openinverter forum

I really wish it hadn't come to this, but I have taken the difficult decision to put a gas engine back in my Lotus 7 replica due to the ongoing ban on EVs in autocross in my area. I had this posted on the DIY ev forums but I thought I should put it here too since many people have been leaving that forum, and I know there are at least SOME Canadians here!

These parts were carefully selected to achieve an optimal balance of size, weight, power, and cost. It's also been built to comply with the SCCA's safety regulations for modified class EVs, including wiring standards, isolation monitoring, BMS/IMD interlocks, and so on.

Here's a rundown of the components for sale:

-Chrysler Pacifica LG Chem 16kWh battery (all 6 modules from the same vehicle, so they match) c/w their factory support structure and water cooling plates (vehicle build date 8/21, checked the VIN recently and it was not affected by the recall)
-Nissan Leaf EM57 motor, inverter and gearbox
-Openinverter brain board
-Thunderstruck/Dilithium MCU/BMS c/w 420a current sensor and LCD display for volts, amps, kW, temperature and cell balance info
-TSM2500 3kW L1/L2 CAN-enabled AC charger (wiring and connectors updated to meet SCCA regulations)
-J1772 CCS DC fast charge port
-Foccci DC fast charge controller manages the charge port, locks the connector and wakes the BMS when a plug is inserted. I have only tried DC charging once, but it did work.
-Bender ISO165C-1 can-enabled isolation monitor
-Chevy Volt gen 1 DCDC converter c/w custom cooling fans (which turns out may not actually be needed, but it has them)
-BMW transmission oil pump for reverse-mounting the gearbox c/w adjustable PWM DC speed controller (and if you mount it in a forward-facing direction you can omit the pump and cap the lines)
-Teensy 4.1 configured to interface Foccci with the BMS and insulation monitor, as well as controls the DCDC converter
-Openinverter wifi CAN module for communicating with the inverter and Foccci, used for uploading firmware updates, datalogging, and parameter adjustments
-Custom 1/8" aluminum battery enclosure, SCCA-compliant with Nomex paper internal liner (and I have some extra I can include in case you need to make any changes to the box). Box measures 17.75" wide x 27.5" long x 17.5" tall (note the contactor box sticks out 6.25" from the right side and the service disconnect sticks out 2" from the front. Either could be relocated if you cover the hole and cut a new one at the required location).
-2x Tyco LEV200 main contactors purchased brand new, c/w custom designed PCB with DRV103 coil economizers
-TE service disconnect with integrated 350A fuse
-Separate enclosure for DC fast charging contactors, DCFC fuse, isolation monitor and fuse block for charger/dcdc connections
-SCCA-compliant isolation test points with test resistor
-TE HV precharge relay w/ heatsinked precharge resistor
-Inductive Auto CNC machined HV cable inlet box to the inverter
-Davies Craig DC-9051 6.1 GPM water pump to supply coolant to the batteries and the motor/inverter
-Chevy Bolt coolant reservoir
-Rotary knob for forward/neutral/reverse. Driveaway protection interlocked with charger so when AC charging the backlight on the knob goes out and a gear cannot be selected
-Custom designed PCB with small permissive relays which can be controlled by outputs on the BMS and isolation monitor for signaling an isolation fault and disabling the contactors in the event of an isolation or BMS fault (requirement from SCCA, easily omitted if you don't want it)
-BMS fault buzzer/light
-Isolation status light (green/red - again, an SCCA safety requirement)
-Assortment of extra pins, connectors, terminals, enclosures, etc.

To drop all this into another similar car you'd need to connect the water lines to your existing radiator, get axles that are sized to fit your application, reconnect and/or redo the 12v wiring (your key, 12v fuse box, 12v relays for 12v power, rad fan etc) and possibly other things depending on the application.

As you can hopefully see, I put a LOT of effort into all this. I was able to speak directly with members of the SCCA committee who wrote the newly-released rulebook for EV safety requirements to make sure the car was compliant and done properly. Most of it is common sense safety stuff, but I view that as a good thing and I am glad it has such a sturdy enclosure, a proper isolation monitor and so on. I have also been an active participant in the development of certain components such as the Foccci and Openinverter firmware. I'm very happy with the tune that's on it right now. It drives nice and smooth, regen comes on and off smoothly, and it makes plenty of power - especially in such a light car. The BMS reports it's about 130kW. I have a basic AutoCAD wiring diagram and of course the pinouts for all the components are freely available online. I have the native Autodesk Inventor model of the battery enclosure in case any changes are desired to fit it in your application. All the KiCAD files for the custom economizer and contactor permissive PCBs which were made by JLCPCB.

Reason for sale is because my local clubs still can't allow EVs to participate in autocross and there's no ETA for that to change. This summer I have been hauling the car to autox events in Edmonton and Montana (where they are allowed), but that's not sustainable for me and I can't get out nearly as often as I want. I've only made it to four events this year, and zero the year before (though I have racked up almost 2000km from driving on sunday afternoons. The car has done amazing both on the street and on the track.

Looking at the value of the main components I think $9000 CAD is very fair for the package. I'm also able to sell things individually like the Leaf stack, the battery box etc.

I know there's a ton of information here but any serious buyers can reach out to discuss further, get more pics/video etc.

Here's an onboard video from a recent autocross run:


Here's a walkaround video showing the components:


Here's a video of it doing 0-60 in about 4.3 seconds according to the 10hz gps onboard the gopro (no rollout added so this is true dead stop to 60):



Some photos:

I have started removing things and will begin to post individual components for sale. I'm not making great time with it due to being a busy time of year, but the battery is out and ready to go. I removed the BMS and current sensor, they could be sold separately or with the battery. It would be plug and play since I left the BMS cell tap wiring with the batteries.

This as you see it is 310 lbs according to the two bathroom scales I set it down on. That's all 96 cells of the 16kwh Pacifica battery, stacked vertically and enclosed in the 1/8" custom made aluminum box, complete with 3/4" hose barbs out the front for water cooling, a mix of 1/0 cable and the Pacifica's original flexible bus bars leading to the contactor box, which has two LEV200 contactors purchased brand new from Thunderstruck, a precharge relay with a fancy heat-sinked precharge resistor, holes for cable glands for both the main HV wiring as well as a place to run another cable out for other things like dcdc, a charger, or whatever. Low voltage connections are made through the multipin connector on the bottom. I have the pinout diagram as well as the part numbers for the other end of the connector and pins, and of course the CAD files for the battery box.

$3000 CAD for this as you see it (as in minus the BMS/current sensor but includes the contactors and fuse and such).

There's more info on the box including dimensions in my first post. Here's a couple photos of the box I just took.
Here it is with the front section slid out. The coolant hoses clip to those quick disconnect fittings and it puts both modules in parallel.
This is how I lift them. Two pieces of 1" angle that bolt to the studs on the top. remove them once the modules are in the box. HV disconnect/fuse with the mounting bracket for the current sensor. Also visible are the cooling hose connectors. This is from when I was originally building it.. the shot I took of the contactor box the other day turned out blurry. This is what the material cost to build the box, plus a couple hundred for the Nomex paper and Kapton tape. Yikes.
The connector you will need for the LV controls is Molex PN 0334721206 (Digikey WM9431-ND) and the pins are Molex 0330123004 for 20-22awg and 0330122022 for 10-20awg. It's a 12 pin connector that uses 4 pins for the current sensor, 2 for the BMS communication and the rest for contactors/precharge control.
Precharge resistor is 100W, 50 ohm HS100 50R J. Fuse block is BK/S-8301-3-R with 10a and 20a fuses rated for 500vdc. 0ADEC9100-BE as an example pn for the fuses.