EV conversion with Lexus_GS450H_gearbox_inverter + Damien's board

[Rich Parker]

Hi all,

I am a new to the forum. Thanks for the add.

Having read the closely related threads, I am starting this thread purely on the connection of Damien's board, GS450H transmission, inverter and any given car. I will be asking questions a step by step. I apologize if these have been clarified somewhere. Many thanks in advance for your input.

Now my questions are about the board connection - in particular on Plug A pinout.

The link to the pinout of Damien's board is https://github.com/damienmaguire/Lexus- ... Pinout.pdf

Plug A pinout:

1 - Oil pump temp + (does it refer to the oil pump on the side of the gearbox?)
2 - Oil pump temp - (does the gearbox oil pump has two (+,-) wires to be connected to the board?)
3 - Trans pump temp + (which pump is it?)
4 - Trans pump temp - (which pump is it?)
5 - MG1 temp + (+ wire from MG1 connected directly here?)
6 - MG1 temp - (- wire from MG1 connected directly here?)
7 - MG2 temp + (+ wire from MG2 connected directly here?)
8 - MG2 temp - (- wire from MG2 connected directly here?)
9 - Trans PB1 (what is it?)
10 - Trans PB2 (what is it?)
11 - Trans PB3 (what is it?)
12 - Trans SP (what is it?)
13 - Trans SL1- (what is it?)
14 - Trans SL2- (what is it?)
15 - Oil pump relay (low side switch) (is it a relay between the board and oil pump on the gearbox?)
16 - Oil pump PWM (does it activated when the low side switch on the relay closes?)
17 - 12V out (what is it used for?)
18 - 5V out (what is it used for?)
19 - Ground
20 - Ground

[slow67]

Hi all,

I am a new to the forum. Thanks for the add.

Having read the closely related threads, I am starting this thread purely on the connection of Damien's board, GS450H transmission, inverter and any given car. I will be asking questions a step by step. I apologize if these have been clarified somewhere. Many thanks in advance for your input.

Now my questions are about the board connection - in particular on Plug A pinout.

The link to the pinout of Damien's board is https://github.com/damienmaguire/Lexus- ... Pinout.pdf

Plug A pinout:

1 - Oil pump temp + (does it refer to the oil pump on the side of the gearbox?)
2 - Oil pump temp - (does the gearbox oil pump has two (+,-) wires to be connected to the board?)
3 - Trans pump temp + (which pump is it?)
4 - Trans pump temp - (which pump is it?)
5 - MG1 temp + (+ wire from MG1 connected directly here?)
6 - MG1 temp - (- wire from MG1 connected directly here?)
7 - MG2 temp + (+ wire from MG2 connected directly here?)
8 - MG2 temp - (- wire from MG2 connected directly here?)
9 - Trans PB1 (what is it?)
10 - Trans PB2 (what is it?)
11 - Trans PB3 (what is it?)
12 - Trans SP (what is it?)
13 - Trans SL1- (what is it?)
14 - Trans SL2- (what is it?)
15 - Oil pump relay (low side switch) (is it a relay between the board and oil pump on the gearbox?)
16 - Oil pump PWM (does it activated when the low side switch on the relay closes?)
17 - 12V out (what is it used for?)
18 - 5V out (what is it used for?)
19 - Ground
20 - Ground

FYI a lot of your questions will be answered if you review the wiki page carefully:
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Lexus_GS450h_Inverter
Other questions may be answered on his GitHub page:
https://github.com/damienmaguire/Lexus- ... Controller

FYI My responses are based on v2 of his board.

1 & 2: I believe there is a 2 pin connector on the oil pump harness. This should be it
3 thru 14: These are on connector E83 on the left hand side of the transmission, just above the oil pan rail.
15: Yes
16: It depends on the code on the board. It probably activates when it sees a signal to drive.
17: this is actually just "Out 1". This is a general purpose output. It is also a low side relay driver. His current code uses this to drive the HV Main contractors
18 & 19: These are actually can bus wires. This is to communicate with other hardware.
20: 12V system ground

[Rich Parker]

Thank you so much for your time and clarifications.

I know that Damien and others have put so much into this and hence it is a quite robust setup. All I want to do is that to make things easy for EV converters by organising the information.

I hope that the others will contribute.

[Rich Parker]

Since Plug A pinouts are quite clearer to me, let's discuss on Plug B. Could anyone (slow67) answer the following questions please?

1 - 12V supply in (Is it the main power source for the brain/board? Does it work together with the ground in 20 in Plug A or the one in 20 in Plug B to close the circuit?)
2 - Brake light switch input (whenever the brake is applied, does it kill the signal to MG1 and MG2?)
3 - IN2 (General purpose 12v digital input) (What could we use it for?)
4 - IN1 (General purpose 12v digital input) (What could we use it for?)
5 - OUT1 (General purpose low side switch) (What could we use it for? Example?)
6 - Inverter Relay (low side switch) (Which plug does the output from this relay go to on the inverter/pin?)
7 - MTH- (meaning Motor-to-HVB, is it used for regen? Does it get connected to 7 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
8 - MTH+ (Does it get connected to pin 8 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
9 - HTM- (HVB-to-Motor, is it used to drive MG1 and MG2? Does it get connected to pin 26 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
10 - HTM+ (Does it get connected to pin 27 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
11 - REG- (Status request line: Does it get connected to pin 20 in A62?)
12 - REG+ (Status request line: Does it get connected to pin 29 in A62?)
13 - CLK- (SPI clock: does it go to pin 38 in A62?)
14 - CLK+ (does it go to pin 39 in A62?)
15 - 5V OUT (what could we use it for?)
16 - Throttle 2 Input (0-5v analog) (Where is it connected in A62?)
17 - Throttle 1 Input (0-5v analog) (where is it connected in A62?) (Why are there 2 throttle inputs?)
18 - CAN low
19 - CAN high
20 - Ground

[slow67]

Since Plug A pinouts are quite clearer to me, let's discuss on Plug B. Could anyone (slow67) answer the following questions please?

1 - 12V supply in (Is it the main power source for the brain/board? Does it work together with the ground in 20 in Plug A or the one in 20 in Plug B to close the circuit?)
2 - Brake light switch input (whenever the brake is applied, does it kill the signal to MG1 and MG2?)
3 - IN2 (General purpose 12v digital input) (What could we use it for?)
4 - IN1 (General purpose 12v digital input) (What could we use it for?)
5 - OUT1 (General purpose low side switch) (What could we use it for? Example?)
6 - Inverter Relay (low side switch) (Which plug does the output from this relay go to on the inverter/pin?)
7 - MTH- (meaning Motor-to-HVB, is it used for regen? Does it get connected to 7 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
8 - MTH+ (Does it get connected to pin 8 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
9 - HTM- (HVB-to-Motor, is it used to drive MG1 and MG2? Does it get connected to pin 26 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
10 - HTM+ (Does it get connected to pin 27 in A62 connector on the inverter?)
11 - REG- (Status request line: Does it get connected to pin 20 in A62?)
12 - REG+ (Status request line: Does it get connected to pin 29 in A62?)
13 - CLK- (SPI clock: does it go to pin 38 in A62?)
14 - CLK+ (does it go to pin 39 in A62?)
15 - 5V OUT (what could we use it for?)
16 - Throttle 2 Input (0-5v analog) (Where is it connected in A62?)
17 - Throttle 1 Input (0-5v analog) (where is it connected in A62?) (Why are there 2 throttle inputs?)
18 - CAN low
19 - CAN high
20 - Ground

1. Yes. There are 3 grounds. 1 needs to be used for the Throttle1/2, I grounded the other 2 to the car chassis.
2. Right now, nothing in the code. Judging by other products, possibly in the future.
3. Right now, nothing.
4. Right now, it is configured for sensing if the car is on. If it is, it will turn on the HV (given other parameters as well)
5. Right now, is used to signal to turn on the HV contractors
6. The Inverter low voltage side should be wired with a fuse and a relay. This pin is used to turn on the relay for the inverter if parameters are correct.
7 - 14. This is the signaling to/from the inverter. Match these up with the Inverter (there are 2 pictures in the wiki page you can reference)
15. 5V out to the 2 throttle pedals for your throttle position
16. Currently not used in the code. Typically with Johannes/Damien this is hooked to the brake pedal (if you with) for regenerative signal.
17. Signal from throttle pedal
18 & 19. This CAN bus is currently configured for Damien to communicate with the BMW dash. If you don't have a BMW 7 series, ignore for now.
20. Another ground.

[Rich Parker]

Thank you so much slow67.

[xp677]

Hi. Read this:

https://openinverter.org/wiki/Lexus_GS450h_Inverter

Should answer all your wiring questions.

[Rich Parker]

Many thanks xp677.

With the help of slow67, I have finally got much better idea.

I still have a few questions. But I will ask them when I actually try to connect the board.

[xp677]

Can you guys try to add this to the wiki as you answer? So we don't have to answer it again in the future.

[Rich Parker]

Thanks for the suggestion, xp677. I will add it.

[Rich Parker]

Now I am trying to make a sense of the code - Lexus-GS450H-Inverter-Controller/Software/gs450h_v2.ino

The code has "ino" extention. So I have copied and created an Arduino file. Is it right way?

The code beings with #include <Metro.h>. I have found it from https://playground.arduino.cc/Code/Metro/ which gives a zip file. I have downloaded it and unzipped it in the Examples folder in Arduino.

After this, I have tried to run Lexus-GS450H-Inverter-Controller/Software/gs450h_v2.ino. But it does not find Metro.h

Could anyone tell me how should proceed?

Thank you.

[RE3Rotor]

You need to install the library in the Arduino folders instead of the project folder. The <> brackets in C usually indicates a system level library.

How to install Arduino library

[Rich Parker]

Thanks RE3Rotor for the instructions.

I have followed the instructions but it gives me the following error.

Specified folder/zip file does not contain a valid library

I have tried in 2 ways.

1. From Arduino, Sketch/Indlude Library/Add .ZIP LIbrary
2. Unzipped the library, coppied and pasted it in Arduino Libraries - but I do not see it Examples under File

I even tried with a version without the word "Master", but no luck.

[Rich Parker]

I have finally figured it out.

1. Download the following zip file related to Metro.h.

https://github.com/thomasfredericks/Met ... master.zip

2. Unzip the file. There were 2 sub folders. Go to the subsub folder containing "Examples folder, keywords.txt, LICENSE, Metro.cpp, Metro.h and README.md".

3. Copy the folder and paste in Arduino/libraries. In my case, it is in This PC/Documents/Arduino/Libraries/Metro where Metro is a folder containing the relevant files - Examples folder, keywords.txt, LICENSE, Metro.cpp, Metro.h and README.md.

After this, I have verified the Damien's code "gs450h_v2.ino" and it complies just fine.

[Kevin Sharpe]

After this, I have verified the Damien's code "gs450h_v2.ino" and it complies just fine.

Please update the wiki

[Rich Parker]

In my previous post on running the firmware on a computer, I forgot to include the following important steps.

To Verify/Compile the code under the name of "gs450h_v2.ino" (the very first version) in Arduino, we need to install Arduino Due.

In doing so, go to Tools/Board:/Boards Manager in Arduino. Then search Arduino Due and install it. This uses a SAM3X8E board used in Damien's board. After installing it, choose Arduino Due from the list. The code should run without any problems.

[Rich Parker]

Since I started this thread, Robbertjanzen has made a complete wiring diagram for the V2 board in visio. I do not know how to reference this work here so I downloaded the PDF file and upload it here.

Many thanks to Robbertjanzen for this wonderful/clean illustration.

[Rich Parker]

1. Does Damien's board come with 2 Molex connectors?

2. Suppose it comes with the Molex connectors. Do the connectors have both male and female sides?

3. If it does not come with the connectors, we need to purchase the connectors with male and female sides, right? In that case, how difficult is it to connect the one with the board? Does it require soldering?

4. Has anyone tried Chinese connectors on AliExpress? A reason for asking is it is because it is a closer market to me given COVID-19. I have no idea how long it would take the board and connectors from Damien and an electronics shop in Europe/USA to come to me.

[PacEmaker]

4. Has anyone tried Chinese connectors on AliExpress? A reason for asking is it is because it is a closer market to me given COVID-19. I have no idea how long it would take the board and connectors from Damien and an electronics shop in Europe/USA to come to me.

No idea. The ones that might suit from AliExpress appear to be 33472-2002 and 33472-2001 however it's not clear whether the female crimp contacts are included or you have to buy them separately. I can't say for sure these parts are correct, but they claim to be for the MX-150 series so it's up to you to try your luck I guess.

[Rich Parker]

Thanks PacEmaker for your comments.

[PacEmaker]

You're welcome Rich. I don't know why my other comments didn't appear but essentially I was pointing out that the 'built and tested' board in Damien's shop has the male connectors already soldered in. But if that is no longer available for example then you will see the male connectors are listed in the BOM at Github, female listed here in the wiki along with the female contact crimped bits.

[Rich Parker]

Oh thank you so much Pacmaker. It is very clear. I am wondering whether to order the board from Damien or from JLCPCB because of much less frequent flights. I have no idea when the order from Ireland would turn up. But the order from JLCPBC could be much faster. Yet it is still risky.

[xp677]

Air freight is unaffected as far as I know. I received boards from JLCPCB in the same timeframe.

Airlines are now using the seats of empty commercial planes to carry extra freight. Worldwide capacity has increased to match demand. I wouldn't worry about international shipping.

[Alexstarex]

and plug from a Lexus 600 fit

this 90980–12630?

[Rich Parker]

Thanks xp677. Did your board from JLCPCB work fine? I guess you purchased the Molex connectors and soldered youself. Can you comment on this process? Did you buy the connectors in your vicinity? Have you tried Alliexpress?

I know you did a lot of testing on the lexus GS450H inverter communication protocol. I am thinking about going through the Damien’s code line by line to make a sense. If you know it well, please help on this thread.