Sticky SAVE and CHARGE

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gwatpe

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
1,102
Location
South Australia
I have had the centre console apart now and can confirm that the Save and Charge buttons are easily accessed. The wiring is not too difficult to get to. I can confirm that the ECU can supply enough power to drive the sticky cct. The ECU requires a switch load of under 100ohms to Gnd to toggle the save or charge mode state. I will be making a pair of these devices. The unit will have an audible output to give the driver information that a setting is saved. This will be a 3wire connection and powered from the buttons. PCB will be around 25mm x 25mm and 10-20mm thick, depending on the piezo speaker.
 
The pics at the moment are not very interesting. There will be nothing to see once the cct is in place. This is the whole point of this mod. Mitsubishi will not know the mod is in place with all their computer monitoring. A service tech might hear a different sound on power ON. My mod will just require a 3pin connection to the wiring loom with no cutting of wires.

I doubt that most PHEV owners will have the skill set to build a microprocessor system to replicate the drivers button pressing in an automated way. Many could access the switches in the console and make the connection to the wiring loom in a professional way. The system has to be fully tested on a longer trip with at least 2 independent PHEV's. I have no mass production plans.

Mitsubishi may eventually offer an upgrade and this would be an ideal solution. Just have to prove the concept will be of benefit to a portion of drivers to be made available as an option.

The code in my micro is 168 bytes, so it should be a walk in the park for Mitsubishi engineers to add to their ECU.
 
Here is a pic of the PCB of the microprocessor cct. This will be 25mm x 25mm.

Phev_Sticky.gif


There will be an 8pin micro with some other components.

just add 168 bytes of micro code and hey the PHEV can remember the mode the driver previously saved, be it SAVE on or off, or CHARGE on or off., ready for the next time the car is driven. Modes can still be changed as driving conditions change as per normal.
 
Modifications to the wiring is done. All the centre console clipped back into place. Just have a 3pin connector temporarily poking out between the carpet and the plastic, now awaiting my PCB to be connected. Have tested the operation manually and presently just mimics the button presses, so wiring is all OK.

Maybe this thread should be in the Modifications section ??
 
Have just made the PCB for the mod.

I think that an important consideration has been lost here. This sticky button circuit will work on "any" modern car that uses an active low signal to control any function in the cars computer with a push button. Have you every wished to have a button selection saved next time the car is driven, this cct should be able to replicate the driver action to automate the action next time etc until the driver decides otherwise.

I have just used the concept for the PHEV where 2 buttons are related.

Unfortunately the way the buttons on the steering wheel are sensed, is with a resistor divider network, so essentially an analogue input, to reduce the wiring in the clock spring mechanism.

Will be assembling the PCB tomorrow, so should have some preliminary test results in a day or so.
 
I'm following with interest! How easy is the dismantling to gain access to the back of the buttons? What processor are you using? My natural tendency would be to use a small Arduino board - decent spec, well made and good price.
 
Interesting, would this work for the acoustic button, eco button and my other daily press is the ACC distance to close?

NAPpy
 
NAPpy said:
Interesting, would this work for the acoustic button, eco button and my other daily press is the ACC distance to close?

NAPpy

I see no reason why not - subject to gwatpe's observation that it must be a simple push button requiring a short click. Gaining access to the back of the Eco button may not be so easy.
 
I would not be using an Arduino. Needs to be very frugal on power consumption, to avoid loading the ECU. Micro has to run all the time the car is operating to be able to interact in a natural way with a driver.

The ACC is on the steering column so is not an option, but yes, any button that has a single function could be a candidate for having a memory. Shame on Mitsubishi and many other manufacturers for being mingy.

Just assembling the PCB having drilled some component holes.

My biggest challenge was to get the console apart. Mainly clips and a few screws. need to be a contortionist for the centre console. Buttons near the door are accessed by removing door trim and a side dash panel. Dealer had changed the position of some switches for me on the first PHEV, but I did not see what was done.
 
Sticky SAVE and Sticky CHARGE are now operating with the car as expected.

Had to add a single line of code to prevent the powering down of the ECU from being interpreted as button presses. My circuit powers down approx 8 seconds after the ECU has powered down. Pays to have very stingy power supply needs. Not able to measure any additional loading on the ECU, so it must be only micro amps circuit consumption.

Will need to add the beeper as the LED test indicator will not be visible inside the centre console.

I think that maybe as this is a modification that the thread should live in the mods section. Will leave this up to the forum admin to decide.

This seemed like a good time to add the mod.

phev3.gif



Here are some pics of the PCB. Bit small to get a decent pic, but whatever.

phev2.gif


Had a pic of the DC-DC converter to make 5V for the micro, but it was U/S. Is however essential for the lowest power consumption that is needed to ensure correct cct operation.

PS edit: The copper coloured PCB is 25mm x 25mm.
 
Had to add a few more lines of code to get a better audible indicator. Now have a countdown when the button is held down and a confirmation chime that the new setting is stored. The cleared indicator is a different chime. The changeover from SAVE mode to CHARGE mode is intuitive without the clear in between. There is also an audible beep when either button is pressed during normal operation. This eliminates the need to take eyes off the road at night to check the dash that a mode has been selected.

The selected user mode is activated automatically after the car has done all its normal beeping. The memory mode is active only chimes on power ON, if the driver has selected SAVE or CHARGE to be stored. No sounds if std setting is stored, so service will only hear a beep if the button is pressed. Low risk I would imagine. I have the buttons beep anyway.

Will just need to make the second unit for me mate. All good so far.
 
Sticky buttons work a treat.

Took another PHEV owner, caravan owner, for an operational run through. I had stored SAVE mode when I left home. turned OFF SAVE mode in his driveway, just single press. Turned OFF the car. He got in and powered up the PHEV again. Seat belt reminder beeps and service reminder beeps and event recorder beeps did their thing, and then my Sticky cct made its own tone and then the SAVE mode came ON automatically. He was more interested in CHARGE mode, so stored this instead. ICE came ON and before it shut down by itself, powered OFF the PHEV. Waited a few minutes and then powered ON the PHEV. Normal beeps again and then a short delay and cct made its tone and ICE started and CHARGE mode was enabled, again automatically. Pressed the save button and mode changed to SAVE on the dash. Powered OFF again. Powered back ON and PHEV resumed in the previously stored CHARGE mode, so can confirm that all features work as designed.

Comment made was "Why does the car not do this from the factory" !!

I will be adding the PCB design to any designs I have made commercially, so eventually some could become available for sale, maybe through EBay. Not sure how this would sit with the forum. These would be pre-programmed and plugable. Anyone wishing to add this type of device to their car would need to have the wiring to the car switches sorted.

Need Mitsubishi to be proactive so this device would not be needed for present and future PHEV owners. I don't really want to make this stuff. Retirement is not for mass production of ideas.
 
Now build the deluxe model - connected to the CAN Bus, detect when the SOC drops below 50% and turn Charge on!
 
I doubt that Mitsubishi will be releasing the can-bus info freely. I will leave the reverse engineering to you.

I would imagine that over time that even starting each time in SAVE mode, that the battery will become depleted. In a long drive, the driver will pick up on this during normal driving and make the necessary button presses with CHARGE mode while driving to bring the level up to their preferred setting.

My requirement was to give a driver a means of avoiding the flatten battery quickly setting, every time the car is powered on, that is the only one offered as a default from the factory.

The Deluxe model will come when Mitsubishi engineers are told by the public relations department to provide drivers with options they have heard about, that customers have had to make themselves, to make the PHEV work better with the drivers needs. This will be called a free upgrade.

BTW, if Mitsubishi do work out that they are able to incorporate the setting of user preferred memory settings into most buttons without a specific setup mode where the car has to be stationary in park with the hand brake on, they will have produced a better car for it. Sometimes engineers just need to have a light shone onto a path for them to follow.
 
Update:

PHEV has now been driven 3 days with Sticky SAVE operating. Has been more than 10 powers ON & OFF, with over 300km travelled. This has included slow speed town driving with SAVE turned OFF and back ON once back up to highway speed. Still have to re-engage and disengage SAVE as per normal, dictated by driving conditions. Included the long steep descents and ascents. Have been able to REGEN on the long downhill sections to bring the Battery level back up. This involved the normal turn OFF save at the top of the hill and back ON at the bottom. This re-established new battery hold points.

Battery is still 75% and I am very happy with this.

Have not needed to be overly concerned with the buttons now. Battery usage is more controlled by the driver on an as needs basis. No need for the Pre-drive checklist where the battery is concerned.

This driving preference may marginally increase petrol consumption where battery use is dominant. Can just turn OFF in these circumstances and back to normal. However, the stresses of longer distance travels and managing the battery due to driver error will probably result in increased petrol economy as well as the lower driving stress. The longer highway trips so far are more relaxed without the after restart checklist procedure being needed.
 
Now have a pair of User controlled button Memory circuits. Both behave exactly the same way which confirms component tolerances have no effect on the cct operation. Did not even have to make a schematic, or prototype or even breadboard test the concept. [for Trex] Just hand drew the artwork into "EasyEdit" with the logical placement of components and printed the PCB onto photoboard. PCB is very small with many SMD components. Almost reaching my vision limits for a build. Power supply is 50% of the build and the rest is car interfacing components and connectors. The microprocessor that has the memory functions is the little black 8pin device in the middle. Will deliver to my PHEV friend for independent testing. Circuit hides very neatly under the centre console, out of view from any service persons.
 
My PHEV has another 1100km on the clock now with the mod installed. I can not express in words how much better the PHEV is for me now. The car now works in a manner that I had expected when first looking into buying the car 18 months ago. The PHEV has such a short battery only electric range and for any driver who's needs are beyond this, and have to rely on driver controlled interactive use of the battery, then having the car start on power ON in the SAVE mode will be a huge benefit. I now only use the battery for specific optimum battery use periods. Still end up with roughly the same amount of battery at the end of a drive, but being able to plan when the battery runs out between recharges allows my drives to be more enjoyable with minimal high power series hybrid driving time.
 
gwatpe said:
My PHEV has another 1100km on the clock now with the mod installed. I can not express in words how much better the PHEV is for me now. The car now works in a manner that I had expected when first looking into buying the car 18 months ago. The PHEV has such a short battery only electric range and for any driver who's needs are beyond this, and have to rely on driver controlled interactive use of the battery, then having the car start on power ON in the SAVE mode will be a huge benefit. I now only use the battery for specific optimum battery use periods. Still end up with roughly the same amount of battery at the end of a drive, but being able to plan when the battery runs out between recharges allows my drives to be more enjoyable with minimal high power series hybrid driving time.

I am also an electronics engineer so I understand the effort you have gone to.

To be honest at first I thought it a lot of trouble for doing this, I just press 'save' as I do my seatbelt up.

But I am beginning to see more of an attraction in what you have done :cool: . Many of us have taken the PHEV on lease due to the UK tax advantage. Yet our employers are not willing to pay for electricity but are happy to pay for all the petrol we need.

I find I am increasingly driving in save mode to reduce charging at my personal cost when the miles I am doing are for work. It is a nicer car to drive in save mode anyway with plenty of reserve power and yet it still runs in EV mode when it can.

I have had it happen to me 3 times now that I let the car run down and do 'its own thing' on fast trips and its gone into limited power mode when I needed more power not less as its software has not kept enough reserve for persistent fast driving with lots of overtaking. Its not nice to be overtaking and have the power suddenly taken away!!!!

It may be for many people like me a persistent save mode would be useful after all.
 
That must be a pretty aggressive style of driving. The only time I ever saw the limited power mode announced on the dash in nearly 40.000 Km was driving a loooong Autobahn incline with an empty battery, car fully loaded and skibox on top at a sustained 100 MpH....
 
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