Return of blinking odometer

1192 Views 16 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Electric Tire Shredder, 2 mo ago

Brettucks

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

My car has been charging to 93-95% now for a couple months. Odometer stopped blinking for a while. It came back yesterday. Strangely it charged to 100% today, and acted fine. After first stop it dropped 7% - there is an intermittent cell for sure.
On another note, noticed a quirk on regenerative braking. It takes a few miles to kick in, and can turn on and off after a good jolt ( like a RR crossing). This is a new symptom!
im not trying to troubleshoot as I know I won’t be trying to fix one ‘cell’. Just an update on a 2014 with 83k miles.

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Electric Tire Shredder

· #2 · 3 mo ago

Flashing odometer means it needs a proxy alignment. I don't know if that could cause your issues, but...:

Without OBD cell voltage readings I wouldn't be so sure there's a weak cell.

Every failure to fully charge that I can recall was due to the power supply, not the car. Usually its fine on a different cord, especially the OEM one.

Regen always takes a few miles to fully kick in: ~15kW max above 89% & ~5kW max, above 94%. Failure after bumps might be a wheel speed sensor going bad, which is fairly common but easily fixed.

Reactions: 1

Brettucks

Discussion Starter · #3 · 2 mo ago

UPDATE- odometer stopped blinking again, never hit 100%. Btw-owned 2 years now, 84k, 13k by me. Still love this car.

Electric Tire Shredder

· #4 · 2 mo ago

2

We should soon have a hopefully-cheaper option to the OBDLink MX+, to correct your proxy misalignment:

I saw this pic by @Volker M. (click here). It's not an OBDLink MX+, but seems to work with the yellow adapter required to fix proxy alignment:

Rectangle Cosmetics Font Tints and shades Electric blue

I've asked @Volker M. to confirm that it works, & to provide the make & model, so we can try to find a cheap source.

This is what an MX+ looks like:

Hand Yellow Camera accessory Gadget Cable

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Volker M.

· #5 · 2 mo ago

I bought this set here in Germany in 2018 from this company:

AlfaOBD - Diagnosesoftware für Hobbyschrauber + Werkstatt

ALFAOBD Deutschland - Diagnose Tool PC/Android für Hobbyschrauber und Werkstatt.

alfaobd.de

Unfortunately, it is not cheap and cannot read the BPCM.

electronic-fuchs.de

ALFAOBD "ANDROID ALFAOBD CAN" BT ANDROID SET ! - Electronic-Fuchs

OBD Diagnoseinterface OBDDirect CANBUS Interface CAN327 für AlfaOBD Android

electronic-fuchs.de

electronic-fuchs.de

Set with green/yellow plug, but you only need the yellow plug, never use the green plug!

Electric Tire Shredder

· #6 · 2 mo ago

That's a different AlfaOBD! www.alfaobd.DE

Most of us use the free one at AlfaOBD.COM

It's also at Google Play Store. I wonder if you've tried that one.

Electric Tire Shredder

· #7 · 2 mo ago

An OBDLink MX+ & yellow plug is $150, so € 96 for this different version wouldn't be all that bad IF it could do a proxy alignment, however...:

Volker M. said:
cannot read the BPCM

I hope you don't really mean "BPCM". That's the Battery Pack Control Module, where the most useful OBD data is & the most common errors to clear are.

Electric Tire Shredder

· #8 · 2 mo ago

Volker M. said:
you only need the yellow plug...

I've only used the yellow plug when needed to connect to the Body Computer, to do a proxy alignment, which suddenly became necessary for absolutely no apparent reason at all.

If this different "dot DE" version of AlfaOBD really won't connect, I don't see the point of its cost, or its yellow plug, except maybe for TPMS. That's the only other module I can recall anyone needing a yellow plug for.

Volker M.

· #9 · 2 mo ago

Electric Tire Shredder said:
That's a different AlfaOBD! www.alfaobd.DE

Most of us use the free one at AlfaOBD.COM

It's also at Google Play Store. I wonder if you've tried that one.

There are two AlfaOBD versions:

The free demo version
The full version, which costs extra. (Was part of my AlfaOBD set in 2018)

I think .de or .com make no difference.

The German website wrote the following for the demo version:

The freeware supports the following functions:
– Works for 15 minutes and then shuts off
– No active diagnosis/no settings possible
– Max. 4 graphics can be displayed
– A maximum of 4 parameters can be monitored

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Volker M.

· #10 · 2 mo ago

Electric Tire Shredder said:
An OBDLink MX+ & yellow plug is $150, so € 96 for this different version wouldn't be all that bad IF it could do a proxy alignment, however...:

I hope you don't really mean "BPCM". That's the Battery Pack Control Module, where the most useful OBD data is & the most common errors to clear are.

I mean the BPCM = Battery Pack Control Modul.

I'm not a pro like a colleague from a German Fiat 500e forum,
so I'm copying his answer here:

I would now also advise against the Fuchs Bluetooth Adapter,
since it is not able to read out the BPCM completely due to the low baud rate.
It always breaks off and requires a restart of the software and the Bluetooth connection.
Due to a support request from Fuchs on my part, I was answered:
"For an e-vehicle (only applies to "engine control"), such as your Fiat500e,
please use an interface with a higher baud rate, such as this from OBDLINK / Scantool or similar.

Volker M.

· #11 · 2 mo ago

Electric Tire Shredder said:
I've only used the yellow plug when needed to connect to the Body Computer, to do a proxy alignment, which suddenly became necessary for absolutely no apparent reason at all.

If this different "dot DE" version of AlfaOBD really won't connect, I don't see the point of its cost, or its yellow plug, except maybe for TPMS. That's the only other module I can recall anyone needing a yellow plug for.

That's right, I use the yellow adapter to connect to the Body Computer. Also displayed in the AlfaOBD App.

I meant you don't need the green one. Do not plug this in for fun either,
according to pros, the green adapter can damage modules in the 500e.

Reactions: 1

Electric Tire Shredder

· #12 · 2 mo ago

Okay, I was fooled by the completely different look of AlfaOBD.de, & the fact that it offers hardware, where the .com site does not.

I understand now:

The .com site has a link to the .de site, so they both offer the same laptop software & Android apps.
The German site sold you a Fuchs brand dongle that connects to the BPCM, to scan & clear faults, but it won't show every data point.*
You can access the body computer with the yellow adapter & possibly allow proxy alignment with the Fuchs dongle, but it seems to be discontinued.
We still don't know how to fix a blinking odometer for less than $150 .

*Many of us have a Konnwei KW902 dongle that does that too, but it does show everything that I've ever seen anyone really need. I hope your Fuchs is like that.

Volker M.

· #13 · 2 mo ago

You summarized that very well.

I get almost everything displayed with the "fox-dongle" and the errors are also deleted.
I have the full version, it runs very well.
What the "fox-dongle" does not show → the HV-battery health,
which I can get from a very cheap Konnwei ELM327 from AliExpress for $10.
Unfortunately I don't know the difference Konnwei ELM327 / Konnwei KW902.

Electric Tire Shredder

· #14 · 2 mo ago

I don't know the difference either. I thought ELM was the basic standard used by many units. However, I thought your car was running okay now, in which case maybe you don't need anything new yet.

HV-battery health data from OBD seems to usually be untrustworthy, so the only way I know of actually checking battery health is in posts #1 & #2 here:

Regain Lost Range for Free!

But maybe your current OBD setup at least allows you to check for weak cells, as shown in item #1 here:

500e Pre-Purchase Checklist, Updated 3/36/23

Volker M.

· #15 · 2 mo ago

So far the Fiat running without problems.

As long as the 500e works without problems, I don't check the Fiat via OBD every other day.
After 8 years, daily use, driven over 38000 miles, still 80 miles of range, that's fine with us.
(We still have temperatures around freezing at night and during the day maximum 60 °F)

Reactions: 1

Electric Tire Shredder

· #16 · 2 mo ago

I'm glad your car is working fine again.

The only reason I only mentioned the low cell check was because you mentioned battery health. The capacity test is hard but the weak cell check is easy, & it might be nice to know: If you do have 1 or more weak cells then you could be extra gentle on it, such as avoiding strong acceleration or braking, and avoiding high & low charge levels.

Reactions: 1

Electric Tire Shredder

· #17 · 2 mo ago

Electric Tire Shredder said:
We still don't know how to fix a blinking odometer for less than $150 .

Thanks to @Brettucks & @Volker M. motivating me to do a bunch of checking, I think now we do know how to fix a blinking odometer for as little as $112, including $49 AlfaOBD

$81 Full-Function OBD Dongle? (to avoid stalling)

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