ShonP40/Car-Assistant

Keep track of your car remotely through Home Assistant

Car Assistant

Keep track of your car remotely through Home Assistant

Sponsor

This project has been sponsored by PCBWay!

You can order this project from PCBWay at a $5 discount by using my referal link

Features

• Detailed user configuration (accessible by connecting to the ESP's hotspot and going to http://192.168.4.1)
• Advanced build configuration with verbose support (platformio.ini)
• OTA updates through a secure hotspot
• Cellular connectivity
• Automatically update the ESP's clock
• MQTT connection
• SD card support through an FTP server (set your connection mode to Active (PORT))
• Dynamic CPU frequency scaling
• Report battery status (percentage, voltage, USB charging, solar charging & discharging)
• Report network details
• Report location status (latitude, longitude, speed, altitude, visible satellites, accuracy) with cellular fallback
• Report the uptime of the ESP in seconds
• Report your car's temperature, humidity and air pressure using a BME280 sensor
• Report the light level inside your car using a TSL2561 sensor
• Detect motion inside your car's cabin using a PIR sensor
• Report the CPU temperature and frequency
• Report the free RAM amount
• Report the ESP32's hall sensor value
• Recover from GPS failures automatically
• Recover from cellular failures automatically
• Reboot the ESP32 & Modem remotely over MQTT
• Bluetooth OBD2 adapters support (incomplete)

Software Requirements

• IDE of choise with PlatformIO (VSCode is recommended)
• USB <-> Serial driver (macOS | Linux | Windows)
• MQTT Broker
• Home Assistant server (optional. An example config can be found here)

Hardware Requirements

• LilyGO® TTGO T-SIM7600E-L1C ESP32 (Other ESP32 TTGO models could also work)
• A Nano SIM Card with an active internet plan
• Cellular antenna
• GPS antenna
• 18650B battery
• BME280 sensor (optional)
• TSL2561 sensor (optional)
• PIR sensor (like the AM312) thats pulled low by default (optional)
• Micro SD Card formatted as FAT32 (optional)
• Bluetooth (not BLE) OBD2 adapter (like the Vgate iCar Pro) (optional)

Connectors

• I2C1 - GPIO 21 & 22
• I2C2 - GPIO 21 & 22
• GPIO - GPIO 19 & 23

Estimated Battery Life

• With the hardware listed above & low power mode, I've been able to get 20 hours of battery life

Boards preview

Enclosures preview

More pictures can be found here

Configuration (Web UI)

Cellular

• APN - The APN URL of your cellular provider
• Username - The APN username of your cellular provider
• Password - The APN password of your cellular provider
• SIM PIN - The PIN of your SIM card (leave blank if you don't have one)

Clock

• Timezone - The UTC offset of your timezone (in seconds, e.g. UTC+2 = 7200)
• Daylight Saving Time - Enable or disable daylight saving time (will add 1 hour to the UTC offset)

WiFi AP

• SSID - The SSID of the WiFi AP that the ESP will create
• Password - The password of the WiFi AP that the ESP will create
• Disable when on battery or stationary - Will disable the AP when running on battery or when stationary for about ~15 minutes

MQTT Broker

• Address - The IP address / domain name of your MQTT broker
• Port - The port of your MQTT broker
• Client name - The name you want to give to the ESP on your MQTT broker
• Username - The username of your MQTT broker
• Password - The password of your MQTT broker

Location

• GNSS Mode - Constellations the modem should use (0 = GPS + GLONASS, 1 = GPS + BEIDOU, 2 = GPS + GALILEO, 3 = GPS + QZSS)
• DPO - Direct Platform Orientation (0 = Disable, 1 = Enable)

Sensors

• Enable - Enable or disable all the sensors

BME280

• Enable - Enable or disable the BME280 sensor
• I2C Address - The I2C address of the BME280 sensor (0x76 or 0x77)
• MQTT Temp - The MQTT topic to publish the temperature to
• MQTT Pressure - The MQTT topic to publish the pressure to
• MQTT Humidity - The MQTT topic to publish the humidity to

TSL2561

• Enable - Enable or disable the TSL2561 sensor
• I2C Address - The I2C address of the TSL2561 sensor (0x29, 0x39 or 0x49)
• Gain - The gain of the TSL2561 sensor (auto, 1x or 16x)
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the light level to

PIR

• Enable - Enable or disable the PIR sensor
• GPIO - The GPIO pin the PIR sensor is connected to
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the motion status to

CPU Temperature

• Enable - Enable or disable reporting the CPU temperature sensor value
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the CPU temperature to

CPU Frequency

• Enable - Enable or disable reporting the CPU frequency value
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the CPU frequency to

Free RAM

• Enable - Enable or disable reporting the free RAM value
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the free RAM value to

Hall

• Enable - Enable or disable reporting the hall sensor value
• MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the hall sensor value to

Modem MQTT topics

• Info - The MQTT topic to publish the modem info to
• CCID - The MQTT topic to publish the modem CCID to
• IMSI - The MQTT topic to publish the modem IMSI to
• Operator - The MQTT topic to publish the modem operator to
• Signal Quality - The MQTT topic to publish the modem signal quality to
• Public IP - The MQTT topic to publish the modem public IP to

Battery MQTT topics

• Percentage - The MQTT topic to publish the battery percentage to
• Voltage - The MQTT topic to publish the battery voltage to
• Status - The MQTT topic to publish the battery charging status to (charging, USB charging or discharging)

Location MQTT topics

• Type - The MQTT topic to publish the location type to (GPS or cellular)
• Latitude - The MQTT topic to publish the location latitude to
• Longitude - The MQTT topic to publish the location longitude to
• Speed - The MQTT topic to publish the location speed to
• Altitude - The MQTT topic to publish the location altitude to
• Accuracy - The MQTT topic to publish the location accuracy to

FTP

• Enable - Enable or disable the FTP server
• Username - The username of the FTP server
• Password - The password of the FTP server

Bluetooth

• Enable - Enable or disable Bluetooth
• Name - The Bluetooth name the ESP will advertise
• OBD Identifier - The name or MAC address of the OBD2 adapter
• OBD Payload MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the OBD2 error payload to
• OBD Debug MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the OBD2 debug errors to
• Engine Load MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the engine load to
• Engine Coolant Temp MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the engine coolant temperature to
• Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the short term fuel trim bank 1 to
• Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 1 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the long term fuel trim bank 1 to
• Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 2 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the short term fuel trim bank 2 to
• Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 2 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the long term fuel trim bank 2 to
• Fuel Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel pressure to
• Manifold Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the manifold pressure to
• RPM MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the engine RPM to
• KPH MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the speed in KPH to
• MPH MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the speed in MPH to
• Timing Advance MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the timing advance to
• Intake Air Temp MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the intake air temperature to
• MAF Rate MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the MAF rate to
• Throttle MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the throttle position to
• Aux Input Status MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the aux input status to
• Run Time MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the run time to
• Dist Travel With Mil MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the distance traveled with MIL to
• Fuel Rail Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel rail pressure to
• Fuel Rail Guage Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel rail gauge pressure to
• Commanded EGR MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the commanded EGR to
• EGR Error MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the EGR error to
• Commanded Evap Purge MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the commanded evap purge to
• Fuel Level MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel level to
• Warm Ups Since Codes Cleared MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the warm ups since codes cleared to
• Dist Since Codes Cleared MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the distance since codes cleared to
• Evap Sys Vap Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the evap system vapor pressure to
• ABS Baro Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS barometric pressure to
• Cat Temp B1 S1 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the catalyst temperature bank 1 sensor 1 to
• Cat Temp B2 S1 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the catalyst temperature bank 2 sensor 1 to
• Cat Temp B1 S2 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the catalyst temperature bank 1 sensor 2 to
• Cat Temp B2 S2 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the catalyst temperature bank 2 sensor 2 to
• Ctrl Mod Voltage MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the control module voltage to
• ABS Load MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS load to
• Commanded Air Fuel Ratio MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the commanded air fuel ratio to
• Relative Throttle MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the relative throttle position to
• Ambient Air Temp MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ambient air temperature to
• ABS Throttle Pos B MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS throttle position B to
• ABS Throttle Pos C MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS throttle position C to
• Accel Pedal Pos D MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the accelerator pedal position D to
• Accel Pedal Pos E MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the accelerator pedal position E to
• Accel Pedal Pos F MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the accelerator pedal position F to
• Commanded Throttle Actuator MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the commanded throttle actuator to
• Time Run With MIL MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the time run with MIL to
• Time Since Codes Cleared MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the time since codes cleared to
• Max MAF Rate MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the max MAF rate to
• Ethonol Percent MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ethonol percent to
• ABS Evap Sys Vap Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS evap system vapor pressure to
• Evap Sys Vap Pressure 2 MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the evap system vapor pressure 2 to
• ABS Fuel Rail Pressure MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the ABS fuel rail pressure to
• Eelative Pedal Pos MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the relative pedal position to
• Hybrid Bat Life MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the hybrid battery life to
• Oil Temp MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the oil temperature to
• Fuel Inject Timing MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel injection timing to
• Fuel Rate MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the fuel rate to
• Demanded Torque MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the demanded torque to
• Torque MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the torque to
• Reference Torque MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the reference torque to
• Battery Voltage MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the battery voltage to
• VIN MQTT - The MQTT topic to publish the VIN of your car to

Misc MQTT topics

• Uptime - The MQTT topic to publish the uptime to
• Version - The MQTT topic to publish the version number to

Power Saving

• Dynamic Frequency - Lower the CPU frequency to 160MHz when running on battery
• Low Power mode on battery - Lower the CPU frequency to 80MHz (instead of 160MHz) and turn GPS off when running on battery (only works if Dynamic Frequency is enabled)

Advanced Build Configuration (platformio.ini)

Debug

• DEBUG - Enable or disable debug messages

Modem config

• UART_BAUD - The baud rate of the serial port & modem
• MODEM_TX - The TX pin of the modem
• MODEM_RX - The RX pin of the modem
• MODEM_PWRKEY - The PWRKEY pin of the modem
• MODEM_DTR - The DTR pin of the modem
• MODEM_RI - The RI pin of the modem
• MODEM_FLIGHT - The flight mode pin of the modem
• MODEM_STATUS - The status pin of the modem

Status LED

• LED_PIN - The pin of the status LED

Indicator pins

• USB_INDICATOR - Detect if the board is being powered by USB
• SOLAR_INDICATOR - Detect if the board is being powered by solar

Bluetooth

• PAIR_MAX_DEVICES - The maximum number of devices the ESP will store before resetting

Modem model

• TINY_GSM_MODEM_<MODEL> - The model of the modem (only SIM7600 has been tested)

Credits

• Xinyuan-LilyGO - Basic T-SIM7600X implementation
• Random Nerd Tutorials - Base webserver code
• vshymanskyy - TinyGSM & StreamDebugger libraries
• knolleary - PubSubClient library
• adafruit - Unified Sensor, BME280 & TSL2561 libraries
• ayushsharma82 - AsyncElegantOTA library
• me-no-dev - AsyncTCP & ESPAsyncWebServer libraries
• bblanchon - ArduinoJson library
• peterus - ESP-FTP-Server library
• PowerBroker2 - ELMduino library