# BMW 540i electric conversion



## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

the story begins with my insurance company declaring my 00' jetta diesel a total loss, (auto theft by some neighbourhood punks) and settling my claim. 

so i decide to try something different, like a electric hybrid. them priuses cost a fortune. i googled for other electric car options, and i landed on the diy electric communities.

after hanging around here for a while, i took the plunge;









found this on craigslist. '99 bmw 540i sport, engine timing broke, (seller bought it this way with plans to fix it), so he pulled out the ice, to replace it. then he ran out of time to complete the project. asking for $2000.

he takes $1400, and my father in law provides the towing.

so i park it at my driveway, and start the planning.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

this is my work zone. examination of the car shows no rust even on the underside. very great condition. ive seen guys purchasing rusty cars for conversion, and then spending half the conversion time fighting with the rust. thats not for me.

as promised, no engine. all thanks to the previous owner. our agreement was for him to keep only the engine block, and to pass on everything else, for the reduced selling price.









the automatic transmission is still hanging on cables. this will eventually be ripped out, for a direct to differential drive.


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## efan (Aug 27, 2009)

DDDvvv said:


> the automatic transmission is still hanging on cables. this will eventually be ripped out, for a direct to differential drive.


this one gorgeous car, one of my favorites...but direct to differential!!? isnt the 5-series a heavy car for direct drive? what motor, controller, battery do you plan on using.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

took a whole day to yank out the transmission. i removed it from the underside, as i did not get a hoist. 









then it took another whole day to uproot the fuel system. the big weird fuel tank wraps around the drive shaft. to get to it, driveshaft, exhaust system and parking brake cables have to be removed first. previous owner took care of the exhaust system, so no big problem in this stage. 

the evaporative canister system is located under the back wheel well.

so offficially, no more gasoline fuel for this baby, forever.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

efan said:


> this one gorgeous car, one of my favorites...but direct to differential!!? isnt the 5-series a heavy car for direct drive? what motor, controller, battery do you plan on using.


4850 lb gross weight to be exact. its in my dream car list. going ac all the way. im planning on loading up any remaining space with lithium.

my logic is, if they got battery operated busses and trains, then surely, i should be able to move a 2 ton vehicle, if i plan it right.


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## efan (Aug 27, 2009)

DDDvvv said:


> 4850 lb gross weight to be exact. its in my dream car list. going ac all the way. im planning on loading up any remaining space with lithium.
> 
> my logic is, if they got battery operated busses and trains, then surely, i should be able to move a 2 ton vehicle, if i plan it right.


that is a one heavy car  ! and I am not saying it is impossible, but in any case will cost quite a bit. so have you taught about components? what do you have in mind? what is your background, are you perhaps planning on building your own ac drive? it seems like an exciting project, and I am just trying to get some more details on it.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

cleaned out the rest of the engine compartment. took out the ac compressor, starter motor, and power steering pump, and gave it a nice clean. 









i think oven cleaner does a wonderful job, as compared to those lousy special engine cleaners.

the pizza pan sitting right where the transmission was, is the same size diameter as the ac motor im planning on using. its easier to plan/measure around for ideas with the pizza pan, as long as the wife does not find out.

here's the motor thats going in;









25hp A.O. smith 3 phase ac industrial motor. cost me $ 100 from a local motor contractor company. they called it "new old stock". interesting thing is that they have like 5 more of this, for the same price. but i only needed one.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

efan said:


> that is a one heavy car  ! and I am not saying it is impossible, but in any case will cost quite a bit. so have you taught about components? what do you have in mind? what is your background, are you perhaps planning on building your own ac drive? it seems like an exciting project, and I am just trying to get some more details on it.


this is an ambitious project to show that going ac would be more affordable than dc. before this, i looked at dc options. i did not find those cheap forklift motors that everyone is talking about.

shelling $1000+ for a dc controller, (with no chances of regeneration) was not very appealing either. so i looked at ac systems, of the industrial kind, and i saw opportunity.

im planning on using a 3 phase ac motor, and an industrial modified variable frequency drive.

cost so far:
donor vehicle: $1400
ac motor: $100
vfd $400

i do not see where the high cost factors in. im thinking, probably the batteries.

background? hobby electronics, and i can find my way around an automobile.

note: this is not ac/dc fight.


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## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

That'll be a nice car. Do you know which AC controller you are going to use?


DDDvvv said:


> cleaned out the rest of the engine compartment. took out the ac compressor, starter motor, and power steering pump, and gave it a nice clean.
> 
> View attachment 13250
> 
> ...


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

yesterday, i took apart the automatic transmission, just out of curiousity, and, i needed the tranny to driveshaft coupling.









the only pieces i neede was the final planetary drive, and the shaft coupler, on the middle foreground.

here is a close up









i also got the speed sensor gear wheel, because i plan on using the speedometer.

after that, i played around with the three planetary gears contained in a single unit:









i got a 4:1 ratio on this setup. too much trouble to incorporate into my conversion. but i got a few ideas. its possible to use the auto trannny in two ways:

---get the shifter solenoid on/off voltages for each gear change, and make your own controller. trash the torque converter.

---lock/weld transmission shafts/rings to a permanent gear ratio, remove electro/hydraulic system, fill her up with fluid, and close it up. trash the torque converter.

this are just ideas, and i dont care about the tranny, since its more weight for me.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

ac controller will be a converted industrial variable frequency drive. check out the "open source vfd conversion" thread in the controllers section.


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## fatsidney (Jul 11, 2011)

I am also doing a '98 540 conversion but I am doing it differently. I plan on spending more cash as I want all the comforts initially n the 540


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## fatsidney (Jul 11, 2011)

Sorry. hit send accidentally. 

Anyhow. I am going the DC route as the price of the AC components scare me. I so far have purchased an 11" Warp DC and a Soliton 1. Next week I will be purchasing the big money draw. The batteries. 94 100ah calb or gbs batteries. $1.25 per Ah. 

I don't know what performance you are looking for but I want the car to be able to perform in Dallas on the interstate, so 300v system is what I am shooting for. 

You are right about it not being that bad. All the guys that initially converted all these truck were all heavier than what I plan this car to be.


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## fatsidney (Jul 11, 2011)

A few photos of my build.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

nice car!!

im glad im not the only believer in this car. yes, ac is scary. ill be satisfied with a 60 mile range, which is the round trip distance to my place of employment. if not, then it will be an around the city errands car. im looking at batteries right now. do tell me how the battery purchase works out. and thanks for the inspiration.

the plan is also to preserve all the creature comforts: abs, power steering, speedometer, etc.

im planning for a pack voltage of 240v. this will be boosted to 650v by use of a boost converter, which will power 480v ac frequency drive. thats the plan for now, wish me luck .


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

its been a long time, life got too busy, and i got rehired back to my old job. (unrelated to all this). 

but i have been slowly "trying" with this project.

first came the beams for the motor mount;









spent a whole day finding solid mounting points, and drilling corresponding bolt holes;









that was solid and strong enough. so i borrowed a arc welder, and welded cross beams while the main beams were bolted on the car. 
then i took it all out, and patted myself on my back, for creating a motor subframe ;









reinforced all the weld points, and inspected the integrity of the welds by grinding down the joints. not too bad for a first timer buzz box rookie;


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## TEV (Nov 25, 2011)

Hi, and nice work.

You may want to take a look at this AC direct drive conversion http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forum...ac-lifepo4-ev-35419p48.html?highlight=brian's post #472.

Because you are right they did AC direct drive busses and other vehicles but their using a fixed ratio gear box something like 2:1 between motor and differential. Otherwise you have to change the differential ratio and probably won't be possible to find what you need.

I am planning an AC conversion my self, very soon I would start a thread , and I would like very much to do a direct drive, after reading that build I changed my mind an I am going with a clutchless manual transmission.

Good luck.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

thanks for the reply.

its a good thing you mentioned that, because the direct drive decision has been giving me a few sleepless nights. ( will i have enough low end?)

im currently looking around for other gearing options, and i need to make up my mind about it, because im making motor coupler measurements.


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## TEV (Nov 25, 2011)

I all ready got an used manual transmission ( my donor has a bad automatic) and the adapter plate before I find out about Powerglide , otherwise i would go for a Powerglide the biggest advantage it's the Parking position which is missing in a manual transmission and leaving the transmission in 1st gear for parking is useless with an electric motor.


http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/building-ev-powerglide-transmission-77105.html

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22045&highlight=powerglide

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74334&highlight=powerglide


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

finally got to put the motor in. had to pony up for that hoist, 2 ton from harborfreight, on sale this month (if you are subscribed to their monthly coupon flyer. saved $50)

motor lined up, and takes space left by transmission. third image shows motor shaft on left side, waiting for a mate to the driveshaft assembly on right side.

the six bolts on the driveshaft are on a rubber flex coupler. bmw and mercedes use this rubber coupler in nearly all their vehicles, and it takes care of lining up imperfections. 

thats where things stand as of now. im seriously thinking about my direct drive decision, and although im halfway there, im leaning towards additional gearing. to get to my place, one has to pass through a 30~40 degree incline valley, for half a mile, and everytime i drive through the valley, my direct drive plans get riddled with another bullet.
im calling it "the valley of death".

my differential is a 3.15:1 , and i have the option to change to a 4.10:1 from a 525i. still thinking and wondering if it will survive the valley.


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## Jesse67 (May 12, 2009)

Do you have any idea of what sort of torque that motor can produce? It looks pretty beefy! How about max RPM? What are your top speed requirements? Those 4:10 gears might be required but I guess with a custom VFD you may not know what your motor controller combination can do until you build it. 

As an example I have a direct drive AC but in a considerably smaller vehicle (~1600 lbs). It has a 6.83 final drive ratio and ~22" diameter tires so it would be hitting 6500rpm at 60mph if it could go that fast (limited by high RPM motor power). The acceleration is decent and I love the simplicity. It has about 700lbs of forward thrust available off the line so with just me in it, it takes off at 0.4G (700/1750) up till the torque starts to fall off at ~2500rpm. If it could hold this acceleration rate it would hit 60mph in about 7sec so it feels decently quick off the line. 
With your torque, gear ratios, tire size and estimated weight you can estimate acceleration rates and grade climbing ability to see if that would be acceptable to you. 

Jesse


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

thanks for the vote of confidence Jesse.

the motor does not seem to have any technical data on the web. its 25hp @ 1750 rpm . all the data i have is from the name plate. 

im not worried about the vfd. i got a 100hp nominal vfd, and removed all the ac components, so its still 100hp. im not using the modified one that i modded first time around. this 1336-b100-an-en was born as a 100hp drive.

im glad that the direct drive worked perfectly for you, and i envy your successful conversion.

i have not tried to calculate acceleration rates, since i dont have torque figures yet.

i think ill order the 4.1:1 differential, after initial direct drive tests, with the current 3.15:1 diff. this way, i can decide if to get a diff or plan for a transmission.

i've been using this great calculator from this website: http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_speed_rpm.htm

you enter your engine/motor speed, trans gear ratio, diff gear ratio, and tire radius, and it calculates your speed.

when i enter my specs, 3.15 diff ratio 1700 rpm, 12" tire radius, im getting 38.5 mph, at rated synchronous speed. not too bad, within my target speed. pushing the motor to 3000 rpm will give me 68 mph, which is within the motor's operating range.

thanks for the input


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## Jesse67 (May 12, 2009)

Well 25hp gives 75lbft at 1750rpm, 100hp gives 300lbft which should move you along. That's 1230lbs of thrust at the tires, that thrust divided by your car's weight gives your acceleration rate. 1230/4500lbs gives .273 Gs, somewhat relaxed but it'll work.

Jesse


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

thanks for the lbft calculations.

more bad news; the 4.1:1 differential, from the six cylinder 5-series are not interchangeable with the v8 models; the 540i and m5. so differential swap is a dead end. 

good news is, for the past 4 days, ive been tinkering with the auto transmission from this car, and i figured out how to lock it up in 1st or reverse gear permanently, and i like the results. 

i could not take any images since my hands were a greasy mess. will take it apart again, since i plan on cleaning/ greasing it up and take some images.

choice is tapping onto 1st, for a 3.55:1 ratio or reverse for a 4.10:1 ratio. of course theres the differential ratio to add to all this, which is 3.15:1

so transmission is going back, which means that im in the market for a two pole motor.


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## subcooledheatpump (Mar 5, 2012)

Assume you used first gear (3.55) and the differential (3.15) for an overall ratio 11.1852

Now assume you used a 25 HP 2 pole motor at 4X nominal torque with your 100 HP drive

100*5252/3600= 145.8 FTLBS

Then multiply by overall ratio 145.8*11.1825=

wheel torque 1630.4085 FTLBS

That would be pretty impressive


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## drgrieve (Apr 14, 2011)

Well for a second or two and then you'll run out of RPM


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

thats the other issue thats bugging me. running out of rpm. according to calculations, if i push the speed to 7200rpm (twice the synchronous speed of a 2-pole), thats when i get 48 mph.

thats not too bad , which brings me to the next question;
what maximum speed can you achieve with this motors? i know it depends on specific motor design and bearings. 

i searched google about this issue, and theres a guy who pushed a bridgeport mill spindle to around 10000rpm with no issues. but you got to take care of the heat. he was suggesting hacking the motor for delta winding, to increase torque at that speed.

in any case 48mph is ok for me for a city driver.

thanks for the input everyone.


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## subcooledheatpump (Mar 5, 2012)

An easy solution would be to hack the transmission controller or replace it. 

1st gear for takeoff from a stop, then 2nd gear the rest of the time. 

My own findings suggest that most induction motors can output reasonable torque up to 100 Hz, the torque falls off at 80 Hz and past 120 Hz the torque falls to unusable levels. Thats to say unusable in my application, it might be okay since you are using a gearbox to multiply torque. If you have an open frame motor with a fan on the shaft, I don't think heat would be too much of an issue at high speeds. Bearings I would be a little concerned about. Most motors' bearings can be changed to high speed bearings pretty easy.


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## Jesse67 (May 12, 2009)

I would think you're better off with the 4.11 gears if you can do it. What about the 6cyl diff is not interchangeable? An electric motor is not interchangeable with a BMW V8 my most people's definition but your doing it, a diff swap should be a piece of cake. You may just need the drive shaft or axle shafts from a 6 cyl model. I would guess the V8 has a beefier drive line and different transmission. Might have to take the whole suspension from a 6 cyl car in the worst case but the sub frames should bolt right up. 

Ideally you want your motor running at peak efficiency at the RPM of your most common cruising speed. I'm not too sure what this would be with these big industrial motors and VFDs but I would guess it's at the rated speed. 

Good luck!


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

the i6 and v8 diffs are not interchangeable, the v8's have beefier diffs and shafts. yes, the most effective way is to swap the subframe, and shafts, which means more complexity, and cost. 

and i dont want to lose the limited slip diff, which is a very sought after item in this model.

ill try out the modified transmission first, since its "free".

images to follow soon.


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## drgrieve (Apr 14, 2011)

Are you able to lock up 2nd gear or perhaps 3rd?

The gearing from 1st I think you'll find to be too much.

Best of luck with your adventures!


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## Jesse67 (May 12, 2009)

If you have enough torque to ever need that limited slip again you'll be doing very well indeed! Direct drive and electric motors will give you nice smooth steady acceleration but unless you have a very torquey motor (like a big series DC) you will not easily break the tires loose. Remember you're going to add several hundred pounds of batteries, many of which will be in the trunk or gas tank area. These will give you lots of traction. If that limited slip is highly sought after you may be able to sell it on the used market and come out ahead on your diff swap. 

You're right though you don't have much to loose doing some experimenting with the transmission if you can adapt your motor to it easily enough, although I would agree with Drgrieve above, 1st gear with an ~11:1 total ratio will really limit your top speed. Most guys with standard transmissions tend to run in 2nd or 3rd gear most of the time. It all depends on what you want your car to do in the end.

Jesse


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

speaking of transmissions, the other day i went hunting for motors and drives in my favourite salvage yard, and i decided to look at their transmission pile, since there was nothing else interesting.

this place is 140 miles away from my place, but is the only place that will allow you to rummage and "shop" for stuff. there's like four salvage yards in my city, but they pussied out on folks rummaging for stuff, due to liability issues.









usually, this whole area will have a ten foot high transmission pile, but they must have processed them recently. i was hoping to score a bmw transmission, but i knew the chances were slim. a lot of 4l60e in all kind of conditions

but here's what i found:









a powerglide with a broken bell. well i thought about the powerglide threads and i decided to snug it, to make the trip worthwhile. will probably use it for a future conversion. (or transmission experiments) this transmission is surprisingly tiny, once you get rid of the bell and tail housing.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

drgrieve said:


> Are you able to lock up 2nd gear or perhaps 3rd?
> 
> The gearing from 1st I think you'll find to be too much.
> 
> Best of luck with your adventures!


i made a mistake and welded the f-brake bearing and clutch assembly, which locks up for 1st gear, and reverse. (1st image) it turns for all other gears. damn, my haste!! i just ordered another one from ebay. thank god.





















1st image, the welded bearing, image 2, the three planetatry gear assemblies, image 3, assembled planetaries, ready for install

























assembly in the transmission case, motor will tap into the A-clutch assembly/shaft. image 2 is the output end, showing the parking lock gear and speed sensor, and image 3 is the finished tranny, weighing in at half its original weight.



















this is the "unneeded" stuff from the trans: bell housing, torque converter, all the valve bodies, a bunch of clutch packs, trans pump, and filter.and second image shows it back in the car, ready for second time motor coupling measurements and ideas.

yes, ill probably run out of speed, so im considering 2nd gear, which will give me a 6.77 total ratio from motor to wheels.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

finally found a nice motor, after a lot of searching. a 25hp baldor, all aluminum frame. weighs 170 lb, and had to pick it up 260 miles away. the long drive was worth it. it is brand new, and cost $250. got it from hgr surplus, euclid ohio.

wired up for delta, but possible to wire for wye. torque figures are off the charts, due to the delta config.

its a baldor jmm2516t. 
www.motoragents.com/pdf/*Baldor*/*JMM2516T*.pdf

time to jump back on this horse before winter starts.


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## subcooledheatpump (Mar 5, 2012)

same place I get my motors, good stuff


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## Mariacha (Jul 4, 2012)

Hey bro, am following this forum very closely, i want to see how the finished product will perform!


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

nice to hear from you too.

the local machine shop took forever to machine a motor to transmission coupler. i just picked it up, but winter is upon us. wish i had a garage.

right now, devoting all my time to the electronic aspects of this conversion. hopefully, i dont dissapoint you.


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## navalavi8or (Dec 26, 2012)

DDDvvv said:


> cleaned out the rest of the engine compartment. took out the ac compressor, starter motor, and power steering pump, and gave it a nice clean.
> 
> View attachment 13250
> 
> ...


 
PM sent requesting info 

thanks
Curtis


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## autophile (Aug 9, 2009)

I drive a gas powered 540i 6 speed and am following this thread very closely.

Thanks for posting all the details of your build.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

Finally, summer is here and its time to jump back on this horse.

I made a few changes to my plans. I decided to get a complete transmission. First order of business, transmission to motor plate. I went with 5/8 aluminium plate, and spent an hour cutting the transmission outline.

.
























The trick is to use a good jigsaw cutter. The dewalt did the trick. setting was on medium speed. High speed setting fuses the hot aluminium fillings to the cutting blade teeth, rendering It useless. I first tried it with a harborfreight jigsaw, and it was hell; bent, stuck, breaking blades, just not worth it.

I used acrylic to make a template of the trans outline and bolt holes. Then taped the template onto the aluminium stock with double sided carpet tape.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

For weeks, I've been having an ac/dc fight. I got a rebuilt forklift pump motor for a great deal. It didnt make the situation easier when i found out that the splined shaft coupler and female adapter that i ordered were exactly the same diameter as my ac motor; a chance to use the same coupler for both motors.

Ac won for now, since i dont have a dc controller yet. But i measured and drilled holes on the motor mount, for the dc motor too, just incase the ac system proves to be too much.

Took an afternoon to install to the car. Slow and tedious, since im doing this all by myself. The hoist really helps a lot.

All this work for just measurements and lining up. Might have to pull everything out, since I need to install an encoder on the motor, make sure the motor trans adapter is running true, clean up the compartment again, and find some way to reduce the size of the controller. Its still too big and heavy, although it fits perfectly on top of the motor.

There's still plenty of room in the engine compartment, thanks to rear wheel drive.


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## Shryke (Jun 14, 2013)

Hi I am very interested to see the results of your project. I am looking to turn my E38 740 into a hybrid and while not quite the same thing, this is certainly very interesting.


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## Pbk (Jun 3, 2012)

I'm loving this build I want to do a 540 wagon I drive one now but 13mpg sucks I drive 3 miles at a time all city and average 18.6 mph over the course of a month.

Just wanted to suggest looking into supporting that beast of a motor from something other than the face plate. It looks like you used the foot to,hold up the controls. Those big motors with a foot usually need to be supported they are too heavy for face mounting. Just my 2 cents 
Hope to see burnout pics soon


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

Pbk said:


> I'm loving this build I want to do a 540 wagon I drive one now but 13mpg sucks I drive 3 miles at a time all city and average 18.6 mph over the course of a month.
> 
> Just wanted to suggest looking into supporting that beast of a motor from something other than the face plate. It looks like you used the foot to,hold up the controls. Those big motors with a foot usually need to be supported they are too heavy for face mounting. Just my 2 cents
> Hope to see burnout pics soon


The above images were for measurements only. A welded truss system will hold up the main ac motor mount ( thats facing upwards) to the original ICE mounts.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

A little more progress. 

I built this contraption to power the controller from 240v mains. There's a precharge switch to a 10 ohm resistor, bypassing the main contactor, which feeds the rectifier. Then there's the modified pfc that converts the 320vdc to 550vdc that feeds the controller driver board on the industrial vfd.









I finally decided to go with the torque converter. Two reasons; I could not get the modified torque converter shaft true. Always some wobble, and motor binds every half turn. And then, I wasnt sure how sensitive this transmission is. I tried to keep everything stock, for now.

Trying to line it to the flexplate;









Flexplate couples to the motor;









No binding this time. And its ready to go back into the vehicle;









And then I spent three whole days figuring this spaghetti mess that connects the trans and engine controllers to all the sensors, solenoids and motors to the engine. Kept on getting an engine failsafe program warning, on the dashboard message display. 









All that time, it was a fuse with dirty contacts that was causing the trouble. To keep the dme/ecu happy, this contraption has to be always hooked up;









Its the throttle body, complete with the tps pots. Once the picky ecu senses the tps, it goes to normal operation, but will not turn on the transmission controller, until it gets a pwm train, from the engine rpm sensor from the flexplate.

My scopemeter has a signal generator and I found out that a 1khz signal feed to the ecu corresponds to 1000 rpm. Ecu goes into failsafe if you try to increase the frequency.

After experimenting, I came up with 500hz as the perfect frequency. No engine failsafe, but any increase in frequency has to be proportional to the throttle applied, if driving in 4th and 5th gear.

The transmission is working perfectly. Shifts really smooth, steptronic also is working. But since I just looped the trans cooling lines, the atf gets really hot. I will probably incorporate the stock atf to coolant heat exchanger.

"Drove" for 2 miles on jackstands

Trying to figure out how to lock the torque converter, after vehicle starts moving. It has a special solenoid that does only that.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

I am following this thread very religiously from know on lol ... Im converting a 2001 320i very soon with an automatic shiftronic transmsiion as well  ... Ill definetly be asking when your completly finished how you tricked the ecu to think all is ok and how you got the tranny going good  ...


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

I will be glad to help. My only advise right now is to get some good wiring diagrams of your car, and dont get rid of the ice yet, atleast, save the sensors and solenoids.

Just today, I trimmed out the spaghetti mess and got a engine failsafe.

Traced it to a missing solenoid in the wiring mess.


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## Wayne @electricblue (Aug 6, 2013)

with out a trans, 0-60 can be timed with a sun dial.. A hodge podge conversion will give you a hodge podge conversion


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

A little bit more progress. 

Running the motor was threatening to rip off the rubber base transmission mounts. So there was need for a sturdy motor mount.

A few of my welds are not uniform, but the motor mount holds up great. Will probably redo all the welds later.

























The mount attaches on to the ice mounts.

Still running tests on the transmission. Upshifts are unbelievably smooth. You can feel the downshifts slightly.

The tcu locks the torque converter on 4th and 5th gears only, which causes a rumble. Ill have to balance the torque converter again.

If the rumble continues, then ill skip the converter entirely.

The controller is now running from the hall effect pedal position sensor, and im using the rpm sensor feed from the flexplate.

Speedometer and rpm display working perfect.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

Still having issues with the tq converter lockup rumble. Feels like driving on those expressway side rumblestrips. Its a common issue with this transmission. Its a warning that tq conv is nearing its end, and needs to be replaced.

Rather than replace it, I decided to skip it. So no tq converter.

Other reasons
; it weighs over 50 lb with fluid in it
; cant seem to balance it correctly to the flex plate
; generating too much heat

I was chatting with a local transmission repair shop owner, and learnt a big lesson.

Do not mention your plans to run an automatic transmission without a torque converter!!.. they will call your local assylum to have you committed.

This is the contraption I welded up to replace the tq conv.









Got a jaw coupler to attach motor to trans. This is a 1" 3/8 l110 type. Capable of withstanding 45hp nominal. Had to machine it to shorten the length.

Attached to motor end;









And attached to fake tq converter on trans side;









The jaw coupler spider is all brass. Its the same price as the plastic spider. I told the salesman that I dont believe in metal parts pushing on plastic parts, and he rummaged in a box and found the brass one.

The masonry drill bit sticking from the center shaft is covering the hole that supplies lockup atf pressure to the tq converter. Its the right size and fits snug. Will be trimmed to the end of motor shaft.


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

DDDvvv how will you supply trans pressure then? Are you eliminating the trans pump all together? Or running a supplementary electric pump also, like Mixlplix does? 
Looking good so far, and getting better!


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

The trans pump will still be driven by the contraption replacing the tq converter. The shiny smooth end drives the pump.

I have another thread outlining how I cut up the torque converter:

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/trying-automatic-transmission-79428.html

Will install it first, test to make sure tcu is happy, before I go drilling holes in my trans, to wire a backup pump that will be taking over when traction motor is stopped.

Going milzpix style all the way.


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Sounds awesome!


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

Had to have the tq conv adapter redone. A lot of wobble, from the way I welded it. Machine shop is taking forever.

So time to think of other aspects, like power steering and heating.

Ive been looking at different heating options. I think the best option would be a ceramic heater replacing the heater core. But I dont want to dismantle the dash. Too many other commitments.

So only other option is heating fluid and sending it to the heater core. In trying to save money, ive been thinking of constructing my own heater with 2 inch steel tube and a household water heater element.

Thats when it hit me. A tankless water heater has a great electric heat exchanger. I googled for images, and sure enough, I found several. Here is an example.









And there's a bunch of choices. 120/240v, some have 3 elements, that can be series or parallel tied to match your pack voltage.

And they are all over ebay and amazon, new and used.

Anyone tried this idea?


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Wow nice find. I haven't seen anyone use this on the forum. Remember it will want AC voltage so you will need a converter and higher DC volts to run it.


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## TEV (Nov 25, 2011)

DDDvvv said:


> Had to have the tq conv adapter redone. A lot of wobble, from the way I welded it. Machine shop is taking forever.
> 
> So time to think of other aspects, like power steering and heating.
> 
> ...


Or you can just use a proper one made for cars and DC power
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/mes-rm3-heaters-ebay-81229p2.html

I have one available , PM if you're interested.


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

Thanks for looking out Tev. 

But I already located and purchased a tankless heater for experimentation.

And I bet you wouldn't sell the ev one you have for $49 , which is what it cost me for that tank less water heater.

The control section is supposedly not working, but the heat exchanger is perfect. Its a rheem 3.2kw 120v heater, and uses triac control.

Let the experiments begin.


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## TEV (Nov 25, 2011)

DDDvvv said:


> Thanks for looking out Tev.
> 
> But I already located and purchased a tankless heater for experimentation.
> 
> ...


No problem 

Happy experimenting


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## VFDoh! (Jan 11, 2014)

Hi DDDvvv.

How's the beemer coming along, any new developments?


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## DDDvvv (Apr 2, 2012)

no big developments. the car is covered by snow. 

thanks for the interest.

I decided to not instigate a > 300 plus page thread, so ill be posting only when there's a series of significant progress.

before the snow cover, I installed the torque converter back. the tqc rumble on 4th and fifth gear is caused by the tcu sending a pwm to the torque converter lockup clutch.

since ill take control of the tqc, this will not be an issue.

vacuum pump from a 02 vw beetle was also installed.

snugged a ford 06 escape hybrid 12vdc converter from a local wrecker. 

also trying to figure out the 06 mazda3 power steering pump.

controller was modded again, by cutting heasink, and compressing size, to 2/3 the original size, and mounted onto the motor in the car.

im halfway through designing my own ev charger.

oh, yes, I decided to go with the 18650 cells obtained from recycling laptop battery. this means that I need a heavy duty spot welder, and rather than spending the 4 grand, I decided to make one, from my parts box. 

I got more than enough on my winter plate. will post with pictures, next time I achieve success in atleast four of the ventures listed on this post.


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

> ... I decided to go with the 18650 cells obtained from recycling laptop battery.


 ..How many ?


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## VFDoh! (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks for the come-back DDDvvv!

I figgered you'd be snowed in. Where I'm at it's the opposite. Last year instead of our 31.6" of rain we got only 5.06" and this year in our rainiest month we've had 0.00" 

I'll be converting my T-bird and using it's auto tranny so I'm interested in how you managed to control the tc lockup.

I'd like to use 18650's to run my convert too!


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## epyon (Mar 20, 2008)

DDDvvv said:


> ac controller will be a converted industrial variable frequency drive. check out the "open source vfd conversion" thread in the controllers section.


Thank you !


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