E-MotorWerks JuiceBox - an open source 15kW EVSE

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dsinned said:
It would be nice if open source EVSE vendors could provide "training" classes to their customers, or sponsor end user groups that meet periodically at their company locations to put on "clinics". These would cover such topics as basic/advanced Arduino programming. This would be in the spirit of "DIY" hobbyist activities for people who wish to learn the basics of "how an EVSE works" as well as more advanced presentations on how to modify a arduino based EVSE firmware. Online discussion forums like this can be somewhat helpful as well, but not nearly as effective for these purposes. :

Well, http://www.OPENEVSE.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has hosted workshops, because I attend several of them several years ago. Perhaps the product that you use doesn't have that, but don't paint all the vendors of open source EVSE products with the same brush, please.
 
Hey Tony, thanks for the feedback, and no offense, but isn't this a thread about the "eMotorWerks" JuiceBox?

I have been working closely with eMW on a project to customize my JB. Their customer support has been absolutely superb! Fortunately for me, I live close to eMW's production facility in San Carlos, so we have been able to arrange several meetings on weekends. Valery has graciously provided his personal assistance to me on several afternoons. He actually created the JB code, so he is the very best possible resource to help me understand how JuiceBox works and how to modify the firmware using Arduino programming. Email support is all well and good, but nothing beats technical support when it is personalized and face to face!

The idea for JuiceBox end user groups to form and meet to have "clinics" may happen at some point in the future and that would be great as well! eMW may even be able to host such events in San Carlos and that would be as good as it gets for all JB owners (and EV enthusiasts generally) located in the SF Bay Area! :mrgreen:
 
chadwick110 said:
Newbie, untechnical, I NEED HELP, question here:

I have my JB, and need to upgrade the firmware so that I can take advantage of the LEAF's charging timer without the relay cycling on and off.

I have been instructed to follow the instructions on page 65 of the manual, but it is even too technical for me. Is there anyone willing to write up in Dummie style just how in the world I upgrade the firmware? Like, pictures of what plugs into what, super broken out instructions?

I have downloaded Arduino, but have no idea how to use it.

Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. LOVE MY JUICEBOX!

Hi,
Basic steps are:

After downloading Arduino and downloading the zip file for Juicebox firmware.
move the folders in the Lib folder to Documents folder then Arduino then Libraries same in Windows or MAC.
Install the FTDI cable(make sure the jumper on the cable is set to 5V) connected to 5 pin connection on the board of course this is with no power applied to the Juicebox (not connected to elec power)
connect to USB port on computer
The comm port should install follow any prompts (it may take a restart of computer)
when you open Arduino under TOOLS you need to set the Serial port to serial port of FTDI (comm 1or whatever the choices show(you may have to try more than one), also under Tools select "Board" set the Board to Arduino Pro (5v,16Mhz) w/ ATmega328.
now go to File open JB_Firmware V8_9_1.ino
click on sketch in menu run Verify/ Compile
if all went well it should simply say "Done Compiling"
now click the right pointing arrow to Upload
it will compile again and then Upload
If all went well it will show Uploading Done
if you want to make sure the version has been updated click magnifier in rt corner that indicates Serial Monitor
a pop up should come up and start scrolling, turn off Auto scroll and you should be able to review the Version number

Hope I got those steps right, I was going by memory.

good luck

Dan
 
Has anyone tried changing the voltage and Amps to get to the Leaf 32A on 6600 Watt QC package as manual specified max?

"Perhaps on a 208V supply the Leaf will draw up to 32A? 6600W/208V = ~32A." ... someone commented on another thread.
 
atljam said:
chadwick110 said:
Newbie, untechnical, I NEED HELP, question here:

I have my JB, and need to upgrade the firmware so that I can take advantage of the LEAF's charging timer without the relay cycling on and off.

I have been instructed to follow the instructions on page 65 of the manual, but it is even too technical for me. Is there anyone willing to write up in Dummie style just how in the world I upgrade the firmware? Like, pictures of what plugs into what, super broken out instructions?

I have downloaded Arduino, but have no idea how to use it.

Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. LOVE MY JUICEBOX!

Hi,
Basic steps are:

After downloading Arduino and downloading the zip file for Juicebox firmware.
move the folders in the Lib folder to Documents folder then Arduino then Libraries same in Windows or MAC.
Install the FTDI cable(make sure the jumper on the cable is set to 5V) connected to 5 pin connection on the board of course this is with no power applied to the Juicebox (not connected to elec power)
connect to USB port on computer
The comm port should install follow any prompts (it may take a restart of computer)
when you open Arduino under TOOLS you need to set the Serial port to serial port of FTDI (comm 1or whatever the choices show(you may have to try more than one), also under Tools select "Board" set the Board to Arduino Pro (5v,16Mhz) w/ ATmega328.
now go to File open JB_Firmware V8_9_1.ino
click on sketch in menu run Verify/ Compile
if all went well it should simply say "Done Compiling"
now click the right pointing arrow to Upload
it will compile again and then Upload
If all went well it will show Uploading Done
if you want to make sure the version has been updated click magnifier in rt corner that indicates Serial Monitor
a pop up should come up and start scrolling, turn off Auto scroll and you should be able to review the Version number

Hope I got those steps right, I was going by memory.

good luck

Dan


Thank you so much, Dan. This simplifies things a little. I have the Basic JB, so I hope this covers that.
You've given me the confidence to go forward...I sure hope I don't break anything!

Chad
 
bkinsl said:
Has anyone tried changing the voltage and Amps to get to the Leaf 32A on 6600 Watt QC package as manual specified max?

"Perhaps on a 208V supply the Leaf will draw up to 32A? 6600W/208V = ~32A." ... someone commented on another thread.

IMO unlikely. The input power seems to be limited via input current limit. In other words, regardless of the input voltage, the car seems to be cutting off at 30A - we have confirmed that on 240V and 120V input. I am fairly confident that 208V will be no different.

What I am interested in is if anyone knows what's going to happen if you feed high-voltage DC to the Leaf over J1772? It's not as crazy as it may seem - while I do not have the exact schematics of the Leaf charger, I am quite certain that it has a standard rectifier bridge + PFC stage facing the AC side. So the input AC is immediately converted into the pulsing DC. Normally, feeding DC into such a system does not result in hardware failure. The logic might trip up if it enforces expectation of the AC input but nothing should fail. The reason I ask is that if it measures the input power with AC current transformer, it will under-estimate the input power if there is any DC component in the input. This _might_ allow higher input power. This would obviously be quite a hack so don't try it at home ;)
 
I'm having an issue with my Juicebox Premium. I have one email back from Dorian and have sent a reply and am awaiting a response but I thought maybe someone here could help as well.

Every so often, I will get an "abnormal state" message displayed on the LCD of my Juicebox. If I unplug the power and plug it back in it will boot back up and start working. I have not had an incidence where unplugging it and plugging it back in has failed to charge immediately. However, the problem comes back. Sometimes it will occur every few days and sometimes it will be fine for a week or so before the "abnormal state" will come back.

I have looked everything over and nothing obvious is popping up. The Leaf charges perfectly with its stock 110v charger and have had no issues charging at public 220v stations. I did assemble it myself. I have 228v at the outlet.

Can anyone give me some ideas to troubleshoot?
Thanks,
Ryan
 
Hmmm . . . I haven't seen that error before on my JB. It "might" have something to do with a fault condition (that can develop over time) with the GFCI test circuit. False "ground fault" trips have been known to occur in a small percentage of JBs. In older units, this circuit needs to be carefully "calibrated" with a trim pot while measuring the DC voltage at a test point on the main PCB. I believe the latest HW/FW (V8.9.x) has eliminated the need for any end user calibration requirements.

How do you like your Premium JB otherwise? Do you have all the options for it? What HW/FW version does yours have?

Last night, for the first time, I tested mine at 120V (instead of the usual 240V) and it worked perfectly on my VOLT and RAV4 EV. Charging at 120V, I was also able to confirm that the Toyota RAV4 EV's built-in OBC current limits at 20A. The VOLT current limits at 12A. This is unfortunate, as I was hoping to charge either car at a faster rate, up to a maximum of 24A on 125V (3000 watts max). 24A is still within either car's OBC maximum power limit, such as would be possible from a 125V TT-30R outlet at many RV Parks. I have a TT-30P to NEMA14-50R AC plug adapter just for this purpose, as well as several other "high current" adapters to use with most commonly available outlets.

At 12A (VOLT) and 20A (RAV4) current limits, I will try to avoid charging either car in the wild from 120V outlets. Instead, charging only from 240V outlets should be worth the extra effort to find in the wild. Charging from a TT-50R (aka NEMA14-50R) 250V/50A outlet will be the holy grail whenever possible!
 
I cant tell, do you work for emotorwerks? If so can you give me any troubleshooting ideas. I did inspect the cables at the sensor. I'm waiting for my wife to get home to check the voltage to try and reduce the GFCI trip voltage. I would imagine I have the latest FW/SW as it is only a few months old.

I bought it a few months ago and it is my only L2 charger so I don't really have anything to compare it to. So far I'm thinking I should have purchased the basic version. I do have WiFi but I haven't even bothered connected it to my router. The inky feature I've used is to keep track of kWh used on the LCD.
 
No, I'm not an eMW employee, just an enthusiastic supporter (although I didn't find out about the JB until after the crowd funding program had already ended). I have been to eMW's facility in San Carlos, CA a number of times getting their assistance on reprogramming my JB. I learned a lot from Valery, Dorian, and Allistar, and met several other part timers that work there too.

You can tell what version of the JB you have from the first line displayed on the LCD. You should see, "V8.x.x . . . " at the beginning of that first line. I believe the latest version is V8.9.1", which would mean that JB has all the latest features and enhancements currently available including the calibration-less GFCI sensor circuit.

Depending on which version you have, you may or may not have to check the GFCI calibration yourself. Another way to verify which version you have is by the version number silkscreened on the PCB. Also, if the PCB consists almost entirely of surface mounted components, it is likely to be the latest version.

You should be able to connect to your Internet Router (or DSL Gateway) by using the "WPS" button on the Router, immediately followed by entering the "WPS" command at the JB, provided you have the LCD and Remote key fob option.
 
Graplr said:
I'm having an issue with my Juicebox Premium. I have one email back from Dorian and have sent a reply and am awaiting a response but I thought maybe someone here could help as well.

Every so often, I will get an "abnormal state" message displayed on the LCD of my Juicebox. If I unplug the power and plug it back in it will boot back up and start working. I have not had an incidence where unplugging it and plugging it back in has failed to charge immediately. However, the problem comes back. Sometimes it will occur every few days and sometimes it will be fine for a week or so before the "abnormal state" will come back.

I have looked everything over and nothing obvious is popping up. The Leaf charges perfectly with its stock 110v charger and have had no issues charging at public 220v stations. I did assemble it myself. I have 228v at the outlet.

Can anyone give me some ideas to troubleshoot?
Thanks,
Ryan

Hi Ryan -

this could be a known issue 8.7 firmware that manifests itself in rare combination of states.

What I'd like you to do is replace a line in getState() function. This is what you should change it to:

-------------
if(mode==1) pV=((pV-pV_min)*PWM_res+pV_min*set_duty)/set_duty;
--------------

Email us if questions. Let us know if that works out.

Thanks,
valery
 
Valery,
Thanks for the help. I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused. Where do I find the getState function and how do I replace it? I'm good with tools and following DIY directions but I'm a novice at programming.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Ryan, you can locate this line in the code by using the "Find" command (Cntlr/F) in the Arduino programming suite while viewing the source code file (JB_firmware_V8_x_x) for your particular version of Juicebox firmware. I see the "getState()" referenced in three different places. The third Find command will highlight it at line #874 in the latest version, V8.9.1. A few more lines further down (Line #888) is the line in question. Just change (edit) that line to what Valery advised in his post above. The original line before this change reads as follows:

if(mode==1) pV=((pV-pV_min)*PWM_res+pV_min*duty)/duty;

Note, that the only change you need to make is from "duty" to "set_duty" in two places on that line.

Keep in mind, to do this you will need a "FTDI Programming Cable" and familiarity with the Juicebox firmware reprogramming procedure which was posted earlier in this thread.

GOOD LUCK!
 
Thanks. That is exactly the directions I needed. Makes sense now. Looks like I've got some reading to do and get a cable!
 
Valery,
If I just upgrade the Firmware to 8.9 can I bypass have to change what you suggested, or would I still need to change the code?

I need to get my cord so I'm not sure when I will be able to get it done.

Ryan
 
Valery is the expert here, so you should follow his recommendations, but I believe you will still need the FTDI Programming Cable if all you want is to upload a newer version of the firmware. However, "if" your JuiceBox was built with an older version of F/W, you just can't skip to a newer version unless your hardware (PCB version) is KNOWN TO SUPPORT IT. There are certain dependencies in the hardware, that ONLY the same version of firmware supports properly.

For example, I started out with V8.7.9 firmware with a V8.7 PCB. I have since uploaded to F/W V8.7.13b. The latter has various modifications of my own choosing to support a slightly larger display module, but my modified firmware is still based on V8.7.9 (compatible with the original uLCD) and original V8.7.x PCB. Because my PCB is still the same, later version(s) of firmware (e.g. V8.9.1) would NOT necessarily be compatible with my existing hardware, and for sure it wouldn't be 100% compatible with my new display.

Sometimes, new versions of F/W can be made "compatible" with respect to older H/W, but eMW's verification "testing" probably was only done with the latest hardware, so mismatching versions of H/W and F/W would generally not be advisable.
 
I ordered the FTDI cable from emotorwerks. I will await its arrival and then post back here my results. I think I should be able to figure out the Arduino software (hopefully) as I've read the directions laid out in a few places. If not I'll post back with questions!

Thanks for the help!
Ryan
 
emotorwerks said:
Controllable JuiceBox #000001! Charging one of our Nissan Leafs and happily changing charging power on command from a mobile phone


Did you mean to share the URL to control this unit? I can't tell if the controls are just really flakey or if I'm not the only one playing with it.
 
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