ICE in EV Mode ... Again

yup, that should do it.

 

did my regular wednesday route to the recycling center. it's right out of my driveway instead of left. no steep downhill's. full charge, 43 degrees out. 9 miles r/t, ice never fired. came home, recharged and headed out on my work commute. i went really slow as i approached the downgrade. hit it at about 20 mph and tried to glide no regen. by the time i got to the bottom of the grade i was going forty and the ice never fired. i hit the pedal to keep it at 40 as the grade started back up and i was home clear! i have no idea why.

 

doo, doo, doo, doo

 

what do you mean you have no idea why? you said you tried to glide with no regen, i guess you were successful
here's what i wonder. in the situation where you normally have ICE trigger due to excess regen, what happens if you switch to neutral beforehand?

 

i will have to be able to replicate it a few times before i am convinced that is the reason. especially with so many others reporting a wide variety of circumstances. i will give the neutral a try one day and let you know, thanks!

 

Was the regen bar filled at least partly?

 

It's the "today is Thursday" trigger...

My ICE fired up this morning on my own street- about 2/10ths of a mile out from my house while I was doing 30mph on my flat street. Only thing I can think of is that it went down to 32deg last night maybe? It was 36deg when I started the PIP this morning.

Seriously, the ICE seems to have so many triggers- we really need some info from Toyota (don't hold your breath for this one...) to clear up this matter.

 

The only temperature management system the batteries have are fans. That's why the manual states that the ice may start if system has been below 36 degrees for a long time. If you're closer to the coast in LA, it's possible this was the reason.

 

Perhaps, we can monitor the battery fan operation. If it comes on, it is trying to warm it up and the cabin temp can't warm it enough, it'll start the ICE.

If you have Torque, you can use HV battery discharge control and HV battery charge control to monitor the power allowed to charge/discharge the PHV battery pack.

When it is fully charged (85.1% SOC), if I recall correctly, only 15hp is allowed to charge (regen). As the SOC drops, the number increases. I'll log the data and will post a graph.

Since I park in a warm garage, the discharge always show 50.3 hp. If you guys park it in freezing temp overnight, that may be lower. My theory is, going above that threshold will trigger the ICE, as the battery is too cold and can't provide enough power.

 

Too bad it's not available for the Xgauge (I'm spoiled)

 

Maybe I missed the explanation for this, but how is it that starting theICE will bleed off excess charge from the EV battery?

 

I'm missing something here too. The battery doesn't accept any charge above 85% SOC. so how can "excess" charge "bleed off" EV?

 

The generator (now acting as a motor) spins the ICE and the pistons acts like air pumps. The same thing happens in regular Prius.

 

My question is: electricity is being generated when brakes are applied or going down a hill, where does it go? does the ICE run instead of the generator?

 

Lol that's what USB just said. The electric motor, now running as the generator, spins the ice. Because the ice is cold, it runs its warmup cycle the first time this happens.
Actually, fun experiment for bisco. Force warmup of the ice by pressing brake+gas in D before starting your trip. Then, drive as usual. Does ice still "start" where it normally does?

 

So the electric motor is not generating electrons when it's spinning the ICE. right? OR.....(humor me) the generator is supplying electrons to the electric motor which is spinning the ICE?

 

No. Remember there are two motor/generators. When a motor (as a generator) is being used to brake the car the only mechanism is has two do this is by extracting the energy out as electricity. I would guess that this electricity is used to turn the other motor/generator as a motor to spin the ICE.

Mike

 

ah, yup, got it, see my previous edit