AEM EV plans to release a comprehensive control system for EV conversions using a Tesla Large Drive Unit (LDU) Base Drive that increases horsepower over the factory output. AEM’s Inverter Control Board was co-developed with Cascadia Motion, a maker of EV propulsion systems, and is intended to be combined with AEM EV’s VCU200 vehicle control unit.

AEM claims to have increased the Tesla LDU Base Drive’s horsepower by 26% and believes further increases in output power are possible before the system is released in early 2021. Validation for the Tesla LDU Performance Drive motor is scheduled for later this year.

AEM EV’s LDU Inverter Control Board replaces the OEM Tesla board in the LDU inverter and connects to the VCU200 over CAN bus. An adapter harness is included to provide a near plug-and-play connection except for sourcing 12 V power and ground connections. The AEM EV VCU200/LDU Inverter Control Board system is designed for EV conversions—it will not operate an LDU-equipped OEM Tesla vehicle.

The board’s features include:

• Motor torque management (programmable torque curves) dependent on vehicle operating states and other driver-selectable modes
• Dynamic torque limits for traction/launch control strategies maximize safety and optimize performance
• Input characterization, including accelerator pedal, brake switch, PRND switches, and other driver/vehicle inputs
• Accessory control of cooling pumps, cooling fans, lights and more
• Redundancy and arbitration features for all safety-critical inputs
• Startup and shutdown sequencing of high-voltage components, including independent contactor control
• CAN message translation for BMS, inverter, PDUs and other CAN accessories
• Diagnostics and fault detection including CAN message timeouts, thermal limits, contactor, and inverter enable cross-checks 

Source: AEM EV