Drive! I simply ran this off of AC, because I didn't have a high enough voltage battery pack at the time that I shot this video. I got the idea because a friend of mine has plenty of experience with industrial motor controllers. A number of years back, he converted a Dodge Neon to electric, using off-the-shelf industrial parts. The variable frequency drive that he used for the car could run off AC or DC. He essentially just mounted it in the car and ran it off batteries. kzfaq.info/sun/PL47D94695998158F6
@racingfortheson 3 жыл бұрын
How many amps would that motor pull when running the full car down the road?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Depends how hard the car is working. The motor will pull much higher current accelerating or going up a big hill than it will going downhill with the wind at your back. Looks like the Leaf e+ has a peak power of about 100kW. At 360V, that's around 280 amps. Just typical driving is going to be much lower than that.
@timeaftertime3563 2 жыл бұрын
Does anyone know if this also works on a Ford Focus motor? I can buy a complete Focus with a busted TCM.
@tonyblackie3277 3 жыл бұрын
Hi, saw someone try and 156v was minimum to spin Leaf motor. Not sure of amps etc. Someone tried 150v - no go - just a few more and away :)
@rescuecow90 2 жыл бұрын
What rpm does the motor max at?
@ShawnGuertin 3 жыл бұрын
So you get approx 338V pulsed DC (ON/OFF 120 times per sec) out of that rectifier, dangerous to play with (especially out of a 50A plug) but pretty close to the expected battery voltage. Just add smoothing capacitors if you draw more amps and the inverter gets unhappy with the pulsed input.
@Tore_Lund 3 жыл бұрын
The inverter has plenty of caps on its input to handle pwming.
@franciscoshi1968 3 жыл бұрын
@@Tore_Lund the capacitor in the inverter is too small for filtering the 120hz from the mains. The bus capacitor is around 1000uf. You need at least 20000uf and an inductor.
@Tore_Lund 3 жыл бұрын
@@franciscoshi1968 I don't have intricate knowledge of the hardware, so I accept your statement. But it opens the possibility of using a 2-3kW generator as range extender, where the battery will do the smoothing and you can bypass the onboard charger entirely.
@franciscoshi1968 3 жыл бұрын
@@Tore_Lund you can but it will not be very effecient. The problem is that a bridge rectifier will only conduct when the input voltage is higher than the battery voltage. So that means say your battery is 300v. So when the sine wave from your inverter is below 300v no current flows when it goes above 300v then current flows into the battery but that is only for a very short percentage if the input wave. So if you have a generator you will find the voltage will sag and you will only get a fraction of the power capacity of the generator. To fix this you need to either put a very large inductor between the bridge rectifier output and the battery or you need to put a power factor corrected front end (ie a charger)
@2point2 2 жыл бұрын
Did you ground the 12volt (-) to the case of the inverter\motor?
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
I'd have to double-check the instructions that came with the Thunderstruck VCU. There's a number of wires on the harness, but most of them go to either 12V+ or 12V-ground, so I'm pretty sure one of the wires on there somewhere is just straight to the frame/body/casting of the motor and connected equipment.
@larsandersen5505 3 жыл бұрын
It’s not a bridge rectifier it’s a FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER 😉
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Even better!
@ShawnGuertin 3 жыл бұрын
AVE would even call this a rectum-fryer
@AndreR241 3 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX You don't know the channel @ElectroBOOM, right?
@nikoscholtz8397 2 жыл бұрын
So in an EV swap, would your on/off switch be your key ignition?
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
Yes.
@The4thLabo 3 жыл бұрын
hi Ben! Thank you for very cool video. I have been looking for How to work Leaf motor , so it was very helpful. Btw, although I have latest gen LEAF motor , Thunder Struck Motors's VCU wouldn't work with latest gen. If you know a VCU for latest gen LEAF, then Please tell me the store that handles the product.
@showme360 3 жыл бұрын
So this could be turn into a generator driven by water or wind?
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, when mechanically driving the shaft, this becomes a 3-phase AC generator, which is then converted to DC to charge the battery.
@star01248 Жыл бұрын
Ben just found your videos, And it’s leading me to follow a project I’m interested in. Can these motors be connected to a mercruser I/O to replace a 5.7L engine. With the current cost of gasoline the boat is to expensive to run ! At ~ 10 gallons per hour . Please provide a comment
@BenjaminNelsonX Жыл бұрын
I'm not a boat guy, but YES, you certainly could replace a boat gas engine with an electric motor and batteries. I think the main challenge would just be to figure out what your rate of power would be and to have a battery capacity that matches what you would want for a run time.
@paulmoretto1224 3 жыл бұрын
So how do you think the leaf motor + VCU compares to commercial offerings like the hyper9/warp9 type motors. More specifically, those in the DIY community looking to do EV swaps.
@BenjaminNelsonX 3 жыл бұрын
I couldn't really say, as I haven't used a Warp9. I guess a person would simply have to compare the specs on what they are looking for. One nice thing about the Leaf is that a whole Motor/Inverter/Gearbox can be had very inexpensively from a salvage yard. The Leaf setup is a good one, but in some ways it's LESS DIY friendly. For example, There are already plenty of bell housing adapters available for more standard motors like a Warp 9. Also, the shaft is splined, instead of straight with a keyway, so that's one more step for creating an adapter or coupler. Probably the best way of reusing the Leaf setup with MINIMAL custom fabrication is to keep it with the original gearbox, and install the whole thing in the back of a rear-wheel drive car. Then just use custom half-shafts from the stock Leaf gearbox to the wheels.
@kschleic9053 3 жыл бұрын
A leaf motor+controller is going to be significantly less expensive, and will have more power than a hyper9/warp9 setup. However, to get that power a leaf motor needs a significantly higher voltage then the hyper9/warp9 operate at, meaning the minimum pack size is larger. If I had to guess, the overall cost will be similar, but with a leaf setup more of your $ will be going towards batteries (range).
@paulmoretto1224 3 жыл бұрын
@@kschleic9053 I am guessing the hyper9/warp9 is going to be more diy friendly as well.
@johnqualmann 2 жыл бұрын
From about 14:50 for the next minute or so, I can see that you have a little helper (seen near the upper left hand corner of the screen) keeping a close eye on things.
@jhonkhan8153 Жыл бұрын
Unbelievable, a simple ebike throttle switch and few homemade circuit been used to power 🔋 the whole Nissan leaf motor , thanks for your Educational content 👍, for the whole army of novice
@kanemcvicar1108 4 ай бұрын
It would be 3 phase AC power cinnecting to rhe motor , dc input into the inverter
@TheAnthonyBrandi 2 ай бұрын
he actually swollowed that water too. dang
@_a.z 3 жыл бұрын
No reservoir capacitor on the DC? Rough DC ain't good! I love the whole bodge though! Great work!
@power-max 3 жыл бұрын
The addition of a precharge resistor suggests the motor controller already has a large bank of capacitors in it, as-is typical with such units.
@_a.z 3 жыл бұрын
@@power-max Yep and there's no significant load.
@surplusstock8778 2 жыл бұрын
i want to use two of these on a yacht conversion.only looking to cruise at 7 knots.Any thoughts?
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
I think it would be a GREAT motor for a boat! On a vessel with sail AND motor, it could also be used to regeneratively charge the battery via the propeller while under sail!
@surplusstock8778 2 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX The boat isnt equipped with sails but as its 72ft it has a large surface area for solar.I bought the boat without engines for a giveaway price.I wanted to retrofit my boat similar to the new silent 60.They use 2*50kw motors,201kw battery pack and 15Kwp of solar.At 7 knots in sunny conditions it will run off solar alone with a diesel generator for backup in bad weather.
@choicestuff6910 2 жыл бұрын
How well you think a leaf motor will run in a small boat? . Looking to convert current petrol motor.
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
It's probably OVERKILL! The challenge would be that the Leaf motor needs a relatively high voltage battery pack. That would be challenging in terms of the space and weight it would take. A 48V system would probably be a better choice. I know that people have taken outboard motors and replaced the engine on them with compact electric motors like the Briggs & Statton Etek with good success.
@choicestuff6910 2 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonX thanks Ben
@choicestuff6910 2 жыл бұрын
@@BenjaminNelsonXthanks took a look at the b&s looks a bit small. The boat currently has a 1600cc Ford engine that via a clutch is attached directly to the drives haft.
@BenjaminNelsonX 2 жыл бұрын
@@choicestuff6910 Maybe a "small boat" is different in your your mind vs mine! The Nissan Leaf electric motor is rated at over 100HP. Not sure what the rating on your 1.6L engine is, but I'm sure it's less than that when you compare peak vs continuous operation. Another interesting idea.... Since a motor like this one can also act as a generator, if it were the motor on a sailboat, it could also act as a generator while the boat is under sail!
@portugal1969 8 ай бұрын
Do you think it could be run on a generator
@thetalkingboard 3 жыл бұрын
Can I use this motor in my Battle Bot?
@ianmcmahon8589 3 жыл бұрын
One team tried in 2016. They are realistically too heavy unless you get a walker bonus.
@jimchance5006 3 жыл бұрын
About how much torque is this thing capable of in a car?
@neliosamch3195 3 жыл бұрын
80 kW (107 hp) and 280 N⋅m (207 ft⋅lb)
@jimchance5006 3 жыл бұрын
@@neliosamch3195 that number is through the stock 8:1 gearbox correct? Is that the number at the "crank" of the motor, or at the wheels? I'm planning on coupling one of these to my stock gearbox whose transaxle x first gear is 12:1. I'm wondering about how fast that will be. (car weighs 2200 lbs with stock engine)
@neliosamch3195 3 жыл бұрын
@@jimchance5006 yes, at the gearbox. At the wheels is variable depending of sizes and wears of the tires and transaxle ratios. The term refers to the gears in the truck's differential, which is a mechanical device that links the rear axle to the driveshaft and then the engine. Technically, the number should be expressed as a ratio, such as 3.55:1, But that gear ratio would most commonly be referred to as "3.55" or simply "three fifty-five." A numerically higher axle ratio provides a mechanical advantage to send more of the engine's available torque to the tires.
@selrahc2061 10 ай бұрын
The cost if those motor is certainly inexpensive. I would have to use two through a combiner for my application though that gearbox might work as a combiner.
@BenjaminNelsonX 10 ай бұрын
What kind of a project might you use Leaf motors for?
Frank Graffagnino
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