Is there any way to remotely control the HVAC on the Roadster? Would be a nice perk to have via OVMS app
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Not that we've found. OVMS essentially does what the little VDS screen does. So, anything that you can do from VDS you should be able to do from OVMS. But, the VDS cannot control HVAC (only physical knobs).
That said, the physical knobs go to the switchpack, which is controlled via VMS.
I wonder if there is anything of interest on the other busses that OVMS doesn't (currently) talk to? I'm thinking about petergrub's post, CAN buses & access, as we do have a "spare" CAN bus available for listening to such things on the V3 OVMS module. Decoding what it's saying, of course, would be needed, as well as (cautiously) poking at it to see how it reacts to external command. Not without risk.
Does the HVAC only operate if the key is in the ignition? I had this idea in my mind of using a small motor to turn the physical knobs on or off using a Raspberry Pi or something as the controller.
I was thinking it would be nice in winter months to warm up the car. Though I guess the limited nature of driving a sports car in the winter anyway kinda defeats any use this feature would have.
Kerios
Member
Well you could, in a kinda steam punk motor driving the existing potentiometers which sit behind that panel, or you could just tap into the control circuitry and use a potentiometer etc to inject the respective values into the VMS to manage the climate control. Figure you could rig a small remote control box (wifi, cell etc) which could introduce the values of the various positions, perhaps tap into the heated seat circuit also, then you could load a profile of say "Temp <5C, preheat seats, demist windscreen, fan speed 3". Not particulary complicated and would save injecting commands into the CAN BUS, which frankly I think is a little scary.
A number of folks drive the car year-round, including in some rather cold places. It is my daily driver, but I do opt for the SUV if the weather is really nasty out, mostly as a matter of courtesy to the car.
You might search the forum for tips on owning the Roadster in cold climates on this forum. But, yes, if you're looking for T-shirt driving in a blizzard, this isn't the car to do it in.
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