Open Vehicle Monitoring System Is The Window To Your EV’s Soul

A black PCB with a cellular modem board piggy backed on top. It has a micro-USB and DB-type connector on the end facing the camera.

Electric cars have more widgets than ever, but manufacturers would rather you don’t have direct access to them. The Open Vehicle Monitoring System intends to change that for the user. [via Transport Evolved]

As car manufacturers hoover up user data and require subscriptions for basic features, it can be a frustrating time to make such a big purchase. Begun in 2011, OVMS now interfaces with over a dozen different EVs and gives you access to (or helps you reverse engineer) all the data you could want from your vehicle. Depending on the vehicle, any number of functions can be accessed including remote climate start or cell-level battery statistics.

The hardware connects to your car’s OBDII port and uses an ESP32 microcontroller connected to a  SIMCOM SIM7600G modem (including GPS) to provide support for 3 CAN buses as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. This can be particularly useful for remote access to data for vehicles that can no longer phone home via their originally included cellular modems as older networks shut down.

Do you wish EVs weren’t so complicated? Read our Minimal Motoring Manifesto.

14 thoughts on “Open Vehicle Monitoring System Is The Window To Your EV’s Soul

  1. Sadly no support for any Toyota Prius. What would be the best option for Prius III 2009?

    OOT: it seems that since around may last year, i’m unable to receive new comments notifications by email, despite leaving my mail and name and select option. I do not receive the “[Subscribe] ….. – please confirm” mails anymore, nor any comment mail. How to solve that issue?

  2. Maybe someone knows this.

    I have a weird vehicle that looks a bit like a trike. It’s chain driven. I got enough storage for some batteries. I’d like to somehow use the original engine in neutral (engine off) and have an electric motor run the vehicle for shorter trips. For longer trips I want to keep the normal engine. I want a compacter engine and don’t need much power (10HP is enough). Anyone know if someone else has done this before and if so, where I can find the information? I got an angle grinder and know how to weld. If I can use electricity to drive say, 50km/30miles, it would be cool.

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