Yet another EmonEVSE pv divert problem

billt · 1 May 2022 10:11

A week ago I bought an EV, in preparation I had bought and installed an EMONEVSE charge controller.

First charge went at 32ish amps and didn’t drop. Found some configuration issues and fixed them.

Tried again yesterday, still charged at 30A even though the OpenEVSE was saying the right things; e.g.

Available current 14.07A, Smoothed Current 18.995A, Charge rate 14A.

No doubt there’s some subtlety in the setup that I’ve got wrong, but on the face of it it looks as if the EMONEVSE isn’t talking to the car charger correctly.

JJC · 1 May 2022 15:37

Hi,

Are you set to use “eco” as in this screen shot?

John

billt · 1 May 2022 15:43

Yes.
In fact, if you turn PV divert off the bottom 2 status lines go away.

pdhoogh · 2 May 2022 08:40

I have seen similar erratic behavior.

One case I saw was like yours: current keeps going at a level more than the 6 Amps minimum, e.g. 10 Amps, while the available current is 0.0 Amps for hours.

Another case is where the max current is set to e.g. 12 Amps, the available current is 16 Amps and yet the charger puts in 10 Amps.

I’m not sure where the incompatibility is, but it is resolved by restarting the OpenEVSE in the “Hardware” panel.

billt · 2 May 2022 12:42

Thanks for the suggestion. I had seen that idea when trawling through the forum and tried it, to no avail.

I’ve deleted all the inputs, feeds and demand shaper and reinstalled them, again with no effect.

Someone has suggested that demand shaper (a module which I know nothing about) should be disabled. I’ve tried to disable it, although how that’s done is unclear, but haven’t had chance to try charging again since then to see if it works.

greentangerine · 5 May 2022 07:10

I still have issues with the PV divert and have yet to resolve them.

For example I was charging my MG yesterday and all seemed well but it became clear it was still sticking 6A into the car when the PV wasn’t sufficient. My battery storage was being used instead. This is despite the CT clamp definitely being on the meter tails and the Open EVSE screen showing an export of 300W (i.e. -300).

I disconnected my car but forgot to turn off the divert in OpenEVSE.

When my wife got home at 9pm and plugged in her Zoe, it started charging it at 6A despite the total house export being a trivial amount (the battery storage is configured to try and always keep a small export).

Maybe I need the clamp somewhere else but it shouldn’t have started charging with an export of only a few 100W in the first place.

billt · 5 May 2022 08:03

Yes.
I’ve just tried again having disabled demand shaper and it’s still charging at 30A.
I’m afraid that I’m losing patience with this device.

pdhoogh · 5 May 2022 08:54

I have seen similar behavior.

On the “Services” tab, in the “Solar PV Divert” panel, I changed “Minimum Charge Time” from the default of 600 to 60. That seemed to do it for me.

There is more stuff like this that is not working. For instance the energy limit. It stops at 12.00 kWh if you put in a larger number. That has been acknowledged to be a bug. Maybe this is something similar.

OpenEVSE is not a finished full-featured product for the end-user. I got it because it can do things no commercial product can. And I want those features. I also have no idea how well commercial end-user products work. Solar PV divert and similar functions seem to be problematic in those commercial end-user products too if I believe what people say in the “Speak EV” forum. I believe we need to have a few more years under the belt to make sure standards are applied where they exist. My Peugeot e-208 does not seem to fully follow J1772. But J1772 is a U.S. standard and the e-208 certainly is not made for the US market, it is totally unfit for that market. But for Flanders, where I live, it is perfect. I don’t think Stelantis miss a lot of sleep over J1772.

OpenEVSE does charge your car, that works. And it does it safely, with all the safety checks it has built in. They work too. Thanks to OpenEVSE I discovered my electrician had cut a ground wire to one of the outlets in our garden house and forgot to reconnect it. So I was able to fix an issue that would otherwise have threatened my life for an indefinite time. That in itself makes me eternally grateful to the OpenEVSE club.

As for all the other stuff… it is a kit, so it is for enthusiasts. If it all worked out of the box, where would the fun be .

billt · 5 May 2022 09:23

Yes, I bought it because of the claims that it can do things that others can’t, but I expect it to deliver on those claims.

I should hope so too.

Sorry, I have to disagree.

I’ve been using OEM kit for 8 years, and the early stuff was fairly cheap, amateurish and I was quite happy to fiddle with cheap, badly documented stuff that could be made to do what I wanted.

The EMONEVSE isn’t a kit. It is an expensive piece of electrical equipment capable of delivering dangerous amounts of power. As an expensive piece of equipment I expect it to work as claimed and I expect it to have good, complete, documentation.

The documentation is appalling. It is incomplete, scattered all over the place and missing vital bits of information.

I’m sorry, but making random changes based on suggestions in an internet forum just isn’t adequate.

pdhoogh · 5 May 2022 10:52

@billt , I can see your point since you have the EMONEVSE. I have the OpenEVSE.

I have no experience with other commercial EVSEs. People reviewing it seem to like it.

glyn.hudson · 5 May 2022 16:17

Hi Bill,

Sorry to hear you’re having issues, could you let me know the WiFi firmware version and OpenEVSE controller FW version you’re running, and I’ll investigate. Thanks for posting detailed screenshots, that’s very useful.

What make and model of EV are you charging?

It would be very helpful if you could post the RAPI output (OpenEVSE serial console) when the PV divert is misbehaving, e.g

It should look something like this

$GP^33
$OK 297 281 -2560^2B
$SV 229940^05
$OK^20
$SV 229970^06
$OK^20
$OK^20
$SV 229430^0F
$OK^20
$SV 229390^02
$OK^20
$SV 228090^00
$OK^20
$OK^20
$SV 230860^0E
$OK^20
$GS^30
$OK fe 3546 01 0200^24
$GP^33
$OK 297 281 -2560^2B
$SV 229850^05
$OK^20
$SV 229680^06
$OK^20

It looks like there is an issue with pilot signal not correctly communicating the current value to the EV or the EV not responding correctly. There seems to be subtle differences between EVs, particularly with how some EVs don’t correctly follow the protocol when it comes to sleeping and pausing a charge.

billt · 5 May 2022 18:28

Hello.

The WiFi firmware is 4.1.2 and the OpenEVSE firmware is 8.2.0.T2.

Openevse3

The car is a Hyundai Ioniq Electric 38kWh, 2021.

The RAPI output will have to wait, but I will get it at the next opportunity.

That was the sort of thought that I had.

greentangerine · 6 May 2022 07:20

Having looked at the code, I think my specific issue is that I need to set the divert_PV_ratio higher to account for the positive export. I’ve changed it from 1.1 to 1.3 to see what happens.

billt · 7 May 2022 09:19

Just started charging and here’s a sample of the RAPI output, when itshould have been charging at about 20A.

$OK 30140 222010^15
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222010^15
$GU^36
$OK 6732240 16584^28
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222010^15
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222010^15
$GU^36
$OK 6744221 16584^2E
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$FP 0 1 Energy��1.9kWh^43
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222010^15
$SV 222000^03
$OK^20
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222000^14
$GU^36
$OK 6758270 16584^27
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222000^14
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222000^14
$GU^36
$OK 6772312 16584^2A
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$FP 0 1 Lifetime��17kWh^8C
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222000^14
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$SV 222020^01
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$GU^36
$OK 6784353 16584^26
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$GU^36
$OK 6798395 16584^21
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$FP 0 1 EVSE�Temp��20.6C^9D
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$GU^36
$OK 6812571 16584^20
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222020^16
$SV 222560^00
$OK^20
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222560^17
$GU^36
$OK 6824621 16584^23
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$FP 0 1 Energy��1.9kWh^43
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222560^17
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GS^30
$OK 03 1055 03 0540^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222560^17
$GP^33
$OK -2560 207 -2560^35
$GU^36
$OK 6840722 16584^23
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222560^17
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$SV 222470^00
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222470^17
$GU^36
$OK 6852787 16584^2F
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$FP 0 1 Lifetime��17kWh^8C
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222470^17
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222470^17
$GU^36
$OK 6866864 16584^2A
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222470^17
$FP 0 0 Charging��30.14A^44
$OK^20
$OK 30140 222470^17
$GU^36
$OK 6878930 16584^25
$OK^20
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 221990^17
$GG^24
$OK 29920 221990^11
$OK^20
$OK^20
$GG^24
$OK 30140 222360^11
$GU^36
$OK 7079843 16584^28

FChan · 8 May 2022 08:25

Quote @billt , I can see your point since you have the EMONEVSE. I have the OpenEVSE.

What is the difference? I have an Open ESVE but I don’t use an EMON setup to deliver the power readings to it or use the Open ESVE software to drive the current up and down. Have my own software for that. It works well although just occasionally I also get funny things happen for reasons unknown.

Anyone tried an Open ESVE with a Peugeot e2008? Thinking of buying one. I can easily believe that different manufacturers interpret the international standards differently causing problems for the ESVE makers.

Also thinking of adding a type 2 socket onto it as the existing Leaf uses Type 1. Would need some relays to switch between the 2 sockets depending on which car is connected. Anyone tried that?

billt · 8 May 2022 08:58

Electrically I believe that EmonEVSE and OpenEVSE are the same. EmonEVSE is assembled and comes in a different enclosure with a socket built in. The OpenEVSE doesn’t have a connector supplied and needs to be assembled.

pdhoogh · 8 May 2022 20:20

Indeed that is what I meant. EmonEVSE is delivered as a ready made product. So you should expect guarantees on it working as advertised. You cannot expect this with a kit.

I have an OpenEVSE with a Peugeot e-208. The e-2008 is essentially the same car with a taller and longer body. And I have issues.

When using Solar PV divert with +I/-E, so excess solar goes to car i.o. grid, the OpenEVSE will stop the charge if no excess current is available or, to be more precise, import is required to keep charging the car. That’s good. After one minute of no charge, the e-208 goes to sleep. When excess solar is available again, OpenEVSE wants to resume charging. But the car does not respond. Charge is dead.

The official answer from the emon guys is “the car is not J1772 compliant, talk to Peugeot”.

Of course that is not helping. It does not change the fact that Solar PV divert does not work for the e-208. And Peugeot is not going to say “Hey, you’re right! Here is a software update to fix this!” They are much more likely to say, French as they are, “We don’t care about American standards, go bake yourself an egg!”

In the mean time I found a few things that do make the car accept a charge again once it went to sleep.

Cycle the door locks with the keyfob. Not very practical and far from “automatic”. It wakes up the car and makes it look at what is going on at the charge port. So: a good piece of data, but not a solution.
Reset the OpenEVSE, using the button on the “Hardware” panel in the OpenEVSE tab of the web gui. Now that is interesting!! So the car is not dead asleep beyond waking without poking it with the keyfob!! Seemingly, resetting the OpenEVSE does something that wakes the car !! What that is precisely I do not know. But it provides a way out that could be used. To hell with J1772 compliance. Who is being incompatible now? That depends on the viewpoint, it seems !!
Wake the e-208 over the cell network. I have been using the “flobz psa car controller” running in docker on my Synology NAS. You can issue http commands to it that will make it request Stellantis servers to wake up the car. And when you do, SUCCESS!! It wakes up and starts charging again.

OK, so 2 and 3 are promising. But they don’t work in the end.

2 does not because OpenEVSE EU does not live up to its documented promise you can issue RAPI commands using MQTT. I tried it, it does not work, I asked the emon guys what I’m doing wrong, maybe I am, but no ersponse so far. So I cannot help you.

3 does not work because Stellantis are French. “We noticed you are using cell services way too much, so we’ll cut you off and won’t tell you we did.” So now my iPhone “MyPeugeot” app is no longer working either.

I will persevere until I have a working solution. But not getting too much help so far.

OK, that being said, please do not use this data to make a decision about buying this car. The e-208 - and the e-2008 is even better in some respects - is a fantastic car. We love it. You cannot get anything better for the money, I believe. Of course it has to fit your requirements and we bought the e-208 for city dwelling and short trips. It is not as good for long haul. But apart from that, given today’s technical capabilities, I find Peugeot nailed every mark that counts. There are better cars, much more expensive though.

greentangerine · 9 May 2022 07:43

Not sure you can blame OpenEVSE for your car’s non-compliance.

I have the same problem with my MG5, only that it goes to sleep after six hours so PV divert generally works. The solution is to open the car and close it again. If I’m charging overnight, I unlock/lock the car before turning in to ensure it will charge. However my wife’s Zoe works perfectly and never fails to charge no matter how long it has been connected.

I did find that changing the ‘Pause Status’ setting under the advance settings solved the problem with the MG5 but that caused issues with the Zoe so reverted back to the default setting and live with the MG5’s quirks.

FChan · 9 May 2022 11:39

Have you considered adding a small 12V relay into the EVSE to cut the pilot/PWM signals for a few seconds? Would this reset the car and wake it up as its looks to the car like a new connection? However the car may notice that the plug has not been removed and reinserted as it is reading resistor inside the plug all the time, is it not? And/or could cycle the 12V to the PCB to reset the EVSE as you say that works to get it going again. You could fairly easily test it by just temporarily cutting the wires with a switch. You’d need some way to trigger the relay such as:

Cycle the relay on a fixed cycle every say 30 mins to reset the charging.
Or implement logic that did “IF current or voltage delivered to car = 0 cycle the relay. WAIT 30 minutes before doing it again (to stop it constantly short cycling when EVSE is off).”

So would need a small PCB to contain the logic for this.

My setup does not use MQTT, I just use my own microcontroller to issue the right RAPI commands via Wi-Fi to turn it on and change the current. Is there thus some chance I wouldn’t experience your problem with a Peugeot EV?

I don’t see why this is so. The kit which I used is just the guts of the ready made product. It all just plugs in and screws together. No skill needed. If it had to be soldered I’d agree with you. The only downside is that the version control of PCBs and firmware may not be quite so rigid in a bunch of bits not tested together at the factory. Also as you say the documentation is poor so it is not entirely easy the work out how to connect the bits together. Although easier for the full kit, I just bought a few parts of a kit.

Plea here , please would the powers that be here put all the right docs in one place? Many of the links just send you off to stuff about emon or other things not strictly connected with the Open EVSE or you find yourself googling for answers and looking at the USA product accidentally. Also the many updates to the PCBs and firmware confuse one. For instance it took me a long time to work out how to connect my own contactor. Different PCB versions have different connections and there are both 12V and 230V coil outputs on some PCBs. But the connection diagram may just show a relay coil. What voltage of coil?

I am talking about the Open ESVE side. No experience of the emon monitoring side.

FChan · 9 May 2022 15:30

May not be to blame but the realities of life mean that all EVSE manufacturers should be as flexible as possible to accommodate the car manufacturers’ slight deviations from the standard. E.g. it should be extremely easy to get the Open ESVE’s processor to (optionally?) reboot itself every say 30 mins to hopefully solve the Peugeot problem.

There is another similar kit product to the Open ESVE that comes with all sorts of things in its manual like “Only works with Leaf, XX and YY. Not tested on others.” or “Won’t work on a Tesla.” This may be due to their failure to comply with J1772 on some of their products or it may be the car’s non-conformance. I believe that J1772 is not that rigorously written so it’s possible to vary from another’s interpretation and both claim to be within the spec.