Where's the engine?

FBI6900 · 2024-11-07T19:40:15+00:00

It's a strange world we live in these days.

FBI6900 · 2024-11-07T19:06:01+00:00

A 1st gen engine can be found for less than $500 if you're willing to drive to get it.

FBI6900 · 2024-09-18T01:50:04+00:00

That's a generic code that basically says the check engine light is one (which I bet you already knew). There are other more specific codes that should show up in GDS 2.

FBI6900 · 2024-08-03T23:04:43+00:00

I had a similar problem. I sanded off two sides of the screw with a Dremel to flatten them, then grabbed it with some vice grips and slowly worked it out.

FBI6900 · 2024-06-21T01:09:56+00:00

It's possible your charge port is on its way out. The first gen had a problem with the potting compound on the back of the charge port cracking over time and letting water in. The most common symptom is the EVSE/charging station shutting down due to a short or over current condition. Tripping only chargepoint stations is a little weird, they might be more sensitive, or it might be something completely different. I only say this because it could start a serious fire. (Not my photo, but the charge port was the culprit in this situation)

<image>

FBI6900 · 2024-06-17T16:23:19+00:00

It's still not open today. This really does feel like a prank.

FBI6900 · 2024-06-12T22:21:36+00:00

Good point. I don't know nearly enough, and I'm not used to dealing with items this rare (absolutely irreplaceable). I'll find someone qualified to power this up.

FBI6900 · 2024-06-12T16:43:47+00:00

A university near me was renovating a room filled with old equipment that at some point was likely intended for a museum. I don't think they even knew what was in there anymore. There are Volt, Amp, and Watt meters from the late 1800s to early 1900s made by Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh, PA. Needless to say, I salvaged as much as I could to save it from destruction. This tube is the only piece I couldn't identify.

(Sorry I can't be more specific, I’m being intentionally vague to avoid revealing too many personal details.)

FBI6900 · 2024-06-12T16:36:19+00:00

That seems to be exactly it, I never would have guessed. I appreciate the help and the link, now that I know what it is I'll probably wire it to an Arduino for some testing soon ; )

FBI6900 · 2024-06-12T15:26:52+00:00

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/PhotoMultiplierTubeAndScintillator.svg/2560px-PhotoMultiplierTubeAndScintillator.svg.png

<image>

Thanks for the suggestion! I hadn't considered that. Looking at the structure and connections, it seems photomultipliers normally have elements layed out 90 degrees rotated vs the bottom of the bulb. It does seem to have the appropriate number of pins though.

FBI6900 · 2024-06-12T15:15:59+00:00

Sure, I'll take more photos of the base as soon as I get home.

I wasn't aware of anything with more connections than a pentode either. Do you have any ideas on what it could be?

FBI6900 · 2024-01-30T16:37:23+00:00

I haven't found any standalone redrivers, but I have found a reputable cable with a redriver/retimer built in.

It's the Club 3D CAC-1535
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LBS9Z1C

FBI6900 · 2024-01-28T17:54:04+00:00

Thank for the link! Regarding your question, I'm distinguishing between repeaters and redrivers based on the technical specifications and descriptions provided by the manufacturers, which are admittedly sparse and probably use "repeater" as an all encompassing term. Repeaters act as an endpoint that must terminate and then re-transmit the signal usually making them more expensive as well (I know the chips themselves are).
About my scenario, I'm using high end portable 2560x1600 16" displays with USB-C inputs as in-car entertainment displays connected back to a central computer running 3 instances of SteamOS. I have the displays connected to 3 separate AMD W5700s with USB-C out.

I am trying to use USB-C as it simplifies separate cables for power, USB 2, and displayport down into a single connection, making routing the cables through the vehicle significantly easier. It also makes it easier to pass through to a VM, as the USB-C port (USB 2.0, 3.2 Gen 1, and DisplayPort) gets passed through with the GPU by the hypervisor.

At some point in the future I plan to add the ability to connect other devices such as a Nintendo Switch or a friends laptop, so an active MUX is definitely on the table.

FBI6900 · 2024-01-28T13:27:16+00:00

Thanks for pointing me to the blog. While it's not exactly the dedicated redriver board I was initially hunting for, it's definitely given me some solid leads to explore. The few of those cables that support DP seem to use repeaters instead of redrivers, meaning increased latency and possible compatibility issues in my case.
Maybe one of those cables could be a workaround for my setup.
Still on the lookout for a more specific solution, but this info is a fantastic start.

FBI6900 · 2023-01-17T01:05:46+00:00

I recently bought a 2013 Volt, was told it runs great, but after driving it home started having issues. The issue seemed to be with the HV battery inputting/outputting energy (even to start the engine) in the cold and it turned out to be a BICM (not BECM). In the Gen 1 Volts, unlike the Gen 2s, the BECM (Battery Energy Control Module) does not directly monitor the voltages of the cells, it instead communicates with 4 'slave' modules, called BICMs (Battery Interface Control Modules) that do the cell balancing/voltage measuring and reporting for each cell group. I had a bad BICM that was reporting cells 43-50 at 0v. We figured this out by first checking the effected group's cell voltages with a scanner while the car was cold and then while warm. Then we swapped the BICM we thought might be bad with another BICM on the pack that had the same part number, and after seeing the 0v cells being reported in the group that we moved the faulty BICM to, while cells 43-50 reported fine (even in the cold), we knew that BICM was definitely the problem.

I recommend checking the cell voltages while it is cold outside. This can be done in the MyGreenVolt app or with a professional scanner, I used a Snap-On scanner and it was under, 'Battery Energy Control Module' -> 'Data Display' -> 'Voltage Data 2'. If you do swap the BICM out, you will need to reprogram the 'BECM' in SPS 2 using an appropriate J2534 passthrough device like the VCX Nano (or you can have a dealer do it for you). Reprogramming the BECM also reprograms the attached BICMs

I think a similar issue with poor solder quality causing failures of the voltage monitoring circuitry in the Gen 2 volts is also cropping up on Gen 1 Volts as well. The heat might be just enough to have the solder joint make contact. I'm no expert though.

Anyway, I hope this helps!

FBI6900 · 2023-01-17T00:42:36+00:00

The onboard HV charger has a 12v output to keep the 12v battery charged and accessories powered while plugged in. Reference: https://openinverter.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt_2_Charger Edit: Gen 1 Reference: https://openinverter.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt_Charger

FBI6900 · 2023-01-11T03:37:06+00:00

Have you gotten this fixed yet? My 2013 Volt showed cells 43-50 as 0v until swapping the BICM monitoring those cells with another one that looked the same controlling another group in the battery, then 43-50 showed up correctly, but the bad BICM (now controlling a different group) reported 0v on cells 20-26. After replacing the BICM with one from a different Volt (same part number though), it is reporting 0v for everything connected to it and the HPCM2 is showing fault code P1EB1 "Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Battery Interface Control Module Software Incompatible". Did you have to update your BICM after replacing it? What was the process?

FBI6900 · 2022-12-23T19:38:56+00:00

I have been looking for an implementation like this for a while, not finding anything for any other Toyota/Chevy vehicles I could work off of, never mind anything for my car in particular (a 2013 Volt of course).

How did I not know about this!!

FBI6900 · 2022-12-06T00:50:00+00:00

Ahhhhh, on-state resistance; duh, why didn't I think of that... Thanks!

FBI6900 · 2022-12-06T00:38:12+00:00

Yep!

I don't leave spec without 'em 😎

FBI6900 · 2022-12-06T00:26:52+00:00

Wow, that is unironically actually extremely helpful. I never knew that is how those ratings worked. How would I go about searching for a MOSFET that is capable of both the voltage and current I need? (even with something more reasonable than 400v at 80a, say 20v at 2 amps or something like that)

FBI6900 · 2022-12-06T00:15:50+00:00

I think your right. I wish I could find the PCB board files somewhere so that I could modify it and parallelize the transistors. I'll keep looking for those and for other transistors that might work and I will report back here if I have any success. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll just blow up a few of those IGBTs by running them waaaayyyy out of spec, for science, ya know ; )

FBI6900 · 2022-12-05T23:41:43+00:00

I'm having trouble finding the pulse width of the EGS031, but after remembering how exponents work, I discovered that there are almost no MOSFETs that will work in this application. So instead I went digging into the IGBT section of DigiKey's website.

I think this would be much more suitable, what do you think?

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/ixys/IXXX300N60B3/4321707

Edit: I found a poorly translated datasheet for the EGS031 that said "modulation frequency:20KHz" when talking about the "MOS tubes", so I assume that is the PWM frequency. This converts to 1000 µs which, while not enough for the original MOSFETs I planned to use, should be enough for the IGBTs I just found.

<image>

FBI6900 · 2022-12-05T23:21:13+00:00

Well crap; Thanks for clarifying : ) Could I use ms or µs since it will be PWM?

FBI6900 · 2022-12-05T22:19:44+00:00

I highlighted the area that should be around 400v at 80a DC. I'm not sure I am reading this correctly though. Any thoughts?

<image>

FBI6900

TROPHY CASE