JLD505 CHAdeMO

 August 2020 - this is now archival information. The SAM3X CHAdeMO page has information about the new better system.

CHAdeMO for any EV

CHAdeMO is a fast charging standard used by a few EVs including the Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul. It uses the CAN bus and multiple hardware interlocks for safety. It is capable of 125A at 500V. A few companies have developed kits which allow an EV owner to add CHAdeMO to their vehicle, but none are currently available.
A few years ago, EVTV developed some hardware and software called the JLD505 https://github.com/collin80/JLD505 which can control CHAdeMO as well as counting amp-hours. Unfortunately the project appears to be dead. But the schematics and code are mostly available so I used them to create my own board for DC charging. On June 19 the car successfully charged at an EVGo station in town.

Hardware

The control board is an Arduino Pro Mini soldered to perfboard along with optoisolated inputs, MOSFET outputs, HV monitoring and CAN bus. It controls the CHAdeMO communications and hardware, monitors BMS information, and logs amp-hours into and out of the batteries. I call it the IJLD505 (IsaacJLD505)

Software

The CHAdeMO standard is closed and expensive so I decided not to purchase it. I have never seen it. All the application-specific code I am using is publicly available from others.
The 'debug' version of the EVTV code had been tested to charge properly but it lacked high voltage cutoffs and other safety measures. I added these and made configuration easier.
The wiring was fairly simple. I got a CHAdeMO port from a wrecked Leaf (Thanks Thunderstruck!) and wired it to the main pack and my IJLD. The first test failed due to incorrect CAN speed, the next because of BMS miscommunications and bad shunt calibration. The third attempt worked perfectly but didn't get far before the pack was full. 

Proper testing will have to wait until the car is driven more. So far so good. I have the max amperage set to 60 for now and will probably increase that soon.
Do it Yourself!
If you're interested in adding CHAdeMO to your own EV, hop over to the Comments page and leave a message. It may not be safe but it's useful!
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