[Eddie49]

Hello,
I second everything that DBMandrake has written.
Is the error on the car constant or intermittent? Does the same error code return after clearing every time you try to start the car, or is it intermittent? Do you see any other error codes? Is the capacitor voltage always reported as 2 volts? This very low voltage implies that there's no attempt at charging the cap - maybe the EVECU is not pulling in the pre-charge Contactor.
Do you have high-voltage experience, tools, test equipment and PPE to safely work on this problem?
I doubt that you would find general electronics companies that could test the boards removed from the vehicle. Some of the components on the boards can be tested statically with a multimeter, but I think you first need to progress in localising the fault.

 

[Eddie49]

I think your purchase of Class 0 1500v DC gloves sounds like a very good idea. I would also suggest taking a moment to think through every step of any HV procedure before you start.

With an old-fashioned analogue meter set to Ohms you can confirm that the 800uF 450v input filter capacitor in the motor inverter will accept a charge. The meter pointer will initially swing to the right indicating low resistance, then drop back as the capacitor charges ( to the voltage of the meter's internal battery ). You will have to temporarily disconnect one terminal of the capacitor ( which is polarised ) to test it. Note that when an analogue meter is set to Ohms, the black test lead is actually positive.
If you plan to do a dynamic test by measuring the actual voltage across the capacitor as ( or if ) it charges, then again an analogue meter may indicate this faster ( as long as the meter has a 500v DC range and adequate insulation ).
I still suspect that the capacitor is not even attempting to charge, because a Contactor is not closing ( or not conducting ). You can monitor the 12v control signals for the negative, the precharge, and the positive Contactors at connector C-111 of the EV-ECU, under the rear seat. The +12v signal for the negative contactor is pin 106 ( violet ), precharge is 105 ( yellow ), positive is 107 ( red ). Ground is pin 10 ( black ) on connector C-106.
Before each test, clear the fault code and then try to power-up whilst monitoring the contactor drive signal. It may be helpful to rig a 12v LED indicator to each of the 3 signals to be able to see a pulse.

 

[Eddie49]

Jason, an Avo would be perfect! For the static test on the capacitor, the straight Ohms range will do ( check that the internal 1.5v battery is OK ). To measure the cap charging, use the 500v DC range. Clipping the test leads on permanently, rather than holding them, would be safer.
However, I would first confirm that the 12v contactors are being activated. In normal operation the negative contactor should pull in and stay on, then the precharge should pulse ( a second or two ? ) and drop out, whilst the positive comes on and stays on.However, with this fault condition, the exact sequence will depend on how quickly the P1A15 error causes all the contactors to drop out.
A 12v LED across each contactor coil may help to show what happens. I would suggest a set of 5 x red, constant, 3mm, price £1.95 :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Pre-Wired-LEDs-3mm-5mm-10mm-Various-Colours-Lamp-Wired-LED-9V-12-Volts-UK/262762466125

This test may show that the contactors are trying to close, but it will not prove that their contacts are conducting properly.

 

[Eddie49]

Yes, the 1.5v battery is enough for the Ohms range of an Avo; the 15v battery is only needed for the Ohms x 100 range.
It would be possible to place the three wire-ended LEDs nearer to the driver's seat by extending their leads. I think 5 or 6 feet is possible, by using 3 lengths of twisted-pair flex, with each signal wire ( pins 105, 106, 107 ) paired with a grounded wire ( pin 10 ).
To piggy-back these test leads to the pins at connector C-111 of the EV-ECU, I would be tempted to push a needle through the wires.

If this troubleshooting process does not yield any clues, I think it could be repeated using an oscilloscope to check for and get precise timings of the contactor drive signals, whilst monitoring the voltage rise on the capacitor.
Another idea would be to positively drive the contactors in the required sequence, using external 12v supplies, instead of the EV-ECU signals.

 

[Eddie49]

Sorry for the late reply.
The measured brief 350v or 358v across the capacitor is correct. Perhaps that voltage is via the precharge contactor, maybe the issue is due to the main ( positive ) contactor not closing or not conducting? Obviously not easy to read an analogue meter quickly enough, but then again the sampling rate of a DVM means they are slow too. Some digital meters have a PEAK HOLD option ( I've got a clamp-on DC ammeter that does that ).

The U1113 CANbus errors - perhaps bad connections, maybe some connectors or modules were disconnected and removed then re-installed during troubleshooting before you got the car.

From your video, it looks like there is a brief flash on 105 (PRE) ( probably not a fault? ), then 106 (NEG) comes on, followed by a good steady pulse on 105 (PRE), finally 106 (NEG) drops out.
Nothing on 107 -POS- could be the output driver of the EV-ECU for that signal failing, or the ECU decides not to enable POS because it thinks the voltage on the capacitor is not high enough or not rising fast enough. Does that decision already get made during precharge......? If so, then yes, your fault may well be the previously-seen issue of a faulty or over-pessimistic voltage measuring circuit ( the "hybrid" ).
What is the voltage of the 12v battery at the EV-ECU or at the motor inverter? I have read a suggestion that a low 12v is enough to throw the op-amp voltage comparator off balance.

 

[Eddie49]

Apologies for not getting back with an update for ages. Finally got my inverter board back from the electronics place who had advised there was nothing wrong with it that they could find but said that there might be something that is not working in circuit.

So, in a bit of desperation, I soldered in a 2MOhm resistor as per the attached photo. Pleased to say that upon clearing the codes with hobdrive, the car now goes into Ready! Very chuffed!

Big thanks to everyone that contributed their experience and knowledge (particularly Eddie).

Thank you for the update, and the good news that you have solved the problem!

Hi Eddie,do you have an iMiev or one of the PSA clones. For the PSA clones, I think the U1113 code is permanent and non fatal because they they don't have the remote.

Thank you for the info about the U1113 code.
I have a 2012 Peugeot iOn as my daily driver ( and also a 2001 Citroen Berlingo Electrique van ). The iOn is fine, apart from having 80k miles, a 41-mile range in winter, and the usual rust under the back end & brake pipes.

Inspired by this thread, I recently acquired a non-running C-Zero with the P1A15 error. Along with it came a written-off iOn as a "spares" car. The C-Zero is ex-Edinburgh Police. It developed the fault before having it's first MOT, i.e. over 5 years ago, and despite the involvement of Mitsubishi Japan it has never been fixed. I am looking forward to the challenge!

Hi guys. See there's been quite a bit of activity on this thread since yesterday!

Went to move the car today and, whilst it started, it went into turtle mode and pretty much failed to proceed. Read the live data from hobdrive and it showed that the capacitor voltage (when starting) was higher than the battery voltage. This was accompanied by some new dtcs.

My thinking is that my 2MOhm resistor was adequate yesterday (when things were a little bit warmer).

Propose to use a 5MOhm trimming pot to 'adjust' the capacitor voltage back into range. Think it would be wise to route the pot wiring up to the upper plenum so I can easily adjust if I'm out.

Welcome anybody's thoughts on this proposal.

View attachment 140330 y View attachment 140332 View attachment 140333

Again, thank you for the update, and the not-so-good news!
Although it is most likely that the ground fault and leakage detected errors are caused by the measured voltage divergence, are you sure that all connections and board mountings for the refitted inverter boards are secure?
Regarding the 5Meg trimpot: I would suggest mounting it close to the chip ( where the 2M fixed resistor was ), but epoxy a piece of semi-stiff plastic tube ( e.g. the ink tube from a BIC ballpoint ) to the adjuster and lead it out through a small hole drilled in the side of the inverter enclosure.

 

[Eddie49]

I can speak and read German, but cannot make much sense of the comments in that thread. It doesn't help that the "solution" is only being passed on by private messages.

The discussion about the fault being caused by an over-saturated transformer core that has become permanently magnetized, and which could be fixed by demagnetisation, makes no sense at all. There are transformers on the hybrid daughter-board, perhaps for voltage isolation, but they are pulse transformers with ferrite cores, and this highly permeable material has negligible remanence.

The AD8677 Op-Amp used in the hybrid circuit is already a device with ultra-low offset, ( i.e. it knows when the two inputs really are equal ), and this offset is stable against variations in temperature and time ( i.e. ageing ). Rather than the "MyImiev Forum solution" of trimming the input voltage divider to alter the ratio of measured voltage vs. reference voltage, this new solution biases the output of the Op-Amp by using a 20k variable resistor to offset ( skew ) the pre-existing internal balance in the chip between the two inputs. It is like the old grocer's trick of casually resting one hand on the scales whilst weighing your purchase....

 

[Eddie49]

The behaviour that you have recorded ( a brief pulse on the Precharge contactor followed by a longer "On" period ) corresponds to what was seen by Civjdh in post #11, when he was using LEDs, rather than a 'scope, to indicate the status.

 

[Eddie49]

We have tried to disconnect the other devices on the HV bus.
Do you know were the charge time is monitored ? in what unit?

/Olov

The time for the 800uF capacitor in the motor inverter to charge to the required voltage will be monitored by software running in the microprocessor of the EV-ECU. However, in most instances of this fault, it's not the time that is too long, it is the apparent voltage measured by the "hybrid board" in the inverter that is too low.

 

[Eddie49]

Translation:
Hello!
Today I managed to clear the P1A15 error code, and a miracle happened: the Peugeot woke up from sleep mode and went into standby mode. Everything worked perfectly normally, the 12 V battery was also charged (14.2 V).
I had reconnected the 20 A fuse, but the AC and heater are still disconnected, I may not need air conditioning because the Finnish summer is short.
I was able to drive the car, but I did not dare go for a longer test drive at night.
When I turned the key to the off position and tried to restart, the indicator light on the instrument panel came on and the same fault code appeared again.
What should be done now?
What not to do to cause greater damage?
Can I continue to use the car and clear the DTCs whenever I want to drive, how long can I do so?
My car’s annual inspection is next month. I am almost happy.
2011 Peugeot iOn, 58,600 km, owned for 6.5 years.
Thank you!

In my opinion the P1A15 codes are false ( invalid ) errors. If the code is cleared and the next pre-charge sequence completes without flagging an error, then the car can be driven safely and no damage will be caused. However, it is likely that the errors will become persistent, and so you may get stuck on a journey.

 

[Eddie49]

Not sure how many members are still suffering with the P1A15 error. I have two cars and two spare inverters all showing this fault. There have recently been some promising developments on the myimiev forum, with the ISA215 hybrid op-amp isolation voltage comparator board in the MCU being replaced by an Analog Devices AD202KN equivalent:

[ The P1A15 Troubleshooting Thread ] No READY. P1A15 error. Condenser charge timeout.

INDEX to this thread. [ @kiev Edit, moved Lic's original fault history to post #5] [Edit, june 22, 2023 after going thru entire thread] This is a P1A15 INDEX Post with links to help find pictures and info quickly. This problem is usually caused by a defective hybrid board in the MCU that...

myimiev.com