iChargerMon

A tool for interacting with the iCharger series of RC hobby chargers.

Why?

I wanted to be able to remotely monitor an iCharger. I sometimes use it to boost up the battery in my car and thought it would be nice to see when it is done.

Having this built in C/C++ means that the dependencies are minimal and it can run on old (Pentium III ToughBook), cheap (RaspberryPi, Beaglebone) and weird (the wifi router in my garage) hardware.

Compatiblity

This tool has been tested under the following configurations:

• Linux
  • iCharger 1010B+
• Mac OS
  • iCharger 1010B+

Usage

This tool will open the device and read logs as fast as it can while logging them to the console. The iCharger emits a packet once per second or so at 9600 8N1 baud.

The tool defaults to /dev/ttyUSB0 and you can optionally specify an alternate device file path on the command line.

ichargermon [device_file]

Future work

• Add mode support to the output (ie: Charging, discharging, etc.).
• Add an argment parser
  • Add a usage string, printed with -h|--help
• Consider other iChargers
  • The 4010 duo uses a USB endpoint via MODBUS and supports remote control
  • It would be nice if ichargermon eventually supported all iChargers
• Improve the Makefile
  • It works, but it doesn't do anything super helpful (ie: clean).
• Consider supporting Windows users

Example Output

Here are some example outputs and pictures for fun.

Charging a 3S1P Lithium Ion Pack

Input voltage:    15.176V
Battery voltage:  11.867V
Battery amps:     1.000A
Internal temp:    28.200C
Cell 0 voltage:   3.954V
Cell 1 voltage:   3.949V
Cell 2 voltage:   3.954V
Cell 3 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 4 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 5 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 6 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 7 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 8 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 9 voltage:   0.000V

Charging a 10S6P Lithium Ion Pack

Input voltage:    15.163V
Battery voltage:  40.165V
Battery amps:     0.990A
Internal temp:    30.300C
Cell 0 voltage:   4.009V
Cell 1 voltage:   4.010V
Cell 2 voltage:   4.012V
Cell 3 voltage:   3.998V
Cell 4 voltage:   4.014V
Cell 5 voltage:   4.014V
Cell 6 voltage:   4.014V
Cell 7 voltage:   4.014V
Cell 8 voltage:   4.017V
Cell 9 voltage:   4.019V

Charging a BMW 435i Lead Acid (AGM) Car Battery

Input voltage:    15.102V
Battery voltage:  14.330V
Battery amps:     10.000A
Internal temp:    27.200C
Cell 0 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 1 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 2 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 3 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 4 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 5 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 6 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 7 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 8 voltage:   0.000V
Cell 9 voltage:   0.000V