BlueWave Studio forum
Installation Help - Printable Version

+- BlueWave Studio forum (https://bluewavestudio.io/community)
+-- Forum: Hardware for head-unit (https://bluewavestudio.io/community/forum-87.html)
+--- Forum: Power Supply BWS CAR PS (https://bluewavestudio.io/community/forum-61.html)
+--- Thread: Installation Help (/thread-580.html)

Pages: 1 2


Installation Help - Chrisfromwa - 10-14-2018

I'm finally getting around to installing the BWS into the car, but I'm not quite understanding the installation instructions



I've got the B+ GRN and B- all connected to the BWS, but I'm confused to what I need to do next.



What do the OutPut pins connect to from the BWS? If I'm using the USB, do I need to use all the OutPut pins?

Where does the STBY connector hook too? Does it connect to a constant 12V via a resistor? and then to a GPIO (which pin)?



And now looking at the instructions, it looks like I need to also have a 1.8kohm resistor? (If this is required for it to work, it should be included).



IS there software that is needed for the PI? Is there a way to install it remotely? Since I have this all in the car now.



Re: Installation Help - BlueWave - 10-14-2018

Description in the DataSheet is universal for all available SBCS. For Rpi you do not need any additional pull-up resistors, as they are already integrated in Rpi GPIO circuit.



http://bluewavestudio.io/index.php/blog/15-assembling-bws-car-ps-in-the-car



Please remember that it might be necessary to handle software debounce functionality. For RPI and OpenAuto Pro you can use software which can be found at:

https://www.bluewavestudio.io/resources/bws-ps-installer.tar



Bellow you can find pinout:

From car site:

Constant +12V from car to BAT+

Ground from car to BAT-

Ignition +12V to IGN



On Rpi site:

Here is Rpi pinout: https://www.jameco.com/Jameco/workshop/circuitnotes/raspberry_pi_circuit_note_fig2a.jpg



In case of connecting BWS CAR PS to the RPI you can either use high quality USB cable (to avoid under-voltage) or use GPIO pins. Moreover in both cases you must connect STBY to pin 5(GPIO3).



If you want to use GPIO power supply instead of USB, connect +5V from BWS CAR PS to pin 2 or 4 of RPI and GND to pin 6 or 9 or any other marked as ground on above diagram.



Re: Installation Help - Chrisfromwa - 10-15-2018

Thanks for the information, I'll give this a try soon.



As for a USB cable, is there one you recommend? Is there one you recommend?

I noticed the one I had, is causing the yellow lighting bolt.



Re: Installation Help - BlueWave - 10-15-2018

We don't recommend any USB cables as nowadays it's not so easy to buy a good quality cable. You should search those for Quick Charge, because they should be able to conduct higher current.

Don't forget about wires to the car. Those also should be good quality eg. FLRY wire, rated voltage 60V and operating temperature -40...100°C.

Remember that the connection points have to be stable in order to avoid contact bounce.



Re: Installation Help - Chrisfromwa - 10-16-2018

Sorry have a few more questions.



I've connected the standby to Pin5, but it still shuts off as soon as I remove the IGN source.

I'm guessing that means I need to install the software?



I'm not very familiar with Raspberian/Linux.

I've downloaded it to the PI, and inside the zip I see 3 files.



I think it would be really helpful, if there was a step by step guide on getting the BWS up and running.



Re: Installation Help - Chrisfromwa - 10-17-2018

after watching some videos on how to execute a file, I finally got it working!

But I still think some official guides would be helpful, and would avoid more questions like this as more users start using OA



Re: Installation Help - BlueWave - 10-17-2018

Thank you for your feedback. For sure it would be useful. We will try to prepare another one as soon as we find some spare time.


Re: Installation Help - Chrisfromwa - 11-19-2018

So today ran into a roadblock, and I think the whole recommending to not use the USB cable and using the GPIO pins instead needs to be reconsidered.

I was testing out my project, and was starting the car. But my PI was almost booted up, just got past the Blue Wave logo, then everything went dark.



The Red LED on the PI went dim, and the Green light was out.

I don't know what happened, but it would not restart. I finally went into the house, got the official power adapter and tried to plug it in that way, still a dim LED. No boot.



Doing some reading online, looks like my PI is fried. And that using the GPIO pins to power the PI can be done, but if there is any type of spike, or really anything out of the ordinary from your power source. Using the PINs some of the built in safety features of the PI are bypassed, and the PI can be damaged easily.



So just had to order a new PI, which luckily these don't cost much but a setback none the least.



Next time I will not use the pins and go back to the USB, but how do we avoid the Yellow lighting bolt? Could you please tell us what MicroUSB cable you are using when you were testing the power supply?



Re: Installation Help - patrickb - 11-20-2018

Chrisfromwa Wrote:So today ran into a roadblock, and I think the whole recommending to not use the USB cable and using the GPIO pins instead needs to be reconsidered.

I was testing out my project,  and was starting the car.  But my PI was almost booted up,  just got past the Blue Wave logo,  then everything went dark.



The Red LED on the PI went dim,  and the Green light was out.

I don't know what happened,  but it would not restart.  I finally went into the house,  got the official power adapter and tried to plug it in that way,  still a dim LED.  No boot.



Doing some reading online,  looks like my PI is fried.  And that using the GPIO pins to power the PI can be done,  but if there is any type of spike, or really anything out of the ordinary from your power source.  Using the PINs some of the built in safety features of the PI are bypassed,  and the PI can be damaged easily. 



So just had to order a new PI,  which luckily these don't cost much but a setback none the least.

 

Next time I will not use the pins and go back to the USB, but how do we avoid the Yellow lighting bolt?  Could you please tell us what MicroUSB cable you are using when you were testing the power supply?
Hm... that is a big bummer...
I would think that this problem IS exactly the reason for the existence of this powersupply. It should protect your SBC for these typical car power issues.<
Using the USB will only partly help, because yes you will be powering the PI and also use some of its own internal protection circuits, but I wonder if it would have prevented this issue.
But than one other problem remains because we need the ignition signal on the Pi GPIO's and these GPIO pins do not have additional protection circuitry and should be protected by the powersupply also.
If we can not rely on the stability of the output from the powersupply, it defeats its purpose?


Re: Installation Help - BlueWave - 11-20-2018

@Chrisfromwa you can use either GPIO or USB connection and there is no preference for any of these. We are sure it is not issue with power supply, as we are using it in the car for months without issues. The same for other users who bought it. No complains.



Nevertheless, we would like to investigate your issue. First of all please check you SD-card, as described symptoms indicate that sd-card has crashed.

If card is dead you should check whether your connections for ignition detection are correct and RPI turn off safe. Otherwise your card can be easily damaged.



Please note that +5V GPIOs are not directly connected to the CPU and it is unlikely to damage RPI this way. The most error-prone part is connection with pins. Therefore you should eliminate any issues here. They should be stable and very good, otherwise you can expect over-voltage. Moreover, if you have faced over-voltage/surge they are caught by power supply and in worst case it should be damaged. Also, during cranking you can expect under-voltage in your car electrical system but converter used in our power supply works without disturbance which is guaranteed by manufacturer.



As second step, if possible, please send us an email at: contact@bluewavestudio.io with photos of your setup in the car. We would like to have a look at these.



In our case, we are using USB cables designated to work with quick charge 3.0. You have to check max current.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Charge