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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

In absence of CANBus signal, you will need to have bike on and +5Vdc to activate AUX charging signal.

I think some have damaged the MBB by applying 5VDC to the AUX.  Better double-check that.  It might be 3.3V or it might require resistors or isolation added. 

FWIW, I am not exactly clear on what's appropriate for that. There's what various people say, and they all disagree with each other.

In fact, they disagree so much and there's so much drama that I've avoided even saying who disagrees or how, just so I don't have to deal with that noise.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

... what they do is a lot more than just setting the right voltage range, and anyone who thinks they're getting the same functionality that way is wrong.

Go on... what is this magic functionality?

DigiNow needs to state this. I think we disagree on many points but not on the need for them to make claims and instructions and guidance in documents.

I can only relay vague versions of what I’ve heard because I can’t confirm anything I’m told by them.

And they pretty much despise me for that.

[Shadow]

Better plan could then be to simulate behaviors of stock onboard charger to tell bike to close contactor and enable charging. Where to obtain that connector shell, pins, and crimp tool?

[togo]

> > > In absence of CANBus signal, you will need to have bike on and +5Vdc to activate AUX charging signal.

> > I think some have damaged the MBB by applying 5VDC to the AUX.  Better double-check that.  It might be 3.3V or it might require resistors or isolation added. 

> FWIW, I am not exactly clear on what's appropriate for that. ...

Neither am I.  Shadow, you make comments like that, people may take them as fact and break their bikes.  Much more caution is warranted.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Better plan could then be to simulate behaviors of stock onboard charger to tell bike to close contactor and enable charging. Where to obtain that connector shell, pins, and crimp tool?

Since that's what DigiNow v2.5 does, they'd know.

In the absence of that, perform a sniff of the CANBus during onboard charger power-up, reverse engineer the onboard charger's data plug, and then work out what to replay (and *when*) to get the same effect.

[dennis-NL]

....

....

....

We all want the best info on this forum, so people here (I hope) are honest.
Shall we not get personal and stuff?
We got Youtube and others for it....sadly     

[Cjd000]

Wow, didn’t expect all that from what I thought was a relatively straightforward question! Brian, love the work you’ve done so far - I’m a big fan and wouldn’t know a fraction of what I know today without the unofficial manual.

So far I’m gathering that I can use the two pins on the aux port but nobody is sure if this is a 5v signal, a 3.3v signal or simply a resistor.

If this point could be resolved it would help me out a great deal.

On the TC Charger point, they work great. I’ve been working with lipo cells for some time and understand the bulk of the science. My TC chargers are programmed at the factory for zero’s (cc-cv 116.4vdc) and although DigiNow will provide a better solution with CAN bus coms and a slightly different charging profile, for me personally it doesn’t justify the extra cost. If the zeros operated in the extreme ranges of the cells I may be more cautious but at 116v this doesn’t come close and any ‘special’ charging will make negligible difference to the life of the cells. I keep reading a lot in these forums where people try to make things appear more ‘special’ than they really are.... it’s a LiPo and a BMS folks! Oh and the BMS does the clever balancing of cells, not the charger!

I do have an Arduino to CAN-bus interface board available and if I can’t find the Aux connector solution I will intercept the messages and simulate the onboard charger, however that’s always a lot harder that soldering a resistor and a switch!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

They’re not LiPo cells.

[Ndm]

I remember that trikester (username) had posted on how to do it, but I don't have any time to check old posts right now

[Cjd000]

Sorry, yes LiPo is not correct, however they operate in a similar manor for the purposes of charging.

Correct term - Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt: LiNiMnCoO2

[Cjd000]

Thanks for the steer Ndm I found the post...

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3993.msg24631#msg24631

Not sure I like the idea of connecting the Anderson Aux to B+ through a 100k resistor as described in the post. Something doesn’t feel right about using 116v to signal charging?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Thanks for the steer Ndm I found the post...

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3993.msg24631#msg24631

Not sure I like the idea of connecting the Anderson Aux to B+ through a 100k resistor as described in the post. Something doesn’t feel right about using 116v to signal charging?

You sound like you have more electrical engineering sense than most. Or at least different perspective which is valuable when trying to compare claims.

If you work out some strategy you find recommendable in robustness, I’d like to hear it and the reasoning behind it.

Thanks!

[remmie]

Thanks for the steer Ndm I found the post...

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3993.msg24631#msg24631

Not sure I like the idea of connecting the Anderson Aux to B+ through a 100k resistor as described in the post. Something doesn’t feel right about using 116v to signal charging?

Using a 5V source AND using a 10 kOhm series resistor in the line from the 5V to the aux pin in the anderson is a better way! And a way that actually works !
The minus of the 5V source is to be connected to B-

If you don't have the onboard you first have to key on the motorcycle, then apply 5V (with the 10kOhm series resistor) to the aux pin on the anderson and then you can key the bike off and then the contactor stays closed

[Electric Cowboy]

First Cjd000 congrats on getting into the DIY space. Contact morgan at diginow.it and tell him which TC setup you got, we might be able to help you get going.

Second as for the "magic" you guys are talking about, I prefer to call it several years of my and other peoples lives spent coding and hacking to build a system that fully integrates with the bikes BMS and doesn't void the warranty. If that is not enough, check out the press release and the magic spells contained within... http://blog.motorcycle.com/2018/06/15/electric/diginow-announces-supercharger-v2-5-zero-motorcycles/

Finally I just want to clarify a few few things.

1) Brian is not overboard with the saftey warnings here... There is a reason that we are the only charger that will not void your warranty. And I am not talking about the warranty act here. I mean things that will, over a few years, kill or damage a bike. So while I know these safety precautions can sound fear based and overwhelming, I assure you they are not. Ask the bike owners that were bricked by our competitors how valid saftey is.

2) Full integration with the BMS is exceptionally important, especially when you stand behind your product with a warranty as we do for all the countries we sell in. Not only that you need it in order to not damage the system when charging faster than 4.5kw 

3) I wouldnt fuck with the aux 5v signal if I were you. While it is therte to be used, its also there to be used by the OEM and for security reasons I cant tell you how it goes wrong, but lets just say your bike will never be the same again, even with a new wiring harness and MBB... Ask Luke Workman about that

4) TC is the factory that we and many other companies contract to build our chargers, like how McDonalds makes burgers for many people, sometimes thy look the same, but are quite different.

5) Now that v2.5 is our stable release we will be documenting it when my spine is healed. I am looking forward to the help of many people in this forum and others to help with that. We are very lucky to have the help of such an empassioned community as this.

Hopefully we can help Cjd000 get his TC going. Sadly, at some point, the unit will void his battery warranty (But as he said he is DIY so I'm sure he is fine with that) if it does not adjust its charge rate for the Farasis cells simple CC-CV is not enough at higher charge rates for battery lifespan warranty, but this is the reason we are the only ones doing this as a company. It's really complex!. We are the only charger in the world that communicates with the ZERO BMS and we are the only non OEM charger in the world which will not void the warranty and backs that up with its own warranty, guarantee, and direct support with Zero. Not only that, if there is an issue we need to deal with, we do so as quickly as possible and with closely work with Zero to do so. We have also worked with Tesla to ensure as much station compatability as possible, and have helped them identify bugs in their own stations as well.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Thank you, Brandon, for speaking up!

Certain types of knowledge are impossible to share responsibly (by contract or because we don't know how to express something right to keep people out of trouble), and the best I can do sometimes is allude to sources and cross-check.