Notes and tools for home EV conversions.
The SAE coupler on US AC charging. It exists so the wall only sends power when the handle is seated. Numbers live on the PWM note.
The control pilot is not a conversation. Duty cycle is the advertised amp limit. Proximity is the latch interlock. Most writeups mash those together.
A lot of boards sold as “J1772 controllers” are EVSE-side. A conversion needs the vehicle inlet, the vehicle-side pilot network, and an onboard charger. Those are different boxes.
Work the pack from range and Wh/mile, then size conductors and protection from current. Use the toolbox. Do not re-guess the arithmetic in a spreadsheet.
Inverter, BMS, charger, and dash only talk if they agree on the same IDs and the same bit packing. A DBC is that map. Without it you have hex frames and no agreed meaning.
The BMS you buy for a conversion is not the factory board that came on the wrecked pack.
The main contactor is the switch between pack and inverter. Closing it onto an empty DC-link cap looks like a short. Contacts weld shut. You usually find out later, when it will not open.
The plug on the wall is not the charger. The EVSE switches AC. The box on the car turns that AC into DC for the pack.
The CCS handshake lives in the LIM, not just the inlet. People reuse BMW i3 LIMs on conversions (ZombieVerter) for DC fast charge. The module is region-coded.
Most boards sold as “J1772 controllers” generate PWM. This one loads it. It is the vehicle.