# AEM VCU-200 anybody running it successfully



## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

I've been watching the AEM VCU-200 for a while now, but I haven't found anyone to successfully run it besides AEM in their black mustang and when they redid the EV West van. But I am assuming that both of those took forever to work and I am not really interested in being their guinea pig.

Is anyone running this and how hard was it to setup?


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

AEM did get one done for the EV West van... : AEM VCU 200 in the EV West Van


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

But, rywire was in the process of using it, then went dark... The last vid of the rywire EV


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## skyguy_6153 (Jul 15, 2017)

Megatron451 said:


> I've been watching the AEM VCU-200 for a while now, but I haven't found anyone to successfully run it besides AEM in their black mustang and when they redid the EV West van. But I am assuming that both of those took forever to work and I am not really interested in being their guinea pig.
> 
> Is anyone running this and how hard was it to setup?


I wonder how this would work with an OEM EV, would love to drop this in my Focus Electric when it comes time to do a battery swap....


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## grayk (Feb 15, 2021)

skyguy_6153 said:


> I wonder how this would work with an OEM EV, would love to drop this in my Focus Electric when it comes time to do a battery swap....


I have one and I plan on using them with their Tesla drop-in board on a sport drive unit. However, they have delayed this so part far out that I will use an Openinverter LDU for the time being. I tried to contact them many times about eta and support but they have not been helpful at all. If you buy this thing you will be on your own.


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

grayk said:


> I have one and I plan on using them with their Tesla drop-in board on a sport drive unit. However, they have delayed this so part far out that I will use an Openinverter LDU for the time being. I tried to contact them many times about eta and support but they have not been helpful at all. If you buy this thing you will be on your own.


I really appreciate your response. I am also worried about using my vehicle as thier testing platform. It looks like a great product, if it works as stated, but I am having such a hard time with the easy stuff, I can't imagine trying to troubleshoot something that might not even work out the box.

Hopefully more people will comment on their use of the VCU-200.


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

sounds like I should ditch the AEM setup and go for something more reliable.... thunderstruck probably.


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

What else is out there that is in a comparable price range to. The vcu200 and ldu board (~$2500)? I'm waiting on that setup as you are/were, but I'm not quite ready for it yet so I don't have the time pressure. I was told by their sales dept they are beta testing the ldu board now with existing swap shops and are planning for it to go live later this year (so much for Q1 2021).
I find that getting knowledge of inverter board options is really scattered and poorly organized, so any info here on options would be a huge help.


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

I don't need the idu board, but I have now ordered the Thunderstruck VCU. Over the last 6 months I've emailed AEM probably 10 times, and I've gotten a response one time. I've emailed Thunderstruck 4 times and they usually respond to me the same day. Building an EV is hard enough without being a beta tester and little support.


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

I work for AEM so maybe I can answer any questions you have. I am not here officially but if it's info I can share I will.


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Mojave said:


> I work for AEM so maybe I can answer any questions you have. I am not here officially but if it's info I can share I will.


Biggest question is "When", and how plug-and-play is it? I'm not looking to squeeze every last ounce of torque out of my Tesla LDU, I just want something that will let me hook-up and go relatively easily. 
Thanks Mojave!


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

Mojave said:


> I work for AEM so maybe I can answer any questions you have. I am not here officially but if it's info I can share I will.


Do you know if "Rywire" is up and running with the VCU-200? Do you know of any customers that have paid, recieved, and are using the VCU-200 successfully in a complete EV?


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Classic Style said:


> Biggest question is "When", and how plug-and-play is it? I'm not looking to squeeze every last ounce of torque out of my Tesla LDU, I just want something that will let me hook-up and go relatively easily.
> Thanks Mojave!


The VCU 200 is shipping now (this thread is titled VCU200) but I think you are really talking about the Tesla base LDU board right?


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Mojave said:


> The VCU 200 is shipping now (this thread is titled VCU200) but I think you are really talking about the Tesla base LDU board right?


Correct, specifically the LDU. I think I have plans for everything else that's just the last component... (I think)


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Megatron451 said:


> Do you know if "Rywire" is up and running with the VCU-200? Do you know of any customers that have paid, received, and are using the VCU-200 successfully in a complete EV?


Don't know about Rywire. I have not had anything to do with them or any project they are working on. 

The vast majority of AEM EV customers are dealers developing either complete or partial kits and it's not our place to say what they are doing. Some are already out there and of those the biggest is Cascadia (Reinhart Motion/AM Racing) but they are most definitely not the DIY crowd and their customers projects seem to fly way under the radar until they release them as fully formed products. That's why we do videos on some of our vehicles because if we didn't then there would be no publicity at all. Vehicles like the Ford Cobra Jet 1400 were built and running in 2019 but didn't get announced till mid-2020 and only in the last 6 months has it been out and about for people to see in person. The lead time on these projects is huge.

With all that said, the DIY application for the VCU200 or VCU300 as a stand alone device is fairly limited. It is a comprehensive vehicle controller that manages everything in the vehicle, because of this, it is not a casually installed add-on component. It needs to be designed in to the system from the very start because it will control _everything _and if you don't have it controlling everything then you are better off not using it. It wants to have full control over your contactors, Inverter, OBC, DCDC, BMS, J1772, Pumps, Fans, AC Compressor... everything because it's all functionally interconnected. Casually installing the VCU isn't possible, it's all or nothing. But because it is spec'd out at the very start of a vehicle concept and it is a relatively new product, I suspect you wont see the drive kits of finished vehicles the currently shipping VCU200 modules are going into for a while yet. I cant change that.


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## Megatron451 (Oct 9, 2020)

Mojave said:


> Don't know about Rywire. I have not had anything to do with them or any project they are working on.
> 
> The vast majority of AEM EV customers are dealers developing either complete or partial kits and it's not our place to say what they are doing. Some are already out there and of those the biggest is Cascadia (Reinhart Motion/AM Racing) but they are most definitely not the DIY crowd and their customers projects seem to fly way under the radar until they release them as fully formed products. That's why we do videos on some of our vehicles because if we didn't then there would be no publicity at all. Vehicles like the Ford Cobra Jet 1400 were built and running in 2019 but didn't get announced till mid-2020 and only in the last 6 months has it been out and about for people to see in person. The lead time on these projects is huge.
> 
> With all that said, the DIY application for the VCU200 or VCU300 as a stand alone device is fairly limited. It is a comprehensive vehicle controller that manages everything in the vehicle, because of this, it is not a casually installed add-on component. It needs to be designed in to the system from the very start because it will control _everything _and if you don't have it controlling everything then you are better off not using it. It wants to have full control over your contactors, Inverter, OBC, DCDC, BMS, J1772, Pumps, Fans, AC Compressor... everything because it's all functionally interconnected. Casually installing the VCU isn't possible, it's all or nothing. But because it is spec'd out at the very start of a vehicle concept and it is a relatively new product, I suspect you wont see the drive kits of finished vehicles the currently shipping VCU200 modules are going into for a while yet. I cant change that.


I really appreciate these responses, thank you.


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Mojave said:


> Don't know about Rywire. I have not had anything to do with them or any project they are working on.
> 
> The vast majority of AEM EV customers are dealers developing either complete or partial kits and it's not our place to say what they are doing. Some are already out there and of those the biggest is Cascadia (Reinhart Motion/AM Racing) but they are most definitely not the DIY crowd and their customers projects seem to fly way under the radar until they release them as fully formed products. That's why we do videos on some of our vehicles because if we didn't then there would be no publicity at all. Vehicles like the Ford Cobra Jet 1400 were built and running in 2019 but didn't get announced till mid-2020 and only in the last 6 months has it been out and about for people to see in person. The lead time on these projects is huge.
> 
> With all that said, the DIY application for the VCU200 or VCU300 as a stand alone device is fairly limited. It is a comprehensive vehicle controller that manages everything in the vehicle, because of this, it is not a casually installed add-on component. It needs to be designed in to the system from the very start because it will control _everything _and if you don't have it controlling everything then you are better off not using it. It wants to have full control over your contactors, Inverter, OBC, DCDC, BMS, J1772, Pumps, Fans, AC Compressor... everything because it's all functionally interconnected. Casually installing the VCU isn't possible, it's all or nothing. But because it is spec'd out at the very start of a vehicle concept and it is a relatively new product, I suspect you wont see the drive kits of finished vehicles the currently shipping VCU200 modules are going into for a while yet. I cant change that.


I think I can do everything but A/C, cause I'm using a PWM (not CAN) compressor, unless the VCU200 will drive that. Otherwise I am totally fine running everything with the VCU (in fact I was hoping to).


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Classic Style said:


> Correct, specifically the LDU. I think I have plans for everything else that's just the last component... (I think)


I am not working on that specific project so I don't have dates or anything like that but I can say that it seems to either be complete and may just be in the buttoning up phase. Last I saw they were validating very high speed regen so there cant be much left if anything.

As to plug & play, well, you definitely need to read my response above regarding the system design function of the VCU200 & 300. I think the Tesla board version will be a little simpler since the motor is defined but you still have the rest of the vehicle to consider and how it will relate to the VCU. Also, I would definitely say it is not plug and play since to me that means you literally plug in the supplied harnesses and while there is one for the Tesla drive, the VCU does not have a generic harness, you need to build on so no plug & play for the VCU. Also, note that the control algorithm for the LDU controller is 100% CAN based, there is no stand alone mode for the LDU. Also the throttle pedal wiring does not go to the LDU either, everything needs to come in over CAN. That puts all the torque control functions into the VCU's hands, the LDU will no longer do anything but the most basic safety de-rate functions, shifting that over watch responsibility to the VCU and adjustable by the user.

I did however get to drive our mule Mustang with the VCU-200 & base LDU about a month ago and it was an absolute riot. I took it home for the weekend and scared my friends with 0-90 runs and overall put about 150 miles on it.


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Classic Style said:


> I think I can do everything but A/C, cause I'm using a PWM (not CAN) compressor, unless the VCU200 will drive that. Otherwise I am totally fine running everything with the VCU (in fact I was hoping to).


You can definitely control the A/C with PWM and keep the VCU completely out of it. For the VCU to do it then it needs to be one of the CAN based compressor units. Without that the VCU cant use the A/C along with a chiller to cool the batteries.


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Mojave said:


> Without that the VCU cant use the A/C along with a chiller to cool the batteries.


I think I am misunderstanding something here. I'm intending to use a traditional coolant system and Tesla coolant heater for temperature control of the batteries. I expect I'll be able to manage both of those through the VCU, correct?


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Actually, Mojave, I'm assuming I can send a CAN signal to an arduino via the VCU, and just have the arduino interpret the CAN message into a PWM signal that drives the A/C compressor... I already have the PWM signal setup to output correctly from an arduino to drive the compressor. I'd just be changing my code logic on the arduino to interpret a CAN message instead of a temperature value from an external sensor. That would in theory let me retain climate control via the vcu, correct? I'm assuming that all interfaces and supports programmable behavior via the carbon display?


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Classic Style said:


> I think I am misunderstanding something here. I'm intending to use a traditional coolant system and Tesla coolant heater for temperature control of the batteries. I expect I'll be able to manage both of those through the VCU, correct?


Yes. The ability to add the A/C chiller to either the battery or inverter cooling loops just gives you more options when ambient temps are very high and you are loading the systems. Not terribly necessary for the battery loop but supercooling the motor/inverter loop before a run allows you to run harder longer.


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

Classic Style said:


> Actually, Mojave, I'm assuming I can send a CAN signal to an arduino via the VCU, and just have the arduino interpret the CAN message into a PWM signal that drives the A/C compressor... I already have the PWM signal setup to output correctly from an arduino to drive the compressor. I'd just be changing my code logic on the arduino to interpret a CAN message instead of a temperature value from an external sensor. That would in theory let me retain climate control via the vcu, correct? I'm assuming that all interfaces and supports programmable behavior via the carbon display?


Yes, doing that essentially makes the system CAN controlled and the VCU would be fine with it.


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## Classic Style (Nov 28, 2020)

Awesome, thanks Mojave! I'm completely unfamiliar with the idea of supercooling the motor and inverter. 

How knowledgeable are you about the cooling needs of a tesla motor and battery modules? I'm not planning on dragging the car (Porsche 944 with Model S base LDU and 16 battery modules). I've got a couple questions around that topic in another thread if you're up on that side of the technicals.


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## grayk (Feb 15, 2021)

Mojave said:


> I am not working on that specific project so I don't have dates or anything like that but I can say that it seems to either be complete and may just be in the buttoning up phase. Last I saw they were validating very high speed regen so there cant be much left if anything.
> 
> As to plug & play, well, you definitely need to read my response above regarding the system design function of the VCU200 & 300. I think the Tesla board version will be a little simpler since the motor is defined but you still have the rest of the vehicle to consider and how it will relate to the VCU. Also, I would definitely say it is not plug and play since to me that means you literally plug in the supplied harnesses and while there is one for the Tesla drive, the VCU does not have a generic harness, you need to build on so no plug & play for the VCU. Also, note that the control algorithm for the LDU controller is 100% CAN based, there is no stand alone mode for the LDU. Also the throttle pedal wiring does not go to the LDU either, everything needs to come in over CAN. That puts all the torque control functions into the VCU's hands, the LDU will no longer do anything but the most basic safety de-rate functions, shifting that over watch responsibility to the VCU and adjustable by the user. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe the CAN specs for the Tesla control board will also be published at the same time as the board is released so if someone wanted to control it with a different VCU or whatever, that will be possible as well.
> 
> I did however get to drive our mule Mustang with the VCU-200 & base LDU about a month ago and it was an absolute riot. I took it home for the weekend and scared my friends with 0-90 runs and overall put about 150 miles on it.



Any updates on the sport LDU drive unit board?


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

grayk said:


> Any updates on the sport LDU drive unit board?


I don't think they have announced anything on that but I think its fair to say its in the works. I have no timeline or ETA.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Throw me on this pile i guess, i just pulled the trigger on a vcu200 and it's sitting on my couch
Bisi of bisimoto made me do it, basically, his porsche K3v runs the vcu200

Although reading this thread gives me some pause, it sounds like I'll have to really architect the entire build around can communication between everything, which probably means making a lot of little CAN arduinos to take in can messages and spit out all kinds of signals to attached hardware


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## 57Chevy (Jan 31, 2020)

Mojave said:


> I don't think they have announced anything on that but I think its fair to say its in the works. I have no timeline or ETA.


Mojave, I'm interested in the Sport LDU board as well, however as an aerospace development engineer I'd love to be involved in Beta testing if you are looking for testers. My project is two sport LDUs in a 57 Chevy wagon


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

more i think on it, having everything on CAN doesn't sound so bad, converting from pwm to can will be the annoying part. i wonder if there are pe built arduinos with wifi chips for configuration or something built in


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Mojave said:


> I don't think they have announced anything on that but I think its fair to say its in the works. I have no timeline or ETA.


So, does this board not work for the sport units?





VCU200/Tesla LDU Inverter Control Board for EV Conversions | AEM EV







www.aemev.com




and is the plan to have an entirely separate board for sport units, or will this board be usable with sport units, just needs a firmware flash to do so?


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## 57Chevy (Jan 31, 2020)

joekitch said:


> and is the plan to have an entirely separate board for sport units, or will this board be usable with sport units, just needs a firmware flash to do so?


I have been advised that it is only firmware to update to Sport motor. Guessing the motor BEMF is different for the higher voltage and therefore field weakening requirements are different. Something like that which means base and sport can't run the same firmware but hardware is same.

Why do you need ardunos? There is i/o onboard the VCU which can run things on a basic rig.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

I was going by mojave's statement a bit back saying everything on CAN is easier, but i dont know if there are pins on the vcu200 for pwm fan control built in. If so that's pretty awesome and simplifies things


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## 57Chevy (Jan 31, 2020)

joekitch said:


> I was going by mojave's statement a bit back saying everything on CAN is easier, but i dont know if there are pins on the vcu200 for pwm fan control built in. If so that's pretty awesome and simplifies things


The instructions etc are available online. You'd need a PWM-capable solid state relay to handle the current of the fan


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## TeZla (Feb 18, 2021)

Just adding the info here because its semi relevant,

I spoke with AEM yesterday via email about a control solution for the SDU. They tell me that they are working on a drop in logic board for the SDU to work in conjunction with the VCU200, they are expecting it to be available to the public in Q2 2022.
There aren't a huge amount of options to drive the SDU, so its great to have another option on the market.
I'll be watching it very closely and at this stage its a high probablity that i'll be using it in my build.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Some random extra info I've gotten direct from aem over email or from talking to aem people at Holley high voltage....*take all of this with some salt.*

Their BMS system (currently in development but very close to release) is master/slave based which saves a lot on huge wiring looms. They all just sit on CAN so ideally each slave only needs two wires going to the rest of the system instead of like, 16.
I want to say they're shooting for like *$1600 for a set of one master and 5 slaves*, which would cover 108 total cells. That seems expensive for the number of cells covered though, but Orion costs like $1200 for a set of 96 so maybe it isn't too bad. Also I think they only do discharge balancing, since I don't think they'll have a power line to do charge balancing

They're working on CCS fast charge support, [edit; it will be some kind of addon module, not something the bms-18 will be able to do with a firmware update], and they're doing software work now to support it (mostly around really tight temperature monitoring, requiring a chiller in the battery cooling loop etc).
The support will be rolled out in phases as they validate it. 50kw max at first, then slowly opening it up as they validate it can safely do that with most batteries.
*However this is still deep in development so, no idea when this'll be.*

Their PDUs (little satellite power units which can switch accessories and stuff) I believe have multiple PWM pins, so they can be used to run basically everything including cooling pumps and fans and power steering pumps, all over CAN from the main unit. They're 8 channels each but $800 per unit which seems a little high. I want to say they can also run contactors but that might be something the VCU does directly.

So, for a moderate price increase per piece of hardware you can cut down a hell of a lot on wiring and abstract a lot of the fiddly shit, which sounds gr8 to me.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Do you know if they are going to release the Eluminator VCU to the general public or is that also going to be locked down to the buddy club? If to the public, is there a timeframe?


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

If you mean the vcu200/300 will work with the eluminator motor? I have no idea. From the people I talked to, they seem like decent folks so I'd be really surprised if they locked down support for such a popular motor.

If you shoot the tech team an email they'll probably give you some kind of alright answer


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Ford tech support said it's in the works...


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## Mojave (Dec 4, 2019)

joekitch said:


> They're working on CCS fast charge support, it sounds like it'll be essentially drop-in to their BMS system without needing to buy a special extra module from them or anything


Just want to correct something here, the AEM CCS solution _*WILL*_ consist of an add-on CCS module. The CCS program is ongoing at AEM and no announcement or product is imminent, I just saw this and didn't want to let it hang out there when I knew it was incorrect.

Thanks!


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## floydr (Jun 21, 2021)

joekitch said:


> * a set of one master and 5 slaves*, which would cover 108 total cells


Master-18 cells (5 slaves 18 cells each) 90 cells for 108 total?
later floyd


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Edited my post, thanks for that correction Mojave

Not really sure as to the specific layout Floyd? I dropped aem tech an email asking for more specifics, this is kinda important for me since it may be more cost effective to get batteries with fewer cells


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## 57Chevy (Jan 31, 2020)

Mojave said:


> AEM CCS solution _*WILL*_ consist of an add-on CCS module.


You have customers waiting


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Might be boned in my conversion, at least when it comes to the bms-18

Discussing with the techs over email, it seems like the vcu200 can only have one bms-18 connected to it? Meaning my maximum number of cell taps tops out at 108 which seems low

The newer LG chem bricks seem to have a minimum of 13 cell taps coming out of them, 12 bricks x 13 cell taps is 156...and the older LG chem bricks have 16 taps per battery so 196(!) Connections. 

They're saying having two parallel strings of these bricks would be not a great idea, and better to parallel then at the cell level and have one tap per paralleled cell, gives you better power output which would also equate to faster charging (yay)

They drew me a fancy diagram to illustrate, attached (below is the default battery, and what I thought I was going with)


However I don't think making them parallel at the cell level is feasible, it may not even be safe

I think I'm just missing something here, but a max of 108 taps per install seems to massively limit the flexibility of the system, which doesn't seem like something aem would do. For instance that design completely cuts out the Chevy volt packs, I think that also rules out some larger configurations of Tesla modules? That can't be right.


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## grayk (Feb 15, 2021)

Mojave said:


> Just want to correct something here, the AEM CCS solution _*WILL*_ consist of an add-on CCS module. The CCS program is ongoing at AEM and no announcement or product is imminent, I just saw this and didn't want to let it hang out there when I knew it was incorrect.
> 
> Thanks!


Is this controller going to be a PLC to CAN bridge or will it have custom protocols between the VCU and Powerline Comm? I ask since this would be huge for the community if it didn't require the VCU and one could integrate it with their own BMS through a DBC file or something like that.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

I'm 90% sure the AEM solution, whenever it happens, will be using their VCU and their bms-18 system, so it's all one big ecosystem

Also for my conversation I found a workaround of parellalizing cell taps across modules, so I can make 6 sets of three Pacifica modules but to the bms its still 96 cell, fitting neatly within the bms-18 108 max


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Just remember you can't run the cell taps out of your multiple battery boxes...they are not fused and carry full pack voltage, safetywise. 

Each box needs an isolated satellite BMS board/module.


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## rjmcdermott81 (Aug 14, 2019)

Just got my vcu200 + Tesla conversion running this week. Happy to lend anyone a hand if they are going through the install. Just PM me.


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## VíctorL (2 mo ago)

Someone there who knows if it's possible to use the AEM VCU-200 with any inverter brand? We are developing an electric car and our inverter, BMS, pump, etc runs with CAN, but we are not sure if there would be issues depending on the inverter model. AEM doen't aswer us for the moment. Thanks in advance


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## VíctorL (2 mo ago)

rjmcdermott81 said:


> Just got my vcu200 + Tesla conversion running this week. Happy to lend anyone a hand if they are going through the install. Just PM me.


Do you know if it's possible to use the AEM VCU-200 with any inverter brand?


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## xrotaryguy (Jul 26, 2007)

I can't get AEM to reply via email or through their website. But they do answer the phone to answer technical questions.


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## xrotaryguy (Jul 26, 2007)

grayk said:


> Is this controller going to be a PLC to CAN bridge or will it have custom protocols between the VCU and Powerline Comm? I ask since this would be huge for the community if it didn't require the VCU and one could integrate it with their own BMS through a DBC file or something like that.


The VCU doesn't seem to talk to many other devices. Just the inverter, direciton selector, BMS, charger, cooling, and not a lot else. If you want to hook up other items, it seems like using the AEM carbon dash and an array of compatible CAN devices is the way to go.


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## rjmcdermott81 (Aug 14, 2019)

I think AEM really wants to drive the support questions through the resellers (EV West, etc.) so that is why they aren't easy to get a hold of. A few things I learned during my install:
1. As your testing and programming, try to avoid disconnecting the 12v battery a lot. I found that it wouldn't always retain it's settings and made troubleshooting hard.
2. Along with the comment above, if you disconnect the battery a lot you can lock up the VCU. I had to get a reset file from AEM to get it back working.
3. If you get this error "Loaded Defaults - Error Reading EEPROM" just go ahead and reach out to AEM before you waste your time. I spent hours and hours troubleshooting to find out that the VCU needed to be reset.
4. It took me a long time to get everything to the right state where it would fire all the contactors, etc. After that, it has been flawless.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Damien might be futher ahead reverse engineering the AEM, lol.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

xrotaryguy said:


> I can't get AEM to reply via email or through their website. But they do answer the phone to answer technical questions.


Damn. That'd explain why I'm suddenly getting crickets asking about some can traffic issues I'm seeing


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## rjmcdermott81 (Aug 14, 2019)

The one thing I'm curious about is how much the VCU interacts with an AEM BMS. I kept my Zeva BMS because I didn't want to tear the battery apart. AEM allows you to have 4 different performance modes, I would assume ideally you set one of them with zero regen for when your battery is at a full charge and then switch to one with regen as the battery decreases in SOC. 
Does the AEM BMS facilitate this automatically?
One option is to run the AEM 8-button keypad so you can manually change driving modes on the fly, but the look of that doesn't really fit in my build...

If anyone has come up with a different way to switch drive modes over CAN please let me know. I would love it if someone built a sub-controller that we could activate with more OEM looking buttons.


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

noticed this a while ago but aem has a nice pre-start checklist for the vcu, which might help some folks



https://www.aemev.com/sites/default/files/AEM_EV_VCU_Pre_Start_Checklist.pdf


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

got an email back about my canbus woes finally
apparently can2 is going to be reeeeeal quiet until i push the LDU firmware to the vcu200, a step i didnt realize existed, and put the cascadia LDU drive board in line with my benchtop setup and give it power etc

the email they respond on is [email protected] ?


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## joekitch (Sep 13, 2013)

Alright apparently I'm missing some crucial detail somehow but what procedure should I be following to load the necessary firmware for the drive unit control board? Does the firmware get loaded to the control board or to the VCU? 

The documentation linked on this page





Download Instructions | AEM EV







www.aemev.com




For the inverter control board


https://www.aemev.com/sites/default/files/AEM-EV-30-8402-Tesla-LDU-ICB-Installation-Manual.pdf



Mentions loading firmware to the board using the gui (although again, not sure if the VCU needs a firmware load too), and selecting G on the little switch thing for gui programming, but all that seems to require the board to be installed in a drive unit which I don't have yet. Without that, the big combined plug thing which came with the board won't work

Which begs the question, how can I power the drive unit control board on a bench? I want to get some traffic on can2 for some testing


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## MEK EV (15 d ago)

joekitch said:


> Alright apparently I'm missing some crucial detail somehow but what procedure should I be following to load the necessary firmware for the drive unit control board? Does the firmware get loaded to the control board or to the VCU?
> 
> The documentation linked on this page
> 
> ...


This is where the interface with Cascadia comes in. The LDU board has to be flashed using the software available in the support section of Cascadia's website. There are instructions with the LDU board that cover the exact how to once you've downloaded the widgets. 
There are also a few parameters that the boards NEED to function, which is why they have to be installed into the LDU first. The most important being the coolant temp sensor. If this doesn't read a real result, it defaults to a level that limits the available power to about 10 Amps. We fought with this for a while before AEM tech happened upon this as a condition. He was able to hard code it out for me and we got the unit running. 

The VCU 200 is not entirely intuitive to use as there are a lot of individual parameters that have to be set just so (once could call it too many options), but it's absolutely needed if you're doing something a little bit oddball.


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## Brainy (14 h ago)

MEK EV said:


> This is where the interface with Cascadia comes in. The LDU board has to be flashed using the software available in the support section of Cascadia's website. There are instructions with the LDU board that cover the exact how to once you've downloaded the widgets.
> There are also a few parameters that the boards NEED to function, which is why they have to be installed into the LDU first. The most important being the coolant temp sensor. If this doesn't read a real result, it defaults to a level that limits the available power to about 10 Amps. We fought with this for a while before AEM tech happened upon this as a condition. He was able to hard code it out for me and we got the unit running.
> 
> The VCU 200 is not entirely intuitive to use as there are a lot of individual parameters that have to be set just so (once could call it too many options), but it's absolutely needed if you're doing something a little bit oddball.



Hey Mek, do you mind sharing that instruction? As far as I know there is no software patch available for TESLA LDU as all those FM patches are for Cascadia Inverters only...


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