[WIP] Subaru Sambar Kei Truck Leaf Swap

[firebat45]

Hi all,

I picked up a 1991 Sambar that I'm in love with and decided to finally jump into the world of EV swaps after eyeing them for years.

I've sourced a 2018 Leaf stack (gen 3 110kw inverter, 6.6kva charger) and a 2015 40kwh battery.

Phase one is to get the truck up and running. I'll worry about heat and AC later on. I might go electric with the heat, or maybe a small diesel coolant heater. If I go electric, is everything resistive? Or are there some setups that use the AC as a heat pump for heating as well?

Since I want to keep the truck 4x4, I will be using the OEM transmission.

I am unclear on whether it's better to go with a board swap or Zombieverter. Seems like gen 3 Leaf inverters aren't really supported by the board swap yet? Even if they were, what about the PDM/BMS? Looks like the Zombie does everything, but costs a lot more and limits me to what the OEM inverter could do. I'm more worried about turning the power down to preserve the Sambar transmission than I am about turning power up.

Since this is all going in a tiny little truck, it would be very convenient to be able to turn the stack horizontal, so that the inverter is behind the motor instead of on top. Looking at the coolant lines this seems doable, does anyone have experience with this?

[Jacobsmess]

The zombie can control the Gen 3 leaf stack and also detune ppower as it's just a torque request over CAN.
Heating can be done via heat pumps, not sure which vehicles have been reverse engineered on this yet. Otherwise, there's a few of resistive options.
I don't know whether the gen3 leaf OI board is finished yet but you're not going to need the power so zombie is the best option here. Especially as the zombie can control the PDM also.

[J0hannes]

IMHO with Leaf stuff, go with Zombieverter. At least if you want the shortest path to getting that moving Zombieverter allows you to later expand in all imaginable directions as it can control more than just Lead Inverter and PDM. Future releases expand the supported hardware even further!
Also OI boardswap and Zombie board are almost same price, so I don't get the comment on cost

Like Jacobsmess said, with Zombieverter you can limit the max torque of the Leaf motor and adjust the applied torque ramping, so the impulse won't kill small driveline parts.

The VW water heater works on Zombieverter, meaning you don't have to touch the original heater core, just a pump and the coolant heater and you have a hot cab

You should be able to find these relatively cheap too

[cajamatt]

what 3D scanner did you use? i got a cheap 3dmakerpro lynx and it's nowhere near as clean as your scans look!

[firebat45]

what 3D scanner did you use? i got a cheap 3dmakerpro lynx and it's nowhere near as clean as your scans look!

I use the Einscan Einstar. It's amazing for the money. It does even better with scanning spray and/or retroreflective dots, but I can't be bothered, most of the time. It's been one of my favorite shop tools of the past few years.

[firebat45]

Got the battery today and stripped it down after work. I was told this was a 40kwh battery but the cells don't look like it. What's the best way to tell for sure?

[ianlighting]

Got the battery today and stripped it down after work. I was told this was a 40kwh battery but the cells don't look like it. What's the best way to tell for sure?

Was there not a Nissan label on the lid?

[firebat45]

Was there not a Nissan label on the lid?

I didn't see any markings on the shell, but I haven't looked at the bottom of the shell. The top is very dusty so I might have missed something. The cells are marked 500w/h though, so that confirms that it's a 24kw/h pack.

On the plus side, I've got all the busbars off and every cell measures between 3.89 and 3.91, with the majority at 3.90.

[Bratitude]

Top shell always has a sticker with the kWh marking.

Shame you were told it was bigger than 24! Hopefully it’s in good shape:)

[firebat45]

Progress has been slow. I've been collecting parts on JLC to make some Zombie boards. I've also been working hard on getting the CAD perfect for the adapter from Leaf motor to Sambar transmission. I might have to slightly clearance the Leaf motor to give room to the CV axle, it's very close. I think it's finally ready to send off for laser cutting. There was a lot of back-and-forth figuring out the best angle to clock it at for clearances, and access for bolts during assembly.

The adapter will be 2x 1/2" plates with 1" of SCH40 8" aluminum pipe between them. I might go a bit longer with the pipe so that I can lathe a pocket into each plate for self-centering, and maybe another bit extra so I can face off the two plates parallel to each other after welding.

I also got the battery completely disassembled and rebuilt into 2x 24 module packs.

There should be enough room above the driveshaft in the battery case to mount the original leaf contactors and BMS unit. Wiring up the BMS is going to be a massive pain in the ass, but that's life. I might even be able to reuse the output connectors/flange from the Leaf battery on the rear of the battery case, with a nice short run to the PDM.

[cajamatt]

oh man i'm so jealous of your scans!

Have you found any projects that clock the leaf inverter at an angle like that? i'm at a similar stage of my project as you are and also planning to rotate the motor + inverter like that. i've found a thread of someone who rotated the motor, but nothing for inverters. The big risk is air bubbles trapped in the cooling paths of the inverter, which would require machining in bleed ports to evacuate them. just curious if you've got any intel on that

[Jacobsmess]

Or fill the motor with coolant in the upright position. Connect a short piece of hose onto each coolant port, mount it and then plumb the rest in, this (provided carefully filled) will avoid any trapped bubbles.

[firebat45]

I haven't opened up the inverter but the positions of the inlet and outlet seems like it should be okay. I might open it up before filling.

[justinpogge]

I have a 6th gen Sambar and I am interested in doing a similar project, mine is an automatic and i was wondering if it were possible to use remove the engine and transmission and then use the Leaf differential. did you look into this method? does not look it it would increase the motor stack height. would be sweet to design a bolt in carrier for the motor/differential.