Replacement firmware for Dyson V10 Batteries

[davidmpye]

Hi!

I've been working on producing a from-scratch firmware replacement for the Dyson V10 vacuum cleaner battery packs.

Why?

Well, because the original firmware on these boards permanently disables the pack when the cells fail/go out of balance, and even if you replace the cells, the BMS won't ever work again as it stores an error code in its' internal flash.

I've managed to produce replacement firmware which mimics the functionality of the existing one, including a serial connection to the vacuum cleaner which tricks it into thinking it's talking to a genuine original pack.
This is available under the GPL v3, at https://github.com/davidmpye/V10_Dyson_BMS/

In summary:

What works:  Charging and discharging are supported, and it can communicate with the vacuum cleaner so it powers up.

What doesnt:  I haven't implemented temperature protection yet, so while over/undervoltage are catered for, the temperature of the pack ISNT currently monitored. 

At the moment, if you'd like to try it you will need: Microchip Studio (free download) and an SWD programmer that Microchip Studio supports (eg ATMEL ICE, though other CMSIS-DAP compliant programmers might work too - please let me know if they do!)
I've produced basic flashing instructions https://github.com/davidmpye/V10_Dyson_BMS/wiki/Flashing

It is possible to flash it using a Raspberry Pi and its' GPIO headers directly as well, but this requires a modified version of OpenOCD and some other hackery to get the Security Bit disabled from the MCU.  In time, when the project is more complete, I will be able to produce SD card images which will auto-flash the packs to make things more accessible :-)

If anyone fancies collaborating/testing etc, please do let me know :-)

David

[rulof]

good afternoon, thank you so much for your work.
I flashed using j-link v9. the battery came to life. I will conduct tests.
 after that, I counted through J-Flash 7.84., I can upload here a file for firmware using J-Flash V7.84. and j-link v9.

[davidmpye]

Hi,  that's great to hear.  Please let me know how you get on - does it charge and operate the vacuum ok?

When you unplug the charger it should give you short flashes (1 flash is 50mV) to tell you how unbalanced the pack is.

Cheers

David

[rulof]

i have jlink v9 can you give me the firmware file, my damn dyson v10 just broke the battery today, thank you
[/quote]

this is not the final version. but the vacuum cleaner works with it.

[davidmpye]

Hi,

Current version has quite a few improvements including error codes so you can work out what's wrong, as well as temperature monitoring.

I can supply a binary but seeing as you'll need Microchip studio as a free download it's only one extra step to download the project and compile it yourself.

Www.github.com/davidmpye/V10_Dyson_BMS/wiki/Flashing

Please do let me know how you get on!

David

[rulof]

here is the file from the new version. I tried the new version. on charging error 6. tell me what it means?

[davidmpye]

Hi!

Thanks for testing! Are you getting 6 red flashes when trying to charge? If so the error is BMS_OVERVOLT tripping the BMS chip.  Are you using a Dyson charger or a PSU?  I would suggest checking the supplied voltage and if a PSU, try lowering it a little?  I haven't seen this with mine yet....
This might have been happening to you before but the firmware wouldn't report it.

Let me know.

Thanks,

David

[davidmpye]

Just realised, if you are using a psu and not a Dyson charger, you'll need to let the pack to go to sleep (60 seconds) before trying to charge again, as I've just noticed the error state isn't getting cleared properly. Will fix that tonight....

David

[rulof]

I use the original dyson charger. there were no problems with charging before.

[davidmpye]

I see.  That shouldn't be happening then. I'll run some more tests tonight and see if I can replicate it.  Can I confirm : 6 red flashes when you plug in the charger?

David

[rulof]

the battery is almost charged. when the charger is connected, it starts charging. after about 20 seconds, the error 6 red flashes. if you disconnect the charger, the error will be reset. but when connected, everything repeats.

[davidmpye]

OK, thank you both for the reports.

I'll try to make an update in the next day or two and produce a new version for testing, if you don't mind!

I will adjust the overvoltage settings and delay times for them, as well as the error handling.  I have a 'clone' Dyson charger, and my pack doesn't hit this issue, but it's possible the Dyson original charger is a bit more aggressive.

Cheers,

David

[sneek]

Wow, impressive work!

I have a Dyson v11 (the swapable kind if that matters) that is not indicating any sign of life.  The V11 battery board looks quite similar to the V10 so I'm thinking of giving this a try. I think the modelnumber on the board is 367051-01/04

(I've already pulled out the cells and measured them and they showed being ~400mV. Me being stupid thought it would be enough to revive or swap the different cells but apparently not.  )

So I have no programmer but a spare raspberry pi just laying around. The modified OpenOCD version you are talking about, are there any information about it online so I can read about it and try it out? If not that's alright, I can wait til you release the SD card image. I don't want to add any burdens on you!

Thanks,

sneek

[davidmpye]

Hi Rulof and Quy,

Thanks for your feedback so far - I have updated the firmware on github to set a slightly more forgiving 4250mV overvolt trip, which I hope might fix your 'flashing red' fault. 
Would you be able to test for me please by redownloading and building in MC studio?   I'd really welcome your feedback!

Thanks again,

David

[davidmpye]

Hi Sneek,

I've not had a V11 battery to play with but looking at the photos, I am not convinced it will work at all.

There don't appear to be any LEDs (?), or at least, certainly not the same arrangement in V10, and also I suspect Dyson have updated the serial 'handshake' between the battery and the vacuum, so even *IF*, and it's probably a big IF, everything else was the same, I doubt it would just work.

Are you able to identify the BMS chip, and the MCU?  I can't tell (because of dyson glue!) whether it's the same BMS / MCU.

CHeers,

David

[sneek]

Oh, that's a bummer!

It does have two small SMD LEDs on each size of the board.

MCU is an ATSAMD20 E15B-U.

I can't decipher the fifth character on the BMS but the others are BQ769?003 so I guess the BMS is a BQ7693003.

Thanks,

sneek

[rulof]

Oh, that's a bummer!

It does have two small SMD LEDs on each size of the board.

MCU is an ATSAMD20 E15B-U.

I can't decipher the fifth character on the BMS but the others are BQ769?003 so I guess the BMS is a BQ7693003.

Thanks,

sneek

I also tried downloading the firmware to dyson v11.
the LED blinks when turned on. the vacuum cleaner does not turn on. when the charger is connected, the LED also blinks, charging does not start.

[davidmpye]

Disappointing but not surprising. I suspect Dyson have changed the Comms protocol but it sounds like it might be possible to produce a v11 firmware but would need a cleaner and a working pack to try to reverse engineer the protocol....

Did you have a chance to see if the updated v10 solved the red flashing issues, rulof?

David

[rulof]

Did you have a chance to see if the updated v10 solved the red flashing issues, rulof?

David
[/quote]

checked it out. it seems that the problem has been solved, after charging is completed, the indicator stops flashing.
there is one nuance, when it is almost charged, it flashes strangely. I made a short video.

[davidmpye]

Hi Rulof,

This was deliberate - the quick red flash was used to indicate that the charge had paused because a cell had hit target voltage, and was waiting for 30 seconds to see if it stabilised at a lower voltage, and if charge could then be restarted.
I think it is probably confusing, so I have updated the code to remove that feature now, if you wanted to update again!

Thanks for the feedback :-)

David

[davidmpye]

Another project update!

Got the images generated to flash the BMS using just a Raspberry Pi (Any Pi or Pi Zero should work just fine).  No programmer needed.

Have a read of https://github.com/davidmpye/V10_Dyson_BMS/wiki

and ask me any questions

David

[davidmpye]

Hi,

It is available as the .elf file from the project releases page.

Do let me know if it fixes that problem.

Cheers

David

https://github.com/davidmpye/V10_Dyson_BMS/releases

[davidmpye]

Hi quy,

thanks for letting me know v10 is now fixed 

I haven't ever tried a v11, so I am not surprised that the firmware would need adapting to make it work properly on v11..  Sorry!
If somebody fancies lending me a couple of v11 packs and a clearner, I'll see what I can do 

David

[rulof]

Hi quy,

thanks for letting me know v10 is now fixed 

I haven't ever tried a v11, so I am not surprised that the firmware would need adapting to make it work properly on v11..  Sorry!
If somebody fancies lending me a couple of v11 packs and a clearner, I'll see what I can do 

David

I would love to send you v11. but it's almost impossible from my locality. maybe I can run some tests? and provide you with information?

[davidmpye]

Hi Rulof,

Alas I think that'll be difficult, just because of the amount of hacking about that'll be needed to get it working.

If I can find a V11 somewhere cheap on ebay over here, i'll see if I can pick one up for the challenge....

David