[jbman]

Hello Folks,

Following my MG conversion, I'd like to move on to the CJ and start planning. I've got a beater CJ7 that could really benefit from a basic swap.

I've learned a few things from the Midget, so here are my parameters so far:

144v system, amperage TBD - considering 500ish amps peak
DC motor
P&S Controller
18-20+ kWH battery pack - ideally an entire Chevy Volt pack making use of cooling and heating
T5 transmission and Dana 300 - maintain 4x4 with minimal effort
Retain clutch and use hub adapter
Must be capable of 75MPH for at least 30 minutes
Primary use will be low speed and winter driving
PTC element of some sort to put in the place of the heater core
Must retain power steering

Given the weight of the vehicle (3,000-4,000 lbs), I'm concerned that I will not be able to get away with a smaller motor. The Jeep is on 37's, but I have a 5 speed and 5:38 gears, so I don't think it will really be that bad, but I'm concerned. Is a 9" motor sufficient, or should I really go for an 11"?

I have ruled out an AC system because of both the lacking power and expense of readily available systems.

The inline 6 is rated at 132 kW and 304 Nm.

I'd be open to any changes right now, since I'm just planning everything out at the moment. I'd really like to make use of a Nissan leaf motor or other OEM solution, but I'm not sure that's reasonable at the moment given my desire to keep the transmission and transfer case. I have not decided on a power steering solution, BMS, motor, or instrumentation yet. Do you all have any input on those or anything else? Thanks!

 

[jbman]

Well, things have changed a bit with more research.

I'm going to use a control board from Paul for a 2013 Leaf inverter, which I will use to drive the corresponding motor. Another member gave me the files for an adapter plate that I will use with the leaf motor, and I'll use a splined coupler to connect the motor shaft and the transmission input shaft.

I think that will give me the best power on a budget. I'm waiting on some quotes to mill the adapter plate, and I'm pricing everything else right now.

I'd like to get an entire Leaf for the battery pack, so I'm watching auctions right now. That'll probably wait into next year, but I'll work on getting everything else together for a test. This is a much more promising direction than earlier.

 

[jbman]

Jbman, did you get a response from Paul right away? I got a message that wasn't all that promissing about getting in touch.


Also, who had the Leaf motor adapter plate file? I've been looking for something as well.



In terms of the weight of the truck, just so you know, my leaf motor will be powering a 3 tonne GVW truck so I suspect you are good as long as you can keep the RPM up on the leaf motor to within its normal range.

In first gear (about 4:1) with 5:38 gears, I don't think keeping the RPMs up will be an issue I expect to drive around town in second or third.

I got the same message initially. Paul is busy busy, but he gets back eventually. He's very helpful.

D_A_N_N_Y^ posted the CAD to his build thread for the '86 Samurai.

 

[jbman]

With the Leaf motor, do you still plan to use only 144 volts?

It's too bad you can't get enough gear reduction in the final drives to go without an extra reduction stage. If you had higher battery voltage and short enough gearing, you wouldn't need the transmission.

One of the reasons I wanted to keep the transmission was simply to make the 4x4 easier to manage by keeping the transfer case and transmission mated, and for silly crawl ratios since it's a Jeep and all. I imagine that you could use a torque tube or something to connect the motor directly to the transfer case, but I don't know if it's really necessary to go that far since I already have some good stuff on hand.

I was anticipating using a full leaf or volt battery pack, so in all likelihood I'll just leave whichever one I get in it's stock configuration with this setup. I'm not sure there's any need to change it for higher amperage, especially with the torque multiplication of the transmission.

I just picked up the inverter, dc/dc, and charger package for $325 shipped. Seems like an OK deal. If I can get through what some other folks have written about can communications with them, perhaps I can reuse them. That would save some big bucks.

 

[jbman]

And I was able to get the motor from the same shop! Paul is preparing a board, and I'll hopefully be able to bench test everything within the next few weeks.

Now I need to figure out if I can use the Leaf charger and DC-DC. I'm not super optimistic about that. There's some information out there, but not enough for me to get it running right off the bat.

I've never done anything significant over CAN-BUS, so I think I'm going to have to learn some more there. I'd like to control the charger and converter with an Arduino, ultimately. I've only done the tiniest bit with Arduino, as well, so this will be interesting. Anyone have some helpful direction in this area?

 

[jbman]

This was on my porch today...

10/10 packing quality.

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[jbman]

What is the capability of Pauls board? I'm still trying to figure out what it does and doesn't do and will it work with parts of you newly arrived charger and DC-DC?

It replaces the brains of the inverter. Afaik, it will do nothing with the charger or DC-DC. I haven't found any good ways to control them, yet.

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[jbman]

I am asking, since there is no schematic that I have seen, how the inputs (throttle, shifter etc) are attached. Can I use the Leaf pedals, for example or the shifter, or some of the gauges? Does it expect specific types of controls? I have some of these things but no idea if they are useful. It's a noob question perhaps.

I don't know much about the Leaf, but the gauges, shifter, etc are all likely run over CAN. That is a whole other issue. The pedal is probably a potentiometer of some sort and could be reused, but you'd have to check for yourself. There are lots of good options for throttles out there.

For my application, I will be keeping the speedometer, as it's mechanically linked to the transmission. The rest of the gauges aren't essential, and I'd really like to have an LCD display for the SOC, amperage, temps, whatever.

 

[jbman]

No, it will not work with his board. It does not have CAN functionality that I can tell.

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[jbman]

Motor arrived today... looks good! Paul's board is supposed to arrive Tuesday, and we will go from there.

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