Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

lukes wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 8:56 pm Hey, couple questions.
-Do I need a HV battery hooked up in order for charging to start? Was just going to stick some multimeter probes on the end of the cable.
-Is there any indication that the charger is on? I’m giving it 12v on pins 9 and 2 and it’s not drawing any current. Also, I don’t see any lights on inside or hear fan noise.
-Is the output voltage a constant 400v when it’s working? I see some posts claiming to charge at 360v and I didnt think you could control that.

TIA
Luke
Its been some time so bare with me...
P2 is GND
P4 is command PWM
P9 is logic 12V supply
P11 is 12V charger enable

You need to provide 100hz PWM at 25% to 90% duty on control pin. I think you can connect 2x light bulbs in series to HV output so you have a visual notice when it starts.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by lukes »

Thanks Arber, and yep, I have it all hooked up according to the pinouts posted a while back. I was wondering if there’s a visual indication that the charger is working. I’m getting no voltage output and the charger doesnt draw any current at 12V. As far as I can tell it’s not pulling any line voltage from the wall either. I verified there was 120v at the input connector… does it require 240vac? Do I need a HV battery connected in order for the charger to apply voltage to the output connector? Is the whole thing I’m missing is applying 12v to pin 11? I just thought I would have some indication that the charger was in an (on, yet idle) state.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

lukes wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:11 pm ...
Do I need a HV battery connected in order for the charger to apply voltage to the output connector? Is the whole thing I’m missing is applying 12v to pin 11? I just thought I would have some indication that the charger was in an (on, yet idle) state.

Once you connect pin 12 you will see some 0.6A draw.
I cant test 120Vac as i am in europe, but 230Vac works really well. There is a pic in the beginning of this thread showing AC schematic.
I think you need to connect charger to HV battery for it to work. It doesnt need a precharge as it has ptc current limiters inside.
When you apply pwm you will hear a relay and current will flow.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

arber333 wrote: Sat Jul 23, 2022 8:21 am
Once you connect pin 12 you will see some 0.6A draw.
I cant test 120Vac as i am in europe, but 230Vac works really well. There is a pic in the beginning of this thread showing AC schematic.
I think you need to connect charger to HV battery for it to work. It doesnt need a precharge as it has ptc current limiters inside.
When you apply pwm you will hear a relay and current will flow.
Not an EE here, but are the PTC current limiters meant as protection or for normal use?

I wasn't expecting to not have to precharge, so mine is connected in parallel with my inverter. I was just re-using the same precharge and current sensing i already have on the ptrn.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

vwbrady wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 6:27 pm
Not an EE here, but are the PTC current limiters meant as protection or for normal use?

I wasn't expecting to not have to precharge, so mine is connected in parallel with my inverter. I was just re-using the same precharge and current sensing i already have on the ptrn.
What i know about PTCs they raise resistance when they heat up. So with larger current they dissipate energy as heat and resistance limits current further.
How you will then innitiate charging if you have DC contactor in the way? If you start inverter with charging be careful your car is not capable of wandering off...
You can directly connect charger to HV and there will only be a small spark. Of course if main transistors would be open full power would bypass PTC element which would not be good for connector. This is why i recommend you first connect HV and only then AC connector.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by EV_Builder »

It's NTC so when cold current builds up NTC heats up and starts conducting properly , but then device is precharged. When in use same thing current keeps resistance low..
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see http://www.wdrautomatisering.nl for bespoke BMS modules.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by 86elcamino »

All of this is way over my head. :oops:
I have a question, though. I'm using a Volt Gen 2 battery pack. Will it be possible for me to use a matching Gen2 charger and DC/DC converter without too much engineering? Any advice would be appreciated. :)
Using Zombie with GS450h inverter and transmission
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

86elcamino wrote: Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:27 pm All of this is way over my head. :oops:
I have a question, though. I'm using a Volt Gen 2 battery pack. Will it be possible for me to use a matching Gen2 charger and DC/DC converter without too much engineering? Any advice would be appreciated. :)
Using Zombie with GS450h inverter and transmission
DcDc can be connected to HV directly. If you show it PWM it starts with 14V. But if you remove PWM it will revert to 13.6V as a failsafe.

Charger will require 100Hz PWM signal to run and BMS to stop it when pack is full.
I bet you could get zombieverter to output 2x PWM signals for you...
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

arber333 wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 6:02 am DcDc can be connected to HV directly. If you show it PWM it starts with 14V. But if you remove PWM it will revert to 13.6V as a failsafe.

Charger will require 100Hz PWM signal to run and BMS to stop it when pack is full.
I bet you could get zombieverter to output 2x PWM signals for you...
I've been thinking about how best to hook these up. I didn't realize the DCDC had a failsafe to 13.6V, that's good to know.

My plan is to run a simple PWM generator that can be had off Amazon for $10. DCDC output will be on a time delay relay and duty will be set at the minimum (10%? IIRC), so with ignition it will come on some number of seconds later, long after precharge has completed as to not disrupt that. I have a total of 8A of 12v loads with all lights and everything else on. So really, I almost don't need a DCDC at all :lol:

charger will just get a constant PWM from the same generator that will likely equate to 1-3A. then i'll use the enable pin to turn it on and off - i hope. I'm not worried about charge times as my project is driven short distances once a week maybe; it's just a toy. But, I will have the option to up the duty cycle via the PWM generator to increase charge current if i so desire. SimpBMS will be in "charge" of the enable pin signal.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

Hm... couldnt you just use simpbms to drive pwm for charger? I bet you could adapt the code to both PWM outputs. Simpbms can receive enable signal from the car to start DCDC and you can use PP signal to start charger.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

the PWMs need to be 12v, otherwise this would all be a lot easier.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

some don't like these cause they're not CAN. I love them because they're not CAN! haha. Also the size an price just can NOT be beat.

Maybe my opinion will change if I learn how to write code to control CAN things someday.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

vwbrady wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:42 pm the PWMs need to be 12v, otherwise this would all be a lot easier.
No DCDC work with 5V signal too...although i didnt wait a lomg time at that. In my Pug i use my DUE with some transistor and 1K pullups. That will give you good enough signal.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by TonyV »

Just a FYI,
If it hasn't been said yet...
I was able to control the Charger using the 5V off a Arduino Uno.
I'll figure this out sooner or later
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

very interesting! I'll have to look into how to add a PWM output for the charger on the SimBMS. There's one used to drive a gauge, so maybe that'll work. then perhaps another from my VCU for the DCDC - that could be a little more challenging.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

So, I successfully charged by truck yesterday using this charger and an AVC from Modular EV Power for J1772. On my North American 120V outlet I got 3.7A, which is about 1300W. I charged my pack up to about 370V, then decided to drive around and test out a public charger. Alas, all 10 I went to were taken, or have the DC combo plug that won't fit into my inlet. So I decided to come back home and test out my 240V Juice Box EVSE I use for my Model Y. As soon I plugged it into the truck, it tripped the 50A breaker in my panel.

What I can assume right now is that I have the AC lines going into the charger mixed up. I'm not sure why exactly it worked the first time, but i'll be looking into it. I can' unplug the AC connection on the charger and successfully get AC through the J1772, but if I plug it into the charger I either trip the breaker, or send the EVSE into a fault.
PXL_20220828_160942938.jpg
AVC.2 wiring
http://modularevpower.com/Images/avc1/A ... %201_4.pdf
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

I figured it out. I bought a Volt charge inlet off ebay which came with the wiring. Come to find out it was the same exact Aptiv connector, but wired completely differently to the J1772 inlet.

This is the proper wiring. Somehow with me having the G and L1 swapped it still worked - presumably based on my house circuit at the time.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

here it is charging in my truck via J1772 using one of these https://a.co/d/bJvEidr

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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

Nicely done!

Can you share what PWM duty you are pushing to run charger at 10A 355Vdc?
The short time i had this charger at home i thought duty would follow the voltage from 75% to 90%. It seemed logical i would push 90% duty for bulk charge and then when voltage would reach setpoint i would reduce duty as a coarse CV control to taper current and keep voltage at 100%.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

12v, 100hz, 69%.

I've read on diyev that the output is 3.6kW.
PXL_20220830_035437177_exported_15132.jpg
i understand this is confusing, considering 69% is way off tests others have done. perhaps when I get some more time charging i'll to some testing with that. I will say that as I increased the duty cycle, the charger jumped to life around 30%. 75% may be where I stopped, but I think i did that because it wasn't really making any more of a difference.

More experimentation is needed.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

vwbrady wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:39 pm 12v, 100hz, 69%.

I've read on diyev that the output is 3.6kW.

i understand this is confusing, considering 69% is way off tests others have done. perhaps when I get some more time charging i'll to some testing with that. I will say that as I increased the duty cycle, the charger jumped to life around 30%. 75% may be where I stopped, but I think i did that because it wasn't really making any more of a difference.

More experimentation is needed.
Tnx

Yes i noticed with Volt battery 96S i got as high as 90% duty when it stopped responding. Could be that i tried from the wrong side of duty signal. Correct from 75% upwards was the same value up to 90%.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by vwbrady »

I have to assume the PWM voltage plays some part in this. I don't know how, but others have controlled with 5v PWM and got different results.

In the end it charges the pack, and that's what I need so I'm happy :)
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by TonyV »

Very cool and congrats!
I'm also there. :)
I'll figure this out sooner or later
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by lukes »

Does anyone in the US have an assembled pigtail of the HV DC output connector? The free-hanging/wire side. I found one on EBay from a Volvo as mentioned by Arber earlier, but it's $700 USD with shipping. I don't have the $7k tooling from TE to make these :) . I'll buy it from you for a reasonable price.
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Re: Chevy Volt Gen 2 charger 24281923

Post by arber333 »

lukes wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 5:26 pm Does anyone in the US have an assembled pigtail of the HV DC output connector? The free-hanging/wire side. I found one on EBay from a Volvo as mentioned by Arber earlier, but it's $700 USD with shipping. I don't have the $7k tooling from TE to make these :) . I'll buy it from you for a reasonable price.
Heh, maybe you want to design a blind connector with an oring from petg on 3d printer. You design two holes for cable glands in it and you are good for DC. For other side termination you can use MC4 solar connectors. They are watertight. Maybe it woud be cheaper option. I certainly entertained that option...

Edit: You are in luck, i have one pigtail from when i modified my Eltek chargers. It is really small, but you can still pull isolation off and solder your own wires. I can send it to you for the cost of shipping to US. PM me with address and i can find out th cost...
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