Driving While Charging ?

I doubt it. But there is the charge mode that uses the ICE to charge up to 70 or 80%. Just hold down you HV/EV button for a few seconds.


iPad ?

 

Ok. So to answer your question. “I Doubt it”

unless you are willing to crack into the computer and change many lines of coding put in place for safety. As I’m sure is done with most, if not all, EVs (Battery only or plug in hybrid) the car will not initiate a charge while running and will not show “ready” while plugged in charging. This is put in place to keep people from driving off while connected to EVSE, I’m sure. Kind of like some people drive off with the fuel nozzle still stuck in the filler.


iPad ?

 

It already has a 4 cylinder range extender built in. What is the purpose or advantage of an external charge while driving?

 

That'll be one Loooooong Extension Cord.

 

Even if you could, which I fully doubt, would you want to drive a car with J1772 sticking out of the port and somehow connected to your external extender guessing either in the car or placed on a hitch or something outside of car. Being PHEV you already have gas engine as a range extender. I just don't see why you would want to do that???

 

Rob's extended version of solar panel (front of the car) and stick a custom J1772 to it

 

The short answer is "No."
From page 132 of my 2017 manual:

1. ■ Safety functions
   ●The hybrid system will not start while the charging cable is attached to the
   vehicle, even if the power switch is operated.
   
   ●If the charging cable is connected while the “READY” indicator is illuminated, the hybrid system will stop automatically and driving will not be possible.

 

But.....if you could put a LARGE solar panel on the top surfaces of the car, it could be connected some way that did NOT involve the standard charging port.

There have been some experimental vehicles made like that.
Solar panels are not efficient enough now to make it practical though.

I think he asked the wrong question.

 

anything is possible, everything is not viable

 

A large enough solar panel may help keep the 12 battery charged. That would lower the power needed for that task in the Inverter/Converter, giving some minor MPG improvement, and increasing 12 volt battery life.

He is never going to get HV Battery kinda power.

 

Solar array on a trailer. Surprised Tesla isn't making one yet.

 

How about a wind turbine mounted on the roof?
Car goes, turbine turns and powers car, car goes faster so turbine goes faster. Repeat
Kind of like a perpetual motion machine.

 

While moving at any useful highway speed, it will be difficult to get enough power from any PV trailer to cover even its own aerodynamic drag, let alone extend the range of the vehicle towing it.

 

It won’t go into READY mode if it’s plugged in, so, no.

 

Even if you could override the safety feature that keeps it from driving while plugged in, I don't think you could charge through the built-in charger. It's not designed to work with greatly varying voltage and current into and out of the battery. For example while you're accelerating or braking you might burn up the charger because it was not designed for that amount of power. It might be fine if it is inherently current limited, but to be safe you'd have to design your own charger. In that case there is no technical reason why it can't be done.

 

Which is what the factory solar roof does while the car is driven.

 

Maybe a good application for a rotor sail. Rotor ship - Wikipedia

The principle of operation is just obscure enough that it might work for perpetual motion.