Coding with the MG S5 API

[fredM17]

I use an integration in home Assistant based in this API

Hi, I did the same with Home Assistant for my Marvel R but got 12v battery heavy drain and stopped. I'll get an S5 soon. Any issues with battery so far?

 

[Jaime Branco]

Hi, I did the same with Home Assistant for my Marvel R but got 12v battery heavy drain and stopped. I'll get an S5 soon. Any issues with battery so far?

I have some drain but if you only wake up the car every hour when park like this the drain is low.

 

[stevedee]

Hi, I did the same with Home Assistant for my Marvel R but got 12v battery heavy drain and stopped. I'll get an S5 soon. Any issues with battery so far?

I've been pulling data from my S5 via the api every 3 mins for a few days. That seems to be considered a high rate by many people, but does not give me any battery problems, and it shouldn't, so long as the car is working properly.

See my notes for more info: MG S5 ev: using the API #2

Many api have rate limits, but I haven't bumped into one for the S5 so far.

 

[fredM17]

See my notes for more info: MG S5 ev: using the API #2

Thanks. Very interesting and far beyond car dealer "explanations" during the 5 car return to garage for a total of 17 weeks during the last 2 and half year... They told me that the Marvel didn't recharge the 12V battery when car is parked.
I hope I'll not experienced that again with the S5 but already baught a battery booster in case of problem.

I have some drain but if you only wake up the car every hour when park like this the drain is low.

Hi thanks. I haven't found this option panel. I'm using
SAIC MQTT Gateway (Python) Version: 0.9.8

 

[hmadsen]

Incidentally I was playing with turning on the AC before jumping into the car as we're summer here with 38°C today with HA, and it worked pity the AC turned off once opening the door but that's issues with how the car is set-up with. But not sure about pre-heating. That I need to wait some 4, 5 months to tell

I have this Home Assistant integration as well.

Wife and daughter loves the Ikea button i mounted on the wall in the kitchen.

When pressed it fires off the "Preheat car" so now they dont even have to go into the app to start heating "their" car, they just press the button on the wall.

Only caveat is, it does not work if MG servers are unresponsive, and sadly that happens far to often, but since the integration pretends to be "the app" it only happens when the app does not work either, so its no worse than trying to use the app.

Ours is the ZS EV, but works just fine.

On the ZS EV we dont get "color" but we do get "Modelyear 2021" for all 2.gen ZS EV, so even if the VIN says MY2023, the car still says 2021.

Oh the joys of owning a Chinese EV

 

[stevedee]

...They told me that the Marvel didn't recharge the 12V battery when car is parked.
...but already baught a battery booster in case of problem.

It troubles me that MG certified/approved service centres are happy to talk '75% Proof BS' to their customers.

Why is this? is it because they are stalling for time, or is it that the 'customer facing' person is just giving his unqualified opinion, or is it that they genuinely don't have a clue how these cars work?

I really hope the users on this forum that are due to have parts replaced (e.g. TCU) get a positive result.

In the longer term, I'm hoping service centres will acquire the knowledge & experience they need to be put their finger on these problems quickly, and get users back on the road.

As mentioned in my notes, if you use a battery charger on the AGM battery, please don't fully charge it.

I know nothing about Home Assistant, but you may be able to increase the sampling interval to (say) every 10mins, record the reported 12V battery voltage, and establish whether your Marvel is charging the 12V battery when parked & off & not charging the traction battery.

 

[stevedee]

I've been having some difficulty reliably accessing car data recently, but I think my code was probably aggravating the problem.

Anyway, it may be a good time to state how your app communicates with your car, as its apparent from a few comments on the forum that this is not clear.

Essentially, you always communicate via a server:-

Your app (iSmart or diy code)
↓ HTTPS (REST)
SAIC / iSmart Europe cloud (servers)
↓ Cellular (LTE/4G/NB-IoT)
Vehicle TCU (Telematics Control Unit)
↓ CAN / internal vehicle networks
ECUs (BMS, BCM, IMCU, etc.)

All requests for data or to operate features (e.g. defrost, heat seats & so on) are made to the server, not directly to your car.

The server can 'rate limit' your requests, but not clear at the moment what the limits are/reasons for blocks.

One other point that I've checked, is that ev main (traction) battery continues to maintain 12V system battery, even when main battery SoC drops below 20%.

My notes are here: MG S5 ev: using the API #3

 

[breaky]

Just would like to know, when my ZS EV is parked for more then 24 hours, it goes into sleep mode. Which means Ismart app is useless. Does this home assistant work and is it able to wakeup the car and turn on the AC or heater for example when Ismart isn't capable?

 

[stevedee]

...is it able to wakeup the car and turn on the AC or heater for example when Ismart isn't capable?

No. I'm not aware of any 'wake-up' instructions.

If fact, my S5 is currently not responsive to requests for data from either my code or iSmart. But I'm not sure if my car is asleep, as I unlocked it and plugged in the charger an hour ago, and it hasn't made any difference. I'm wondering if the server has put a block on me because its seeing too many data requests.

 

[emmrecs]

@breaky

I can't answer your direct question but, in the event of your car going to sleep and so not responding to the app, if you simply unlock and then lock the car, it will then respond to the app.

If your car is parked reasonably close to your home you can simply point the key fob at it and unlock and lock it, ideally without needing to leave your house!

 

[stevedee]

More info: I just unlocked the car again, but this time I climbed into the driver seat. When the screen came 'up' I navigated through some screens. The ev battery screen showed a 'discharge limit' where I normally see a charging limit. Scrolling back and forth, this recovered back to charging limit.

Now the api is running and I'm getting data.

 

[stevedee]

I've given up on my original goal because the interface between the S5 and remote access (either iSmart or my software) is so poor.

I'll carry on using my software for diagnostics, and as a little playground, but will not be implementing an 'always on' monitor, unless MG make some significant improvements.

And if MG introduce full OTA, I hope it will be possible to opt out!

My full notes (link below) also include comparisons with other ev brands in terms of 'user apps' and OTA.

Tesla are THE company, if not to beat, certainly to catch up with. Ford appear to be making good progress with OTA.

MG S5 ev: using the API #4

I've enjoyed the journey but... I'm unlikely to reach my planned destination. I don't think the infrastructure is ready

captainbodgit.blogspot.com

Here is my 'visualisation' of car-to-app communications which may be of interest;