Ford Ranger Inverter board Support Thread

[joromy]

But with the BCM removed could I run a 96s (390-400v) pack without running into issues? Or some the components not set up to take that kind of voltage?

Hi, and welcome!!
According to Siemens specs (Ballard) it can handle up to 385V.
The IGBT's are 600V and the capasitors are 450V
The voltage sensor will be able to read 400V or more.

Tom has made my favorite BMS for Tesla battery, looks like it will be available for i3 pack:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=131&p=5578#p5578

[ajbessinger]

But with the BCM removed could I run a 96s (390-400v) pack without running into issues? Or some the components not set up to take that kind of voltage?

Hi, and welcome!!
According to Siemens specs (Ballard) it can handle up to 385V.
The IGBT's are 600V and the capasitors are 450V
The voltage sensor will be able to read 400V or more.

Siemens_inv_mot.JPG

Tom has made my favorite BMS for Tesla battery, looks like it will be available for i3 pack:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=131&p=5578#p5578

That's some very useful info! So in that case, theoretically it looks like the max number of cells in series I would want to go if charging to full (4.15-4.2v) would be 92s. But I suppose that by only charging to 4.0v per cell then 96s would work.

[joromy]

That's some very useful info! So in that case, theoretically it looks like the max number of cells in series I would want to go if charging to full (4.15-4.2v) would be 92s. But I suppose that by only charging to 4.0v per cell then 96s would work.

It's good practice to have some slack up to 100% SOC. But that depends on what range you want as "daily drive"
I have "daily drive" set to 80% SOC, and "extended range" set to 95% SOC (about 4.1V)

The Ranger is rather power hungry, about 200-250W/h kM
Compared to a Bolt 120-200W/h kM

Then it should be easy to find the range of your new pack.

[riii]

Hi Johannes,

Do you have an interest in chatting with us tmrw (today) preferably facetime? We have your board installed on two different trucks and are attempting to spin the motor using an external power supply 300v current limited at 1.5a. We have the new thermister installed and the 4.7k resisters installed and followed all your suggested parameter configurations. We are curious though about what is meant the following direction:
Cut one wire going to the gear shift switch, use for 5V to the oil pressure sensor.

We are getting a HW over current error after ignition is started and the brake is released.

Do we actually need more amperage? Any other suggestions?

Thanks kindly,

[riii]

Hi Johannes,

Just wanted to add some details about our setup and the problem we're having:
- We've modified the ranger's contact box and verified that the TIM can control all the relays properly. Our power supply is connected to the contactor box and we've tried up to 300V limited at up to 1.5A. The TIM is able to successfully precharge. If we switch ignition to "start", the TIM will go into the "RUN" opmode and close the main DC contactor.
- With the brake depressed, we can shift into drive and see that the inverter begins switching and delivering some current to the motor. This was visible in the web interface and we verified using current meters on an oscilloscope (the 8.8kHz switching frequency was visible).
- As soon as we let go of the brake, the TIM will error out and open the DC contactors. The error is hardware overcurrent. Oscilloscope shows that switching stops suddenly, with no spikes in motor AC current or DC current to inverter.
- Both trucks are experiencing the same issue.

TIM telemetry notes (web interface screenshots attached):
- DC voltage measurement is working.
- Motor speed sensor is working.
- pot measures accelerator pedal correctly (ranges from ~830 at minimum to ~3600 at maximum).
- pot2 measures brake pressure correctly. Your documentation specifies pot2min and pot2max to both be 4095. Should we change this to reflect the actual min and max values?
- "dir" indicator reflects gear selector position accurately (NEUTRAL, FWD, or REV).
- tmphs reads inverter temperature correctly.
- "tmpm" reads motor temperature correctly.
- "din_brake" is 1 when brake is depressed, 0 if not
- "dout_prec" and "dout_dcsw" always seem to show 0 even though the contactors are being controlled correctly.

Additionally the motor oil pump doesn't seem to be running. As I understand, the oil pump relay is controlled by the same signal that controls the main contactor, which is working. Is there a harness or other modification we need to make for the oil pump to run?

Thanks,
-Johnny

[riii]

We applied 300V at 10A and still have the same behavior of the truck opening the main relay when the brake pedal is depressed after ignition is and the gear selector is in drive. We are now going to try updating the firmware on the Joromy board.

[riii]

Joromy, which version of firmware are you using in your truck currently and where can I find it? -Thanks

[joromy]

- "dout_prec" and "dout_dcsw" always seem to show 0 even though the contactors are being controlled correctly.

Additionally the motor oil pump doesn't seem to be running. As I understand, the oil pump relay is controlled by the same signal that controls the main contactor, which is working. Is there a harness or other modification we need to make for the oil pump to run?

The contactors showing 0, but you get it to RUN mode is strange.
The oil pump should start, no modification needed.

Remember the original contactors in the Ranger should not be driven directly (12V) You need to use the control board for economizer function.

[joromy]

Joromy, which version of firmware are you using in your truck currently and where can I find it? -Thanks

I use 4.12. Se attached file.
This was made with PWM speed output for Ford Ranger, but I think this is kept in newer versions to.

It may be better to use newer, but my test truck is currently grounded by missing EU inspection date......

Use the bin file, if you use the web interface.

https://openinverter.org/wiki/Downloads

[joromy]

We applied 300V at 10A and still have the same behavior of the truck opening the main relay when the brake pedal is depressed after ignition is and the gear selector is in drive. We are now going to try updating the firmware on the Joromy board.

Have done some reading on the Tesla inverter, there is much more info there.
And the overcurrent issue is frequently discussed.
Lower the Fslipmin, and increase in small steps.
Don't know how low, but you should not get overcurrent if its very low, but no motor spinning either.

[joromy]

Bobby
Can you post a plot of the il1 and il2 at 1000 samples and 1000 display limit

And have you calibrated/set the potmin/potmax, it could be a little different from truck to truck?

[riii]

Thanks. Looks like we already have the same version. We tried uploading the latest version 4.73 (sine.hex) using the browser interface from wifi module, file upload. We get confirmation that upload is complete but when we refresh the browser and power cycle the truck the browser interface still says we are on version 4.12 and none of the parameters have changed. How do we know if the firmware actually updates?

[joromy]

Thanks. Looks like we already have the same version.

Don't bother with the version for now, it should spin the motor anyway.

[riii]

Firmware version 4.71 sine.bin was able to update via wifi web interface. Test parameters from the attached sheet were entered into the configurations though there were a few parameter options on the latest firmware version that were not listed on the sheet.

We conducted the test mentioned in a previous post in which the brake pedal was depressed after the ignition is on and the gear is in drive. The main contactor opened again even after the firmware update and parameters updated.

The oscilloscope in the photo captured a spike at the moment of the brake depression that may the source of the over current error. We were measuring one of the comparator circuits. I will update tmrw which circuit exactly we were measuring.

We also noticed similar spikes while switching the gear selector. It's possible the comparator circuit is picking up some noise that is causing it to send a possible erroneous signal which may seem like a current surge and opens the main contactors.

[joromy]

It's possible the comparator circuit is picking up some noise that is causing it to send a possible erroneous signal which may seem like a current surge and opens the main contactors.

There is a bug in the board version that you have, that may be relevant. The chassis ground in to the board has one function, and that is to give ground to the gnd shield in the current sensor signal wire. You could solder a wire with ground lug to this screw hole in the board.
I have not done this in my truck or others, but it would not harm....

Chassis gnd is located here:

BUT more important!! if you don't have the braided ground strip that should go from inverter casing to truck chassis, you have no chassis ground at all, that is not good for emi noise

[joromy]

Bobby.

Did you read the current or run a plot on the web interface, when you did the wrap wire around current sensor test.

If you could repeat this test, and simulate pos and neg current of 0 to 400A with wrap wire around current sensor.
And with the car in "RUN" mode and not let go off brake, best is to disable creep mode (disable idle speed/creep set idlespeed to -100), then you don't need to press the brake.

And run a slow plot in the web interface, with log on spot value: din_ocur, il1 and il2.

Then you can see exactly at what current level the overcurrent error appears.

If it trips at the wrong current level, there is some hw error in the comperator resistor divider...... Or some EMI noise....
Maybe some more aggressive filtering would be needed, to depress "false " (noise) current spikes.

[allenwrench]

Hi Johannas,
We have taken the truck out of creep mode and we simulated 100 A, negative and positive and we're seeing the same voltages you had listed. Can't go much higher because our test wires are pretty small. I will clean the conformal coating off screw hole and attach chassis ground there. We have the braided ground attached but it is on the bottom half of the clamshell lid so maybe I will attach to both sides when I reinstall board as well. When we were running this test last night we didn't have a plot going, haven't seen that work yet but we were watching voltages on ila/b and current high/low and everything checked out. Din-Ocur would error out at current spike.

[allenwrench]

Also today we will set -100 in idle speed and try without brake.

[joromy]

We have taken the truck out of creep mode and we simulated 100 A, negative and positive and we're seeing the same voltages you had listed. Can't go much higher because our test wires are pretty small.

Did you have it in RUN mode, and did the overcurrent appear when you did simulation between -100A and 100A?
If it did, at what current did it it trip overcurrent?

If you can simulate going from -400A to 400A (or lower) and not getting an overcurrent, then this is a noise/current spike problem. And some extra filtering may be needed. (hardware or software filtering)

[joromy]

Hi, allenwrench.
Maybe a little premature, but just wanted to give you this info, before you start to remove more chips.....

The IAA module has many important functions, that will work even if the BCM is removed!

Controlling:
High voltage AUX relay and feedback.
DC/DC and temperature sense of 12V battery.
Air condition and cabin heat.
Vacuum pump.
Coolant pump, coolant temperature sense and radiator fan.
The list go on.........

All this will work if the IAA is enabled AFTER precharge of high viltage AUX circuits.

If you want to use original wires (recommended) you have to do some mods to the IAA circuit board.

(right click and "open/save link" to get big picture)

Cut trace 26, red textbox. Solder diode and wire between pin 26 and pin 97 (run/start).
Then connect your BMS precharge output to your precharge circuit.
Connect the BMS pos contactor output to the IAA "new" pin 26, which now is IAA enable.
You must also cut the wire from ignition (run/start) at the IAA connector pin 97, so you don't get IAA enabled from ignition (before precharge) but from BMS.

The new IAA enable, will also be used while charging, with modified original charger or other charger.

Have a look at my setup with the Simp BMS, maybe some of it have similar functions as your BMS.

Ranger_setup_new_8 - Schematic.pdf
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=187#p1870

[joromy]

The instrument cluster gauges and lamps, can be controlled this way: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=433
Maybe not on your list yet, but i'm far ahead of you...

[joromy]

Don't forget this mod, if not you will burn your HV AUX relay after a while, because the IAA close the AUX to fast, before the BMS has precharged the AUX circuits.

IAA cut pin9 7 295 (LB/PK) wire, run/start.
And run new wire from the BMS to the IAA pin 97.

[riii]

This is the config I use for testing the motor in "free wheel" mode.
If you have it on the bench you may have to lower the Boost setting, so it don't jump.

Remember that inverter PWM polarity must be neg. on the Ranger inverter!!!!
"Actual" is the column that' is relevant for Ranger!

It's a very good idea to use a powersupply with first test, at about 50-100V and low amp (<10A), the you avoid blowing something up
Don't run the motor/inveter very long (30sec max) if the water cooling is off, and follow the inverter temp closely!

Try to understand what the different parameters mean, I know it could be difficult if you haven't worked with motors of this kind. But you will benefit from it in the long run.
It's much easier to "play" with the settings when you have free wheels, then on the road.

Joromy, are the parameter settings you included in this post (in the "actual" column I assume) the same as what you have your truck tuned to currently for actual normal road driving? I'm having trouble tuning my truck to accelerate up to 104-112 KPH which is necessary for freeway driving here in California. It's most difficult if there is a slight grade or hill. The truck is similarly sluggish going up steep hills from a full stop, so sluggish that I cannot trust being able to get up a hill in my neighborhood without rolling through a stop sign. It would be great to see what your truck is currently tuned to so I can get a better nominal settings for my truck. Thanks, and I hope you staying safe .

[joromy]

I don't have my truck on the road yet, I need to have it inspected by the vehicle department, part of EU regulations...

I recommend to follow the tuning guide:
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Parameters#Tuning_Guide

Do you still have trouble with overcurrent? Try increase the deadtime to 160 (about 3us)

Edit:
I know Damien have had great success with the same motor, you could try the "hv_perfect1.txt"
This setup is practically the same as the Ranger openinverter (HW ver2)
Not sure about his gear ratio, so that should be considered.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44&p=3014#p3011

Also in the wiki
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Configura ... ns_1PV5135

[arber333]

I recommend you look at this thread also. Its a rev2 board, but there are some issues with firmware revision and oclimit in there. in the end he apparently solved it by separating encoder power supply and IGBT driver supply from logic power. Not full separation, only the source.
I recommend you go and extend the dead time. Every dedicated inverter i experimented with has dead time higher than 2us. I would recommend you use 180 setting for around 3us. There is no real difference in performance unless you use really low inductance motor.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=690&start=50