Plug-In Supply DIY

I just completed the Plug In Supply 10Kw DIY install.
My initial testing / driving (300 miles) has resulted in what I expected.
On the freeway at speeds of 70 - 80 MPH, it appears I am getting around 70 - 75 MPG.
On the highway at speeds below 55, it appears I am getting around 90 - 95 MPG.
On shorter trips around my area which contains several large hills, it appears I am also getting around the 70 - 75 MPG.
Looking at this small sampling of data and looking at my fuel gauge, it appears I may double the number of miles I get on a tank of gas.
Even though I took a lot of pictures during the install process, I just wish I had taken more. But one thing I would like to share is that Robb was extremely helpful in completing the install.
So far, so good. I personally feel I will be very happy with the overall install.

 

There's really nothing to show in a photo. The ScangaugeII (at least the model I've got that's almost 3 years old now) has an ethernet port on the right hand side, and another one in the middle of the back side. The OBD-II connector can plug into either port, and another ethernet cable can go to the next device.

Now I did have to glue some stand-off mounts to the back so I could plug in the rear ethernet cable. I wasn't about to drill a hole in the dash to plug it in and still have it flush with the dash.

OK...give me a bit and I'll post photos.

Alright here they are:
Photo 1 is from on top near the windshield looking down. Note the offsets I mounted: a thread spool cut in half and glued to the rear of the gauge, then Velcro'd to the dash.
Photo 2 is slightly offset to right of where driver sits. When I am driving the gauge is visible directly behind the steering wheel. Red cable coming out of right hand side goes to PIS Front Controller box in my earlier post.

 

Ok I forgot the ScangaugeII has a Pass thru ethernet connection. I now use a Canview V4. Thanks.

 

Congrats!

I'm curious - are you using it in "EV only" mode? Or are you using the "blended" mode? Also, what sort of ranges are you seeing before the plug-in pack is depleted?

 

I would expect these kind of results using an Enginer kit. Kietttyy was getting more around 802 MPG. Have a look at this post 2011 Plug-In Supply Product Teaser | PriusChat. So maybe you wasted your money if all you can get is around 100MPG.

 

I've spent most of the day since about 8:00 am working on getting the 4kwh kit installed. Thank heavens the weather has held out and stayed cool as well. All the wiring from the front of the car is now run to the back.

Putting the wiring into the trim tray of the left passenger seat was a real hoot. I had to snake all the new wires on the left side of the tray (as you face forward in the car) and at the front section of the trim (nearest the driver) run all the wires down under the original wiring and out the underside of the tray. This caused a problem since the trim tray is now overfull and won't snap back together...insert a sheet metal screw through the plastic where the wires come out (making sure there are no wires underneath) and now it stays together.

The rear section of the trim wasn't any problem as I just followed the existing wire out of the tray and through various holes around the HV battery into the back of the car.

I had four wires to run front to back.
1. power cord for charger...imagine an 8' computer power cord.
2. ethernet cable from front controller box
3. Charger HV wires...these connect to the batteries @266v
4. Signal relay for the charger...tells charger the batteries are done.

Now to get access to the Prius HV battery to splice in the new batteries, I had to remove the seatbacks of the rear passenger seat. Not complicated, just heavy lifting. Taking all the covers off the battery was a lot more complicated.

Most of the information for removing rear trim, passenger seats, and battery covers is on the PIS website. Removing the final cover and hooking the battery kit wires to the Prius battery is NOT listed there. Robb sent me separate instructions on that. Basically, after removing ALL the battery covers, you hook the negative battery line to the Prius negative terminal on the far left side of the battery (as you face the rear of the car). The positive line attaches to the positive terminal on the far right side of the battery. There are +/- indicators on the top of the Prius battery cells. It's necessary to bend part of one of the battery covers out so the HV lines can be run. As a result, one bolt cannot be re-installed. ...start reassembly...

At any rate, here's where I am currently with 'rebuilding' the stuff I took apart: battery covers re-installed, and I have one seat back mostly connected and the other yet to do. Unfortunately, I've run out of endurance and I have to take a break...which is why I'm posting now.

p.s. The above is merely a summary of what I did. I skipped a lot of stuff...like removing the HV disconnect plug, etc.

 

Hang in there - you're on the home stretch!

 

I'm calling it quits for the day. I managed to rebuild the car...have to put the radio presets back in, plus a couple of other things...but it RUNS!!! (The car, that is, not the PHEV pack...I'm leaving it disabled for today). The install instructions called for disconnecting the 12v battery...that's why I lost my presets.

I have to do some creative modifications to the cargo tray where the batteries will go. Notably, I need a cut-out in the upper left corner so there's room for the 'contactor' unit. Right now, not all the wires and connectors will reach, so I've got to position the contactor box right there and make a cut-out.

At this point I believe I am 95% complete with building and installing this kit.

[edit]BTW, I took mucho pics. Not every step of course, but lots! Will post some when time permits.[/edit]

 

Significant success today. I drove the car for close to 10 miles and used a minimal amount of gasoline. I also had beeps and squeals galore. I called Robb and he said there was too much interference from the charger (even though it wasn't even being used...don't have an extension cord that long!).

Anyway, I unplugged the 8' power cord from the charger and tried again...no more alarms, but the fan for the kar battery kept coming on. Obviously, by using the battery more the battery temp will go up, hence running the fan.

Initial impressions are superb! But that's just the thrill of a new toy. I'm charging the battery pack now...no idea how long it will take to charge. Several factors there:

o batteries have not been charged since they were shipped to me.
o There is no 'fuel gauge' for the battery pack. Robb says he's working on something.
o I have no idea how much juice I used test driving.

The REAL test will be driving to work; charging; and driving back home. At THAT point, I want to know how much further I can drive...want to be able to run errands after work using zero gasoline.

I had to make a cut-out in the cargo tray (pic 1) so the contactor would fit.
I need to rearrange this rat's nest in the side compartment (pic 2)
The back compartment closes up great (pic 3)
And the MFD shows my mileage (pic 4).

Some pics:

 

Congrats!

 

Been playing with the battery kit today.

Test drive that included ~10 miles highway (60mph) driving and near 20 miles total RT to take my wife to Chiropractor and back. Note that this run was NOT all EV. I have no idea how low the pack got, just that it was not completely depleted.

Charged for a little more than 2 hrs (not full at that point) and then had to run another errand. Battery pack depleted slightly more than halfway into that run...RT about 15 miles all city streets...using AC at this point too.

I plan to perform a full charge this time, and expect it to take between 3.5 and 4.5 hrs to do. I have a Kill-O-Watt meter that I'm measuring how much juice it's using and how long it takes before the charger shuts off.

This will be my third charge of the pack. The first charge was not measured, but took about 2.2 hrs and replenished all depletion since the batteries first arrived. This included about 18 city miles EV. The second charge was a partial charge. This latest (third) charge replenishes the latest drive plus the leftover from the previous partial charge.

I expected the charger indicator to go from solid red to solid yellow, then to solid green. Instead it was solid red to blinking red (i.e. HV Cutout). then solid green.

[edit]Update on charge #3: it took 2hr 46 mins to charge according to Kill-O-Watt meter. It used 3.16 kwh of electricity.[/edit]

 

No bms?

-Htc Tapatalk ( sorry for auto spell correct )

 

Certainly there's a BMS. It's made and patent (pending) by PIS. That's what supplies the HV Cutout signal. I mentioned all that in post #187

 

This is my first post and I have been reading PC for about a week now. I have been really intrigued by this thread in particular.
Let me just say Frog, I have enjoyed following your posts. And I have decided that I am going to go with the PIS kit, but I have a 40 mile one way commute to work so I feel that I need the 10kw kit. I’ll have to wait till I get some more fundage saved up.

If I’m not posting this in the correct spot just let me know, but I am curious to know if anyone has had any MPG increase with charging the OEM batteries and installing the EV mode switch. (I have a US version that does not have the switch)

 

I think the 10kwh kit would be a better fit for you than the 4kwh kit. I look at the 4kwh kit as being in Beta status and needing a LOT of edge smoothing. My commute is just under 20 miles one way and I can charge at work, so this kit SHOULD work for me.

I'm on vacation (staycation) this week, so I don't get to test my commute until Monday. I have three different routes I plan to test...each of differing lengths and mph. It would be nice if the hwy route works all EV since it would cut my commute time by 1/3.

 

Hey all, sorry I haven't replied in a long time. Want to give everyone my update.

My kit from PIS is a 10 KW for the Gen III Prius. Unfortunately, I never received the suspension upgrade and finding it VERY difficult to communicate with Robb lately. Otherwise, the kit works fine and achieved more than 250 miles while maintaining a full tank. I have made two successful trips to North Carolina from Alabama without any problems. Only problem I experience is hitting speed bumps a little too fast. My Prius has a trailer hitch for my bicycle, and I constantly hit my driveway curb if I'm not careful.

I also successfully replaced the opto-relays on two of the BMS boards. They were damaged during installation, but did not experience any more faults since.

I have no experience with vehicle suspensions, and have no real desire to find any alternatives at this time. Because of my frustrations with PIS, I became kinda burned out with my kit and decided to auction it on eBay. It is currently listed under the website below.

Aside from the suspension ordeal, this kit isn't really that bad. I live on a military post, and don't pay any utilities. If I wanted to, I could go without filling up for several weeks.

Let me know if anyone wants anymore information.


10 KW Plug In Conversion Kit for Prius Gen III (2010-2012) | eBay

 

Did anybody on this thread who bought a PIS kit actually get a ECM assembly? It was programmed and promoted by Kiety It should increase MPG from 100 to about 800. It is supposed to be a part of the PIS kit. I cannot help but feel like you all got duped by Robb and Kiety.

2011 Plug-In Supply Product Teaser | PriusChat.

I have been advising prospective PHEV customers to get this kit based on Kiety's premise above. It appears that from what I have seen in this thread on the completed PIS kits that I will have to change my advice. Can Kiety please answer what is going on?

 

The 4kwh kit I received contained a front controller with a port labeled 'ECM2-D'. I believe this means that I got the required hardware for this feature but it is disabled. Last time I talked with Robb, he indicated that a software (firmware?) update would be sent when they are ready to release it. I don't understand why the delay, but then I'm not privy to what's going on there either.

My impression is that they're understaffed, poorly organized, and running on a shoe-string. But they're not out to dupe anybody.

 

Good to hear there is progress on the ECM assembly. These installations are not complete without the ECM assembly which probably plugs into the front controller port for communications.