My Nissan Leaf Forum

If you have an SOC-Meter Kit that you have not yet built,
or are in the process of building, check below for Upgrades:

Email requests to
plugin2 at mboxes dot com
with
SOC-Meter Kit Upgrade
in the Subject line.

1. Older Kits with the small 1-watt glass Zener diode:
Request an Upgrade to the much larger 5-watt ceramic Zener Diode.
(which should run MUCH cooler)

2. Kits without the Filter (which makes the meter readable in sunlight):
Request a Blue or Red Filter (and Frame), if you want this upgrade.

3.

Upgrade FAQs:

1. Does the Filter really help in-sunshine visibility?

A: Yes, it helps A LOT, going from essentially "unusable" in sunshine to "quite readable".

2. Why is the 5-watt Zener noticably better?

A: This 4.7v 5-watt Zener generates slightly (8%) less heat, and provides about 16 times (1600%) more surface area to dissipate the heat. Thus, it typically gets only barely warm in normal operation, whereas the older 5.1v 1-watt glass Zener could get quite hot, especially if anything (like shrink tubing) was blocking the air flow around it.

3.

UPDATE for those building an SOC-Meter with a Logging Port:

My most recent AVR-CAN boards seem to use a new right-angle
9-pin D connector that does not allow 1/2" of wire to be pushed
into the female pin-holes. It only allows about 1/4" to go in,
more like the length of a normal male pin.

So, the instructions to strip about 1/2" off the end of the 3 stiff
wires (that get pushed into the female D on the board), should be
changed to strip only about 1/4", AND put a slight to moderate
"kink" (bend) is the stripped section of the wire, so that it makes
better contact when it is pushed into the Sub-D's hole.

You might observe that a simple straight section of wire slides in and out
too easily, and that the bend is necessary to make the wire fit "snugley".

Cheers, Gary

I have been having trouble with the display showing random characters when the
meter is cold. Been too busy with other stuff to deal with it.

Anyway someone on the Seattle Leaf board, can't remember who, told me that
some of the early display modules were defective and had this problem. Is that
the case? I don't mind ordering a replacement myself, but is the one SparkFun
sells going to fix my problem?

Thanks.

Well, a new display board/module might fix the problem with
the SOC/GID-Meter, but I cannot tell for sure. It might be a flaky
contact, or??? ALSO, see next post.

The problem is that SparkFun stopped making the module, and
their replacement is not fully program compatible with the
original module. The intensity value in the Set Brightness command
was accidently inverted in the new "replacement" module.

So, new firmware (with one byte change) is needed
to support the new "replacement" module.

I am happy to post or send a version of the firmware that has the
modification, if you decide to try replacing the old display module
(COM-0976x) with one of SparkFun's "new" modules (COM-1144x).

You would need to flash the new firmware (which also
displays the "real SOC" value), or the new display will appear
quite dim, instead of full bright.

I have one of the new modules here, and several of the original
modules, and I could even attempt to fix it for you, if you want.

Email through my site below if you need help.

Another possibility, easy to fix.
When the GID-Meter first powers on,
do you see "0000" very briefly?

In any case, try resetting the Baud Rate of the display.

Hold down both push-buttons while powering the
GID-Meter On, and keep them held down for at least
the first 4 seconds of the boot-up process.

You should see "funny character" while it is
doing the baud rate settings (it tries each speed).
The push-buttons can be released anytime
during this reset process.

Then one should see the Version Number (F1. 08
for example) and the push-buttons can be tested
when one sees the "----" displayed.

Thanks Gary.

I watched the device closely over the past couple of days. Here is
what I saw.

First, if the device is warm, everything works perfectly - both modes
and all five values.

Depending on how cold it is, at power on, I may get a few dim random figures in the
display, the 0000 and then random figures, 0000 F1.08 and then random
figures, or it fails after displaying ----.

The colder it is, the earlier it fails. Resetting the baud rate has no effect when
cold, works fine when warm.

Sound like the display module to me. What do you think?

I haven't the equipment to rewrite the firmware.

Yes, probably the display module.

Did you build this as a kit?
What color is the LED Display?

I can sell an original type display module to you,
or you can send it to me to fix for you, which
would be a bit more expensive, and require
shipping two ways.

PM me your address and phone number
and I will call you with/for details.

I see the same random values when its cold
(or rather.. usually it actually shows the right numbers, but in wrong order... like if it should show 82.2 (percent) it shows something like 2(space)82 )

Only happens when its below minus 10C or so...
It usually shows the correct numbers when starting up, its just when it shows the percent if shows wrong.. flipping it off and on again fixes the problem in 95% of the cases
(when its even colder. minus 20C or so I usually have to try 2-3 times)

I tried resetting baud rate when it was cold, but it had no effect.

gyathaar,

Yes, probably the display module uP clock is not running at
close enough to the correct frequency to receive
the communications properly (or some other problem).

So, you can try to keep it warmer, or we can try another
display module, which MIGHT work better.

Did you build this as a kit?
What color is the LED Display?

If you have the mechanical skills to replace the display
module, I can sell an original type display module to you,
with the three wires already soldered on.

Last I checked, http://www.sparkfun.com no longer makes this
module (COM-09765) , and their "replacement" module ( COM-11442)
requires a one-byte firmware change, because it is not perfectly
compatible (apparently due to an oversight).

Or, you can send it to me to replace the display for you, which
would be a bit more expensive, and require shipping two ways.

PM me your address and phone number (if in the USA)
and I will call you with/for details.

Yes, very frustrating, I know!