Prius PHEV Conversion Controller KIS Project (mine)

[WizBandit]

Just starting my research on "how-to DYI" PHEV conversion I have hit some snags. From the few emails I have received from various knowledgeable people I have been able to come up with a 1-2-3 on the process. The snag is the present DYI PHEV conversion relies on CAN-View and I can't get any information on when it's going to be available or if it even is going to be. I'm putting together a KIS package using a off-the-shelf Atmel ATmega128 control board driving a simple BLUE 4 line x 20 LCD backlit display interfaced to the CAN Bus. I'm going to use the Relay assignments as the CAN-View does and call this interface CRI (CAN-View Relay Interface). The ATmega control board is cheap, it sells for less than $30 and the 4x20 LCDs are everywhere. I have already started on a simple Lead Acid battery charger that can be powered from many sources including my 48VDC Solar Electric System.

I will be using the PriusPlus Temporary / Backup Control Board from here:


http://www.uninterruptiblesolutions.com/pr...f452c9050eecb8e

Any interest from the DYI crowd?

I know the CalCar.org guys are working on a new PCB that I heard will access the CAN Bus directly and they have some in beta now but information on how it's doing is hard to find anywhere (at least for me anyhow). I'm itch'n to get my 2008 Prius converted to PHEV.

[ken1784]

Why don't you use Atmel AT90CAN128 instead of Atmel ATmega128?
The AT90CAN128 has built-in CAN interface.

Ken@Japan

[miscrms]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(WizBandit @ Nov 16 2007, 10:09 AM) [snapback]540526[/snapback]</div>

I know the CalCar.org guys are working on a new PCB that I heard will access the CAN Bus directly and they have some in beta now but information on how it's doing is hard to find anywhere (at least for me anyhow). I'm itch'n to get my 2008 Prius converted to PHEV.
[/b]

The best source for status info on the Cal-Cars project is the phev mail list at:
http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/Maillist

In my opinion its going to be really hard to come up with something anywhere near as good as the cal-cars board before their board becomes available. The new board does not require CAN-View, reads and writes to the CAN bus (which the CAN VIEW version doesn't) in order to allow SOC spoofing, and monitors and controls the relays for maintaining charge in the OEM battery, plus handles the cooling fans, charge interlock and various other functions that make a robust installation. Just getting the board to function in the Prius has been very challenging do to the very electrically noisy environment. On top of that, its going to be almost impossible to develop a new controller without something like CAN View telling you what is going on with the car.

If you are really chomping at the bit, once you are on the email list drop Chris Ewert a message and see if you can get on the beta test team for the new board. Then you will be getting the benefit of several years worth of understanding and revision while also helping advance the open source project for everyone's benefit.

I know its hard to wait. Its killing me that Norm is offline for so long, but I understand that this is really a hobby for everyone and we all have to let our real lives intervene from time to time. We are just about at the time when Norm said he should be getting back up and running, so I'm hoping the CAN VIEWs will start flowing soon! Even though I am planning to wait for Chris's new board, I still want a CAN VIEW for diagnostic and feedback purposes.

Rob