Kia Soul EV¶
Vehicle Type: KS
The Kia Soul EV vehicle support will be documented here.
Support Overview¶
| Function | Support Status |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Any OVMS v3 (or later) module |
| Vehicle Cable | 9658635 Kia OBD-II to DB9 Data Cable for OVMS |
| GSM Antenna | 1000500 Open Vehicles OVMS GSM Antenna (or any compatible antenna) |
| GPS Antenna | 1020200 Universal GPS Antenna (SMA Connector) (or any compatible antenna) |
| SOC Display | Yes |
| Range Display | Yes |
| GPS Location | Yes |
| Speed Display | ? |
| Temperature Display | Yes |
| BMS v+t Display | Yes |
| TPMS Display | Yes |
| Charge Status Display | Yes |
| Charge Interruption Alerts | Yes |
| Charge Control | Not currently supported |
| Cabin Pre-heat/cool Control | Not currently supported |
| Lock/Unlock Vehicle | Yes |
| Valet Mode Control | Not currently supported |
| Others |
OBD-II cable¶
The Kia Soul EV have two different CAN-busses available on the OBD-II port: C-can and M-can.
C-can is the main can-bus and M-can is the multimedia bus. The latter one is not necessary for OVMS, but some metrics are fetched from the M-bus and these metrics will be empty if you don’t have the proper cable. The standard OBD-II to DB9 cable from Fasttech supports only C-can, so make sure you buy the Kia Soul specific one.
In case you want to build your own cable, here’s the pinout:
| J1962-M | DB9-F | Signal |
| 1 | 5 | CAN-1H (M-can High) |
| 4 | 3 | Chassis / Power GND |
| 6 | 7 | CAN-0H (C-can High) |
| 9 | 4 | CAN-1L (M-can Low) |
| 14 | 2 | CAN-0L (C-can Low) |
| 16 | 9 | +12V Vehicle Power |
A simple approach is to buy an OBDII (J1962-M) pigtail, and solder the DB9-F connector end appropriately.
Configuration¶
There are a few Kia Soul EV specific settings that you have to consider in order to get the most out of OVMS. These are battery size, real life ideal range, remote command pincode and charge port remote control.
Battery size¶
Up until the 2018 version of Kia Soul, all models had a 27kWh battery. The 2018-version have a 30kWh battery. OVMS is by default set up with 27000Wh, but you can change this configuration to fit your car using this command in the OVMS-shell:
config set xks cap_act_kwh 27000
NB! Even though it says cap_act_kwh, the number must be in Wh.
Real life ideal range¶
Even though the Kia Soul EV is equipped with a pretty good and conservative GOM, most experienced drivers know how far the car can go on a charge. This is what we call the ideal range. You can set the ideal range in kilometers, experienced at 20 degrees celsius, by using this command:
config set xks maxrange 160
This setting is set to 160 km by default, and matches the author driving a 2015 Kia Soul Classic in 20 degrees in southern Norway. Your mileage may vary, so please set it accordingly.
The ideal range, as shown in the OVMS APP, are then derived from this number, multiplied by the state of charge and adjusted using a combination of the outside temperature and the battery temperature.
Open charge port using key fob¶
By default, OVMS listens for the the third button on the key fob and opens the charge port if Pressed. If you don’t want this behaviour, you can disable it by using this command:
config set xks remote_charge_port 0
Security pin code for remote commands¶
Remote commands like lock and unlock doors, among others, require a pin code. This pin code can be set using the web configuration or using this command:
config set password pin 1234
Please set this pin as soon as possible.
Soul specific metrics¶
NB! Not all metrics are correct or tested properly. This is a work in progress.
There are a lot of extra metrics from the Kia Soul. Here’s the current ones:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| xks.b.cell.volt.max | The highest cell voltage |
| xks.b.cell.volt.max.no | The cell number with the highest voltage |
| xks.b.cell.volt.min | The lowest cell voltage |
| xks.b.cell.volt.min.no | The cell number with the lowest voltage |
| xks.b.cell.det.max | The highest registered cell deterioration in percent. |
| xks.b.cell.det.max.no | The cell with the highest registered deterioration. |
| xks.b.cell.det.min | The lowest registered cell deterioration in percent. |
| xks.b.cell.det.min.no | The cell with the lowest registered deterioration. |
| xks.b.min.temp | The lowest temperature in the battery |
| xks.b.max.temp | The highest temperature in the battery |
| xks.b.inlet.temp | The air temperature at the air inlet to the battery |
| xks.b.heat1.temp | The temperature of the battery heater 1 |
| xks.b.heat2.temp | The temperature of the battery heater 2 |
| xks.b.bms.soc | The internal state of charge from BMS |
| xks.c.power | Charge power in kW. |
| xks.c.speed | The charge speed in kilometer per hour. |
| xks.ldc.out.volt | The voltage out of the low voltage DC converter. |
| xks.ldc.in.volt | The voltage into the low voltage DC converter. |
| xks.ldc.out.amps | The power drawn from the low voltage DC converter. |
| xks.ldc.temp | The temperature of the LDC. |
| xks.obc.pilot.duty | The duty cycle of the pilot signal |
| xks.e.lowbeam | Low beam on/off |
| xks.e.highbeam | High beam on/off |
| xks.e.inside.temp | Actual cabin temperature |
| xks.e.climate.temp | Climate temperature setting |
| xks.e.climate.driver.only | Climate is set to driver only |
| xks.e.climate.resirc | Climate is set to recirculate |
| xks.e.climate.auto | Climate is set to auto |
| xks.e.climate.ac | Air condition on/off |
| xks.e.climate.fan.speed | Climate fan speed |
| xks.e.climate.mode | Climate mode |
| xks.e.preheat.timer1.enabled | Preheat timer 1 enabled/disabled |
| xks.e.preheat.timer2.enabled | Preheat timer 2 enabled/disabled |
| xks.e.preheating | Preheating on/off |
| xks.e.pos.dist.to.dest | Distance to destination (nav unit) |
| xks.e.pos.arrival.hour | Arrival time, hour part (nav unit) |
| xks.e.pos.arrival.minute | Arrival time, minute part(nav unit) |
| xks.e.pos.street | Current street? Or Next street? |
| xks.v.seat.belt.driver | Seat belt sensor |
| xks.v.seat.belt.passenger | Seat belt sensor |
| xks.v.seat.belt.back.right | Seat belt sensor |
| xks.v.seat.belt.back.left | Seat belt sensor |
| xks.v.traction.control | Traction control on/off |
| xks.v.cruise.control.enabled | Cruise control enabled/disabled |
| xks.v.emergency.lights | Emergency lights enabled/disabled |
| xks.v.steering.mode | Steering mode: Sport, comfort, normal. |
| xks.v.power.usage | Power usage of the car |
| xks.v.trip.consumption | Battery consumption for current trip (kWh/100km) |
Note that some metrics are polled at different rates than others and some metrics are not available when car is off. This means that after a restart of the OVMS, some metrics will be missing until the car is turned on and maybe driven for few minutes.
Climate and navigation-metrics are fetched from navigation unit and needs the Kia Soul compatible OBDII-cable.
Soul specific shell commands¶
There are a few shell commands made for the Kia Soul. Some are read only, others can enable functions and some are used to write directly to a ECU and must therefore be used with caution.
Read only commands¶
xks tripxks tpmsxks auxxks vinActive Commands¶
xks trunk <pin code>xks chargeport <pin code>xks ParkBreakService <on/off>xks IGN1 <on/off><pin>xks IGN2 <on/off><pin>xks ACC <on/off><pin>xks START <on/off><pin>xks headlightdelay <on/off>xks onetouchturnsignal <0=Off, 1=3 blinks, 2=5 blinks, 3=7 blinks>xks autodoorunlock <1=Off, 2=On vehicle off, 3=On shift to P, 4=On driver door unlock>xks autodoorlock <0=Off, 1=On speed, 2=On shift>ECU-write commands¶
These commands are for the extra playful people. Use with caution.
xks sjb <b1><b2><b3>xks bcm <b1><b2><b3>12V battery drain¶
OVMS will eventually drain the 12V battery, but steps have been taken to minimize the drain. However, if you are going to leave the car for a fews days, it is recommended to unplug OVMS.