Wiring MCP73831 + MAX17048 Single-Cell Fully Integrated Li-Ion / Li-Po Charge Management Controller with Fuel Gauge

This project will be going to wire several components, the MCP73831 and MAX17048 including your preferred microcontroller and your monitoring display such as OLED or LCD to see the reading output of the MAX17048. for demonstration purposes, we will use an Arduino Serial COM for reading out the MAX17048 Fuel Guage.

Charging Part :

MCP73831 is a highly integrated linear battery charger IC (integrated circuit) designed and manufactured by Microchip Technology Inc. The purpose of MCP73831 is to provide a simple, cost-effective, and efficient charging solution for single-cell lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries.

The MCP73831 IC is small in size, low in cost, and provides a range of features such as:

Constant current and constant voltage charging modes
Thermal regulation to prevent overheating
Charge status indicators
Automatic shutdown and restart in case of input power loss or battery removal
Under-voltage lockout protection to prevent over-discharging of the battery
Charge termination options to prevent overcharging of the battery
Low dropout voltage (LDO) for efficient charging
Reverse-polarity protection

The MCP73831 IC is commonly used in various portable devices, such as smartphones, tablets, portable media players, and other battery-powered devices. It simplifies the design process and ensures safe and reliable charging of lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries.

Fuel Gauge Part:

MAX17048G is an integrated circuit (IC) designed by Maxim Integrated, a company that specializes in developing analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products. The MAX17048G is a fuel gauge IC that provides accurate battery state-of-charge (SOC) information to help manage and optimize battery life.

The purpose of MAX17048G is to accurately measure the capacity of a single-cell lithium-ion or lithium-polymer battery and provide information on its remaining capacity, voltage, and temperature. It uses an advanced algorithm that takes into account the battery’s charge and discharge rates, temperature, and other factors to provide accurate SOC information.

Some of the key features of MAX17048G include:

High accuracy SOC estimation with error less than 1%
Low power consumption
Wide operating temperature range
Small package size
Communication interface with host systems through I2C or SMBus protocols
Programmable alert thresholds for battery voltage and SOC
Built-in protection against over-voltage, under-voltage, and over-current conditions

The MAX17048G is commonly used in various battery-powered applications, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, portable medical devices, and other portable consumer electronics. It provides accurate SOC information to help optimize battery life and improve overall device performance.

The MAX17048G is a fuel gauge integrated circuit designed by Maxim Integrated to provide accurate battery state-of-charge (SOC) information for single-cell lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries. Its purpose is to accurately measure the capacity of a battery and provide information on its remaining capacity, voltage, and temperature to help manage and optimize battery life.

The MAX17048G is typically used in various battery-powered applications, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, portable media players, and other portable consumer electronics. Its usage involves the following steps:

Connection to the battery: The MAX17048G is connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery, and its temperature sensor is attached to the battery surface to monitor the battery temperature.
Initial configuration: The MAX17048G is configured with the desired parameters, such as battery capacity, voltage thresholds, and communication interface, using the I2C or SMBus protocol.
Accurate SOC estimation: The MAX17048G uses its advanced algorithm to accurately estimate the battery’s SOC based on the battery’s charge and discharge rates, temperature, and other factors. The SOC information can be read by the host system using the I2C or SMBus protocol.
Protection against over-voltage and under-voltage conditions: The MAX17048G provides protection against over-voltage and under-voltage conditions by generating an alert or interrupt signal when the battery voltage exceeds or falls below the pre-defined threshold.
Optimization of battery life: The accurate SOC information provided by the MAX17048G can be used to optimize the battery life by controlling the charging and discharging rates, avoiding overcharging or over-discharging, and implementing power-saving strategies.

In summary, the MAX17048G is a fuel gauge IC that provides accurate battery SOC information for single-cell lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries, enabling the optimization of battery life and the improvement of device performance.

Requirements

- Arduino IDE | VisualStudio Code | PlatformIO
- Test Boards :
  - Note: The Diagram below is using ATMEGA4809 MCU (please refer to your MCU’s respective pin-outs & bus configuration)
- MCP73831
- MAX17048
- SMD LED
- 3.7v Li-Ion / Li-Po Battery
- SSD1306 OLED Display (Optional)
- Resistors (See below diagram for required value & alternatives package)
- Capacitor(See below diagram for required value & alternatives package)

Wiring Diagram / Schematics:

14CORE- Li-Ion / Li-Po Charge Management + Fuel Gauge:

Source Code:

#include <Wire.h> // Needed for I2C

#include <SparkFun_MAX1704x_Fuel_Gauge_Arduino_Library.h> //This library can downloaded below

SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17044); // Create a MAX17044

//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17043); // Create a MAX17043
//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17048); // Create a MAX17048
//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17049); // Create a MAX17049

double voltage = 0; // Variable to keep track of LiPo voltage
double soc = 0; // Variable to keep track of LiPo state-of-charge (SOC)
bool alert; // Variable to keep track of whether alert has been triggered

void setup()
{
	Serial.begin(115200); // Start serial, to output debug data
	Serial.println(" 14CORE | Fuel GAUGE TEST");
	Serial.println(" ......................... ");
  while (!Serial)
    ; //Wait for user to open terminal
  Serial.println(F("MAX17044 Example"));

  Wire.begin();

  lipo.enableDebugging(); // Uncomment this line to enable helpful debug messages on Serial

  // Set up the MAX17044 LiPo fuel gauge:
  if (lipo.begin() == false) // Connect to the MAX17044 using the default wire port
  {
    Serial.println(F("MAX17044 not detected. Please check wiring. Freezing."));
    while (1)
      ;
  }

	// Quick start restarts the MAX17044 in hopes of getting a more accurate
	// guess for the SOC.
	lipo.quickStart();

	// We can set an interrupt to alert when the battery SoC gets too low.
	// We can alert at anywhere between 1% - 32%:
	lipo.setThreshold(20); // Set alert threshold to 20%.
}

void loop()
{
	// lipo.getVoltage() returns a voltage value (e.g. 7.86)
	voltage = lipo.getVoltage();
	// lipo.getSOC() returns the estimated state of charge (e.g. 79%)
	soc = lipo.getSOC();
	// lipo.getAlert() returns a 0 or 1 (0=alert not triggered)
	alert = lipo.getAlert();

	// Print the variables:
	Serial.print("Voltage: ");
	Serial.print(voltage);  // Print the battery voltage
	Serial.println(" V");

	Serial.print("Percentage: ");
	Serial.print(soc); // Print the battery state of charge
	Serial.println(" %");

  Serial.print("Alert: ");
  Serial.println(alert);
	Serial.println();

	delay(500);
}

#include <Wire.h> // Needed for I2C

#include <SparkFun_MAX1704x_Fuel_Gauge_Arduino_Library.h> //This library can downloaded below

SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17044); // Create a MAX17044

//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17043); // Create a MAX17043

//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17048); // Create a MAX17048

//SFE_MAX1704X lipo(MAX1704X_MAX17049); // Create a MAX17049

double voltage = 0; // Variable to keep track of LiPo voltage

double soc = 0; // Variable to keep track of LiPo state-of-charge (SOC)

bool alert; // Variable to keep track of whether alert has been triggered

void setup()

{

Serial.begin(115200); // Start serial, to output debug data

Serial.println(" 14CORE | Fuel GAUGE TEST");

Serial.println(" ......................... ");

while (!Serial)

; //Wait for user to open terminal

Serial.println(F("MAX17044 Example"));

Wire.begin();

lipo.enableDebugging(); // Uncomment this line to enable helpful debug messages on Serial

// Set up the MAX17044 LiPo fuel gauge:

if (lipo.begin() == false) // Connect to the MAX17044 using the default wire port

{

Serial.println(F("MAX17044 not detected. Please check wiring. Freezing."));

while (1)

;

}

// Quick start restarts the MAX17044 in hopes of getting a more accurate

// guess for the SOC.

lipo.quickStart();

// We can set an interrupt to alert when the battery SoC gets too low.

// We can alert at anywhere between 1% - 32%:

lipo.setThreshold(20); // Set alert threshold to 20%.

}

void loop()

{

// lipo.getVoltage() returns a voltage value (e.g. 7.86)

voltage = lipo.getVoltage();

// lipo.getSOC() returns the estimated state of charge (e.g. 79%)

soc = lipo.getSOC();

// lipo.getAlert() returns a 0 or 1 (0=alert not triggered)

alert = lipo.getAlert();

// Print the variables:

Serial.print("Voltage: ");

Serial.print(voltage); // Print the battery voltage

Serial.println(" V");

Serial.print("Percentage: ");

Serial.print(soc); // Print the battery state of charge

Serial.println(" %");

Serial.print("Alert: ");

Serial.println(alert);

Serial.println();

delay(500);

}

Gerber File:

Download PCB Milling File | MCP73831 / MAX17048
Download Gerber Viewer | Windows | Linux

Downloads

Wiring MCP73831 + MAX17048 Single-Cell Fully Integrated Li-Ion / Li-Po Charge Management Controller with Fuel Gauge