ZombieVerter VCU Support

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Domt177
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Domt177 »

Recently had a few problems getting my gen3 leaf setup working so here’s what I did to get it working in case anyone else has these issues.

1. Faulty CAN transceivers causing torque commands being sent but nothing happening, replaced them and got comms between zombie and leaf inverter.

2. Didn’t power zombie before inverter.
The Zombieverter must be powered on (though it’s permanent 12v supply) before the inverter has either its perm 12v supply or the switched relay 12v (controlled by the zombie). I didn’t have this and caused it to not spin. Changed the perm and switched 12v power to inverter to run just of the switched supply (controlled by zombie) and spinning worked.

3. Big vibrations / rattling of motor.
I had regen disabled (regentravel and regenmax both at 0) but throtmin still at -100. Change this to 0 when regen is disabled to avoid getting full torque rattling from motor.

Did all of this and now we have smooth spinning
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by ZKnightfx »

Hello all...I've searched, and videod OD'd. I'm running into problems, as I have purchased 2 zombie verters so far...soldered to the best of my abilities, and no matter what I do or how I do it, I cannot get a signal out of this board.
I am only pulling 40 miliamps on power test without wifi and 70 with.
I've tried different can reciever chips, and matched all components from one board to another, as well as photos. I believe I have everything in right orientation. When I hook up to STlink, I get a confirmation of the most up to date BIN matching.
But no matter what I get no data out, timestamp only. I seem to be able to upload a new BIN file. My Parameters never seem to load. The web interface says they are loading and it scrolls but there's no ability to control them, no menus or boxes show up.
I'm really looking for any insight or process of what to do when confirming the soldering and draw of the board. I'm admittedly new on the software side of things, but I've soldered and desoldered quite a few things in my day. Where should I oscilloscope, what are simple voltage tests I should be doing. If there's a thread or a video I missed please help. I'm trying to operate a gen 1 nissan leaf motor and have ISA shunt.
Thanks
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by EV_Builder »

There where issues with CAN comms ask Damien.
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see http://www.wdrautomatisering.nl for bespoke BMS modules.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Domt177 »

Have you tried replacing the CAN transceiver (IC16) with one other than the ones supplied with the kit? (As they’re fakes)
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

So let's clarify a few things here. I must do a new video on the vcu soon as the previous versions are a bit dated now thanks to all the chip shortage nonsense etc. ALL boards that I ship are pre programmed and power tested. That means you do not have to use an st link or other programming device. In fact uploading a BIN file rather than a HEX file over st link will brick the board. It can be recovered so don't worry but there is NO NEED to use an st link on a new board. Future firmware upgrades can be applied via the web interface. Now, on application of 12v volts you should get two leds : One is a 3.3v power rail indication that will be on solid and the other flashes 10 times a second. This is the heartbeat from the microcontroller. No flash = no pulse. No pulse = microcontroller is not executing code. If not executing code then it cannot respond to the parameter requests from the wifi module. Make sense?

This has NOTHING to do with any missing or potential fake parts. On the fake parts there was one batch that affected about 8 to 10 customers. I have a new batch here just waiting on ME to test before I will make a post here and update those affected.

In this video I show how the firmware update process works via the web interface :


Lastly and once more with feeling : I will not answer or respond to requests for one to one support. I WILL respond on the forum here, on the relevant support thread only.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by alexbeatle »

Jack Bauer wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 6:29 pm CAN3 via the mcp25625 is only used for control of the Ampera/Volt heater in the current firmware. I plan on using it for a Chademo implementation when I'm back on my feet after the house move.
Is the plan to control the CHAdeMO contactors via the VCU too? Curious if the CHAdeMO contactors would need to be without economisers, like those driven by the LIM.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by ZKnightfx »

Thank you Jack Bauer. I want to say, thanks to the rather deserved statement from you, I pulled up my hig boy panties and went after all the data again. I wish I was smart enough to clarify why what I did worked.
Despite a very clear statement from the inventor, I used STlink and and earlier firmware, which low and behold lit everything up and I got the heartbeat LED. After that it was smooth sailing, parameters, pedal, etc all showed up. I was then able to upload the most recent firmware with no issues.
I'm not spinning yet, but I attribute that to the wiring hackary that I've imparted. So shortly I'll clean up my mess. I hear the contractors attempt to close...but they stutter so I'm assuming restrictive wiring causing too much resistance with too little voltage or simply a dead ish 12volt. I'll report back a more clear and visual representation of the problems I encountered and how i resolved them. This post is to say thanks to Damien, and to encourage those who are having a hard time to keep digging. The info is here, it's just difficult to find and requires search savvy and dedication.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

Quick update on my Zombie workings and a few queries.

So I was sure I probably had the dud CAN transceiver chip issues others have had (although I've had my board since before the potential bad batch of chips). As per one of the posts above, I have a GS450H VCU that I've T'd into the same set up and this runs the GS450H drive ok. So I got the four CAN chips swapped over from the GS board to the Zombie. Just did some testing and same results as before, so not the CAN chip issue for me.

One question, in the spot values, what exactly is INVudc measuring/showing, and how does it get the information? Previously it would show approx 9V (so I would assume it was reading the 12V battery voltage getting to the inverter power input pins), but today it shows 0V. I'm measuring 60V at the inverter HV inputs which shows as UDC ok, and 11.8V at the inverter LV power inputs when system is powered up and contactors on:

INVudc spot value today:
InvUDC.JPG

INVudc spot value in previous testing:
INVudc Previous.JPG

I tried selecting different vehicles from the drop down and saving the parameters as originally I had this set to 'None'. This didn't allow the motor to turn, but I did notice that the contactor behavior stopped working correctly especially when I selected the E65 option, but I think that was to be expected.

One more question. I did a plot of Pot, Pot1, Potnom while pressing the accelerator pedal and all look to behave as expected. I then did a plot of torque and got the graph below...not as expected. Wondering if anyone has a thought on this, it should be similar to potnom no? This plot is showing the pedal move from off to full and back to off just once, so I expected it to rise from 0 to max and back to 0 only. Looks to skip to negative values half way through pedal travel

Torque Plot.JPG

So my next plan is to try some more versions of the bin files, some recent posts above on versions that others found to work. If anyone has any other suggestions, happy to hear :)
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

So lets start with a little reminder that I have two very detailed videos showing the operation of all the parameters on the web interface. these videos are linked and indexed in the wiki so you don't need to plod through the whole thing :
https://openinverter.org/wiki/ZombieVerter_VCU

INVudc displays the HVDC as measured by the inverter and depending on the setup is transmitted to the vcu via CAN or in the case of the GS450H, sync serial. So if you have the inverter powered up and HVDC applied but INVudc reads 0 then the information is not making it to the vcu.

A little word on general fault finding. Absolutely no offense to nkiernan but the shotgun approach to fault finding rarely works especially on a complex system. Its funny that EVERYONE now assumes they have bad can transcievers and this causes all manner of problems from lack of well can comms to bad weather:) I understand frustration with something not working better than most folks believe it or not and have found (much to my frustration!) that the best way to solve a problem is to back off and start with what we know. Sadly I don't have a GS450h setup or I would happily make a video.

1)We know the VCU hardware design works. That doesn't preclude a hardware BUILD problem such as opens or shorts but the design works therefore any build specific build problems can be solved.

2)We know the specific software I used in the E65 drives the GS450h drivetrain. Again, there could be a bug in the version in use in the vcu now as I have not been able to keep up with the flow of things on github for most of a year.

3)The fake CAN transciever parts CAN cause quite a few problems but not ALL problems.

Now in this particular case we have another VERY important piece of info : We know the drivetrain works with the GS450h vcu thus eliminating another unknow. So with this in mind my approach would be as follows :

1)Go back to the know working firmware (linked in the wiki) and run through the throttle cal procedure (also in the wiki). Get all that working happy before even bothering to hookup a drivetrain.

2)Hookup the inverter comms to the vcu tripple checking all the connections and polarities. If I had a penny for every time I've flipped a CANH and CANL I'd be retired to Lanzarote years ago.

3)Now fire it up. Of course it wont work but thats ok. Now observe what the system is telling you. e.g. you are not getting invudc reading a sane value but is INVstat reading something sensible?

Let's try that and see what happens. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As an idea if anyone in Ireland has a gs450h setup that I could borrow for a week or two (or buy cheap) might make a good option for a video showing the setup.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

Jack Bauer wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:35 am Let's try that and see what happens. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Appreciate the reply Jack Bauer, and valid points. Will report back :)
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by gfournier »

Hello everyone,

I would like to work on the gearing of the transmission (changing between LOW and HIGH gear). In all code I can read (VCU and Zombieverter), the gear outputs (SL1, SL2 and SP) are set to '0':
DigIo::SP_out.Clear();
DigIo::SL1_out.Clear();
DigIo::SL2_out.Clear();
I have tried manually activating the solenoid on the transmission to change speed without luck. Can anyone explain what needs to happen to:
- move from LOW to HIGH
- move from HIGH to LOW
- stay in the current selection

Thanks!
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

This has been discussed and answered in at least 3 places on the forum. Please use the search function. when you get an answer please update the wiki so no one else has this question.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

I'm going to need a hacksaw
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

I'm going to need a hacksaw
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

For those in the US looking for a genuine MCP25625 this may be a good option : https://digilent.com/shop/pmod-can-can- ... ansceiver/

Sadly shipping cost to Ireland makes it uneconomical for me.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by Jack Bauer »

Also the BOM is now available on Github : https://github.com/damienmaguire/Stm32- ... OM_Rel.ods
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by paaa »

Compiled latest .hex this morning , untested of yet but at least it might help others. Will try test it later today.




EDIT this doesnt work , no flash from activity light after using this so watch dog looks to be triggered.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by paaa »

This is an older .hex that works but dashboard can output doesnt. It does start up correctly and can spin gs motor backward and forwards and reads e65 direction input by can so should help people stuck at the motor not spinning stage.
Attachments

[The extension hex has been deactivated and can no longer be displayed.]

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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

Jack Bauer wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:35 am Let's try that and see what happens. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Ok, so this might end up being a long post (or two!) but trying to document some troubleshooting from very basics as per Jack Bauers post above. Appreciate there are some newer bin/hex files others have working but hoping this helps Jack and others in case there's something about other non-tested setups.

So I broke this into three phases:
1) Wiring tidy and checks
2) GS450H VCU benchmark test
3) Zombieverter comparison test

Phase 1:
I started by shortening the Zombie to inverter comms wiring as short as possible and twisting the relevant pairs. I have the Zombieverter and GS450H VCU's T'd into the wiring loom (you'll see the GS450H VCU black plug in the first photo below) so I can plug in one or the other for easy comparison tests. Confirmed the following:

- Grounds and power sources all ok
- Continuity ok between the relevant pins on the inverter controls plug, the GS450H VCU connector, and the Zombie connector. Double and triple checked the comms wiring in particular and everything ok so the loom is good
- Worked through checks on the Zombie board to confirm continuity between the relevant CAN transceiver IC pins (inverter comms) and ground, power, or main connector, and all ok. Also checked continuity between these IC's and the STM32 as per the schematics and again all ok
- Checked resistance between the Inverter comms IC's pins 6 and 7 and confirmed 119.3R on each

So conclusion is that wiring is all good and the Zombie board is good (note I had the CAN transceivers changed over to good ones in case of issues there - IC9, IC13, IC15 and IC18) :)
DSC_7843.JPG
DSC_7844.JPG

Phase 2:
To ensure the GS450H gearbox and inverter were working ok, I connected the GS450H VCU running the V3 User simplified code (disconnecting the Zombie). Confirmed the following:

- GS450H VCU powers up with the car ignition and using the car accelerator, the motor spins forward or reverse depending on direction selection as expected
- When powered up, I measure 12.95V at the car battery, 11.62V at the inverter controls plug LV power input, and 59.96V at the inverter HV inputs (from bench PSU)

So conclusion is that GS450H VCU can run the system correctly and so the inverter comms are also working correctly. Below screenshots show the serial monitor data during the test which shows the MTH data is valid and the inverter DC bus voltage is reading correctly at 59V (this is important as it doesn't seem to work the same in the Zombie testing). :)

Phase 3 will be covered in the next post!
GS450H_Test1_Config_Data.JPG
GS450H_Test1_Inverter_Data.JPG
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

Jack Bauer wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:35 am Let's try that and see what happens. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Phase 3:
Following on from the previous post that looked at the wiring and GS450H VCU benchmarking, next I did some work with the Zombieverter.

- Uploaded the known working firmware bin file linked in the wiki and also posted by Jack Bauer earlier in this thread
- Left all options at default except for selecting GS450H for the inverter and changing some of the voltage settings to work with the bench power supply (60V)
- Followed the wiki instructions to calibrate pot (spot values showed 430/2782 so set at 450/2760) and pot2 (spot values showed 215/1396 so set at 235/1375 and uploaded to Zombie). Plots of pot and pot2 shown below while accelerator is pressed and depressed
- Turning the car key to start initiates the contactor sequence, negative and precharge contactors come on and a few seconds later the positive contactor comes on
- When powered up, I measure 12.86V at the car battery, 11.66V at the inverter controls plug LV power input, and 59.94V at the inverter HV inputs (from bench PSU). This is very close to the GS450H test
- No motors rotating in forward or reverse!
- json and screenshots below show the settings and spot value results at this stage


Conclusion at this point is the motors are not spinning as expected. I tried changing the CAN speed setting between 10ms and 100ms with no change in results. If hardware and wiring are ok as tested, then points to the firmware for now. So hopefully this gives a clear update on where I'm at and maybe something in the images below highlights settings I need to change or what to try next. (Note, this is kind of where I got to last time as per earlier posts in this thread and had some suggestions on trying different settings like selecting a vehicle and trying new firmware bin files, all of which haven't had a different result so far). So maybe someone with the GS450H set up could upload my parameters below and see if their setup runs as expected!? :?


Slowly moving the accelerator hence the jittery plots
pot_capture.JPG
pot2_capture.JPG

Potnom plot when system is powered up. Torque plot is a straight line at 0 even when forward and reverse selected and accelerator pressed, so no torque values are being sent by the VCU
Zombie_ign start_potnom plot.JPG

So we can see that the inverter is in Run mode as expected, there were no errors, and the ISA shunt is correctly reading the HV (59.93V from the bench supply). However, INVudc is reading 0V when I can measure 59.94V at the inverter HV inputs, and in the GS450H test, the inverter was able to measure the correct HV also
Zombie_ign start001.JPG

Pot values look ok
Zombie_ign start002.JPG

Selected forward and reverse which show in the spot values when selected but no motor rotation when pressing the accelerator. TMPM is 200 here where TMPMmax is 300 so that's not a de-rating issue, and Thortmax is set to 100 so that shouldn't be an issue. Note vehicle is selected as None, that something that could cause issues? Uaux reading the 12V battery voltage correctly too
Zombie_ign start003.JPG

T15Stat/Ignition is correctly showing 'On', but InvStat is 'Off'. Someone suggested earlier in this thread that InvStat never changes to 'On' with the GS450H yet the motors spin for them. Is this an issue?
Zombie_ign start004.JPG
Zombie_ign start005.JPG
Zombie_ign start006.JPG
Zombie_Test1_params.json
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by paaa »

Have you tried the .hex I uploaded today? There was an issue with throttle input scaling on older hex files floating about . It would scale it as per the way the leaf scales torque request thinks it up to 100 and the lexus is up to to 3500. . It's fixed in the code I shared so try that .hex first as I tested it again today and it spins up no problem. Also I'm wary of the fact you still have no inverter udc showing. I'm nearly sure mine does so I'll check the screenshots I took tommorrow.
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by paaa »

Also do you have high pitched whine fron inveter when its 12v power turns on?
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

paaa wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:24 pm Have you tried the .hex I uploaded today? There was an issue with throttle input scaling on older hex files floating about . It would scale it as per the way the leaf scales torque request thinks it up to 100 and the lexus is up to to 3500. . It's fixed in the code I shared so try that .hex first as I tested it again today and it spins up no problem. Also I'm wary of the fact you still have no inverter udc showing. I'm nearly sure mine does so I'll check the screenshots I took tommorrow.
Haven't got back to it yet to try your Hex file but will soon. While you were testing this Hex file, what option have you selected for Vehicle? If others are successfully running a GS450H setup with the Zombieverter, what have you selected for Vehicle also? I wondered if it was developed around the E65 so works ok for that, but when used on other vehicles it might not be getting the CAN messages its expecting.

Yes, the INVudc has me scratching my head. With the GS450H VCU, the inverter is sending the correct inverter udc, but with the Zombie, its either not sending it correctly or the Zombie is not reading it correctly. I have seen 0V, 2V and 9V on INVudc while testing different bin files though!

I get a faint whine from the inverter with the GS450H VCU in drive/reverse, Don't seem to be getting it with the Zombie. I'm not just sure how the Zombie interacts with the inverter. Inverter is getting 12V power and has HV same as in the GS450H VCU test, so should be doing its thing. Does the data between the inverter and Zombie then have to be accepted by the Zombie before it kicks the system into operation maybe!?

Curious, does your InvStat turn to 'On' during your test?
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by paaa »

Attached is pdf of all statuses. INV udc seems to be half what isa reports. Also inv stat is on. I using e65 for vehicle and for that vcu looks for can messages for direction. I think your issue lies with the inv stat not coming up and no whine from inverter. Ill try get pic of how mines is wired as i know that works.
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example status.pdf
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Re: ZombieVerter VCU Support

Post by nkiernan »

paaa wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 9:19 pm Attached is pdf of all statuses. INV udc seems to be half what isa reports. Also inv stat is on. I using e65 for vehicle and for that vcu looks for can messages for direction. I think your issue lies with the inv stat not coming up and no whine from inverter. Ill try get pic of how mines is wired as i know that works.
Thanks for sharing paaa. Will compare these settings to my own. I'm happy the wiring should all be ok and suspect something in the firmware at this point, but will try out your Hex file shortly :)
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