OBD Scan Tools Info / Data

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GladeStorm

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
67
Location
TN
I'm starting a new thread here to consolidate information we have on OBD scanners that is spread through several threads. I plan on editing this first post as information becomes available so that new owners can get up to date easier.

Scanners (confirmed to work with the Focus Electric):

  • ScanGauge
  • Linear Logic LLC has produced a couple of specially configured/prototype ScanGauge's. Contact information and some discussion is covered here: https://discussions.myfordmobile.com/discussions/MyFord_Mobile_Discussions/BEV_Accessories_and_Modifications/Reading_codes_and_the_OBD_II/mfm010000d1/111.1?nav=messages and in the middle of here: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=672. These devices can access around 20 parameters (4 at a time). I will update this thread when/if a commercial product becomes available.

  • VCM II with Ford IDS
  • This is the scanner that Ford Service uses. $1500 + $700/year software subscription. Discussed here: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1929

  • FORScan Software - http://www.FORScan.org
  • Recommended Scantool: OBDLink MX (Bluetooth or WiFi)
    • -I suspect that the other OBDLink brand scantools might work but the FORScan documentation claims that there are timing issues with the less expensive imported ELM327 tools (my cheaper scantool did not work)
  • FORScan was originally written for PC use, but in mid-2014 added an IOS version (usig wifi) and in mid 2015 an Android version (which uses either wifi or Bluetooth).

Location of OBDII ports: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=672#p3804 -I believe either port is usable.
 
FORScan Overview

FORScan is primarily Windows-based but an IOS version is being test driven. They say that they will have an android version. All the PID coding/scaling is internalized; basically plug and play. Once the software identifies the FFE and you provide the model year, it polls all the modules. This is what it found via my OBDLink MX:

OBD_Modules.png


Under the "Monitor" Tab (O'Scope icon) you first select the Module that you want to look at and the software provides a list of available parameters. You can then select up to 28 parameters to monitor at a time. (you can only monitor the parameters that are available in a single module at a time). Most modules are pretty boring unless you are trying to troubleshoot a problem; those in this forum will probably be most interested in small subsets of the BECM (114 parameters) or PCM (75 parameters).

Here's the information that comes with the first several parameters in the BECM
Code:
AVERTEMP        Average Temperature Range
BATCURBECM      Hybrid Battery Current
BATTAGEBECM     Battery Age in Months
BAT_A_FAUL_STAT Battery Interpack Contactor A Fault Status
BAT_A_INP_STAT  Battery Interpack Contactor A Input Status
BAT_A_OUT_DEM   Battery Interpack Contactor A Output Demanded
BAT_A_OUT_IND   Battery Interpack Contactor A Output Indicated
BAT_B_FAUL_STAT Battery Interpack Contactor B Fault Status
BAT_B_INP_STAT  Battery Interpack Contactor B Input Status
BAT_B_OUT_DEM   Battery Interpack Contactor B Output Demanded
BAT_B_OUT_IND   Battery Interpack Contactor B Output Indicated
BAT_CHARG_CURR  Hybrid/EV Battery Charge Current - Requested
-Ok - Some of this is a bit ambiguous; some over-technical. As more data is collected we should be able to identify the most interesting parameters and put a little more definition behind them.
 
FORScan Parameters of Interest:
BECM - Battery Energy Control Module
Name -FORScan Description (the use of "Hybrid" simply refers to the HV battery)
H_BATT_CHAR -Hybrid Battery State of Charge
        • Full range SOC (state of charge) which apparently should be equivalent to Dead-to-23kWh on a new battery. Resolution of .01%.
BAT_CHA_DISPL -Hybrid/EV Battery State of Charge - Displayed
        • Displayed/Customer SOC apparently calculated from H_BATT_CHAR and corresponding to about 8%-90% of full range. Maintained internally at 0.5% resolution and clipped at 100%.
BAT_TO_EMPTY_ESTIM -Hybrid/EV Battery Energy to Empty - Estimated
        • Resolution of 1 Wh. Appears to be the primary input to the Guess-o-Meter calculation (obviously without the fudge factors for recent history/climate settings...). When I ran my FFE battery down, the "Stop Safely Now" message occured just as this parameter (and the G-o-M) hit zero (even though displayed SOC still showed 4%).
BAT_PACK_VOLT -Hybrid Battery Pack Voltage
        • Resolution .01 Volt. Runs about 350V at displayed SOC of 100% (no load).
BATCURBECM -Hybrid Battery Current
        • Resolution .01 Amp

Update (11/4/14) The following PIDs were critical to diagnosing faulty cell(s):

HEV_BAT_MIN_V -Hybrid Battery - Minimum Battery Module Voltage
        • Resolution .01 Volt. Should be 4.07V at full charge
HEV_BAT_VAR_V -Hybrid Battery - Variation In Voltage Measurement Between Battery Modules
        • Resolution .01 Volt. Should be less than .02V when cells are balanced

When my new battery packs were installed I recorded the following at full/balanced charge:
H_BATT_CHAR 90.16%
BAT_TO_EMPTY_ESTIM 20028 watts
BAT_PACK_VOLT 350.27 volts
HEV_BAT_MIN_V 4.07 volts
HEV_BAT_VAR_V 0.01 volts
 
GladeStorm said:
FORScan Parameters of Interest:
BECM - Battery Energy Control Module
Name -Description
H_BATT_CHAR -Hybrid Battery State of Charge
        • Full range SOC (state of charge) which apparently should be equivalent to Dead-to-23kWh on a new battery. Resolution of .01%.
BAT_CHA_DISPL -Hybrid/EV Battery State of Charge - Displayed
        • Displayed/Customer SOC apparently calculated from H_BATT_CHAR and corresponding to about 8%-90% of full range. Maintained internally at 0.5% resolution and clipped at 100%.
If you collect some data points for each of those parameters you can calculate the equation that relates them and thus calculate exactly what range of SOC the car allows us to use. I did something similar with those two parameters for our Fusion Hybrid.
 
Right- Michael originally posited the 8%-90% numbers and my original notepad data collection at 10% intervals over most of the range confirmed that those numbers were close. Looking at a 1 kWh burn test that I logged later--Linear regression gives me a slope corresponding to 81.96%; the intercept is a bit fuzzy due the rounding of the displayed number and what looks like a time lag (~100ms). What I'm using is:
Code:
BAT_CHA_DISPL = H_BATT_CHAR * 1.2200 - 10.04
(Though it isn't clear what 100% H_BATT_CHAR really means, so...)
 
GladeStorm said:
Right- Michael originally posited the 8%-90% numbers and my original notepad data collection at 10% intervals over most of the range confirmed that those numbers were close. Looking at a 1 kWh burn test that I logged later--Linear regression gives me a slope corresponding to 81.96%; the intercept is a bit fuzzy due the rounding of the displayed number and what looks like a time lag (~100ms). What I'm using is:
Code:
BAT_CHA_DISPL = H_BATT_CHAR * 1.2200 - 10.04
(Though it isn't clear what 100% H_BATT_CHAR really means, so...)
That is where Torque would be really nice for data logging to quickly get hundreds of measurements. If only it worked with the FFE!
 
Forscan: I started with the 2.1.18 beta and as of last week have been using 2.1.19 beta; no problems with either. Bluetooth problem? Does the obdlink-mx show up as being paired to your computer? Which com port? ...
 
Make sure you are plugging into the correct port. Thier are two ports under the drivers side dash. One is easy to find the other is way up against the fire wall.
 
Add the Actron U-Scan Bluetooth tool to the list of scanners that don't work. I plugged it into the gas OBD port (the one behind the door) and got nothing but three blinks and no connection to my phone.
 
jeffand said:
Make sure you are plugging into the correct port. Thier are two ports under the drivers side dash. One is easy to find the other is way up against the fire wall.
Which is the "correct" port?
 
I have been using the 'uncovered' port since it is more convenient not to have that door hanging down. Since you brought it up, I just went out and checked the port behind the door - works fine - I don't see any difference.
 
Temperatures from FORScan - I've only spot checked the available temperatures so far. It looks like I'll need to see more extremes in temperatures before I can make sense out of any but the most basic parameters. Low priority for now; I'll revisit these later.
AVERTEMP -Average Temperature Range
        • Ambiguous description, but every time that I've looked at it, it's been the same as H_BATT_TEMP.
H_BATT_TEMP -Hybrid Battery Temperature
BAT_COOL_INLETTEMP -Hybrid/EV Battery Coolant Inlet Temperature
        • ? Observed values 72-90 °F. Seems to run up to 5 degrees above or below H_BATT_TEMP. Mislabeled?
BAT_IN_COOLTEMP -Lower Pack Inlet Coolant Temperature
BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP -Lower Pack Outlet Coolant Temperature
        • Both of these 'Lower Pack' temperatures run cooler than either H_BATT_TEMP or OUTDOOR_TEMP. For example,
        • During an L2 charge at the end of a trip H_BATT_TEMP=88 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=70 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=73 °F.
        • But when I got home the same day(?): H_BATT_TEMP=93 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=72 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=64 °F.
        • And after being unplugged overnight (overnight low of 61 °F ambient):H_BATT_TEMP=72 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=54 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=54 °F.
Max/Mins seem to be observed Max/Min over an undetermined time period...
MAXTEMPBECM -Maximum Temperature Range
MINTEMPBECM -Minimum Temperature Range
MAX_ECU_TEMP -Maximum Temperature of all modules
MIN_ECU_TEMP -Minimum Temperature of all modules
        • Observed values 72-97 °F for the BECM parameters
TEMPRANGE -Temperature Range
        • Temperature difference of 'something'. Doesn't correlate to the Max/Min parameters. Observed values between 32 °F and 39 °F


I thought that I could monitor what the TMS was doing by watching the coolant temperatures, but whether some of those parameters are mislabeled or miscalibrated or just more complicated - it's not going to be so simple.
 
I was trying to connect to the obdlink-mx device using bluetooth with Windows Vista. Had some issues with it demanding a passkey. I will try again with a Windows 7 laptop. I am using the OBD port that is behind a small door on the left side of the steering wheel.
 
GladeStorm said:
Temperatures from FORScan - I've only spot checked the available temperatures so far. It looks like I'll need to see more extremes in temperatures before I can make sense out of any but the most basic parameters. Low priority for now; I'll revisit these later.
AVERTEMP -Average Temperature Range
        • Ambiguous description, but every time that I've looked at it, it's been the same as H_BATT_TEMP.
H_BATT_TEMP -Hybrid Battery Temperature
BAT_COOL_INLETTEMP -Hybrid/EV Battery Coolant Inlet Temperature
        • ? Observed values 72-90 °F. Seems to run up to 5 degrees above or below H_BATT_TEMP. Mislabeled?
BAT_IN_COOLTEMP -Lower Pack Inlet Coolant Temperature
BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP -Lower Pack Outlet Coolant Temperature
        • Both of these 'Lower Pack' temperatures run cooler than either H_BATT_TEMP or OUTDOOR_TEMP. For example,
        • During an L2 charge at the end of a trip H_BATT_TEMP=88 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=70 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=73 °F.
        • But when I got home the same day(?): H_BATT_TEMP=93 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=72 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=64 °F.
        • And after being unplugged overnight (overnight low of 61 °F ambient):H_BATT_TEMP=72 °F; BAT_IN_COOLTEMP=54 °F;BAT_OUT_COOLTEMP=54 °F.
Max/Mins seem to be observed Max/Min over an undetermined time period...
MAXTEMPBECM -Maximum Temperature Range
MINTEMPBECM -Minimum Temperature Range
MAX_ECU_TEMP -Maximum Temperature of all modules
MIN_ECU_TEMP -Minimum Temperature of all modules
        • Observed values 72-97 °F for the BECM parameters
TEMPRANGE -Temperature Range
        • Temperature difference of 'something'. Doesn't correlate to the Max/Min parameters. Observed values between 32 °F and 39 °F


I thought that I could monitor what the TMS was doing by watching the coolant temperatures, but whether some of those parameters are mislabeled or miscalibrated or just more complicated - it's not going to be so simple.
On the Fusion Hybrid/Energi models the battery inlet temp is the temp of the air being pulled across the battery by the fans to cool/warm it. The inlet is in the rear window of the Fusion in direct sunlight and thus often has warmer air than the general interior air of the car. Thanks for sharing all the data!
 
On the Fusion Hybrid/Energi models the battery inlet temp is the temp of the air being pulled across the battery by the fans to cool/warm it.
-I wasn't aware of any air-cooling of the Focus battery packs, but the numbers that I'm seeing for BAT_IN_COOLTEMP sure make more sense as air temperatures - even if they don't use forced air they may be vented and instrumented the same as the hybrid. Should be able to see more when temperatures drop this fall.
 
redcelt007 or whomever: I'm trying to track down a problem. If/when you have a chance, could you record the following parameters from the BECM on a full charge. -No hurry, I'm heading out of town (away from my Focus) for a week or two:

H_BATT_CHAR
BAT_TO_EMPTY_ESTIM
BAT_PACK_VOLT
HEV_BAT_MIN_V
HEV_BAT_VAR_V
NEG_BAT_PACK_V
POS_BAT_PACK_V

It might also be interesting to see those same parameters for a low SOC, say 30% or less.
Thanks,
 
Here is the data from my Focus on a full charge.

H_BATT_CHAR 90.16%
BAT_TO_EMPTY_ESTIM 20028 watts
BAT_PACK_VOLT 350.27 volts
HEV_BAT_MIN_V 4.07 volts
HEV_BAT_VAR_V 0.01 volts
NEG_BAT_PACK_V 187.03 volts
POS_BAT_PACK_V 162.50 volts
 
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