SOC Gauge update

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Are you guys saying "I'm in" for Gary's offering or Turbo's ?

I beleive Turbo is no longer planning to offer this ...
 
Currently, I am thinking a Kit of all the needed parts would be ABOUT $150 or so, plus shipping (and tax in CA, I assume).

I MIGHT build some for ABOUT $250 (plus S and T), but I am not sure how my stamina will hold out. The "fussy" part is getting the slot for the Display just right. The wiring is not bad, and some parts are even optional. Required are 12 solder connections, with another 9 optional (on two toggle switches).

BUT, it IS possible to do things wrong, and "blow" some of these parts, the circuit board or the Display, or even your car! Try this ENTIRELY at your OWN RISK.

Maybe somebody in your area will build the SOC-Meter for you.

As we discover more things to display, the SOC-Meter, with upgraded software, will be able to show more than just SOC. Right now, my version 1.05 shows "SOC Percentage" (of 281 raw), and the "Raw SOC".

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do NOT know that this "SOC" number observed on the EV-CAN buss is actually useful for any specific purpose, and it MIGHT not be SOC at all!

Note: The same device, with the addition of an RS232 connection to a PC (RS232-to-USB for most folks), can be used for one-channel CAN-Capture.
 
While this is a fun project, I keep wondering all the time, why we have to do this:
Nissan could give us a nice display of the SOC on the LEAFS built-in dashboard or touchscreen. This really feels like re-inventing the wheel.
Obviously they did not think about it or maybe thought this is information that would confuse the "ordinary" driver. However, at the present stage, most leaf-owners would want something like this (might change when the car goes mass-market), so shouldnt we lobby Nissan to change the software (after all this is all it takes for them...no soldering, CAN-BUS decoding etc. required) instead???? This would be just another option somewhere in the "Energy info" menu. And it would be so much more neat than
any home-built solution!
 
Besides better SOC there are other values we could grab for the "geeks" that want them.
For instance, I hope to see voltage and pilot signal level from the EVSE while charging...
 
I want the voltage and resistance of all the cell-pairs, to evaluate how well they are equalized.

Yes, with the right information, it would probably be a relatively "easy" programming job.
 
garygid said:
I want the voltage and resistance of all the cell-pairs, to evaluate how well they are equalized.

Yes, with the right information, it would probably be a relatively "easy" programming job.
Yes, resistance will especially be important as our modular packs grow in age, and or approach the 100K mile marker. If you haven't driven an EV prior to the Leaf, as traction batterys resistance increases, you'll go from 'full' to 'empty' in much shorter times ... especially pulling a grade / hilly driving.
 
The SOC-Meter Kit is now available (22 "easy" solder connections),
Blue (or Red) Display, with a 6-foot (or 9-foot) OBD cord.

Kit: $170 (Assembled and Tested: $280) + $20 insured shipping.

If you are ready to be seriously interested:

1. Read some about the SOC-Meter in the "Leaf CANBus" sub-forum,
2. Download and Read the 4 pdf files from www.wwwsite.com/puzzles/socmeter/
3. Then, if you want to buy, please PM me.

Note 1: Firmware Upgrades will display more variables.

Note 2: A simple Logging-Mod will allow you to Log LEAF CAN-buss messages on your Windoze PC, using my CAN-Do program.

Note 3: Try CAN-Do now, totally for free ( www.wwwsite.com/puzzles/cando/ )
 
I saw one of these at the BayLeaf meeting this past Saturday in Redwood City, and it looks pretty slick.

After having seen it, I have a few suggestions (sorry if this is the wrong thread):

- It took me a long long time to find any pictures (online) of what this thing looks like. For the benefit of those who haven't seen one, I would suggest adding a photo to the web site with the order and assembly information, so people can see what they're buying.

- The display can be very difficult to read depending on placement and ambient light. I suspect that adding a red filter (plastic, gel, or whatever they're called) over the display would likely improve help improve readability.

- It's great to see a percentage, which roughly translates to "city miles". It might be nice to also calculate "highway miles" and display both, in a form that shows the "low to high" miles remaining, like "hh:cc", for example: 70:99 or 35:50. I believe this information would be much more useful since it provides a basic "range" of miles remaining, and eliminates the guesswork involved in trying to imagine what the dashboard "guessometer" is currently displaying (city vs. highway, as it tends to fluctuate between the two based on your recent driving).

- I'm also curious whether one of the buttons might (some day, after a firmware update) be used to display tire pressure info. If the LEDs are addressable (rather than just displaying numbers), then you could light up two "corner" segments of one digit, corresponding to the tire location, and then display the tire pressure in the right two digits.
 
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