Using TM-Spy to see Model S data.

[garygid]

Yesterday, I got signed up to be a Tester for the TM-Spy app for Android that
is being developed by the creator of the well-received Leaf Spy apps (which
now exist for both Android and iOS). Later, if there is enough demand, it is
likely that there could be an iOS version of the TM-Spy app.

So, you might ask ... "Why would I want to use a "spy" app like this?"
Well, mostly because it helps you understand, and appreciate your car more,
if you are interested is that sort of thing.

For example, from my first day's experience...

For the first time, I was able to see a bar graph of all 96 cell-brick voltages, which
were so well equalized that there was only 4 thousandths of a volt betweem the
lowest voltage brick and the highest voltage brick, at about 70% State of Charge (SoC).

Since my Model S85 (with AutoPilot) was made about 15 months ago, I have wondered
if Tesla's Equalization system is taking good care of my battery, and this single reading
indicates very good balance. With a few more observations, one with the battery more
discharged, and one a while after being charged to perhaps 90%, I should be able to verify
the good news. Thanks, Tesla, for silently taking good care of my S85 Battery Pack.

I understand that the car has an odometer, but it appears that the Battery Pack also has
an odometer, indicating the miles of usage on the pack. If my pack had more miles than the
car, it might indicate that the battery pack had been tested in another vehicle before being
installed in my car. If my car had more miles, it might mean that my car had another battery
pack in it at some time during the car's life.

On my car, the two Odometers matched, which probably means that the pack and the car
were married when they were both virgin, and have been together ever since. Cool.

More info later ... in this post if I can still edit it, or in later posts ... like:
1. What equipment do I need?
2. How do I get the app, or become an early tester?
3. What else can the app show me?
4. What future features are planned (not promised)?

Cheers, Gary

 

[AEdennis]

Yesterday, I got signed up to be a Tester for the TM-Spy app for Android that
is being developed by the creator of the well-received Leaf Spy apps (which
now exist for both Android and iOS). Later, if there is enough demand, it is
likely that there could be an iOS version of the TM-Spy app.

So, you might ask ... "Why would I want to use a "spy" app like this?"
Well, mostly because it helps you understand, and appreciate your car more,
if you are interested is that sort of thing.

For example, from my first day's experience...

For the first time, I was able to see a bar graph of all 96 cell-brick voltages, which
were so well equalized that there was only 4 thousandths of a volt betweem the
lowest voltage brick and the highest voltage brick, at about 70% State of Charge (SoC).

Since my Model S85 (with AutoPilot) was made about 15 months ago, I have wondered
if Tesla's Equalization system is taking good care of my battery, and this single reading
indicates very good balance. With a few more observations, one with the battery more
discharged, and one a while after being charged to perhaps 90%, I should be able to verify
the good news. Thanks, Tesla, for silently taking good care of my S85 Battery Pack.

I understand that the car has an odometer, but it appears that the Battery Pack also has
an odometer, indicating the miles of usage on the pack. If my pack had more miles than the
car, it might indicate that the battery pack had been tested in another vehicle before being
installed in my car. If my car had more miles, it might mean that my car had another battery
pack in it at some time during the car's life.

On my car, the two Odometers matched, which probably means that the pack and the car
were married when they were both virgin, and have been together ever since. Cool.

More info later ... in this post if I can still edit it, or in later posts ... like:
1. What equipment do I need?
2. How do I get the app, or become an early tester?
3. What else can the app show me?
4. What future features are planned (not promised)?

Cheers, Gary

Gary,

Looking forward to seeing it in action at our OC Tesla Meet.

 

[Muzzman1]

I'm intrigued! I'd love to have this for iOS!!

 

[eggy]

Yesterday, I got signed up to be a Tester for the TM-Spy app for Android that
is being developed by the creator of the well-received Leaf Spy apps (which
now exist for both Android and iOS). Later, if there is enough demand, it is
likely that there could be an iOS version of the TM-Spy app.

So, you might ask ... "Why would I want to use a "spy" app like this?"
Well, mostly because it helps you understand, and appreciate your car more,
if you are interested is that sort of thing.

For example, from my first day's experience...

For the first time, I was able to see a bar graph of all 96 cell-brick voltages, which
were so well equalized that there was only 4 thousandths of a volt betweem the
lowest voltage brick and the highest voltage brick, at about 70% State of Charge (SoC).

Since my Model S85 (with AutoPilot) was made about 15 months ago, I have wondered
if Tesla's Equalization system is taking good care of my battery, and this single reading
indicates very good balance. With a few more observations, one with the battery more
discharged, and one a while after being charged to perhaps 90%, I should be able to verify
the good news. Thanks, Tesla, for silently taking good care of my S85 Battery Pack.

I understand that the car has an odometer, but it appears that the Battery Pack also has
an odometer, indicating the miles of usage on the pack. If my pack had more miles than the
car, it might indicate that the battery pack had been tested in another vehicle before being
installed in my car. If my car had more miles, it might mean that my car had another battery
pack in it at some time during the car's life.

On my car, the two Odometers matched, which probably means that the pack and the car
were married when they were both virgin, and have been together ever since. Cool.

More info later ... in this post if I can still edit it, or in later posts ... like:
1. What equipment do I need?
2. How do I get the app, or become an early tester?
3. What else can the app show me?
4. What future features are planned (not promised)?

Cheers, Gary

I definitely am interested in this app and would love to become a early tester as well!
Please provide further information.
Cheers

 

[ArtInCT]

Gary, please keep us informed, of course I would be in the IOS camp.

 

[JeffS]

Subscribed. Thanks for posting! Sounds fantastic so far. I am an Android user...glad to see an app developed native to the Android world. Always surprises me, the Tesla apps native to iOS. I guess Elon uses iOS? Happy to get in the trenches if the opportunity arises.

 

[hiroshiy]

I'm interested in testing the Android app.

 

[Rifleman]

I know windows phone has very little market share, but if you ever need a tester for it, count me in.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'm also interested in either Android or iOS.

 

[KJennerator]

Very interested in the Android app...

 

[garygid]

Trying to include some TM-Spy screenshots from my S85:

(1)

These 96 "cells" (called bricks in the Tesla, where each brick has 74 small cells
wired in parallel) all appear to be within 4 millivolts (mv), so it seems that they
are all very closely equalized at the moment (at about 72% SoC) in my S85.

(2)

This histogram shows how many cells are at each voltage,
or how closely grouped the cells are, at a glance. The fun
part is that this distribution can change and move as you
drive, accelerate, or regen. As you accelerate, the greater
current drawn out of the bricks tends to lower the voltage
of each brick, causing the histogram to shift to the left (to
a lower voltage). Likewise, during regen, the voltages
will rise as current is put into the cells. To observe this,
try gentle changes, at first.

(3)

The bricks are packed into modules, with 6 bricks per module.
There are 16 modules, for 16 x 6 = 96 bricks in the pack (7104 cells).
Each module is connected to a liquid heating/cooling system,
and the Tesla reports 32 temperatures, apparently two temps from
each module. The conjecture is that one temperature is a measurement
made near the liquid input to the module, and the other is near the outlet.

Cheers, Gary

 

[pchilds]

Me too.

Does TM-Spy use the same BT dongle as LEAF-Spy?

 

[garygid]

Yes, same ELM-type OBD dongle, but it does NOT plug into the Tesla's OBD port.

A short adapter cable is needed to attach to the TDC,
but this needs to be done properly, and carefully.

More info below.

 

[AEdennis]

Yes, but it does not plug into the Tesla's OBD port.
A short adapter cable is needed to attach elsewhere.
More info later.

Assuming it's in the diag port under the center screen?

IMG_20150410_112945 by Dennis Pascual, on Flickr

IMG_20150410_113000 by Dennis Pascual, on Flickr

IMG_20150410_113053 by Dennis Pascual, on Flickr

That's where MyEV built its connection to the Model S for logging, etc.

 

[DMage]

Would be interested in beta testing the android app as well.

 

[garygid]

dennis,
Yes, we also use CAN3 (2 wires) and power and ground (2 more wires) from
a connector mating with the Tesla Diagnostic Connector (TDC).

The MyEV adapter cable appears to use the same pins on the TDC, and
I am just assuming that they connect to the OBD female the same way
that I do. However, they might have hidden components, or ... whatever?

For TM-Spy, I am using:

TDC pin 1 (CAN3-H) to OBD pin 6
TDC pin 6 (CAN3-L) to OBD pin 14
TDC pin 9 (chassis ground) to OBD pin 4
TDC pin 10 ("12v" always-On power) to OBD pin 16

Making a decent adapter should be done carefully
to avoid damage to the Tesla.

A source for a molded female OBD with fairly substantial gauge
wires at least from the OBD pins 4, 6, 14, and 16 would be helpful.
With wires from all 16 pins would be fine.

The connector that I used to plug into the TDC is mfg part number 173851-2, available from Mouser:
Mouser Electronics - Be back soon...
and Digikey, and others, but it is just a shell that needs pins wired and inserted.

There are pins (173630-6) that presumably fit 22 to 24 gauge wire:
Mouser Electronics - Be back soon...
but there are also pins for larger wire.

More on the adapter later.

 

[Turbo3]

Here is a screen capture of what I am working on next for TM-Spy. In Settings/Options you can place TM-Spy into a mode where it just sits and captures battery voltage and amps at a CAN bus rate of 100 per second. You can do this with the current release and see the ELM transmit LED stay on solid but the next version lets you see the data capture.

This screenshot is from an "Insane' run I was taken on last week. The amps at the peck is 1300 which is right on spec. Note how the voltage sags when you start pulling 1300 amps from it. The graph moves from right to left which is why you see -16 seconds on the left edge. You can also see the regen power and the battery voltage go above the voltage when the car was stopped (near 0 power).

I did not plot current because it looks the same as power and getting a second y-axis scale to match is a pain. I think it would just clutter up the screen.

Right now I am trying to decide how to control this because if you are driving in "Insane" mode you are not going to me looking/tapping on TM-Spy (I hope not ;-)). Perhaps a trigger mode where you arm TM-Spy and it starts to capture a one 12 second interval when the power reaches a set level with a second or two of pre-trigger saved so you get the start.

 

[Canuck]

Yes, same ELM-type OBD dongle, but it does NOT plug into the Tesla's OBD port.

A short adapter cable is needed to attach to the TDC,
but this needs to be done properly, and carefully.

More info below.

Too bad. This will count me out, at least until I hear a lot of people are doing it with no damage.

I really like how easy Leaf Spy is to use with the OBD port.

 

[Turbo3]

If you want to be in the test group just send an email to [email protected] requesting to join the test group for TM-Spy.

Since I am using a new test system from Play Store it is not clear if testers are actually changed the $4.99 listed for the app. Google shows me that all the TM-Spy "purchases" are still in the "Chargeable" state and not in the "Charged" state. For all other orders the change has always happened 12 hours after an order is placed so it is possible that Google will cancel all these "test orders" at the end of the test. Anyone who know more about this new "open" test system from Play Store is free to give more information.

 

[garygid]

Sign up to be a Tester of TM-Spy for Android.

Sign in - Google Accounts

Use this link to get signed up, then download the app via the Google Play Store.

The small fee gives you all the future Testing revisions of this version of the app.
At this point it is not clear that Tester actually gets charged.
As features develop, there might be other versions, with Pro features, etc.

Once it is installed, you can try it out, but it will not connect via
Bluetooth, or read any data. It is possible that a future revision
will come with a set of last-saved data, so that you can better
see what the screens will look like.

After that, you will need a TDC to OBD adapter cable, access to
the location where the TDC is "hidden", and a suitable, reliable, working,
ELM-type OBD dongle.