Lexus RX450H Inverter Controler

[mjw700]

Hello all I am new to this forum as well as being new to the world of EV's.

However I have already taken the plunge and start the process of converting my 2004 Vauxhall VX220 to all electric.

Thus far I have purchased a lexus RX450H gearbox / transaxle as as well as a Lexus RX450H inverter, no doubts I will have many questions in the months to come.

will the openinverter.org Brain Board Rev 3 - community edition control my RX450H inverter or is there a different / better option out there.

Any advice is gratefully appreciated.

Michael

[Kevin Sharpe]

will the openinverter.org Brain Board Rev 3 - community edition control my RX450H inverter or is there a different / better option out there.

Welcome to the forum Michael.

You'll need the GS450H VCU (here) and I recommend you read the the BEXUS project thread (here) and watch Damien's videos. Lots GS450H projects in the works so you'll be in good company

When you're ready start a project page.

[jnsaff]

I don’t think anyone has tried RX inverter yet. Transaxle though should be pretty easy, it’s a larger variant of the Gen3 Prius transaxle. The inverter could be similar to RAV4 that I believe Damien has on his shelf for future reverse engineering.

[Kevin Sharpe]

I don’t think anyone has tried RX inverter yet.

Ah yes, mixing up my GS and RX versions

[mjw700]

Thank you for the feedback and I will start a project page, it will act as a reminder why I doing this project.

I think there are probably x 3 options I can see so far

1) Damian GS450H board if it will work with the RX inverter
2) UMC Drive 3.0 Universal Motor Controller from Advantics
3) openinverter.org Brain Board Rev 3 - community edition

I have watched pretty put all of Damians videos on Youtube, In fact that is where I got the idea of using Lexus parts rather than spend a small fortune on parts from other OEMS.

Basic Plan

Gearbox code I think is P313, RX450H transmission has MG1 = rated @ 165 BHP, MG2 = rated @ 174 BHP so when both motors are linked together that should mean circa 340 BHP and circa 400Nm.

The Vauxhall VX220 has the engine in the rear of the car hence why the RX450H is a winner in my eyes for this particular application.

Battery, still researching options plus weight impac t a s well weight distribution however the target will be ultimately to have circa 30-40 KW.

[jnsaff]

You could run the transaxle from the GS450h inverter with the VCU from Damien. This would mean purchasing another inverter. Unless you’re willing to reverse engineer the RX inverter I’d say this is the safest bet.

[mjw700]

That is probably my fall back option.

[Jack Bauer]

First step would be to look at a wiring diagram for the rx450h inverter and compare with the gs450h regards signals. If they are the same then the hardware in the gs450h vcu should be compatible. The next problem then will be the messages between inverter and vcu that will need to be coded in software.

I do have one of these inverters on the shelf but no idea when I'll get to it...

[mjw700]

Jack thank you for the feedback, I will do some digging around the internet to see if I can find any circuit information for the RX450H.

The reason I am so keen to use the RX450H inverter I have is that it gives me the advantage of run a motor at the front if I feel that it will add an advantage.

Cheers

Michael

[Jack Bauer]

As posted by xp677 in another thread :
"Visit https://www.lexus-tech.eu/ you can pay EUR6 for 1 hours access to the manual. "

[Jack Bauer]

Saved you the trouble (and 6 blips). Looks like the same interface as the GS450h. Now to see what else is on there ...

[mjw700]

Cheers

[Jack Bauer]

Slightly easier to read version

[Jack Bauer]

Full pinouts and signal description.

[mjw700]

Firstly thank you, I will have a more detailed review tonight on my dessk PC.

So reading inbetween the lines it is fairly positive in terms of the degree of cominality between the Gs and RX.

Once again cheers.

Michael

[Hanzzon]

Saved you the trouble (and 6 blips). Looks like the same interface as the GS450h. Now to see what else is on there ...

Lexus RX 400h and newer Lexus RX 450h has 2 electric motors front like Prius (but much stronger) and 1 electric motor 4WD on rear axle, GS 450h is only RWD.

[sfk]

Saved you the trouble (and 6 blips). Looks like the same interface as the GS450h. Now to see what else is on there ...

Lexus RX 400h and newer Lexus RX 450h has 2 electric motors front like Prius (but much stronger) and 1 electric motor 4WD on rear axle, GS 450h is only RWD.

Yes, but GS has electric 2 motors in the transmission. Using a RX inverter with 3 outputs you could conceivably drive the GS trans for rear drive + a front motor to make something 4WD?

[Jack Bauer]

I'd be careful mixing gearboxes and inverters. Unless the motors have the same characteristics and resolvers etc could be trouble. As a first step I'd suggest someone connect a gs450h vcu to a rx450h inverter and see what happens. It probably will just sit there doing nothing but it will give us a starting point. Ideally we would then need someone with a running rx450h to do a data capture.

[Hanzzon]

Don't know anyone who has converted a Lexus RX400h or RX450h to plug-in or electric car with a larger battery pack?

[mjw700]

In terms of the mixing point that is why as bear minimum i will have RX450H Inverter driving the RX450H transaxle plus down the line if a take a silly pill I will be able to also power a RX450 rear diff.

Obviously in my application every thing will swooped ends the transaxle is located in the rear.

Over the weekend I will start a project Page on the forum will a schematic of the basic plan.

Cheeers

Michael

[xp677]

Different messages for the RX inverter. It has a 100-byte HTM packet, as it has a third output (the RX h has three motors).

You'd need to decode and figure it all out. Best would be to buy a working car to test with, then sell it on after.

Hardware-wise, the GS450h VCU should work fine for the inverter control. Would be good to see inside one to verify the same components as the GS (likely so). Other parts of the VCU (transmission solenoids, etc) might be relevant, might not, you'd need to compare service manuals.

[Dilbert]

It's funny the gen 3 Prius / Auris has the longer data frame, see the other thread where I logged some data. I wonder did Toyota standardise the packet format and allow for the models with 3 motors.

[xp677]

Probably, yet. As far as I know, the GS was the earliest model to use the synchronous serial bus, at the time, only the Prius was available, and previous generations of Prius used a different system, if I recall.

[Dilbert]

I'm only guessing, but I wonder have they also made the hybrid ecu a common module across different models

[xp677]

Hard to check as they will have different part numbers to account for different firmware, even on identical hardware.

Looking at pictures of the units (easy to do so on eBay) can give you a clue, better would be to check the service manuals for various cars (lexustech.eu) to compare the pinouts, best would be to purchase the units for disassembly.

Toyota seem to be less inclined to "parts bin" components, vs someone like GM, who does it all the time. They are more receptive to bespoke parts for each model.