Enginer 4Kw PHEV DIY install

Dear NortTex,

I don't get where the $500 install labor is coming from. I thought you were going to DIY? If you are going to have an installer do it, get a quote from them for the system, it will vary from the numbers on the Enginer website. Even if you DIY, if you have an installer nearby, I'd see if you can get the DIY kit through them and have them bench test it beforehand. Also ask about warranty support (i.e., will they swap components for you if you DIY)?

You don't need the cell logs, the BMS that comes with the kit has a display head you can mount up at your dash that tells you all the cell voltages and will log them on an SD card. You also don't need to spend $50 on an EV switch, just get the black button from Radio Shack for $2. The kit will come with the connectors and wiring you need (although if you want the separate EV button, like most would recommend, you will have to modify the wiring a bit).

A Scangauge is a must, though, definitely factor that in.

Enginer is claiming you can get a 30% tax credit on the kit, but I'd be wary of that, they are piggy-backing on the alternative energy tax credit by including a little solar panel and inverter with the kit. It sounds a bit dicey to me. The 10% PHEV conversion credit expired last year I believe.

So from my calculations you have either:

Installed for you: (installer quote) + $159 SGII + $2 EV button = ??
OR
DIY: $3495 + $250 shipping + $159 SGII + $2 EV button = $3906

 

So I've run Enginer kit for two weeks back and forth to work with no problems. Averaging about 70 mpg on mostly highway climbs. The only problem, which is not a problem for me is the little BMS display quit quite quickly. I received a new one, but it still did not work. Believe the problem is the connection at the BMS. However, have not had time to go in and check. Since I charge often, it may not be an issue. Hear a lot about Scan Guage. What exactly does it do and is it hard to install? Thanks.

 

Rsingh,

Do a search on PriusChat on scangauge and you will find lots of topics. In short, it can tell you lots of things about what is going on inside your car (not just a Prius, any car) -- engine temp, ignition timing, MPG, etc. But in a Prius you can also program it to display all sorts of cool stuff like the current going in/out of your OEM battery, the true state of charge (SOC) of the OEM, etc. Just go to their website for more info (scangauge.com). You can also use it to scan and clear trouble codes (when your check engine light or red triangle turns on).

There is no install, really. You just plug it into your OBDII port under the driver's side dash and mount it wherever you like.

 

Can the Scangage tell you anything about the Enginer operation.
I.E. SOC of the Enginer batteries

 

There is no connection between the Enginer kit and the car's CAN bus. But Enginer provides a remote display that tells kit voltage, current, SoC, and records this data on a flash memory card.

Indirect measures of kit performance can be obtained with a ScanGauge, by monitoring battery voltage and current.

 

Have you had a situation where it produces the hybrid generator code continually? I had one installed on my 2005 Prius and even though we diminished the current, replaced the converter, etc...nothing seems to help. I know I can turn the current way down and it may not code but then the mileage goes to very little improvement. They sent me a scan gauge to check the Prius pack battery temperature and I'm hoping we can sort out whether this is a problem with the kit or with my Prius battery and/or fan. If you have any suggestions, please email me at [email protected] or [email protected]. Growing extremely frustrated with this limp-home-mode error.

 

First, you might be able to get a bit more help over on the Enginer User forums.

That said, using your own voltmeter, please provide some hard data as far as amperage and voltage measurements.

How many amps do you have coming out of the converter?
What is the voltage output of the converter?

Call me and I'll go over a very straightforward diagnostic test process to perform.
608-729-4082.

It'll take you 30 minutes to do it.

 

If you get the red triangle, turn off the kit and the car, then turn the car back on. The triangle may remain, but the limp-in failsafe should clear. Worst case, disconnect the battery negative to reset everything, or use a ScanGauge to reset. Note that resetting without turning off the car will not help, as usually the HV battery relays have opened up and cannot be closed again without cycling power on the car.

My friend is also having triangle problems with his new kit, but otherwise it is working WAY better than the older one that he traded in. We have adjusted down the current and will drop down the voltage next.

 

Seilerts,
Can you provide specifics as far as the voltage and current levels?

 

I changed the peak current from 14.3A to 13.6A. Tony dialed it down further after having it code again, but he doesn't have a ScanGauge or other means to check. When I was looking at it, I didn't have time to make sure that it would crank down the current at high voltage. My memory is vague of the current step down points, but it seemed like it should step down by half beginning at 235V, then down to about 2A by 245V. That presumes that the most recently produced converters behave following the same algorithm as the old. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Have there been other reports of triangle problems with the V6 kit?

 

I'm sure that people still may be having coding issues if they turn it on and do not watch attention to things like SOC/battery level.

For those without additional instrumentation I would be interested to hear what color the battery level "bars" were. Are they having it happen when the battery level is high or low?

Sometimes the solution is low tech. For example, if the car is coding when the battery level is "green" for a period of time, I would avoid this by turning off the Enginer system whenever the battery is filled up that far. Once it drops down, turn it back on. This way the system, along with the car's regenerative braking doesn't bring the SOC too high.

 

are these coding happened on gen II only? I had a v6 converter and that thing tripped the breaker 3 times. this never happened on the older converter. also the cooler converter charged the HV battery to the point the ICE kicked on to burn off the excess charge.

 

I believe this manifests itself at 6-7 bars typically, under light-moderate throttle but also going slightly uphill (i.e. 1% gradient), not in EV mode. These are conditions where the traction battery is near full charge but the power demand from the HV ECU is close to 100 amps. We could only wish that people with this problem were running Torque or PriiDash in order to capture all of the data. I'll take a look at the freeze frame data as well the next time I see the car.

 

I try to set things based on the particular customer. If they are do not have additional instrumentation to watch things like SOC and voltage, then I back things off enough so that there is no way for the Enginer system to overcharge the Prius battery.

If they have the instrumentation or are at least attentive to their Enginer system, then things can be set a bit more aggressively. It may mean that they need to manually turn it ff it certain criteria are met. ie high SOC.

 

I got rid of all my red triangles on my Prius Gen2 by doing a hall sensor bypass and using a BMSplus. This allows me to set my cooler converter to a maximum of 19 amps. Obviously Jack Chen does not approve of this as far as I am aware. I no longer get any DTC codes so I do not care whether Jack approves of it or not. Obviouly there is extra work and expense involved.

 

The latest BMS with V6 kits seems to be better.

MiniBMS is also an option.

 

There are some users who have used a non-Enginer BMS.
It's really your own choice as to what you want to use, although Enginer would prefer you to use there. Especially for their warranty.