What did you do to your MINI today?

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by SameGuy, Oct 4, 2022.

  1. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Today I replaced two of the four missing headlight trim ring clips on the driver's side. A package of 12 from AliExpress cost CA$20 shipped and took less than two weeks to get here. Sadly, I realized that the other two missing clips are also missing the hooks on the trim ring itself, so I guess I will be ordering a pair of trim rings from AliExpress as well.
     
  2. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Was this just a one off thing because you had your hood replaced, and not some defect at Oxford?
     
  3. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Well, the BMW-certified collision centre had said that all the trim pieces on the hood would be replaced when the bonnet got painted, because the clips inevitably break when the parts get removed. A couple of months after the repair I noticed a gap at the top of the left trim ring, and it was loose. So did they replace it? Did they gorilla it and snap the clips/anchors? I can't say.
     
  4. CuriousGeorge

    CuriousGeorge Well-Known Member

    I drove it . . . in a dream, or should I say, nightmare?

    Jumped in to run an errand, got 3/4s of a mile from home, and realized it was WAY too cold for summer tires. Tried to turn around, but the brakes didn't really work (which happens frequently in my nightmares) and the steering was so heavy that I couldn't change direction well either. Ended up going off-road through a city park and taking out a flower bed before the dream ended/ morphed into something else.

    Sigh . . . I can't wait for warmer weather so I can drive my SE again!
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2025
    insightman likes this.
  5. revorg

    revorg Well-Known Member

    What did I do today? Drove over 30,000 miles. Not bad for 3.5 years. I find the variable that most affect range is ambient temperature, followed by average speed. Complaints? Really only the frequent re-adjustment of information displayed.
     
    insightman and MichaelC like this.
  6. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Not specifically to the MINI, but for the MINI…

    Today I finally modified my Grizzl-e EVSE to enable control by my home automation system.

    Hat-tip to @pictsidhe for pointing me in the right direction earlier in this thread (more than two years ago!). A while back I found a post in the Ioniq 5 subreddit discussing just such a mod to the Grizzl-e Classic, but pursuing a different home automation goal. In my case, I don't need a way to control the EVSE for a specific charging time window, but rather to disable charging when the outside temperature drops below a certain threshold.

    Because I heat with a heat pump backed up by a natural gas furnace, I'm on a dual rate plan with my electric utility. Electricity costs 6¢/kWh (Canadian, taxes and fees included) most of the time, which is about 25% cheaper than the standard rate. Because most of Quebec heats with electricity, when the outside temperature drops below -12°C, to reduce demand, dual rate customers are switched to the backup heat source (furnace) and the electricity rate rockets to 40¢/kWh.

    I already use a system of sensors and relays to limit the use of my 5000 W garage heater when it gets that cold, so I wanted to be able to disable charging my car without having to pay attention to the temperature and intervene manually.

    Using the Reddit post as a guide, I found a Zigbee version of the same Chinese offbrand relay. I opened up the Grizzl-e and tried to find a source of 12V DC to feed the smart relay, with no luck. The same two pads on my v.2 Grizzl-e Smart's upgraded wifi board don't supply 12V, and I didn't want to poke around any further, so I found an old DC wall wart in a junk box and decided to put it to use. I was also wary of putting a ZigBee radio inside the EVSE's beefy aluminum enclosure and getting a reliable signal, so I decided to drill a 5 mm hole out the back of the case and mount the relay outside.

    IMG_5359.jpeg IMG_5358.jpeg
    IMG_5363.jpeg

    So far I've done a few tests using the Hubitat app to switch the EVSE on and off, and written two very simple routine pistons that will control it according to the temperature. At this point, it does indeed prevent or interrupt charging, but when the relay closes again, the EVSE returns to the ready ("vehicle detected") state but charging does not resume. I'm not really sure why. I've packed it in for today, but tomorrow I will test if there is some sort of countdown timer in the car when resuming after an interruption. I might also test it without the resistor.

    Does anybody know if the SE is supposed to resume charging after an interruption? I thought that was default behavior. More testing in the morning.
     
    goaheadbackup likes this.
  7. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Ok started testing again. Still no luck.

    I plugged the car in and initiated a charge this morning without issue. After a few minutes (charge notched up from 25% to 26%), I used Hubitat to open the pilot wire, which deenergizes the EVSE's hot leads. The EVSE's indicator light went from flashing green ("Charging in progress") to solid green ("Charging complete or no current consumed by the car"), and the IC went from animated yellow to orange, "Calculating," and displaying the little clock icon for "charge in time slot" even though it's set to "charge immediately." I let it sit for 10 minutes, then closed the relay again. The EVSE light went to flashing blue ("Vehicle detected"), while the car's IC remained dark (it turned off after some time not charging). I went in the house and let it sit for an hour, and I just checked the MINI app and it still shows "initializing." I returned to the car and the light at the charge port is off; I unplugged from the car, the EVSE light returned to steady blue ("Ready"), and I'm letting it sit for a while.

    Next step will be to remove the 2K resistor from the relay circuit. That would have the effect of returning the car to State A ("not connected") instead of State B ("EV Connected (Ready)"). The car will still know it's connected, from the proximity sensor.

    IMG_5364.png

    More to come.
     
  8. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    It was my understanding that you need to address both Control Pilot and Proximity Pilot.

    That chart you attached is for the Control Pilot, so if you are relaying the Proximity Pilot then swap to CP before doing both?
     
  9. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Not messing with the proximity circuit. Cutting the CP wire already made me a bit nervous. The prox circuit is what prevents arcing and whatnot. No thanks.
     
  10. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Maybe the easiest way to test if the SE actually restarts charging is to use a Level 1 120V EVSE and cut the power? That's like a really crude load controller method.
     
    SameGuy likes this.
  11. Rogwp

    Rogwp Active Member Subscriber

    My experience with stopping the 120 v charging process: short interruption caused by power cut and the car resumed charging immediately after power restoration (very short power cut). When I tried to shut off the charging at 80% the car threw faults and the charger went into crisis mode. I had to reset the charger, plug the car back in then unplug the car and everything returned to normal. So basically the only way to interrupt the charging is to unplug the car while the charger is on. After that I gave up on 80% charging and returned to my normal practice of 100% charging.
     
    SameGuy likes this.
  12. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Of course, we had a wind storm, and then my garage door broke and got stuck halfway open, so I spent most of my afternoon working on that to at least get it to close before the temperature plummeted last night. When I awoke, it was indeed already below the -12°C threshold, and my poor car was stuck outdoors overnight as I awaited the arrival of a trained garage door technician. No test.

    The technician has been and gone, I got my car back in the garage and plugged it in, and it began charging immediately, so something is wrong with the syntax of my routine pistons, as the relay should have opened and prevented charging. I once again used the app to open the relay, and once the outdoor temperature went above -11.9° it should have closed again, but it did not. I've gone over my code and made a couple of changes, but now I have to wait for the next time the temperature drops. in the meantime I will do a couple of experiments with and without the 2K resistor. Something tells me that without the 2K resistor, the car will behave as if the handle were removed from the port, in spite of the proximity circuit. Fingers crossed.
     
  13. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Yeah, I saw this behaviour this morning with 240V L2. I manually opened the relay through the app, and within less than a minute I closed the relay again and it resumed charging. But when I open the relay for longer than about a minute it no longer resumed charging.
     
    Rogwp likes this.
  14. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Well, I finally decided to pull the trigger and took delivery on a BEV Countryman SE to replace the T____A (still have F56 SE). I don’t know how to describe the feeling, but I’m just really torn about my username being orphaned. Everyone has been so nice on this EV forum!

    Maybe things will get better because @insightman seems to be doing just fine without his Insight!

    damImage.narrow.960w.j_1733147997282.jpg damImage.narrow.1280w.j_1733389631339.jpg
    *European model(s) shown. Professional driver(s) on a closed course. Do not attempt.
     
  15. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Congrats!
     
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  16. Qisl

    Qisl Active Member Subscriber

    Yesterday, I took my SE in for its two year maintenance. And I learned that, because Texas' state inspection is only for emissions testing, EVs no longer need to be inspected. (Plano's roads being so atrocious, my wheels were out of alignment, but they should be OK for the next 6 months or so.)
     
  17. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Been testing the EVSE mod with the 2K resistor taken out of the equation. No real change. Without removing the handle from the car (or modifying the proximity circuit to fool the car), the charge won't resume once the car goes back to sleep. Still, this mod will come in handy for 90% of what I need it to do. It will either prevent a charge from initiating when it is colder than the threshold, or interrupt a charge when the temperature drops and the electricity rate changes. I will just need to remain mindful of the possibility of a charge interruption if I need a full battery before I set out.
     
  18. CuriousGeorge

    CuriousGeorge Well-Known Member

    I plugged mine in, in anticipation of being able to drive it later today. When I parked it 6 weeks ago, the battery was at 34%; now it is starting from 33%.

    The fact that the SE exhibits very little phantom drain isn't really news, but 1) I figured that sharing additional data couldn't hurt, and 2) I'm excited about having my car back on the road!
     
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  19. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Laughs in 1.48 mi/kWh GoM efficiency in the U25 when it's -17F outside. Looks like I'll be able to achieve 94.8 miles with the 63.78kWh 100% SoC usable battery pack.

    u25GOM.jpg
     
  20. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Yeesh. Are you sure you didn't buy a Toyota Busyforks?
     

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