EV Conversion using prius gen 2 inverter/transaxle

[voti]

And, as you had it set correctly during earlier testing, we still don't know why it wasn't working before.

We're not out of the woods yet...

True, I'm away from home for two weeks. I'll definitely post my results once I've tested with dirmode in DefaultForward. Thank you

[voti]

here are the test results with dirmode set to default forward

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

I think what you want to do procedure-wise, is correct the dirmode to be defaultforward... and then go back through the procedure and see if that changes the results.

So, for example, when you were getting 0v on pins 5, 6, and 7 of the ULN2003, after correcting dirmode, go try that again. Do you have voltage on them now?

[RetroZero]

I would love to test as well, but I'm still battling with User Interface...

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

I would love to test as well, but I'm still battling with User Interface...

Oh? I've missed that you're having trouble. Is that in another thread?

[RetroZero]

Yes, unfortunate or fortunately, my esp8266 & adapter board were so out of date, i decided to upgrade. Now I'm "half bricked"
viewtopic.php?p=82069#p82069

[RetroZero]

I found an original ESP8266 board. Long story. It's running 4.87R-sine on what I think is the original Web Interface.
I connected 12v to the adapter board.
Modified Udcgain & Udcofs to make the board think there is Udc - 5vdc
Put it in Default Forward mode & Put Inverter in Manual Mode.
OppMode stays Off, due to DESAT error I think.
Status remains WaitStart.
This is a really basic strict minimum set-up I am trying to create to help Basic Set-up in Wiki.
My aim is to set-up 12v/0.5w bulbs to pins 28,29,30 and see if I can get flashing lights.

[voti]

Then from there I logged in the web Interface, set ocurlim -1 ampnom 1 fslipspnt 1 selected manual mode and hit start inverter in manual mode. Went to spot values, refreshed and confirmed manualmode.
Then I first used my multimeter to test for voltage on the ic6 chip. First I tested pin 8 GND and pin 9 VCC and I found 14.57v which my power supply is supplying (15v) the I tested pins 5,6,7 against pin 8GND, the pins 5,6,7 and thr ones on the left side of the ic6 which are input that Johu said I should test, right?.
With the scope I couldn't barely find any readings as I got 0.01v on all this three pins. When I tested using the scope the horizontal green bar on the scope barely moved and it just shifted I think by 0. Something on the horizontal axes I had it on. I hope you understand what I mean. But in shot in barely moved because when I tested pins 8 and pin 9 of ic6, the green horizontal bar shot way up, so high that it couldn't read on the screen, way above 100%.

I just confirmed the tests again. Had my dirmode on DefaultForward, set ocurlim -1 ampnom 1 fslipspnt 1 selected manual mode and confirmed manualRun in opmode. The results were the same as the ones quoted above. I used my multimeter to confirm input voltage to the ULN2003 which is through pins 8 and 9, and I got 14.45v. I went on to test pins 5,6,7 against pin 8 which is our ground and all three pins gave a reading of 0.01v.

When using the oscilloscope to confirm this, I placed my positive probe to pin 9 which is + input. the green line on the scope shoot way above 100.
When placing the positive probe on pins 5,6,7 now the green line barely moved.

[RetroZero]

I will test over the weekend and try to get ManualRun mode working without connecting to an inverter.

[johu]

Code: Select all

   "din_forward": {"unit":"0=Off, 1=On, 2=na","id":2027,"value":1.00,"isparam":false},
   "din_reverse": {"unit":"0=Off, 1=On, 2=na","id":2028,"value":1.00,"isparam":false},
   

Both forward and reverse are high. Why? Please make sure they are both low. Also "din_start" and "din_brake" are always high, shouldn't hurt for now but it is weird

[RetroZero]

Sorry, but it seems that without connecing the adaptor board to the inverter, the DESAT error blocks Manual Mode.
So unless some one knows how to "spoof" the DESAT error, I am not able to help with further initial testing..

[johu]

So unless some one knows how to "spoof" the DESAT error, I am not able to help with further initial testing..

Setting ocurlim=-1 on Prius boards masks it.

[voti]

Both forward and reverse are high. Why? Please make sure they are both low. Also "din_start" and "din_brake" are always high, shouldn't hurt for now but it is weird

Had to do a bit more research in order to understand what I had to do for this work. I disconnected both pin 11 and 12 which were connected to my power supply "15v" input in order to turn them low. Then I put in the settings on the web Interface and started inverter in manual mode.

First thing I noticed is the whine pitch sound made by the controller suddenly changed and this was a first, it had my eyebrows raised. I confirmed pins 5,6,7 on the ic6 chip and I found that for the first time I got readings and they were 1.6v on each pin. I connected my oscilloscope and confirmed that a square waveform was visible, a bit noisy yes but I saw the square pattern.

I attached three pictures below. First one was before I put in the settings second one for testing the oscilloscope if it works thus we see a perfect square wave then the last one at the bottom is the waveform I got from pins 5,6 and 7

[voti]

WE HAVE FLASHING LIGHTS PEOPLE .

I'm super excited to witness this. I couldn't have done it without all of your guys here. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your consistent patience with me. When I started this project I didn't know anything about what I was doing, but you were patient with me. I still have a lot to learn from you guys so please don't give up on me.

Like MattsAwesomeStuff said before, I'm not out of the woods yet. I still need to learn more about the functions of all the other parameters and how to get them working for me. I've never done this in my life, and I've never been to any electronics class. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated

[johu]

Woohoo
Congratulations, the basics are sorted

[voti]

Woohoo
Congratulations, the basics are sorted

You are the best man. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me.

[RetroZero]

That is awesome news!
The best way to help is to look at the wiki and suggest how to update it so as not to have some one else making the same mistake.
Did I understand you provided 12v to Pins 11 and 12?

[voti]

Did I understand you provided 12v to Pins 11 and 12?

Yes I did. I had connected this pins as per the connection diagram i found on the wiki, Please correct me if I had them wrong.
Check attached screenshot.

[RetroZero]

The pins 11 and 12 receive 12v via a switch to power each pin according to the direction selected. They are not connected directly to 12v. I will have to document this in the wiki.

[voti]

Having a close look at it made me realize that it might be so.

Continuing with the tests. I connected my transaxle to the inverter three phase output and did as step 10 on the wiki instructed me to.
"Step 9 : Web Interface Basic parameters (
stm32_sine. bin) set up -to confirm PWM
outputs : Full boost (curki= 20000 min) with
12v supply, default forward, ampnom @ 70%,
and fslipspnt @1 Hz. Select - "Start Inverter in
Manual Mode" Confirm flashing lights
Step 10: Connect motor phase wires to
inverter PWM outputs. Repeat Step 9 and
change "fslipspnt" by 1 unit at a time, until
motor spins smoothly. "

I increased my fslipspnt all the way to 25 but the motor still wouldn't spin, it only vibrated a bit and make a weird sound. I though maybe it was on parking pawl so i tried spining it by hand and it moved freely. The light bulbs on the other hand were a bit dim

[RetroZero]

I updated the wiki instructions. I think there is another, thanks to you looking at it with different eyes
Full Boost should be around 37000.

[voti]

I tested with Boost at 3700 but still the motor didn't spin. I've posted a link below of the testing process. Please watch it in full screen due to low picture quality. I had to compress the video for it to be uploaded Here on the forum only to find that the file format isn't supported. I had already deleted the original due to space constraints.

I conducted two tests. One with both reverse and forward off and the other test with forward on, meaning I first test with pin 11 disabled and then I plug it in for the second test. The results were the same

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

The pins 11 and 12 receive 12v via a switch to power each pin according to the direction selected. They are not connected directly to 12v. I will have to document this in the wiki.

Aha.

So, had we alternatively continued with my clumsy "Take a photo of every wire you connect" poor-man's troubleshooting, I think we would've caught this eventually.

Going back several months, indeed the problem was "Instructions said to do something, you think you did it, but you actually did something different, and we don't know which thing it was until we look right at it."

Also, that diagram should have a SPDT switch for direction selector, not a pair of independent SPST switches. You never want to be in both forward and reverse at the same time, it's nonsensical.

I tested with Boost at 3700 but still the motor didn't spin.

And we now proceed to the synchronous motor part of the troubleshooting. I'll have almost nothing to contribute here.

Johannes' instructions only mention increasing the frequency one hz at a time.

I don't know if it's related, but Damien had a video tuning I think a Prius motor, and talked about changing your offsets around various ballparks until the motor *doesn't* spin. Food for thought later, I'd stay consistent with Johannes' instructions for now.

Make sure you're using his parameters, not mine. I've never run a synchronous motor.

Please watch it in full screen due to low picture quality. I had to compress the video for it to be uploaded Here on the forum only to find that the file format isn't supported.

Just upload it to Youtube and link/embed it. No space concerns then. I didn't even know OI could host videos directly.

I conducted two tests. One with both reverse and forward off and the other test with forward on, meaning I first test with pin 11 disabled and then I plug it in for the second test. The results were the same

Here's Johannes' instructions:

Step 9 : Web Interface Basic parameters ( stm32_sine. bin) set up - to confirm PWM outputs : Full boost (curki= 20000 min) with 12v supply, default forward, ampnom @ 70%, and fslipspnt @1 Hz. Select - "Start Inverter in Manual Mode" Confirm flashing lights.

Step 10 : Connect motor phase wires to inverter PWM outputs. Repeat Step 9 and change "fslipspnt" by 1 unit at a time, until motor spins smoothly. (I noticed Light bulb resistor on HV line lights up when no spinning) along with high current values. Once you have the motor spinning, continue to increase the "fslipspnt" value whilst monitoring the current (ampmeter on PWM output wire) You will also notice the light bulb starting to fade untill there is no more light. Optimal motor spinning in Open Loop Mode ! (these values are related to a 12 volt HV supply - re using these parameters is still to be verified at greater supply voltages)

...

By your video, you were not following these instructions.

Set your boost to 20 000.

Increase fslipspnt by 1 unit at a time. Try it at 1. Then 2. Then 3. Then 4. Etc.

I don't know how high you're expected to go before giving up. Johannes' youtube channel maybe has a video of him doing this, as he's built a vehicle using the Prius Gen 2.

[voti]

Set your boost to 20 000.

I did test with Boost at 20 000 and it didn't spin. RetroZero said he updated the wiki to boost 37 000.
I put 37 000 but still the motor didn't spin.
The video I uploaded above I jad my boost ay 37 000.

I think I saw the video of Damien testing the exact gen 2 motor. His test was done a bit different from Johannes'. Damien set fslipspnt to 3 and then he increased ampnom bit by bit I'll his motor spun.

If you noticed I also tried that on the video but it also didn't work

[RetroZero]

What was the light bulb that is connected in series on your High Voltage circuit doing? Does it light up brightly?