Welcome

Hi there and welcome!

My name is Pedro and I have a big interest in cars, electronics, open-source and DIY solutions in general.
My daily drive is a 2014 Nissan Leaf (bought used in 2015) but I also own a 1990 Mazda MX5 and, more recently, a 1991 Suzuki Samurai, which will be used for the EV conversion project.
For longer journeys we use our 1.4 TSI VW Golf mk7 :)

This my attempt to document and share some of the work on the EV conversion of my 1991 Suzuki Samurai.

Also, I've created Leaf Status site, as an online companion for the popular Leaf Spy app. Perhaps it's of interest for you if you own a Nissan Leaf.

I will also share other miscellaneous topics about electronics, DIY, open source, etc.

Latests articles

Battery instalation

Submitted by Pedro on Thu, 2022-03-24

The engine hoist was used to install the battery modules in the back of the Samurai. After a minor hiccup, everything went fine and I'm happy with the result -- no more batteries on the garage floor. Next step is to make the HV connections for a short test run and then try the BMS.

BMS solution and wiring

Submitted by Pedro on Fri, 2021-10-08

I've been working very slowly this last couple of months. In part, I think it was due to issues with DC DC converter and also several unsuccessful attempts connecting the BMS to the battery pack.

As you can read here, I switched from a custom battery terminal board to a used one from a Nissan Leaf, which came with all the leads.
I also bought a 32s ANT BMS from AliExpress, after reading a lot about BMSes:

DC/DC converter troubleshooting

Submitted by Pedro on Sun, 2021-07-25

I'm taking a lot longer than expected to wire my DC DC converter and, worse of all, I'm not having any success. I'm using a TDC-IY-108-12 from a Chinese company named TC Charger (the website www.tccharger.com printed in the manual doesn't exist). I think there are similar converters branded as Elcon. It's a 1kW unit with a nominal DC input of 108V (range can vary from 72V to 162V). Do you have any suggestions?

Replaced battery terminals

Submitted by Pedro on Wed, 2021-07-07

Sometimes you need to go back some steps to make sure you're happy with the build. That's what happened with my battery terminals and bus bars.

New aluminium battery box

Submitted by Pedro on Sat, 2021-07-03

After a mock up with cardboard, I fabricated the aluminium battery box base and screw it to the body. I do enjoy working with sheet metal and its workspace in FreeCAD. I also invested a bit in the Technical Drawing workspace to send nice instructions to the laser cut and bending guys.

DC/DC converter arrived

Submitted by Pedro on Thu, 2021-06-17

It's been a while since the last update. I've been busy with other non-related stuff and also some boring stuff, namely wiring the leads for all the battery modules (to connect a manual charger/voltmeter) and a future BMS. At the same time, the DC/DC converter finally arrived, along with some more HV cable and fuses. I've gone for a chinese TCCharger unit good for 1.2kW. I've read mixed reviews about these chinese solutions but the truth is that there is not many alternatives.