Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Topics concerning the Toyota and Lexus inverter drop in boards
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

kevpatts wrote: Sat Aug 28, 2021 12:42 am Is it even showing up on Windows as a COM port?
It does not. Like it doesn’t exist. Device Manager doesn’t see it either.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Jack Bauer »

Only idea I would have is to short the erase pins, apply power and unshort pins. That will casue the sam-ba loader to start and should then appear as an arduino due native port. Measure your 5v and 3v3 rails and post results. Also, please remember folks I can't respond to pms and emails asking questions especially right now.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

Jack Bauer wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:20 pm Only idea I would have is to short the erase pins, apply power and unshort pins. That will casue the sam-ba loader to start and should then appear as an arduino due native port. Measure your 5v and 3v3 rails and post results. Also, please remember folks I can't respond to pms and emails asking questions especially right now.
Ok, that worked! I still have no idea why it stopped working. That's a bit concerning, but the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything damaged on the board and I now know how to jump start it is a relief. Thank you!

I was able to reinstall the sketch and all is working as before.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by TonyV »

Hi everyone,
question about oil pump fluid flow.

I'm currently benching test GS450H transaxle with the GS450 Inverter and Damien's VCU.
When spinning the transaxle say at 500 rpm with Oil Pump NOT running the unit draws approx. 5-8 amps at 200volts.

Now with the Oil Pump running the amperage draw increase by 2-4 times. approx. 10 - 15amps at 200 volts.
Seems like there is alot of "drag" within the transaxle with the pump running.

Is this normal? or do you think there is something wrong?

Thanks
Tony
I'll figure this out sooner or later
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by celeron55 »

PatrcioEV-ATX wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 7:47 pm Since my car doesn't have a CAN network, I'm using the other CAN on the VCU to send a custom message to include MPH (I've added that calc into my VCU software), Sensor.Voltage, Sensor.Amperes, Sensor.KW and mg2_speed. That info is received by a CAN Bus shield and sending it to an Arduino that is then serial and display printing the values.

Everything is working fine, but for some reason mg2speed just does not come through correctly. It's not at all accurate and jumps all over the place. The VCU sends it correctly to the webpage, and my MPH calc is steady and accurate. Any thoughts as to why it won't send over CAN correctly? From what I can tell from Damien's V7, he is using just the value of mg2_speed (other than some logic specific to his BMW).

here is my CAN message void:

void Frames10MS()
{
if(timer_Frames10.check())
{
digitalWrite(13,!digitalRead(13));

tach=(abs(mg2_speed));
outframe.id = 0x001; //display data message
outframe.length = 5; //data payload 5 bytes
outframe.extended = 0; //standard id
outframe.rtr = 1; //no request
outframe.data.bytes[0]=MPH;
outframe.data.bytes[1]=Sensor.Voltage;
outframe.data.bytes[2]=Sensor.Amperes;
outframe.data.bytes[3]=Sensor.KW;
outframe.data.bytes[4]=tach;
Can0.sendFrame(outframe);
}
}

If anyone is interested, this is my void for MPH:

float speedCalc;
int tireRpm=792;
int MPH;
float diff=3.31;
int tach;

void Calc_MPH()
{
speedCalc=((abs(mg2_speed/1.9))/diff);
MPH=((speedCalc*60)/tireRpm);
}
mg2_speed is a larger value than what can fit into 8 bits. To keep it simple, just divide it by 100 or 50 when putting it into the message and multiply when receiving.

But you could split it into a low and high byte and go from there if you'd like to have all the resolution. Arduino has the lowByte and highByte functions for this, and for reconstructing the value on the receiving end, you can use word(highbytevariable, lowbytevariable).
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by evMacGyver »

Has anyone started or planned to integrate new web interface also to GS450H VCU? I think there would be a lot of benefits, users could give parameters thru web and use it in VCU software as needed and not always need to flash VCU for testing new things. One really nice feature would be plotting of things. Is there some obstacles to make this work if I get more time during winter to dig more into this?
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by kevpatts »

I have the GS450h V2 VCU and it has a different microcontroller to the zombieverter. I have ordered a zombieverter now and it’s on the way. When I get it assembled I hope to do some of this work. Also hoping to migrate some of jons E30 specific (cluster control) code to zombie vertex if he’s happy to share it.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

H all,

I experienced some issues with my new laptop yesterday which I thought might be worth mentioning.

I've got a new-ish dell XPS 13 with only USB-C ports, so I'm using an adapter to connect to the VCU.
I should mention I'm also running Ubuntu.

My issue is that the serial comms between the machine and board are really unstable, where it drops connection frequently, meaning I can't program the board or see any serial output. I have verified the board appears to be working OK using 3 different machines, but not the XPS. I've also tried 2 different adapters to make sure it wasn't that.

I have also checked serial comms between a standard DUE, Mega and Uno, all of which work no problem. So my conclusion is that my board and USBC don't like each other.

So question: Does anyone connect to their board via USB-C, and have you experienced similar issues ?
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by kevpatts »

I use USB-A I'm afraid. I use an older laptop.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Bryson »

No problems with USB-C on my macbook with either programming or comms. I’m using a dedicated cable and not an adapter though
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Jackk »

Hi guys,

Been a while but had a go at bench testing my gs450h with the latest simple serial interface code. All works well.

Moving forward with the project im struggling to find info on flashing the new zombieverter code to my gs450h V2. Would this be doable yet?

From a non coder getting the older firmware to run may be challenging. I would like the VCU to control pre charge and display current and voltage (I have a isa shunt). Which is the best code to go for there seems to be quite a few and I'm getting confused!

Jack
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

Hi Jack,
The zombieverter code is not compatible with the gs450h vcu. There was some talk of backporting the zombieverter code, but I don't think is a priority any more. My impression is that the gs450h vcu is very much in a support stage, rather than active development (by damien at least). I will be doing a few upgrades soon which will be made available. I for one will be just biting the bullet and using the zombieverter when the time comes to upgrade.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by kevpatts »

steveknox wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:38 pmI for one will be just biting the bullet and using the zombieverter when the time comes to upgrade.
Same here. Already purchased but not yet assembled.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Jackk »

ok thanks look like ill have to jump on the zombie band wagon and order one up!!

J
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

Jackk wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:47 pm Hi guys,

Been a while but had a go at bench testing my gs450h with the latest simple serial interface code. All works well.

Moving forward with the project im struggling to find info on flashing the new zombieverter code to my gs450h V2. Would this be doable yet?

From a non coder getting the older firmware to run may be challenging. I would like the VCU to control pre charge and display current and voltage (I have a isa shunt). Which is the best code to go for there seems to be quite a few and I'm getting confused!

Jack
What I did was copy the relevant code for HV-On and the ISA from Damien's V7 software and paste it into my V3_user code. I've made other modifications as well. Frankly, I found it very helpful in the beginning to paste the raw code from V3 and V7 into two different Word docs and go through them side by side to highlight the differences. It made understanding what the code is doing much easier for me (a non-coder).

Also, when reading through the code, understand there are different Voids which are essentially sub programs. In the Void_loop, you tell which of these Voids to run in the loop. I know that is really basic info to many on here, but it was a big "aha!" moment for me that made things much clearer. Honestly, through this review and a lot of trial and error, I've figured out what pretty much every bit of code is doing, other than the complicated control_inverter and diag_mth code which is the same between V3 and V7.
1998 Ford ZX2 - DC EV conversion(sold) http://evalbum.com/2093
2012 Nissan Leaf (sold)
2016 Mercedes B250e (sold)
2023 Volvo C40

Current: 1964 Rambler Classic 660 w/ GS450h set up. 36kwh Tesla batteries from B250e.
https://www.instagram.com/rambler_660e/
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

celeron55 wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:09 am
PatrcioEV-ATX wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 7:47 pm Since my car doesn't have a CAN network, I'm using the other CAN on the VCU to send a custom message to include MPH (I've added that calc into my VCU software), Sensor.Voltage, Sensor.Amperes, Sensor.KW and mg2_speed. That info is received by a CAN Bus shield and sending it to an Arduino that is then serial and display printing the values.

Everything is working fine, but for some reason mg2speed just does not come through correctly. It's not at all accurate and jumps all over the place. The VCU sends it correctly to the webpage, and my MPH calc is steady and accurate. Any thoughts as to why it won't send over CAN correctly? From what I can tell from Damien's V7, he is using just the value of mg2_speed (other than some logic specific to his BMW).
.....

void Calc_MPH()
{
speedCalc=((abs(mg2_speed/1.9))/diff);
MPH=((speedCalc*60)/tireRpm);
}
mg2_speed is a larger value than what can fit into 8 bits. To keep it simple, just divide it by 100 or 50 when putting it into the message and multiply when receiving.

But you could split it into a low and high byte and go from there if you'd like to have all the resolution. Arduino has the lowByte and highByte functions for this, and for reconstructing the value on the receiving end, you can use word(highbytevariable, lowbytevariable).
Thanks, that is very helpful. What I ended up doing was a reverse calculation to get the RPM from the MPH value that I'm sending, but I'll give your method a try and see if that works. Really, I think either is fine for my needs.
1998 Ford ZX2 - DC EV conversion(sold) http://evalbum.com/2093
2012 Nissan Leaf (sold)
2016 Mercedes B250e (sold)
2023 Volvo C40

Current: 1964 Rambler Classic 660 w/ GS450h set up. 36kwh Tesla batteries from B250e.
https://www.instagram.com/rambler_660e/
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

Quick question, does the inverter need the 'P' signal from the transmission in order to work? Or can it be left disconnected if not using the transmission?
I'm having trouble where everything seems set up right, but there's no movement from the motor. I've verified the code is doing what it should. The only thing i have that's not connected is the transmission harness.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Bryson »

It doesn’t need P but it does need either a drive or reverse signal, otherwise the code won’t spin the motor
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

He VCU has got drive and reverse, and it's sending the correct torque commands on htm. I was wondering if the P connection to the inverter connection is required
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by Bryson »

Not required in my case at least
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

steveknox wrote: Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:32 pm He VCU has got drive and reverse, and it's sending the correct torque commands on htm. I was wondering if the P connection to the inverter connection is required
The inverter will disable when in P, so it's a good thing to connect if you're going to use the mechanical shifter.
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

Thanks for the feedback! I've got it responding to throttle, but i've got another issue:
I can hear MG2 spin, but it's not driving the wheels. The only drive is coming from MG1. When I set MG1 torque to 0, i can hear MG2 spinning, but no movement in the shaft. Any idea what I could have missed? Is there a solenoid inside or something that needs a signal?
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by steveknox »

Ah wait, does the Park / Neutral Position SW need to have power in order to actuate the gear solenoids, specifically to +B.
I have that connector currently disconnected as I'm not using the signals from it to identify drive / neutral / reverse.
Would that explain why MG2 is spinning without moving the shaft?
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by PatrcioEV-ATX »

steveknox wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:57 am Ah wait, does the Park / Neutral Position SW need to have power in order to actuate the gear solenoids, specifically to +B.
I have that connector currently disconnected as I'm not using the signals from it to identify drive / neutral / reverse.
Would that explain why MG2 is spinning without moving the shaft?
I am using the gear position sensor but I don't believe you need it for anything if you don't want to use it. In fact, not using it is the same as neutral to the VCU and the inverter only knows park or not (if you're sending that signal). Other, wiser, folk can correct me if I'm wrong. Obviously, you'd want the gear selector to be in anything other than park!
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Re: Lexus GS450H VCU Support Thread

Post by xp677 »

I saw someone mention speed calculation from MG2 rpm, here's how I did it:

I have this at the top

Code: Select all

//for 255/40/R17 tyre
#define TYRE_WIDTH 255
#define TYRE_RATIO 40
#define TYRE_SIZE 17 //inches
#define DIFF_RATIO 4.1 //x:1

#define TYRE_CIRCUMFERENCE (TYRE_SIZE*25.4+TYRE_WIDTH*TYRE_RATIO/50)*3.14159265359/1000 //m travels in one wheel revolution
#define DIST_PER_MG2_REV TYRE_CIRCUMFERENCE/1.9/DIFF_RATIO/1000 //km car travels in 1x MG2 revolution
#define LOWGEAR_RATIO 2.05263157895 //how much lower the low gear is compared to high
Then these lines after mg2_speed = mth_data[31] | mth_data[32] << 8;

Code: Select all

      veh_speed_kph = mg2_speed * 60 * DIST_PER_MG2_REV;
      if (veh_speed_kph < 0)veh_speed_kph *= -1; //for reverse
      //if (put your "low gear" check in here)veh_speed_kph /= LOWGEAR_RATIO; //low gear
Change your tyre specs (printed on the tyre) and the differential ratio to suit your application.

For MPH you can just divide the speed by 1.60934. I run the car in kph and just do the conversion in the gauge cluster if needed.

This code isn't for Damiens VCU so adapt it to suit your needs.
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