# Pauls Leaf board



## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

In the desire to not blow up expensive things, I'm not powering up Pauls board until I get all the wires perfectly straight and there things I can't find in the documentation (or maybe I am just dense, LOL). Has anyone got a proper schematic of his wiring from the board to external components?


In particular, I don't know what the USB connections are supposed to go to. Are they just temporary connections? On the resolver It says temp 1 and temp 2. I assume that is motor temp and one pin can be a ground. It then leads me to the other "external" temp pins, where they go and what thermister they attach to, is a mystery to me.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> In the desire to not blow up expensive things, I'm not powering up Pauls board until I get all the wires perfectly straight and there things I can't find in the documentation (or maybe I am just dense, LOL). Has anyone got a proper schematic of his wiring from the board to external components?
> 
> 
> In particular, I don't know what the USB connections are supposed to go to. Are they just temporary connections? On the resolver It says temp 1 and temp 2. I assume that is motor temp and one pin can be a ground. It then leads me to the other "external" temp pins, where they go and what thermister they attach to, is a mystery to me.


The thermistor is currently unused in the software, according to Paul. Wire it to a connector or whatever, but leave it disconnected for now. The pinout for the USB cable is on J5, pin 4 is ground, 5 is USB data - (white), 6 is USB data + (green), 7 is USB vcc (red). I can confirm that pinout as what I'm using now.

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> The thermistor is currently unused in the software, according to Paul. Wire it to a connector or whatever, but leave it disconnected for now. The pinout for the USB cable is on J5, pin 4 is ground, 5 is USB data - (white), 6 is USB data + (green), 7 is USB vcc (red). I can confirm that pinout as what I'm using now.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk



What I don't know is what that USB goes to? It is not the same as the temp programming pins in the middle of the board


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> What I don't know is what that USB goes to? It is not the same as the temp programming pins in the middle of the board


It replaces the old serial interface from his earlier boards. The USB is used to modify the software parameters with as terminal emulator such as Realterm.

The block of 15 pins that you need is labeled J5. Pins 4-7 in that block are for the USB cable. There are two such blocks of pins. The other block of 15 pins is J6, and it is used for the resolver, thermistor, etc.

Feel free to attach a picture of what you're seeing/having trouble with if that doesnt make sense.

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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

Also, what year is your board for?

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

My board is for a 2013. The set of 5 or 6 pins in the middle of the board is for programming and setting the offset angle. I don't know if the other ones on J5 

are to be attached to anything and if so, what?


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> My board is for a 2013. The set of 5 or 6 pins in the middle of the board is for programming and setting the offset angle. I don't know if the other ones on J6 are to be attached to anything and if so, what?


Will you please take a picture of the side of your board with the connectors?

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

These are the best pics I have. I'n not at the shop at the moment. Note the white connector to the right which is for the computer connection. As you say, pins 4-7 on J5 go to some USB but what USB?


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> These are the best pics I have. I'n not at the shop at the moment. Note the white connector to the right which is for the computer connection. As you say, pins 4-7 on J5 go to some USB but what USB?


The smaller white connector on the right is for programming the microprocessor only. It is not used for updating the software parameters. The board should come programmed, so you would only need to use the small connector on the right if you get new software to load. You will interface with the software already on the chip over USB. The USB on J5 will connect to your PC, where you will use terminal software to change things like max motor amps or max regen. That programming port is strictly used with a PICkit for programming the chip.

Does that make sense?

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> The smaller white connector on the right is for programming the microprocessor only. It is not used for updating the software parameters. The board should come programmed, so you would only need to use the small connector on the right if you get new software to load. You will interface with the software already on the chip over USB. The USB on J5 will connect to your PC, where you will use terminal software to change things like max motor amps or max regen. That programming port is strictly used with a PICkit for programming the chip.
> 
> Does that make sense?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk



Yup. That makes sense. I couldn't find this on any of the documentation I have from Paul. Thanks sir...


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> Yup. That makes sense. I couldn't find this on any of the documentation I have from Paul. Thanks sir...


I'm trying to get some more of that information together in an easier format for folks. I'll add something about this to my site.

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## Nuts&Volts (Dec 20, 2011)

jbman said:


> I'm trying to get some more of that information together in an easier format for folks. I'll add something about this to my site.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk




Just wanted to chime in that this will be very useful to me. I am getting ready to drive a Leaf motor with a Volt controller and Paul’s brain board. I’m sure I’ll run into a few issues along the way 


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

Nuts&Volts said:


> Just wanted to chime in that this will be very useful to me. I am getting ready to drive a Leaf motor with a Volt controller and Paul’s brain board. I’m sure I’ll run into a few issues along the way
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The volt control board may be different; I have not worked with it. That being said, it's probably very similar. Here's some info about the Leaf Control Board: http://jeffeblack.com/ps-nissan-leaf-control-board-pinout/ 

Let me know if you have any questions.


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## zippy500 (Apr 3, 2017)

jbman said:


> I'm trying to get some more of that information together in an easier format for folks. I'll add something about this to my site.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


Think it really good what you are doing very clear instructions , Paul sent me to your site for the software update . Thanks


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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> The volt control board may be different; I have not worked with it. That being said, it's probably very similar. Here's some info about the Leaf Control Board: http://jeffeblack.com/ps-nissan-leaf-control-board-pinout/
> 
> Let me know if you have any questions.


Haha, I just clued in that you are Jeffe Black. No need for me to comment through the youboob channel.


Next question, have you figured out how to use the Leaf Dc-Dc and charger without any canbus stuff? Especially as I am using a Volt pack(s) and they don't talk.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> Haha, I just clued in that you are Jeffe Black. No need for me to comment through the youboob channel.
> 
> 
> Next question, have you figured out how to use the Leaf Dc-Dc and charger without any canbus stuff? Especially as I am using a Volt pack(s) and they don't talk.


I was hoping to go that route, since I have an extra Leaf charger, but I decided to just use a Chevy Volt charger instead. I'm using it with Tom de Bree's control board for my BMS. I doubt you'll find any OEM chargers that dont use some kind of CANBUS to enable it.

Also, it's just Jeff XD the E is an initial.

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> I was hoping to go that route, since I have an extra Leaf charger, but I decided to just use a Chevy Volt charger instead. I'm using it with Tom de Bree's control board for my BMS. I doubt you'll find any OEM chargers that dont use some kind of CANBUS to enable it.
> 
> Also, it's just Jeff XD the E is an initial.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk



So you haven't found any way to use the Volt BMS at all? I have a couple of the volt battery front ends which I haven't looked closely at yet. I designed my truck to take up to 4 packs and buying an aftermarket BMS would be hugely expensive (unless there is something I haven't seen) so i have to figure out how to make the stock stuff work. It's a bit over my pay grade, I'm afraid.


Also, a 3kw charger would take forever to charge so i need to find a bigger solution.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> So you haven't found any way to use the Volt BMS at all? I have a couple of the volt battery front ends which I haven't looked closely at yet. I designed my truck to take up to 4 packs and buying an aftermarket BMS would be hugely expensive (unless there is something I haven't seen) so i have to figure out how to make the stock stuff work. It's a bit over my pay grade, I'm afraid.
> 
> 
> Also, a 3kw charger would take forever to charge so i need to find a bigger solution.


The 10Kw Tesla charger has been reverse engineered. That may be a better fit for you. You can also parallel the smaller chargers. I dont do any reverse engineering, honestly. When it comes to that stuff, I have to rely on what has already been done and figure out how I'll use it. I'm not a CANBUS wizard like some of these guys.

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> The 10Kw Tesla charger has been reverse engineered. That may be a better fit for you. You can also parallel the smaller chargers. I dont do any reverse engineering, honestly. When it comes to that stuff, I have to rely on what has already been done and figure out how I'll use it. I'm not a CANBUS wizard like some of these guys.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk





I know Damien has the 10kw charger sorted but I was hoping for some sort of plug and play charger and it seems his system is still in development (sort of). Canbus is like greek to me so I will let the wizards do it. 



Will the Lear chargers just talk to any Volt BMS? I see you have 2 for the Merc so I wondered how they would be connected to the other BMS you bought. Do you have links for the stuff you bought? 



Sorry for so many questions.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> I know Damien has the 10kw charger sorted but I was hoping for some sort of plug and play charger and it seems his system is still in development (sort of). Canbus is like greek to me so I will let the wizards do it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You may be best served with an Elcon/Tc charger or something of that nature. They can be enabled by a relay or over CAN, sothey can be pretty plug and play. ZEVA bms can send CAN commands directly to Tc chargers to set the voltage and current. Thunderstruck EV also has some chargers that can be paralleled for higher output easily. I havent tested linking the Lear chargers yet. Some wiring diagrams I found show them linked in a kind of master-slave mode that is supposed to be automatic. We'll see. I'll try to get some links going. The BMS master that I'm using is from this forum, though. It controls the Lear charger over CAN. You should look at tomdb's post in the classifieds. If you can source other bms slaves, you could potentially use those. I dont think he has balancing running on the Volt slaves, yet.

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> You may be best served with an Elcon/Tc charger or something of that nature. They can be enabled by a relay or over CAN, sothey can be pretty plug and play. ZEVA bms can send CAN commands directly to Tc chargers to set the voltage and current. Thunderstruck EV also has some chargers that can be paralleled for higher output easily. I havent tested linking the Lear chargers yet. Some wiring diagrams I found show them linked in a kind of master-slave mode that is supposed to be automatic. We'll see. I'll try to get some links going. The BMS master that I'm using is from this forum, though. It controls the Lear charger over CAN. You should look at tomdb's post in the classifieds. If you can source other bms slaves, you could potentially use those. I dont think he has balancing running on the Volt slaves, yet.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk



I guess the cheapest thing to do is 2 used volt chargers plus I would keep the volt BMS and precharge system, if I can make sure they can talk to each other. You showed a simple DC-DC on your video. Do you have a part number for it? It's hard to see.
I don't know if the leaf one will run without outside control. If it could, I would use it.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> I guess the cheapest thing to do is 2 used volt chargers plus I would keep the volt BMS and precharge system, if I can make sure they can talk to each other. You showed a simple DC-DC on your video. Do you have a part number for it? It's hard to see.
> I don't know if the leaf one will run without outside control. If it could, I would use it.


I do not, at the moment. It's a 500 watt vicor module, 300v in 12v out. The input range goes up to 400v or so, and the output can be modified up to about 13.2v with a resistor. I have opted try using a Chevy volt DC converter, however, since I want the higher output.

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## Nuts&Volts (Dec 20, 2011)

The Gen2 Volt Charger and DC DC converter are PWM controlled not CAN. I haven’t achieved full control of one but I’ve monitored one used in the car. Information is on another thread. Don’t have the link on my phone. I’m currently planning to use two Gen2 chargers. 


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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

Nuts&Volts said:


> The Gen2 Volt Charger and DC DC converter are PWM controlled not CAN. I haven’t achieved full control of one but I’ve monitored one used in the car. Information is on another thread. Don’t have the link on my phone. I’m currently planning to use two Gen2 chargers.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I can't imagine using one volt charger to charge a 34 or greater pack (mine may go to 68kwh) so at least 2 perhaps 3 will be needed. But how to do it........


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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jiji40 said:


> There are two such blocks of pins. The other block of 15 pins is J6, and it is used for the resolver, thermistor, etc. Xender Discord Omegle



Yes, got it figured out. How come you have underlined words after your posts?


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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

OK, Ladies and germs, I am at an impasse. I am supposed to set the current angle offset and regen, etc and I am supposed to hook up a computer to the board. But what program is used to view and change these settings? I have no idea.


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## jbman (Oct 26, 2017)

CanadaLT28 said:


> OK, Ladies and germs, I am at an impasse. I am supposed to set the current angle offset and regen, etc and I am supposed to hook up a computer to the board. But what program is used to view and change these settings? I have no idea.


You need to use Realterm, Putty, or another terminal emulator to connect. I have some basic instructions here: http://jeffeblack.com/interfacing-with-the-ps-power-electronics-dc-control-board/

Just set the speed to 115200bps for the Leaf board instead of 19200 like I used for the DC board. Paul should have sent you some documentation. I've posted some of it, but not all, yet.

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## CanadaLT28 (Oct 15, 2011)

jbman said:


> You need to use Realterm, Putty, or another terminal emulator to connect. I have some basic instructions here: http://jeffeblack.com/interfacing-with-the-ps-power-electronics-dc-control-board/
> 
> Just set the speed to 115200bps for the Leaf board instead of 19200 like I used for the DC board. Paul should have sent you some documentation. I've posted some of it, but not all, yet.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk



Paul sent a lot of documentation but some people (like me) start at a much lower point than others. Ive never heard of Realterm, putty or even know what an emulator is, LOL. I am a computer luddite.


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## billfoster (8 mo ago)

Nuts&Volts said:


> The Gen2 Volt Charger and DC DC converter are PWM controlled not CAN. I haven’t achieved full control of one but I’ve monitored one used in the car. Information is on another thread. Don’t have the link on my phone. I’m currently planning to use two Gen2 chargers.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


ZEVA bms can send CAN commands directly to Tc chargers to set the voltage and current. Thunderstruck EV also has some chargers that can be paralleled for higher output easily.


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