problem programming smartpie5

[Hannes]

hi alan,

i tried to programm my smartpie5 (with lcd display) but the connection fails with error "fails data packet length error" when connecting without battery.
connecting with battery on there ist the timed out error, but ther ist no reconnection.

usb programmingcable ist installed with no errors (windows 7), driver ist ok, programmingsoftware ist pi-800 from 08/2015.
i got the programming-cable together with the motor from the reseller of goldenmotor.

how can I solve this problem ?

thx hannes

[Bikemad]

Hi Hannes,

Make sure that you select the correct COM port from the dropdown option box and follow the connecting sequence as described in this post.

If it still doesn't connect, it might be worth trying to run the driver installation program again and rebooting the PC/laptop to see if it makes any difference.

Alan
 

[Hannes]

hi alan,
thank you for your answer. I finaly could connect to the controller, but on the smartpie5, there are not much options for programming ;-(.
i wanted to change the parameters for reg. breaking there is only. enabke/disable and the value (20), I think this is Amper ...
the options to limit charging power, like in magicpie (?), are not available.
so it does not make a lot of sense for me.
i ride the smartpie since 5000km all the year and it works very good, I had no problems at all.
gtx from austria
hannes

[Bikemad]

Hi Hannes,

The Max EBS phase Current (A) (Regenerative braking force) can be set from 20 Amps min right up to 80 Amps max:



The higher the regen current, the stronger the braking effect during regen. If 20A is too strong, then disabling the regen would be the next option.

I have my regen braking set to 80A for maximum braking force because there are a lot of steep hills where I ride and the regen significantly reduces the wear on the mechanical brake pads and discs (and also the brake blocks and wheel rims if using "V" or caliper brakes).

I recently had to replace the rim on my rear MPII wheel because the sides of the rim had worn so thin that they were beginning to bulge in one position after 12+ years of "V" brakes being regularly applied on steep hills.

If I'd had disc brakes fitted on that bike, the sides of the 12 year old rim would still have been just as thick as they were when they were new and I wouldn't have needed to replace the rim. 

I just wish that GM would develop a variable regen solution using either a two way twist throttle that would twist in the opposite direction to the throttle for variable regen or a special brake lever that would control regen braking from zero to maximum using the free-play portion of the lever movement before the mechanical brakes engaged.

Alan
 

[Hannes]

hi alan,
my smartpie5 is in a 20" and used in a velomobil (leiba classic) weight is ca. 50 kg. the batterie is a 48volt /17ah with a standard bms, so I don not know if the bms can handle 80amp.
i had a look on the programmingsoftware and there where options for regen.breaking with a limit for charging. but not on the smartpie5, are these options for the magicpie only?
do they use different controllers in sp and mp?
so that was the reason for the try changing my default setting.
there is no option for changing the assistance of level 1-5, ...i always use level 3 and 4, (1,2 and 5 are useless)
so I have to keep the defaultsettings, not a great problem, but these option would have been nice.

gtx hannes

[Bikemad]

Hi Hannes,

The 80 Amps is "Phase" Amps not "Battery" Amps and Phase Amps are typically a lot higher, so the BMS would only have to handle a much lower battery current (probably 25~30 Amps max.)
My Magic Pie 5 regen is set to the maximum 80A, but my 48V Hailong battery only has a 30A BMS and has been accepting the regen current without any problem for over three years now.

The controllers for the Smart Pie 5, Magic Pie 5 and Magic Pie Edge are the same, but the firmware is slightly different for each or them.

The same PI800 software is used for many different controllers, but only the parameters and acceptable values that are specific to each controller are visible and available for adjustment when connected.

The settings you can see for your controller should be the same for all Smart/Magic Pies fitted with vector controllers.

Alan
 

[Hannes]

hi alan,

thank you for this hint. as I use the same battery I will try to change the setting of reg breaking again.
does it make sense to flash the firmware of the controller, or better never change a running config ?
is this possibel to do it myselfe, and where can I get the aktual firmware?
i bought my sp5 2020, so this is interesting, that there is not the latest firmware already on the controller...
hannes

[Bikemad]

Hi Hannes,

There is nothing to be gained by re-flashing the firmware, as your controller should already have the most recent firmware version SMP5-20150702.OC8.
The only other versions I have seen are the MP5-20150702.OC8 and EDGE-20150702.OC8 versions, which are not suitable for the Smart Pie.

I have not seen any newer versions of the firmware since those firmware files were originally released (along with the Bluetooth Upgrade Tool used to install them) back in August 2015.

Alan
 

[Hannes]

hi alan,
the technical support of the reseller wrote me, that 80 would be to much for reg. breaking on the sp5.
the additional settings in the flashtool are for other gm controller.

today I did another try, but the changed settings are not saved on the controller when uploading.
reconnecting, after power off, power on show always the default settings, same whwn uploading and downloading with no "restart"

the support asked me to make a video, otherwise he could not help me (?).

what could be wrong, when no changes are stored persistand on the controller ?

gtx hannes

[Bikemad]

today I did another try, but the changed settings are not saved on the controller when uploading.
reconnecting, after power off, power on show always the default settings, same when uploading and downloading with no "restart"

the support asked me to make a video, otherwise he could not help me (?).

what could be wrong, when no changes are stored permanently on the controller ?

Unfortunately, the icons used for the PI800 software are very confusing, so to save the changed parameters to the controller you must click on the Download icon not the Upload one:



The Upload icon only reads the existing settings from the controller and would simply reset any unsaved changes you may have made in the software.

Hopefully this is the reason why your settings have not changed.



Alan
 

[Hannes]

...sounds like a  joke
ok. so I will try it this way.
thank you alan
gtx hannes