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ofktoubro
Twizy STOP and Batt lights are on

Hi Everyone,

I am in a bit of a pickle that perhaps you can help me with. The STOP/batt lights turn on and off on every ride now. My local dealership has no clue what to do. And an I really need it fixed to clear an upcoming car inspection.

I own a Twizy80 that I tuned with an OVMS v2 module about 6 years ago and then removed the OVMS/never fully installed it.
Everything has been running smoothly until about a 8 months ago when the STOP+Batt lamp turned on accompanied by some beeps. I got a little scared, but drove home and, since it turned off again before I was home, I really didn't think too much of it. A month or two went by and it happened again. This continued for a while, some trips nothing, some trips had lights and beeps. Sometimes it was on for seconds - sometimes a minute or two. I searched around for a solution, but never really found anything - and I just hoped it would stop by itself :) Then one day the car turned off in the middle of an intersection, eventhough the main battery had plenty of juice. From what I read online it could be the 12v battery so I exchanged it for a new one. But the issue kept happening and now the serv light was also on (for a while). I thought the new 12v batt was defect and got it tested, but it was perfect. I then took the Twizy to my local Renault dealership and asked if they could troubleshoot it and also do a check on the main battery (that I rent). It was the first time they had ever seen a Twizy up close (we live in the same city so they had seen me darting around). After a few days a guy called and said the main battery was 99% and that they had no idea why the lights kept turning on and off - they could not talk to it and had tried al sorts of cables and shit.
I didn't know what to do but I figured it might be the 12v charger (don't even know if the twizy has one of those...) but I started to charge the 12v battery when I charge the main battery. This resulted in the car not suddenly turning off anymore, but the beeps and the STOP/Batt light still turn on and off a couple of times on every ride.
I am a little perplexed on what to do now - and I have a vehicle inspection coming up. I doubt it will pass a vehicle inspection with a big red stop light and beeping...

What should I do? What can I do?


Also: Why can't the dealer "talk" to the car?
Is it because I tuned it? Can I revert that and take it back to them? Or should I give up on them and that? :)
Isn't it wierd that the main batt is in such a good condition after almost 8+ years?


I have reconnected the OVMS and thought I could get some info out of that - but I am quite a noob, but I did these:
VERSION
OVMS Firmware version: 2.8.6/RT3.7.2/V2/RTP8

BATT
Volts: SD:5mV ?C7:+10mV ?C9:-10mV ?C12:-10mV Temps: SD:1C OK (@11:00 today)
Volts: SD:5mV ?C1:+10mV ?C3:+10mV ?C5:+10mV ?C7:+10mV ?C8:-10mV ?C9:-10mV ?C10:-10mV ?C11:-10mV ?C12:-10mV ?C14:-10mV Temps: SD:1C OK (@20:00 today)

BATT V
P:57.70V ?1:4.125V 2:4.120V ?3:4.125V 4:4.120V 5:4.120V 6:4.120V ?7:4.125V 8:4.115V ?9:4.110V ?10:4.115V 11:4.115V ?12:4.110V 13:4.120V 14:4.115V (@11:00 today)
P:57.90V ?1:4.135V 2:4.135V ?3:4.135V 4:4.135V ?5:4.135V 6:4.135V ?7:4.140V ?8:4.125V ?9:4.125V ?10:4.125V ?11:4.125V ?12:4.125V 13:4.130V ?14:4.125V (@20:00 today)


BATT VD
SD:5mV ?1:+10mV 2:+5mV ?3:+10mV 4:+5mV ?5:+10mV 6:+5mV ?7:+10mV ?8:-10mV ?9:-10mV ?10:-10mV ?11:-10mV ?12:-10mV 13:-5mV ?14:-10mV (@11:00 today)
SD:5mV ?1:+10mV 2:+5mV ?3:+10mV 4:+5mV 5:+5mV 6:+5mV ?7:+10mV 8:-5mV ?9:-10mV ?10:-10mV ?11:-10mV ?12:-10mV 13:+5mV 14:-5mV (@20:00 today)

ofktoubro
Thanks, by the way!!!

Also: Thanks for creating OVMS! And for having this community and maintaining all you do - including code, documentation, howtoos and this website etc. etc. etc. Thanks!

dexter
dexter's picture
Twizy STOP and Batt lights are on

You're welcome :)

First of all, you need to find another Renault dealer, one that's "ZE" certified. Your dealer clearly has no idea about the Twizy and doesn't have the right tools to diagnose it. If there are none, there are OBD2 diag tools available supporting the Twizy.

From your description of the issue I would also assume it's the 12V charger (DC/DC converter). It's built into the main charger, which has a history of multiple issues, especially the first generation. You may have luck in Renault changing the charger for a reduced price, as this is a known and typical fault. The DC converter may completely fail. The cooling fan also is known to fail.

Also typical are issues with cables and connectors from corrosion and getting lose. This also occurs on the charging connector and can cause severe temperature issues there. If you want to check that one, see here on how to open it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3oMgvHwWo

Btw, check out TwizyChrisy's channel, he has posted many very valuable Twizy tutorials. He's also active in the german Twizy forum, which is your main place to look for further help: https://www.twizy-forum.de/probleme-twizy

The main battery and BMS almost never have issues on the Twizy, and from your BATT snapshots I can already tell it's in perfect condition.

You may have luck in getting a clue about your issue by checking the telemetry logs (download them from your server account), but checkpoints may be too sparse to reveal a short fault condition from a loose connection. If it's the 12V charger / DC/DC converter, you may see intermittent drops or overall too low 12V levels during driving and/or charging in the "D" log.

If it's the cooling fan, you may be able to see that from the charger temperature (also in the "D" log).

Btw, especially with a power tuning, you should keep the module connected to the Twizy, to be able to use the dynamic power adjustment. See manual.

Also your firmware version is outdated, get the latest V2 release from: https://dexters-web.de/downloads

Regards,
Michael

ofktoubro
Super, thanks a lot.

I will look into this and see how far I can get :)

ofktoubro
Link error

Btw. I get a 401 from the https://www.twizy-forum.de/probleme-twizy link

dexter
dexter's picture
Link error

You need to register & log in to access the forum page.

ofktoubro
Ahh...

...off course! Tnx!

ofktoubro
Btw...

Is there a way to "turn off"/suppres the 12v charger error via the OVMS module?

dexter
dexter's picture
FAQ

See documentation on feature 14.

ofktoubro
Found and implemented a fix

Hey,

Thanks Dexter for pointing me in the right direction!!!

 

I have found and implemented a fix by mario234: Link to twizy-forum.de fix for charger malfunction (in German)

 

The car is now charging as it should, has no warning light and went through vehicle inspection without any problems :)

 

I am writing a simple tutorial in english and will post it here in the forums, for others to enjoy, when I am done.

Again: Thanks Dexter and thanks Google Translate for helping... mit dem Deutschen! :)

 

Btw: I could not find the documention you refer to about feature 14... but I it is not that relevant anymore :)

ofktoubro
I posted the tutorial here
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