# EMW support



## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Seems to be a common problem. I thought yours was one that they built? It should be working. I hope you have better luck that some of the others with getting your charger working. What is your voltage? I have a 120 volt Elcon charger if you need to borrow it. I sold my 96 volt charger.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

Around line 890 is a check for invalid output voltage or current reading before activating the PWM:


```
if(outV < -10 || outC < -10) {
        // sensor polarity problems. abort
        printClrMsg(MSG_SENSEERROR, 300, 0, 0x3f, 0);
        state = STATE_CHARGE_FINISH;
        return 1; // full stop
    }
```
It was a bit difficult finding the actual messages, but it could be one of these:


```
Line 156: const byte MSG_SENSEERROR = 0x07;
Line 177:   prog_char msg_long_7[] PROGMEM = "Sensor/cal error. Recal/chk wiring";
Line 178:   prog_char msg_short_7[] PROGMEM = "SENSEERROR";
```
Vout is provided by U2 on the driver board, and should connect to the Arduino A1 pin. OutC appears to go to Arduino A0 pin. 

Good luck!


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## skooler (Mar 26, 2011)

Common problem.

I went for a brusa in the end. Needed the reliability of knowing my car would be fully charged and not a pile of ash when i get up in the morning.

The emw has been sat on the shelf since. I'm thinking it is probably good enought to use as a test bench.


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

PStechPaul said:


> Around line 890 is a check for invalid output voltage or current reading before activating the PWM:
> 
> 
> ```
> ...


Thanks. The error message is that line 177. I have rechecked my wiring, but I am not really sure where to go from here. I bought a pre built unit, so I just connected it to the pack, AC, and charge enable. The only thing I changed about it was to stretch the wiring to the control board out to 3 feet so that I could mount the control board remotely.


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## rwaudio (May 22, 2008)

evmetro said:


> The only thing I changed about it was to stretch the wiring to the control board out to 3 feet so that I could mount the control board remotely.


That could be the problem, did you try it before the modification? 3' might not sound like much but there's a good chance it's the cause. 

By control board are you referring to the LCD/button board? Or the main Control board (arduino etc mounted to it)?

If it's just the LCD/button board and you used good cabling (shielded) then it's probably fine, if you moved the control board** with the arduino it will probably never work.

**sometimes the LCD/buttons are mounted on the main control board with the arduino, there have been so many versions of the charger it's impossible to know what you have. Take some pictures.


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## palmer_md (Jul 22, 2011)

Also did you go through step 8 in the quick start manual.....

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14axudenSziPm8gjc8Sv2n5Np-XDPIssUk-YkXAVsxSw/edit


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

I had a friend of mine come to the shop today and have a look. He has built EMW chargers, so he was able to help me out. I now have some work to do to better accommodate the charger that is mounted in the gas tank. I have to have an easy way to disconnect the charger from the pack, so I have to do some wiring mods. I also need to be able to bleed down some capacitors, so my friend is adding some connectors so I can run this modification outside the gas tank enclosure. The charger is still not working, but my EV friend is coming back in a few days to give me some time to add the additional wires and do some modifications.

Here is a pic of the gas tank before I put the lid on it and put it in the car.










Here is the control board that I mounted remotely with the lengthened wires.










.


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

After learning a lot more about this charger, I would have to say that even a prebuilt and tested unit is not quite plug n play. You can't just hook up the pack and the shore power and ride off into the sunset. It really hurts not having customer support from the manufacturer and not being able to understand the charger, but I am still very interested in this charger due to the price and output. This is not the first time that I have been in over my head on something, and it has always paid off for me to learn what I need to learn.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

The more I learn about this charger, from posts in the forum, on-line documentation, and actually having a charger and some boards, the more I am dismayed by the many changes and "tweaks" in the design. It seems that many of the changes were done in an effort to save a couple of dollars in cost, and there are many unused components that apparently were meant for enhancements that weren't needed and never were implemented. 

Even worse than the questionable engineering details has been the recent lack of customer support on the part of EMW. I have volunteered to assist people who have non-working or problematic chargers, but all I got from Valery was a box of old boards with junk parts and crude modifications. But I think the only hope for this product is a set of new boards with some major changes, as well as a corresponding rewrite of the badly hacked Arduino code. I can understand Valery being swamped with other commitments, but I believe customer service comes first, and if he can't provide it, he should invest a little in obtaining support through others who have offered. And he has not responded to many emails and has kept chargers that were sent in for repair months ago.


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## winzeracer (Apr 3, 2012)

Ya I sent my charger in and Valery dissapeared. Basically stole it. I am writing it off along with all EMW products.


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## Ai! (May 9, 2014)

wow, quite disappointing...


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## winzeracer (Apr 3, 2012)

Indeed it is. Just this morning I found another guy on Instagram that has 2 EMW chargers, and has an issue with them. He has been getting the same deafening silence from EMW. This seems to be an epidemic.


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## nimblemotors (Oct 1, 2010)

Sorry to hear of the troubles. A charger is not that complicated, or at least it doesn't have to be. You can view my charger build on electric-boat-forum.com.
I'm making another one a little different right now that won't be an inverter also, so the transformer isn't used for 60hz input.

The only thing that these EMW chargers have that is special are the big inductors. The rest could be replaced with other hardware, and I'd be happy to do that for anyone that has one not working.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

I could probably profit from the demise of EMW by offering service and upgrades to these failing and unreliable chargers. Most of the cost is the enclosure, heat sink, IGBTs, and a few other major components, while new PCBs could be made for probably under $100. Shipping is the real "killer" at upwards of $50 each way, but I might be able to provide boards that can re-use most of the expensive components, and made such that they can be replaced in the field. A set of boards could be shipped via USPS flat rate boxes, so perhaps I could offer a flat rate DIY upgrade package for under $400 and make about 50% profit. I might be able to offer the same price for troubleshooting and repair/upgrade for units sent to me, plus shipping and major parts cost.

Since Valery seems to have abandoned this part of his business and his customers (or maybe something bad happened to him), I'll devote some more time and effort to providing the support that EMW charger owners need and deserve. Let me know what you think, and if anyone has a junk charger that could be "sacrificed", that I could take apart and use as a prototype, please PM me so you can send it. If I can get it working, I'm willing to return it repaired for only the cost of major parts. I do not necessarily need the enclosure and heat sinks, so the remaining parts might fit in a flat rate box. 

I'm not looking to compete with EMW or Valery, but I feel bad for those who purchased these chargers on good faith and have had so many problems, especially the recent total lack of response from the company. Something similar happened to me with my Ortmaster product, where my associate became difficult to work with due to other interests, so our attempt at a joint effort to develop a new product for the 100+ customers who had a previous MSDOS-only product, dragged on for a couple of years. Customers got no response from him and were calling me in desperation, until I had to expand my software to include what my associate had been trying to develop. So now I have sold about 30 upgrades at about $3000 each over the past 10 years or so.


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## winzeracer (Apr 3, 2012)

My problem is that Valery has my charger


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

I think you have grounds for pursuing a legal remedy. Contact the State's Attorney's office or other entity that regulates businesses and trade. You might also contact the police to inquire about his welfare, since he has not responded to repeated emails and phone calls. Maybe one of his chargers blew up in his face and he has died? Has anyone contacted his programming assistant pDove? 

Perhaps someone could call or email for a quote on, say, 10 new chargers. If he does not respond to that, I would be concerned about his physical welfare and the status of his company. If he does respond, then it just means that he cares only about making money and can't be bothered by pesky customers who have defective chargers that will cost him money to service. When was Valery's last post in this forum? I think it's been quite a while, and that concerns me.

pdove recently posted in the Climate Change thread, but Valery's last post was Christmas of 2014:
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=538153#post538153


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## dougingraham (Jul 26, 2011)

You do know that Valery has a full time job right? He works for Google. EMW appears to be a hobby job for him.


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## winzeracer (Apr 3, 2012)

I did not know that when I sent my charger to him back in October, else I wouldn't have. I have no interest in chasing a legal remedy.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

I thought so, but since EMW is a legal entity (AFAIK) they fall under the usual consumer protection laws that govern other companies. It has expanded far beyond what would be considered a hobby, and it seems that others have had problems with delivery, customer support, and reliability, even for the "JuiceBox":
http://www.yelp.com/biz/electric-motor-werks-palo-alto

Some recent activity on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/eMotorWerks

They may be registered as a Delaware corporation, which is probably the easiest and cheapest among all states to obtain legal corporate status:
http://www.bizapedia.com/de/ELECTRIC-MOTOR-WERKS-INC.html

http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Electric-Motor-Werks,-Inc.-1

https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/controller

*THIS IS NOT A STATEMENT OF GOOD STANDING*
File Number: *5080336* Incorporation Date / Formation Date: *12/14/2011*
(mm/dd/yyyy) Entity Name: *ELECTRIC MOTOR WERKS, INC.* Entity Kind: *CORPORATION* Entity Type: *GENERAL* Residency: *DOMESTIC* State: *DE* 



*REGISTERED AGENT INFORMATION* 



Name: *GKL REGISTERED AGENTS, INC.* Address: *3500 S DUPONT HWY* City: *DOVER* County: *KENT* State: *DE* Postal Code: *19901* Phone: *(800)446-5455* 



Additional Information is available for a fee. You can retrieve Status for a fee of $10.00 or
more detailed information including current franchise tax assessment, current filing history
and more for a fee of $20.00.


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