The look, the feel, the sound — there are few things more satisfying in this world than a nice switch. If you’re putting together a device that you plan on using frequently, outfitting it with high-quality switches is one of those things that’s worth the extra cost and effort.

So we understand completely why [STR-Alorman] went to such great lengths to get the aftermarket seat heaters he purchased working with the gorgeous switches Toyota used in the 2006 4Runner. That might not sound like the kind of thing that would involve reverse engineering hardware, creating a custom PCB, or writing a bit of code to tie it all together. But of course, when working on even a halfway modern automobile, it seems nothing is ever easy.

The process started with opening up the original Toyota switches and figuring out how they work. The six-pin units have a lot going on internally, with a toggle, a rheostat, and multiple lights packed into each one. Toyota has some pretty good documentation, but it still took some practical testing to distill it down into something a bit more manageable. The resulting KiCad symbol for the switch helps explain what’s happening inside, and [STR-Alorman] has provided a chart that attributes each detent on the knob with the measured resistance.

But understanding how the switches worked was only half the battle. The aftermarket seat heaters were only designed to work with simple toggles, so [STR-Alorman] had to develop a controller that could interface with the Toyota switches and convince the heaters to produce the desired result. The custom PCB hosts a Teensy 3.2 that reads the information from both the left and right seat switches, and uses that to control a pair of beefy MOSFETs. An interesting note here is the use of very slow pulse-width modulation (PWM) used to flip the state of the MOSFET due to the thermal inertia of the heater modules.

We love the effort [STR-Alorman] put into documenting this project, going as far as providing the Toyota part numbers for the switches and the appropriate center-console panel with the appropriate openings to accept them. It’s an excellent resource if you happen to own a 4Runner from this era, and a fascinating read for the rest of us.

While EV charging isn’t that tedious with a cable, for quick trips, being able to just park and have your car automatically charge would be more convenient. Researchers from Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and VW have moved high-speed wireless EV charging one step closer to reality.

We’ve seen fast wireless EV chargers before, but what sets this system apart is the coil size (~0.2 m² vs 2.0 m²) and the fact it was demonstrated on a functioning EV where previous attempts have been on the bench. According to the researchers, this was the first wireless transfer to a light duty vehicle at 270 kW. Industry standards currently only cover systems up to 20 kW.

The system uses a pair of polyphase electromagnetic coupling coils about 50 cm (19″) wide to transfer the power over a gap of approximately 13 cm (5″). Efficiency is stated at 95%, and that 270 kW would get most EVs capable of those charge rates a 50% bump in charge over ten minutes (assuming you’re in the lower part of your battery capacity where full speeds are available).

We’ve seen some in-road prototypes of wireless charging as well as some other interesting en route chargers like pantographs and slot car roads. We’ve got you covered if you’re wondering what the deal is with all those different plugs that EVs have too.

Last year [Jimmy] got a request from a customer ([Dave]) to help convert a 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup into an electric drive vehicle, with a crashed 2019 Nissan Leaf providing the battery and electric motor for the conversion. He has documented the months-long journey with plenty of photos, as well as a series of videos over at the [EVSwap Conversions] YouTube channel. While the idea sounds easy enough, there’s a lot more to it than swapping out the ICE with an electric motor and sticking some batteries to the bottom of the car somewhere with double-sided tape. The pickup truck got effectively stripped down  and gutted, before the 110 kW (150 HP) motor got installed using an adapter plate.

The donor Leaf’s battery pack came in at a decently sized 40 kWh, which should give the converted Nissan Frontier BEV a range of easily 100 miles. This pack was split up into two packs, which got put into a custom aluminium battery box, each mounted on one side of the driveshaft. The charging port got installed on the front of the car, next to the logo, discreetly behind a panel. The front of the car had much of the openings that were needed for the ICE’s radiator sealed up for reduced air friction, along with the new low-friction tires that got installed. Although this converted car still has a radiator, it only needs to assisting cooling the motor stack (including inverter and charger) when driving slowly or charging, making it far less demanding and thus allows for a more sleek front.

As a bonus, the car still has the manual 5-gear shift, just without a clutch, and the pickup bed can now also tilt, albeit with hydraulics (so far). Considering that it started with a decent 1998 pickup and totaled Nissan Leaf, this is among the cleanest conversions we have seen, not to mention a good use of a crashed BEV.

Thanks to [JohnU] for the tip.