Vw t3 conversion
Vw t3 conversion
Hello everyone, I apologize if this has already been written about. I want to redo the VW T3 using a Tesla M3 battery and an SDU from it. I want to be able to charge both with a constant current of about 100 kW and alternating current. As I understand it, I'll need three charging boards, a motor inverter, and a battery for this.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
When using PPE (VDE dielectric instrument), I am sure that nothing like this will happen.
- muehlpower
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
Let me sort out your question. If you want to go the open inverter route, you need a few different things. To get the motor up and running, you need to replace the logic board with an OI board. There is a board available for the SDU of the Model S and Damien is currently developing one for M3 motors. If you want to use the entire M3 battery with charger, there is no OI solution. If you only install the modules, a suitable BMS will probably be available soon. For the onboard charger, you can use the one from the M3, Model S, or another model. You can find a selection in the wiki. For fast charging, there is “foccci” here. A PLC modem according to the CCS standard.
If you feel overwhelmed by this, you can purchase a ready-made solution for the motor and battery, including charging, e.g., from Ingenex or EVControls.
If you feel overwhelmed by this, you can purchase a ready-made solution for the motor and battery, including charging, e.g., from Ingenex or EVControls.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
As a result, I came to the following configuration: SDU MS with a board, a battery from VW ID CATL with a third-party BMS in the 96S configuration. Fast charging will be via a GBT DC port, and slow charging will be Type 2 or GBT AC. There is no air conditioning, and the cabin is heated using a diesel heater.
- muehlpower
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- ianlighting
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
You might want to check Brat Industries. He has VW adaptor plates, although probably more for leaf than Tesla. Think he does do Tesla drive shafts aswel.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
The gearbox can't stand it, it's dying from the native 1.6, what can we say about the electric.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
I'm a complete zero in programming. What do I need to learn to use this system, and how difficult is it?
- Bratitude
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
The M3 battery is going to be to difficult to reuses.
From a form factor reason and an electrical reason.
Opensoruce M3 drive unit stuff is not ready for prime time. So a model s sdu is an option with the replacement board.
From a form factor reason and an electrical reason.
Opensoruce M3 drive unit stuff is not ready for prime time. So a model s sdu is an option with the replacement board.
https://bratindustries.net/ leaf motor couplers, adapter plates, custom drive train components
- Bratitude
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
The M3 battery is going to be to difficult to reuses.
From a form factor reason and an electrical reason.
Opensoruce M3 drive unit stuff is not ready for prime time. So a model s sdu is an option with the replacement board.
An outlander rear drive unit works out of the box with the zombiverter VCU. About the simplest setup.
Pair it with a leaf battery and no extra custom hardware would be needed for it all to work with the zombie
From a form factor reason and an electrical reason.
Opensoruce M3 drive unit stuff is not ready for prime time. So a model s sdu is an option with the replacement board.
An outlander rear drive unit works out of the box with the zombiverter VCU. About the simplest setup.
Pair it with a leaf battery and no extra custom hardware would be needed for it all to work with the zombie
https://bratindustries.net/ leaf motor couplers, adapter plates, custom drive train components
Re: Vw t3 conversion
I plan to use an SDU from a Tesla Model S with an OpenInverter board, a battery from a VW ID.4 (more precisely, its body and CATL elements from BMS Orion 2). I implement slow charging with a 3.6 kW inverter (if I'm not mistaken, from Lexus) along with a CCS OpenInverter board for both fast and slow charging. The DC-DC will be in the same unit as the inverter for cooling the motor. One pump from Nissan Leaf for the inverter and drive, the second pump from Nissan Leaf for the battery and two valves for connection to the general cooling system. A heater will also be installed. and all of this will be managed by vcu Zombiverter.
- tom91
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
What onboard charger and DCDC converter are you looking to use? Please post reference links and or pictures.
You are going to rewire to an Orion 2 BMS? Remember you also need to have the correct contactors, fuses and precharge to use one with a Zombie Verter.
You are going to rewire to an Orion 2 BMS? Remember you also need to have the correct contactors, fuses and precharge to use one with a Zombie Verter.
- tom91
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
What are you on about?
The words you are using and things you are describing are not coming across to show your understanding of what you are doing or how things work.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
1) Rear engine of the Tesla Model S SDU.
2) OpenInverter board for sdu.
3) VW ID.4 battery running with a BMS Orion 2 (or another one; I don't know which to choose).
4) Charger and dcdc from Mitsubishi Outlander 3.6kW (the battery will be 400V, it seems suitable, am I right? I would like to use 32A 7kW charging and ideally 32A 22kW 3-phase).
5) Contactors from Tesla P1089334-00-J for fast charging, SDU. (Do I need a contactor for slow charging and dcdc?) Also, contactors from AliExpress for pre-charging.
6) OpenInverter CCS (if I understood correctly, this board can control both fast and slow charging. Will it work with the Mitsubishi charger?). And I also forgot about the ZombieVerter VCU, which will control the engine, charging, CCS system, and other equipment. Sorry for the dumb questions
. I may have missed something.
2) OpenInverter board for sdu.
3) VW ID.4 battery running with a BMS Orion 2 (or another one; I don't know which to choose).
4) Charger and dcdc from Mitsubishi Outlander 3.6kW (the battery will be 400V, it seems suitable, am I right? I would like to use 32A 7kW charging and ideally 32A 22kW 3-phase).
5) Contactors from Tesla P1089334-00-J for fast charging, SDU. (Do I need a contactor for slow charging and dcdc?) Also, contactors from AliExpress for pre-charging.
6) OpenInverter CCS (if I understood correctly, this board can control both fast and slow charging. Will it work with the Mitsubishi charger?). And I also forgot about the ZombieVerter VCU, which will control the engine, charging, CCS system, and other equipment. Sorry for the dumb questions
- johu
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
1) yes
2) yes
3) no. Keep the original BMS cell boards and combine them e.g. with SimpBMS
4) Outlander charger is single phase 3.3 kW so why are you talking about 22 kW? Its built in DC-DC converter only allows 399V so you have to take care never to take pack voltage above that. And you're limited to 96S or 8 MEB modules
5) someone else please
6) Yes it works for slow charging but combining with Mitsu charger is semi-easy. Outlander expects an undistorted CP signal which requires some hacking. A charger without any CP interface would be better, e.g. Tesla Model S/X charger with Damien board in manual mode
Read, read, watch. You have a lot to learn
2) yes
3) no. Keep the original BMS cell boards and combine them e.g. with SimpBMS
4) Outlander charger is single phase 3.3 kW so why are you talking about 22 kW? Its built in DC-DC converter only allows 399V so you have to take care never to take pack voltage above that. And you're limited to 96S or 8 MEB modules
5) someone else please
6) Yes it works for slow charging but combining with Mitsu charger is semi-easy. Outlander expects an undistorted CP signal which requires some hacking. A charger without any CP interface would be better, e.g. Tesla Model S/X charger with Damien board in manual mode
Read, read, watch. You have a lot to learn
Support R/D and forum on Patreon: https://patreon.com/openinverter - Subscribe on odysee: https://odysee.com/@openinverter:9
- tom91
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
5- No idea what the specs of the contactor are also weird shapes so best to get new economized ones.johu wrote: ↑Wed Dec 17, 2025 9:58 am 6) Yes it works for slow charging but combining with Mitsu charger is semi-easy. Outlander expects an undistorted CP signal which requires some hacking. A charger without any CP interface would be better, e.g. Tesla Model S/X charger with Damien board in manual mode
6- Is fine via the CP spoofing with Zombie. BigPie runs his setup with Foccci + Outlander via Zombieverter to have AC charging and CCS fast charging.
7- You need contactors and precharge contactor + resistor for your pack. They need to have internal economizers.
Re: Vw t3 conversion
The maximum voltage will be 403 V. By charging, I mean that I would like to have more than 3.3 kW, for example, 7 kW for one phase and 11 kW for three phases. The contactor for fast charging is GVFC—003, the contactor for pre-charging is Gigavac P115 and the contactor is Gigavac GV200MAB for the motor. What is an economizer? Resistor 100om 50wt for pre-charging
Re: Vw t3 conversion
I read about the Tesla inverter and did not fully understand it works in single-phase mode max 3.3kW, and if you connect 3 phases in one, you get 9.9kW, right?
- Bratitude
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Re: Vw t3 conversion
you are mixing up words, i understand that English is not your first language, but please be more clear in your words, sentences and posts. 3 separate posts, instead of one properly writing post is difficult to decipher.
the model s on board charger is a 10kw charger. inside it has 3 modules, each capable of 3.3kw. so in the USA it can be used in single phase, or in 3 phase in Europe.
you need 3 contactors, negative, positive and precharge. they are not specified for each device (motor, charger, etc) but rather the entire HV system.
for fast charging you will need an additional 2 contactors dedicated for fastcharging.
you will need contactors with built in economizers, so you can just applies 12v and they will work safely, or you need to make an external economizing circuit if the contactors you chose do not have one. they draw a lot of current and will over heat with out them.
the model s on board charger is a 10kw charger. inside it has 3 modules, each capable of 3.3kw. so in the USA it can be used in single phase, or in 3 phase in Europe.
you need 3 contactors, negative, positive and precharge. they are not specified for each device (motor, charger, etc) but rather the entire HV system.
for fast charging you will need an additional 2 contactors dedicated for fastcharging.
you will need contactors with built in economizers, so you can just applies 12v and they will work safely, or you need to make an external economizing circuit if the contactors you chose do not have one. they draw a lot of current and will over heat with out them.
https://bratindustries.net/ leaf motor couplers, adapter plates, custom drive train components
Re: Vw t3 conversion
I accepted your comments regarding the writing, here is an attempt to correct the situation.
The maximum battery voltage will be 403 V. For charging, I'd like to get more than 3.3 kW in single-phase mode, for example, 7 kW on one phase (7 kW, since the maximum you can draw in Belarus is 32 A at 240 V) and 11 kW on three phases, as implemented in my ID.4. Then, it would probably be better to switch from the Mitsubishi inverter to the Tesla inverter, but if I want to use both three phases and one, I need to install a switch, as it doesn't switch automatically, right? The contactor for fast charging is GVFC-003, the contactor for pre-charging is Gigavac P115, and the contactor for the motor is Gigavac GVFC-003. A 100-ohm, 50-watt resistor would be used for pre-charging. Since I want to use OEM contactors, I'll need an economizer. I plan to use the one from user "jrbe." Now I have a question: how do I implement DC-DC? I'd like to use a 12V lead-acid battery, and I will be using a Tesla Model S converter, or is that solution outdated?
The maximum battery voltage will be 403 V. For charging, I'd like to get more than 3.3 kW in single-phase mode, for example, 7 kW on one phase (7 kW, since the maximum you can draw in Belarus is 32 A at 240 V) and 11 kW on three phases, as implemented in my ID.4. Then, it would probably be better to switch from the Mitsubishi inverter to the Tesla inverter, but if I want to use both three phases and one, I need to install a switch, as it doesn't switch automatically, right? The contactor for fast charging is GVFC-003, the contactor for pre-charging is Gigavac P115, and the contactor for the motor is Gigavac GVFC-003. A 100-ohm, 50-watt resistor would be used for pre-charging. Since I want to use OEM contactors, I'll need an economizer. I plan to use the one from user "jrbe." Now I have a question: how do I implement DC-DC? I'd like to use a 12V lead-acid battery, and I will be using a Tesla Model S converter, or is that solution outdated?
Re: Vw t3 conversion
I'm currently looking for a charger. My priority is the ability to charge at 7 kW in single-phase mode. After that, I went to a public three-phase station and charged at 11 kW or 22 kW without any switching. I know of the following options: Mitsubishi (advantage: DCDC; disadvantages: single-phase and a maximum power of 3.6 kW), Tesla Gen 2 (as far as I understand, they come in two versions: European or American; what is the power of each version?), Tesla Gen 3 (I found that it has a power of 18 kW, which suits me—6 kW per phase, but there's not much information about them). And the Tesla M3 PCS (advantage: DCDC is an advantage, but the disadvantages are the different versions, and not all of them work with OI boards out of the box. for Europe and America). What options can you suggest based on your experience?