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Lithiumate™ Manual

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Status Menu

Menu on monitoring the status of the BMS.

Status menu (click on a menu item to go to a description of that item):

back to topStatus of System

This screen displays:

  • Operating states
  • State of inputs
  • State of outputs
States anchor
  • Power cycle #: this number is incremented every time the BMS controller starts
  • Power up time [s]: number of seconds since the BMS controller started
  • Most recent fault: the present fault or the last fault to occurr, even if the fault is no longer happening
    • Remains latched even if the fault is cleared, until the unit is reset
    • If the cause of the fault is gone, press the 'k' key to clear it {Rev 1.05+} (cannot clear a fault if it's still happening)
  • Present level faults: a list of all the faults happening right now
  • Warnings: a list of any conditions that are approaching a limit
  • Relay state: state of the Coil outputs that drive contactors
Inputs anchor
  • Source power
    • Off
    • On, meaning that power is present on the V-Source line of the BMS controller
  • Source current
    • The battery current, with a resolution of 0.1 A, as measured by the selected input or reported from the CAN bus
    • From where that current measurement is taken
  • Load power
    • Off
    • On, meaning that power is present on the V-Load line of the BMS controller
  • Load current
    • The battery current, with a resolution of 0.1 A, as measured by the selected input or reported from the CAN bus
    • From where that current measurement is taken
  • Interlock
    • OK = if the interlock contact connected to the Interlock input is normal (open or closed, as selected)
  • Contactor req in
    • On = if the Contactor input in the CONTROL connector is active (low or high, as selected)
  • CAN Contactor req
    • No msg = there is no message on the CAN bus controlling the contactors
    • On = there is a message on the CAN bus requesting that the contactors be on
    • Off = there is a message on the CAN bus requesting that the contactors be off
Outputs anchor
  • HLIM (High Limit)
    • Charging is OK; the HLIM output line is inactive (open or low, as selected)
    • Charging is not allowed; the HLIM is active (low or open, as selected)
  • LLIM (Low Limit)
    • Discharging is OK; the LLIM output line is inactive (open or low, as selected)
    • Discharging is not allowed; the LLIM is active (low or open, as selected)
  • FLT (Fault)
    • No = all is OK; the FLT output line is inactive (open or low, as selected)
    • FAULT (and the reason is shown); the FLT is active (low or open, as selected)
    • Remains latched even if the fault is cleared, until the unit is reset
    • Press the 'k' key to clear it {Rev 1.05+}
  • CCL (Charge Current Limit)
    • 0 % = no charging allowed; the CCL output line is at 0 V - Followed by an explanation of why the CCL is not 100 %
    • ... to ...
    • 100 % = charging is allowed; the CCL output line is at 5 V
  • DCL (Discharge Current Limit)
    • 0 % = no discharging allowed; the DCL output line is at 0 V - Followed by an explanation of why the DCL is not 100 %
    • ... to ...
    • 100 % = discharging is allowed; the DCL output line is at 5 V
  • fan
    • Off: the temperature is below the threshold; the FAN output line is open
    • On: the temperature is above the threshold; the FAN output line is grounded
      • 0 % = minimum fan speed: the PWM output is at 0 % duty cycle
      • ... to ...
      • 100 % = maximum fan speed: the PWM output is at 100 % duty cycle
back to topStatus of entire pack

This screen displays:

  • Pack current, with a resolution of 0.1 A
  • Pack Depth Of Discharge, in Ah
  • Pack State Of Charge, in %
  • Pack Capacity, in Ah (normally this is the nominal capacity; in some applications the BMS can compute and display the actual capacity)
  • Pack State Of Health, in % (normally 100 %, decreases as the pack loses life)
  • Time average of the minimum and maximum cell voltages, in V, with a resolution of 10 mV
  • Range of cell voltages in the entire pack
    • Minimum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
    • Average voltage
    • Maximum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
  • Pack voltage
    • Calculated from the cell voltages
    • Reported by a Remote HVFE {Rev 1.05+}
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the entire pack
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the entire pack, measured when the balancing load is off and has been off for some time {Rev 1.05+}
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of resistances of sets of cells in parallel, in the entire pack
    • Minimum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
    • Average resistance
    • Maximum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
  • Total pack resistance (calculated from the cell set resistances)
  • Number of balancing loads that are on in the entire pack
  • Number of cell boards in the entire pack, range of IDs the cell boards, and whether they are all reporting
  • Number of banks in the entire pack, range of IDs the banks, and whether they are all reporting
back to topStatus of each battery in parallel

If the pack is consists of 2 or more batteries in parallel, this screen reports the status of each of those batteries.
This screen displays the some of the same information as the Pack Status screen (above), but just for the banks in the selected battery.
If only one battery in parallel, this screen reports, in effect, the state of the pack.

This screen displays:

  • The number of the battery (0 to 9)
    • Use the number keys to select a particular battery, or the "Enter" key to go to the next one.
  • Range of cell voltages in the battery
    • Minimum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
    • Average voltage
    • Maximum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
  • Battery voltage (calculated from the cell voltages), which, of course, is also the pack voltage
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the battery
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the entire pack, measured when the balancing load is off and has been off for some time {Rev 1.05+}
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of resistances of sets of cells in parallel, in the battery
    • Minimum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
    • Average resistance
    • Maximum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
  • Total battery resistance (calculated from the cell set resistances)
  • Number of balancing loads that are on in the battery
  • Number of cell boards in the battery, range of IDs the cell boards, and whether they are all reporting
  • Number of banks in the battery, range of IDs the banks, and whether they are all reporting
back to topStatus of each bank

This screen reports the status of each of bank.
This screen displays the some of the same information as the Battery Status screen (above), but just for the selected bank.
If only one bank, this screen reports, in effect, the state of the pack.

This screen displays:

  • The number of the bank (0 to 15)
    • Use the number keys to select a particular bank, or the "Enter" key to go to the next one.
  • Range of cell voltages in the bank
    • Minimum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
    • Average voltage
    • Maximum voltage (and the number of a cell that has that voltage)
  • Bank voltage (calculated from the cell voltages)
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the bank
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of cell board temperatures in the entire pack, measured when the balancing load is off and has been off for some time {Rev 1.05+}
    • Minimum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
    • Average temperature
    • Maximum temperature (and the number of a cell board that has that temperature)
  • Range of resistances of sets of cells in parallel, in the bank
    • Minimum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
    • Average resistance
    • Maximum resistance (and the number of a set of cells in parallel that has that resistance)
  • Total bank resistance (calculated from the cell set resistances)
  • Number of balancing loads that are on in the bank
  • Number of cell boards in the bank, range of IDs the cell boards, and whether they are all reporting
  • Number of banks in the bank, which, of course, is just 1
back to topStatus of each cell

This section describes the information displayed in the "Cells" Status screens (up to 255 screens). Use the number keys to select a particular one, or the "Enter" key to go to the next one.

This screen displays:

  • The number of the cell (0 to 255)
    • Use the number keys to select a particular cell, or the "Enter" key to go to the next one.
  • The status of its monitor: OK, not reporting or malfunctioning
  • Cell voltage, in V, with a resolution of 10 mV. A message flags if the voltage sensor is faulty
  • Cell Board temperature, in °C. A message flags if the temperature sensor is faulty
  • Cell Board temperature when the balancing load is off and has been off for some time, in °C. {Rev 1.05+}
  • DC resistance of the set of cells in parallel, in mOhm, with a resolution of 0.1 mOhm. The value may be flagged as invalid (for example, if too high to display)
  • State of the balancing load: On, Off or Fault
back to topAs a table

This screen displays a scrolling table with a new row every second. {Rev 1.01+}

The items displayed are:

  • Tim: Seconds since power up
  • Curr: Pack current [A]
  • Vtg: Pack voltage [V]
  • Pwr: Power [kW]
  • Ccl: Charge Current Limit [%]
  • Dcl: Discharge Current Limit [%]
  • Soc: State Of Charge [%]
  • Dod: Depth Of Discharge [Ah]
  • Vmin: Lowest cell voltage [V]
  • Vmax: Highest cell voltage [V]
  • Tmn: Coldest temperature [°C]
  • Tmx: Hottest temperature [°C]
  • Lds: Number of balancing loads that are on
  • Miss: Number of missing cells
  • Pw: Power source: S = Source; L = Load; B = Both
  • Out: Ouputs: H = HLIM; L = LLIM; F = FLT
Capturing data and plotting them anchor

You can use this status screen to log data and display it in a spreadsheet:

  1. Use PuTTY, HyperTerminal (or other Serial Terminal emulator that allows you to capture text) to talk to the BMS
  2. Start capturing text to a file in your computer
  3. Go to the "Status / As a table" menu
  4. Capture data as long as needed
  5. Stop capturing the data
  6. Open the file in a text editor, copy just the table data
  7. Open this spreadsheet, in M$ Excel or OpenOffice Calc
  8. Paste the data in the first column; the graph in the spreadsheet will change to the plot of your data

To capture text in a Serial Terminal emulator in PuTTY:

  1. Click the PuTTY icon on the top right corner of the PuTTY window; a menu opens
  2. Click the "Change settings" item; a "PuTTY Reconfiguration" dialog opens
  3. In the left pane, click the "Logging" item (2nd item; subitem of "Session"); the right pane shows "Options controlling session logging"
  4. Click the "All session output" radio button (or "Log all session output")
  5. Enter a file name; if required, browse to the folder where you want the output saved
  6. Click the "Apply" button at the bottom; the dialog closes

To capture text in a Serial Terminal emulator in HyperTerminal:

  1. On the Transfer menu, click Capture Text
  2. In the File box, type a name for the file
  3. Click Start
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