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cods4
Hardware issues after depleted battery

Vehicle: 2017 Nissan Leaf 40kWh
OVMS Device: OVMS-33-7600G
Firmware: 3.3.003-551

My vehicle (2017 Nissan Leaf) ended up with a dead flat battery twice within a few days.

The first time it happened, I lost all the settings on the OVMS and had to restore it from a backup. This seemed to work fine, however my backup was from a long time ago so I didn't get all my MQTT settings etc back, so I was intending to go back and re-configure it in a few days time.

When I went back to the car, the battery was flat again (it hadn't been driven for a few days) so I charged it back up and found the OVMS had reset again.

This time when I tried to restore it from backup in the web-ui,  I got 'Error: protected path'. I tried a few different things, including copying the backup to a new SD card, but I still got the same error.

I also tried configuring the module from scratch, but each time, somewhere in the process, it reset back to default settings. I think this occurred each time it rebooted.

I then tried doing a full reflash (https://docs.openvehicles.com/en/latest/userguide/factory.html#full-reflash-via-usb) which appeared to complete successfully. But this didn't change the behaviour.

 

I suspect that the flash storage on the module where the settings are saved is write protected or has failed.

Is there anything else I can do to try to fix this? I really don't want to have to buy a new module.

 

PS: I have tried capturing logs, but haven't been able to get anything, the SD card remains blank.

dexter
dexter's picture
Hardware issues after depleted battery

There is normally no way you could get an error "protected path" from doing a restore.

Try doing the restore in the shell and post the output including log messages.

OVMS# config restore ?
Usage: config restore <zipfile> [password=module password]
Restore system configuration & scripts from password protected ZIP file.
Note: user files or directories in /store will not be touched.
The module will perform a reboot after successful restore.
<password> defaults to the current module password.
Note: You need to supply the password used for the backup creation.
The default password is not available after flash is erased.
cods4
Thanks for your help, I have

Thanks for your help, I have tried your suggestion with no luck

 

Here's some more logs that I thought might be useful that I came across while trying to restore from the console

OVMS# vfs df
/store:  Size:    976 kB  Avail:      0 kB  Used: 100%
/sd   :  Size:  30416 MB  Avail:  30416 MB  Used:   1

housekeeping: System considered stable (RAM: 8b=72744-80476 32b=12348 SPI=3449984-3466392)

OVMS# vfs ls /store
[P][DIR]  12-Oct-2023 21:14  ovms_config/
OVMS# vfs ls /store/ovms_config
Error: protected path

And trying again with higher permissions.

OVMS# enable Secure mode

OVMS# vfs ls /store/ovms_config

Error: protected path

 

And when I try the restore:

OVMS# config restore /sd/backup/cfg-220624.zip

Restoring config from '/sd/backup/cfg-220624.zip'...

Error: prepare failed: Permission denied

 

Sorry about the formatting, I am really struggling with this forum software.

cods4
I'm on the verge of ordering

I'm on the verge of ordering a replacement ESP32 module and seeing if I can get a mobile phone repair shop to replace it. Can you confirm the part number of the ESP32 module on the V3.3 board? I am finding various versions with 4, 8 and 16mb of flash storage.

Stanton
Stanton's picture
Before you do...

If you are trying to "repair" your module by replacing a chip...I wouldn't go that route (may not in fact be the problem).

No matter what you do: I assume you have replaced the existing 12v (car) battery which is obviously failed.

cods4
Why wouldn't you go that

Why wouldn't you go that route? I'd be looking at another NZ$400 for a new ovms module, shipping, etc which just isn't worth it. I am hoping I can get someone to replace the esp32 module for $100 or less.

The 12v battery is fine and was replaced within the last 12months. It went flat after my daughters were cleaning it and probably had the radio on or something, combined with it not being used for a few days and keeping the OVMS module running.

Fortunately after charging it (and not having OVMS connected) it has been fine for the last month, even when not being used for a week at a time.

dexter
dexter's picture
Hardware issues after depleted battery

"/store" normally cannot be full if only containing the "ovms_config" directory. Btw, you cannot access that directory by design from the shell, only via config commands.

Also, always do "config restore" on a freshly reset "/store" partition, as the restore will need spare space.

A last option: your backup could already have included some broken and artificially large file. You can unzip the backup on a PC (using 7z) to check the files included.

 

cods4
I have unzipped the backup on

I have unzipped the backup on my pc and can't see anything weird or large in there.

I would also be more than happy to wipe the unit and start from scratch, but even when I try that I get the same sort of issue where settings don't get saved and every time it reboots it resets to factory settings (doesn't remember the wifi network).

dexter
dexter's picture
Hardware issues after depleted battery

I agree, that sounds like a hardware fault of the ESP32 WROVER module then, probably EOL of a critical cell in the flash memory chip.

If you're about to go the way of replacing the WROVER, you might also consider trying to replace the flash memory chip first. You can find tutorials on Youtube, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11tu9p26eIA

 

cods4
Thanks, yeh i saw that, I

Thanks, yeh i saw that, I really cant be bothered trying to do it myself in the oven or by buying a hot air station, its just not worth my time. I'll just get another couple of wrover modules and take them to a mobile phone/electronics repair shop to get them to do the tricky soldering. They can decide if its worth just replacing the flash memory chip or the whole module.

I assume either way i would have to completely reflash the module using the method here https://docs.openvehicles.com/en/latest/userguide/factory.html#full-reflash-via-usb ?

Thanks for your help!

cods4
All sorted

I had the ESP32 module replaced by a local computer repair shop, and it is working fine again. Thanks for your help guys!

In case anyone else has the same problem in the future, the correct part number (that worked for me) is ESP32-WROVER-E-N16R8

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