LEAFSCAN™ - The Ultimate Instrument for your LEAF!

[EVDrive]

I would hope to pay $300 to $350 for it plus shipping. I would consider paying more if it had more features. Hopefully you can get it in that ballpark. If you could meet that price point, I would think it would be a huge seller. Let us know what you come up with after you work out the supply chain costs and factor in the engineering work.

V1 Features requested:
-Clear visual optional audible alert when we are using friction breaks.
-Ability to adjust % SOC display to show SOC with no decimals to up to 000.000 (whole to a thousandth).
-kWh remaining.
-Total current kWh used across all systems (I don't trust the leafs current energy consumption readout, when I turn on my heated seats, it doesn't show them as consuming energy).
-In line chord disconnect desired (not essential).

V2 Upgrades (pie in the sky wish list):
-Control panel to configure modifications. Ex: Turn on rear camera while driving, Nav programming while driving, adjust dealer configurations like doors unlock while in park etc.
-Ability for others to add control panel features/mods.
-Function to set % SOC to stop at 85% or 90% or 95% both when the timer function is used and when it is not.
-Tire pressure gauge.
-Current battery temp in degrees F or C.

 

[91040]

Very interested.

 

[LindaK]

Also very interested!

 

[curtegg]

Very nice, I too would be interested in such a device.

 

[garygid]

If the price for the LS is reasonable, a deposit or full price is acceptable, based upon your good reputation.

 

[TickTock]

I am in, of course. The features I am most interested in (in order of importance) are:

• 1) Access to all three canbus's (canbusi?) simultaneously
  2) Ability to read individual cell-pair voltages
  3) Tone proportional to brake_pressure*rpm (no tone below a certain threshold)
  • i) nice-to-have: geiger-counter style audible cue (chirps are all one frequency, but rate of chirps changes with wasted friction power)
  4) Ability to log all three canbus's
  • i) nice-to-have: Automatically log in continuous loop mode (overwriting oldest log file on sdcard) so latest log will be available as evidence in the event of accident
    ii) nice-to-have: ability to exclude certain frequent but uninteresting messages
  5) Ability to flash own firmware
  • i) nice-to-have: I know you plan to keep the firmware proprietary but perhaps providing a shell with basic canbus read/write and display subroutines would help kick-start a separate OpenSource project without exposing your "special sauce." This should improve your sales volume
  6) Ability to configure message decoding and display
  7) Ability to source user-definable messages onto a canbus (probably required for access to individual cell pair voltages and resetting DTCs)
  8) Separate user-definable display from main display (I log gids, battery voltage, etc every morning but then switch to a different mode for driving)

 

[lukati]

I have been checking the Scangauge web site periodically. But this is so much better! Sign me up.

My motivations to own one would be:

- to make sure the car is in good health. Keep an eye on tire pressure, battery temperature, battery voltages, cell balancing, battery degradation, etc. Visual/audible alarms when the values go outside a user selectable range.

- to help me drive more efficiently. High resolution wattmeter to avoid unnecessary regeneration. Maybe an audible signal at/near zero kW! Mechanical braking readout. User selectable (in terms of time window) rolling m/kWh display. Audible signal at user selectable SOC values as a mnemonic device.

- to help me baby the battery. SOC, kWh available until LBW, VLBW. Range available, given above rolling m/kWh average, before hitting LBW, VLBW. User selectable charging endpoints (other than 80% and 100%). This would be VERY helpful.


Pie-in-the-sky-not-sure-it-can-be-done:

- connect the power display on the console to the range button on the steering wheel. I find it annoying that the "range anxiety" button is so prominent, and rarely if ever useful, whereas the eminently useful power display needs two user actions to get to.

- ability to remotely terminate charging.

 

[shay]

I am in too if it is $300 or less. I am also happy to prepay the entire purchase price versus a deposit.

 

[LEAFfan]

(I don't trust the leafs current energy consumption readout, when I turn on my heated seats, it doesn't show them as consuming energy.

That's because they consume very little, probably around 100W or less. Someone on here posted that it shows just a slight increase on the energy screen.
Mine use only 9W each max (Homedics/$20 each/heat + back massager) and they worked great this winter! We do get winter temps in the mid-high 30's, but I never used the LEAF's heater except for 5-10 minutes of preheating.

 

[TEG]

I hope you can have it show EVSE pilot signal details, and J1772 voltage when charging...

Pilot signal. Why?

So we can add more detail to charge maps.
For instance, if I charge somewhere and see a 70A pilot signal, I would like to note it in the public map databases for Tesla Roadster owners to use.
Current gen LEAF onboard chargers are so slow, that the smallest pilot signal is still enough, but it is nice to map out EVSE capabilities for other vehicles to know.

I suppose it could also serve to test if an EVSEupgrade modded portable EVSE is the 12A or 16A version...

 

[LEAFfan]

I have been checking the Scangauge web site periodically.

You may as well save your time because they won't have one like Ingineer's (LS) for a long time. They told me they put it on hold to handle new orders from a trucking company which wanted them for their diesels. All they have now for the LEAF is a prototype that just gives the SOC%. I was given one because I allowed them to get some info from my LEAF (10-15 mins.) They also gave me a new (X-Gauge) ICE SGII. These sell for $170. Maybe Ingineer would take my ICE SGII in trade for the LS + the difference in cost.

 

[garygid]

Would it be "easy" to include the hardware to support SDIO (and/or SD-with-Bluetooth/WiFi) cards in the planned SD card slot?

Maybe a few extra traces now could provide a WiFi/bluetooth "door" to open later.

Are the GPS Lat,Lon available on the CAN bus?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I think it was previously mentioned that Abby wireless communication required FCC approval which is not AV option here

 

[GeekEV]

If it isn't built in and is an add-on card that you add later, which is what garygid os suggesting, no FCC approval would be needed from Phil. Just the add-on card manufacturer...

 

[QueenBee]

If it isn't built in and is an add-on card that you add later, which is what garygid os suggesting, no FCC approval would be needed from Phil. Just the add-on card manufacturer...

That was my thoughts with regards to if it would be open. For example adding bluetooth to the OpenEVSE would be pretty trivial. Hopefully once Phil has made his money back he'll open things up and allow others to do things that he may not think are a good idea. I have a feeling if he can keep the price down these are going to sell like hot cakes.

 

[garygid]

Yes, plug in an SD, SDHC, SDIO, SD&BT, SD&WiFi, etc.
later, after supporting firmware becomes available.

One usually plugs this kind of card (I do not know about the
SDIO) into a PC and run a supplied program to configure the card.

 

[JohnOver]

Just found this thread... WOW!

Put me on your list Phil.

 

[Marksp]

Brilliant! Add me to the list

 

[bowthom]

WOW, I go away for a few days and *poof* something really cool happens.
Phil, I am in. Great piece of work.
Yes, I will pay a deposit. Your work on the Nissan EVSE was exemplary.

I agree with you that SOC I can consistently count on is what I need most. It's the inconsistency of the GOM that drives me crazy. Never any data I can count on.

My analogy is like estimating ETA and fuel use when on the boat. Conditions change so often and have a huge effect on "range" such that I only want to know how much fuel I have and I will estimate the desired data based on conditions as they change and with familiarity of prior use in similar conditions. To apply that analogy to the Leaf, I never know how much fuel I actually have or how much it actually used in similar situations. I get overall usage when charging but wouldn't it be great to say to yourself "oh yeah been up a hill like this and it used ?.???% batt capacity.

 

[Uccello]

I'd love one of these, count me in. If it is less than $500 I think it would be fair to pay up front because of your tool up costs. If it is more then a 50/50 deposit might be the way to go.

As far as suggestions, having the number of digits be variable might be good- different people want different granularity and I'd prefer something that is not counting down rapidly like a bomb.

Great work!

-john