Putting the PHV through it's paces in the hot desert... (Rick's turn for the PHV)

Unlike the solar package, the Remote A/C on the PHV requires you to be plugged in because it's using "wall power" to run the A/C (hence why it runs at a rather "low power" on 120V to keep within 10-12A). Bonus is you could get heat out of it in the winter time. Regardless of the mode, it's going to run for > 3 minutes and not leave you with an empty HV battery when it's done.

 

I assume by contactors, you mean the SMR (System Main Relay).

I'll have to try it again and listen for it. There was some clickety going on, but it sounds more under-hood. The car is in a locked door "ig-on plus" type mode. Same limit applies where you open the door and the system turns off.

 

I won't have a chance to test Remote A/C till later tonight as we were running a bit late this morning (note to self: don't set Pepsi can on the center console while packaging up the power cable, but rather make it find the cup-holder - someone WILL spill it - the WeatherTek mats installed helped contain most of it)

This morning's commute stats:

EV specific: 83% EV, 17% HV. EV range ended between 15.0 and 15.1 miles on the trip meter. As others observed, 1.6 miles was when the accelerator pedal sensitivity changed drastically and the ICE began it's warm-up phase. Doing the math, I got nearly 12.5 miles of "actual" EV range, with an average speed of 31mph. Assuming 3.6kWh input, that makes about 3.47 miles per kWh.

The route I took did have some rolling hills and 45-50mph speed limits (I saw 55mph at one point). A/C was set to 78˚F and Eco mode was used. Ambient temp @ 9am was 95˚-97˚F. EV mode shut off right before I would have gotten on the freeway, which was exactly what I predicted. Using my more typical route, I may have had a small bit of EV left as I entered the freeway.

I wasn't too sparing on acceleration, however used about 50% of the HSI "meter" (which is probably the equivalent of just filling PWR range in HV mode per display). EV range did trickle down quite a bit while accelerating, but steadied during constant speed driving.

Overall morning: 47% pure EV, 53% hybrid over 26.6 miles. Display still said 99.9mpg (don't have a ScanGuage to see the real figure, just know it's somewhere over 100mpg). Average speed 30mph. I only did about 3 miles of freeway today, opting to take surface streets to grab a Jamba Juice on my way to work.

I found it quite easy during cruising speeds to keep the instantaneous MPG gauge at 75mpg+.

I do wish I had 3 trip meters. One for the week, one for each leg of the trip to compare EV vs non-EV, and a third to measure the whole day. I may just have to forego the per-leg info and instead use a more realistic "per-charge" approach (remember, I can't plug-in at work).

 

If I had an accelerometer or ScanGauge, I could potentially quantify this, however I've noted that the "lift-off" deceleration (regen) is a bit higher in the PHV than it is in my Prius. Braking feel is also slightly different, as if more regen is being permitted.

 

ScanGauge enroute - will be in possession tomorrow - Thanks Amazon Prime 1 day shipping. ::shameless plug::

 

Today's overall stats:

Overall: 53.5 miles, 71.3mpg, 77% Hybrid, 23% EV, and an average speed of 31mph. Ambient temps mid-day for my lunch run were 110°F, and quickly sucked MPG from a pegged 99.9mpg to 88.0mpg. My trip home (w/o a recharge) was at a slightly cooler 104-106°F. Eco mode and 78°F A/C were the name of the game.

 

ScanGauge II now in-hand. What types of data would be of most interest?

Granted, this one hasn't been calibrated yet w/ two fill-ups, so I can't begin to estimate if MPG or other stats will be accurate.

 

Did the 0-60 trial. It took a few attempts to get it w/o getting the ICE to trip (the HSI demand meter DOES move even w/ a steady foot) and the last attempt was a bit conservative on the accelerator. Backing off regularly to keep from triggering the ICE, I achieved an estimated 29 seconds, but the last 15 seconds of that is from 45-60. MG1 torque goes WAY down towards 60 per Scangauge (41.x ft/lbs). Foot "off" regen is -12.1 ft/lbs

This was done ambient temp 99-100°F and w/ A/C turned off (windows cracked, I was still sweating).

Some other interesting stats:

Plugged-in A/C demand, 450-500w
Full A/C demand in Eco, 2000w
Full A/C demand w/o Eco, 2200w

The A/C runs approx 15 minutes before shutting off. I was sitting in the car the whole time programming XGAUGE codes into the ScanGauge, and it barely made a dent in interior temp. What's more alarming is the 500w A/C demand, yet the Kill-a-watt shows much higher. Clearly there's some other "use" here (blower, radiator fans, ECU in ig-on), or the charger is really inefficient.

I'll get something up on YouTube once I've edited it down.

Edit: Viewed AC watts again in the driveway with the temp gauge at 111F, the values were a bit higher. Also, A/C compressor doesn't sound nearly as loud in the PHV (lower RPM, larger compressor probably).

 

Attaching some pics from the past few days.

 

The SG does isolate A/C power draw. I believe it can also show total amps, but I have either not found it, or didn't stay on the parameter long enough to matter. Unfortunately I didn't completely RTFM first, and thus didn't set the engine type to HYBRID, thus as I'm traveling w/o the ICE, the SG continued to shut off.

We've already established that the battery stops charging while the remote A/C is in use. If remote A/C is used before charging is complete, the plug must be removed and reinserted to resume charging. Otherwise, the screen will display "charging interrupted".

More interesting, is after letting it run through two cooling cycles, the EV range was not the full 14.0 miles, but rather 13.5 to start. Looks like the HV battery is energized for the DC-DC converter. We also know the HV battery is energized during charging to keep ECUs alive. It's charged first, then last during the charge cycle.