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Drew Hintz edited this page Apr 26, 2019 · 23 revisions

OpenPilot on Chrysler, Jeep, or Dodge (FCA)

FCA Cars currently supported by OpenPilot

  • Chrysler Pacifica 2017-19 Hybrid
  • Chrysler Pacifica 2018 non-Hybrid
  • Jeep Grand Cherokee 2017-19

If your Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, or Ram Truck isn't listed, then it might take a bit of work to support, but it might be feasible. To see if it's feasible, first verify that your car has Lane-Keeping Assist (LKAS) where it will move the steering wheel if it detects you drifting out of your lane at highway speeds. Secondly, take off the plastic by the rear-view mirror that covers the lane-keeping computer and verify that it looks somewhat like this and has a mini50 connector.

Necessary Hardware

You'll need these to run OpenPilot:

How to install

Just follow the usual guide to install OpenPilot on your EON. All of my changes are now in the main OpenPilot repository, so no need to run my fork.

Now you're ready to install the Giraffe and Panda in the Giraffe. Set your Giraffe switch 1 to up and 2 to down. This is the "stock adas off" setting. There's an illustration here. Plug your Giraffe in to your Panda. Press the Panda firmly into the Giraffe -- even if it seems like it's in, press a bit harder to ensure it's all the way in. Before proceeding, ensure that your car is turned off. Remove the black plastic cover by the rearview mirror. You'll then see wires running to the car's built-in lane-keeping camera. Remove this mini50 connector -- it can be a bit difficult to remove, try using needle-nose pliers if needed, but be careful not to break it. Plug the mini50 wires you just removed into the Giraffe. Then plug your Giraffe into your car from where you removed the mini50 connector. Then mount the EON on your windshield following these guides.

To ensure that your Panda is flashed to its correct firmware, turn off your car. Have the Panda plugged in to the Giraffe and the Giraffe plugged in to your car. For now, do not plug the EON in to the Panda. Plug your Comma Power in to your car's OBD2 port, located by the driver's left knee. Then plug the power barrel connector from your Comma Power in to your Giraffe. Your Panda should now light up. It can be difficult to see the Panda light, but using a cell phone camera in selfie mode can help. Now plug your EON in to the Panda and reboot your EON. Wait until your EON has finished booting up. While flashing, the Panda will flash blue. The Panda should now be flashing a slow red light. If it's still flashing a blue or green, give it another minute or two. If you have trouble flashing the Panda to a slow red light, there are more ideas here. After you're finished flashing your Panda, unplug the Comma Power from both the Giraffe and your car's OBD2 port. You will not need the Comma Power for regular driving, it just helps with flashing the Panda.

How to use OpenPilot

To enable it, turn on adaptive cruise control (ACC) and OpenPilot will steer. The car's stock ACC will control the gas and brakes. Be careful coming up on stopped cars because ACC's radar will not always detect them. Limitations:

  • Sharp turns are not always handled. For now it's best on straight freeways.
  • It will not steer under 7 miles per hour. When resuming from below 7 mph, be careful as the steering can be erratic. I'll hopefully fix this in a future release. Note that 2019 cars have a significantly higher minimum speed to steer the car, around 39 mph.
  • Driver monitoring is not always great because the van is wide. This will hopefully be fixed by Comma in a future release. For now, you can periodically adjust the ACC speed to reset the driver monitoring timer and pre-warning.
  • ACC will do stop-and-go. If you're stopped for longer than 2 seconds, tap the gas pedal to start moving again.
  • Pressing the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, or cancel ACC button will disenagage OpenPilot.

To ensure that OpenPilot works reliably in your car, please follow these steps when you drive:

  1. Have the EON fully booted up.
  2. Plug the EON in to your Panda.
  3. Turn on your car.

If you get an LKAS fault warning message and want to reset it, follow these steps:

  1. Pull your car over somewhere safe.
  2. Turn off the car.
  3. Reboot the EON.
  4. Open and close your car's door.
  5. Wait until your EON has fully booted up again. If it boots up quickly, perhaps wait an extra minute or two to ensure your car has turned itself off fully.
  6. Turn your car back on and drive. The LKAS fault warnings are typically caused by OpenPilot lagging for more than 250ms.

Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability

The OpenPilot software and the Giraffe hardware (the "Research Technology") are in a hobbyist, not-consumer state. The Research Technology is provided "as is" without warranty, express or implied of any kind, and Andrew Hintz specifically disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, non-infringement or fitness for a particular purpose.

In no event will Andrew Hintz be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or any other damages, losses or expenses of any kind arising from or relating to the Research Technology. In the event applicable law does not permit such limitation or exclusion of liability, the subject limitation or exclusion of liability shall be deemed modified so as to be effective to the greatest extent permitted.

Notice of Research Technology Status and Potential Harm Caused by Use

Use of the Product may damage your automobile or result in your automobile being involved in an accident and/or crash. So please be careful and you assume the risk yourself.

Indemnification

Any user of this Research Technology shall indemnify and hold harmless Andrew Hintz from and against all allegations, claims, actions, suits, demands, damages, liabilities, obligations, losses, settlements, judgments, costs and expenses (including without limitation attorneys’ fees and costs) which arise out of, relate to or result from any use of this Research Technology by user.

THIS IS ALPHA QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A PRODUCT. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLYING WITH LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.