System and method for operating a three-phase inverter with four or more legs

A vehicle comprising:

• a direct-current (DC) battery;
• an inverter electrically coupled with the DC battery, the inverter comprising four legs, each leg including two switches operating complementary to each other;
• an electric motor electrically coupled with and powered by the inverter;
• a controller coupled with the inverter and operative to determine which three of the four legs are selected to operate the inverter, the controller implementing a space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) strategy in which a remaining one of the four legs is connected to operate the inverter when a current switching state of the SVPWM strategy is in a first null vector state;
• and
• a junction box disposed between the inverter and the electric motor, the junction box comprising a plurality of switches controlled by the controller to electrically couple the selected three of the four legs with the electric motor the junction box further comprising a plurality of secondary switches controlled by the controller to electrically couple at least one of the legs with an additional electric component.