An Electric Scooter Community on a Mission to Stamp out Transportation Mediocrity.

Discuss the Segway Ninebot ES and Ninebot Max Kick Scooter in this Forum. Topics include the Segway-Ninebot app, hardware, street riding, etc.
#21271
Thank you for the tutorial! finally! 99.9% complete steps I mean the damn nearest one out there so far, hats off to you for that ,it's just one thing that I think you left out so I don't blow another ST link(2 so far) or just other problems how do I supply power and where do I supply power exactly to the ESC(ESC not connected to scooter's battery) the five volts or three volts where on the board do I solder the power line that goes to the ST link and with that answer I think that pretty much sums it up thank you and thanks again very much
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#21386
Jer bear wrote:Thank you for the tutorial! finally! 99.9% complete steps I mean the damn nearest one out there so far, hats off to you for that ,it's just one thing that I think you left out so I don't blow another ST link(2 so far) or just other problems how do I supply power and where do I supply power exactly to the ESC(ESC not connected to scooter's battery) the five volts or three volts where on the board do I solder the power line that goes to the ST link and with that answer I think that pretty much sums it up thank you and thanks again very much
For the ESC, it DOES NOT need any power supply. You only need 3 lines, and that's it.
#21530
Hey Joeyfreshwater: I saw that you were having the same issue I am: "can not connect to target", and you made it work later. I know you said you didn't know what you did to make it work at the time, but I'm wondering if you've figured it out since.

I'm going nuts, here.

Did you connect just the three wires (SWDIO, SWCLK, GND), or did you add a 5v power source?

Just voodoo, maybe?

Thanks,
David



joeyfreshwater wrote:
Sun Apr 05, 2020 8:32 pm
currently stuck on this step. i gave up trying to solder after so many times failing that i bought a frame programmer

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i successfully completed the other steps but this one the i keep getting the error "could not connect to the target. ive checked all the connections several times with no luck.

anybody have any ideas? there is even a red light that comes on on the controller when i make connections to all 3 points.
UnicycleSanta wrote:
Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:28 am
Part 3: Flashing the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)

This section covers flashing the ESC to allow it to function like a retail unit. This is the most important step, as when you get a scooter from a rental company, the ESC is locked down to prevent usage. Flashing a dash and BMS wont get you anywhere without this.

Note: Another tutorial out there about unbricking an ESC says to navigate to a specific memory address and copy and paste some data. None of that worked for me, the addresses didn't exist, etc. I ended up just flashing the ESC with a fulldump file and it worked perfectly. This is my process.

1. Use a T15 security Torx to remove all the fasteners on the bottom panel of the scooter. You may need to use a flathead screwdriver to pop the panel on if the foam gasket is stuck:

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2. You will see the ESC tucked to the side of the battery near the rear of the scooter. Start by untucking as many wires as you can to get better access. Then, unscrew the ESC using a 3mm hex key on the 2 fasteners holding it in.

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3. Once everything is disconnected, you will notice the entire board is potted in clear silicone. I used a knife to carefully cut a square in the silicone for where I want to remove the material. If you do this, do NOT hit the board. Then I used a plastic spudger from a phone repair kit to clear the material out down to the board.

This is the board completely depotted, which you do not need to do. Just interesting to see.

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4. Solder the ST-Link leads to the corresponding pads. These are actually through hole solder pads, so if you know what you are doing you can solder the leads straight through for more durability. I did this and potted it in hot glue to make it more durable as I left the leads connected for possible future use.

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5. Plug the ESC into the ST-Link and plug the ST-Link into the computer. Open STM32 Utility (not STVP). Click Target -> Connect. The Utility should now be connected to the ESC and the table will populate. Press CTRL + B to disable Readout-Protection.

6. Go to File -> Open File and navigate to esc126_fulldump.bin downloaded from the Required Materials section.

7. Go to Target and click Program. The ST-Link will now program the ESC. Wait until you get a message saying the process has been completed, then disconnect the ESC and ST-Link and reassemble in reverse order.

8. When reinstalling the ESC, I chose to apply some thermal compound to the bottom side of the ESC to ensure thermal conductivity with the frame of the scooter. This is especially helpful later in the guide if you chose to up the power output of the scooter.

The ESC has now been flashed to fuction as a stock Ninebot Max. Do not plug anything in before verifying proper wiring of the scooter in the next part of this guide. Doing so may fry the dash or cause other problems as some of these scooters (All Lyfts, maybe other brands) come wired differently from the factory.
#21532
Hey Santa:

HELP! I'm going nuts here, I'm hoping you (or anyone) can help.

I've flashed ES and M365 controllers and dashes with no trouble in the past (which isn't to say I know what I'm doing, but I can follow instructions well enough), but I just can't get the Lyft Max ESC to connect!

I have the SWK/DIO/GND wires well-soldered and tested for continuity/bridging. When I try to connect, the red light on the ESC turns on but I get a "can not connect" error. I've tried Normal, Hot Plug and Connect under reset, to no avail.

I've also tried connecting the +5V from the ST-Link to the 3rd pin of the dash connector on the ESC, and when that didn't work, to the red wire of the battery connection. Still nothing.

When I hit "connect', the red light on the ESC comes on and remains on; the blue light on the ST-Link alternates to red a couple of times then goes back to blue after reporting the error.

Most of the time, I get a "No target connected" message in the log, but sometimes it reports "Internal command error". I've been trying to be a little more systematic in order to find some rhyme or reason to the errors but so far, I'm not seeing a pattern.

Question 1: Since it seems that folks are having success with just the three wires connected from the ST-Link to the ESC. I'm wondering if they have a different ST-Link that works better for some reason? if you have had success with this method, could you maybe post info re: your version of ST-Link, where you bought it, etc? I'm wondering if my iMac isn't providing enough power over USB (though it says I'm A-OK in system info: device wants 100mA, 1A available).

Question 2: Your original instructions call for disconnecting and removing the ESC board completely and some people seem to do just fine by doing so and connecting just the SWDCLK, SWDIO, and GND. But a later tutorial specific to the ESC said, "If you can flash while the ESC is still attached to the scooter, you can stop disassembling." Are you saying that the ESC can be flashed while all cables are still connected to the battery, dash, etc.?

Question 3: Likewise and a bit off-topic, but does the same advice apply to the BMS? That is, after removing the battery from the scooter and the cells/BMS board from its enclosure, I should leave the wide connector that plugs in next to the blue LED (which is flashing) when I connect the ST-Link?

I greatly appreciate any advice you (or anyone) can offer! I've tried two different ST-Links on two different Lyft ESCs, and have had the same (lack of) results. Of course, once is a fluke and twice is a coincidence, so I've ordered another ST-Link and will test it as well. I'm about to try flashing an ES, just to make sure the ST-Link is actually working!


Thanks!
David


(PS: in the course of trying to make this work, I managed to fry one of my ST-links -- I connected to the fat red wire on the ESC that goes to the battery and got a spark. Neither the ESC nor ST-Link were connected to anything but each other, so all I can guess is that there was a residual charge in the big capacitor on the ESC board. So just in case, make sure you discharge that cap before connecting the +5v!)
#21574
Do not ever plug your stlink into your esc with the battery connected, unplug the battery then turn on the bad to bleed the charge from the capacitor.

I've blown up two laptops and several stlinks because I forget to do that...

Use an alternate ground and 5v line to power the esc, that way you only have to solder two wires. After that make sure your solder connections are solid.
#21599
This is by far the most clearly written and well put together tutorial I have seen. Although I haven’t attempted the whole process yet I feel after reading through everything that it’s definitely something that can be done with a fair bit of confidence.

So thank you Mr. Santa, your attention to detail and way of explaining the entire process was superb. This is how a tutorial should be put together.

👍
#22063
I'm gonna bury a little hint here that will save lots of frustration.. Well actually a couple of tips that I've learned through trial and error flashing the max.
1. Soldering three tiny wires to three tiny soldering pads was the most frustrating part. I burned many dashboards and ripped off enough soldering pads to fill a very small lake. A. You only need to solder two, Clk and Dio. Use the 5v from the stlink and connect to red dash wire, and use the gnd pin on the stlink to connect to black. Since GND is common, grounding using the wire is the same as using the pad. B. Use solid wire, not twisted strand, along with the lowest melting point solder you can find the more lead content the better as that's the "sticky" stuff. Dab a little on the ends of leads coming from Clk and Dio and then, since the wire is Rigid, position it and it won't pull away. Try to get your smallest point tip to touch the pad and the wire at the same time hold it for a 3 count, and when it goes from Shiny to dull you're solid. If you're having trouble getting the wire to stay in place, make sure your tip is clean and free from accumulated burnt rosin (keep a bit of sand paper handy, when it's right solder should melt instantly, and it needs to get hot fast to stick.
2. I solder alligator clips to the ends of the 5v and GND so I can just clip them to the dash wires easily. You should have both of the data leads connected to the dash along with the ground leaving the 5v unconnected when you plug the stlink in. It should light up green. Then connect the power. Dash should brieflt light up and beep then go dark and quiet. It will beep again when you start the flashing process. If it fails, remove the power and unolug the stlink and have another go. If it still fails, it's likely you have a loose connection or the Clk and Dio reversed. The dash is flashed if the terminal windows stops with it "listening to tcp xxxxxx".. NOT AND I REPEAT NOT.. The check logs message. Other things to make sure of is enable telnet in windows, update the firmware on the stink itself using the stlink utility you can download from the stmicro site, and lastly don't be tempted to use a USb extension cable. Some work but mostly don't. Oh and try different USB ports if you're sure everything is right but it continued to fail.
It used to take me an hour to flash a single dash, now I've got it down to under two minutes and that Inxludes warning up the soldering iron. I'm no genius, hell I'm not even smart, so it's doable you just have to make sure you make it as easy on yourself as possible by being tedious and thorough.
Godspeed!
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