Enginer PHEV Technical Information

Hello Rick,

I have the Enginer kit on my 2001 Gen1 and am pleasantly surprised.

There seem to be some issues still (As indicated in other discussions) but the bugs are being worked out, Jack has responded quickly to any contact and has been very good at resolving issues.

Depending on your location, Jack will be at the PA Energy Festival this weekend. (The Pennsylvania Renewable Energy Festival)

I will be there also and plan to spend a significant amount of time at their booth.

 

I don't want to steer this thread off topic, but honestly I just don't get this very common attitude. I want to stop supporting terrorists, but only if it saves me money. I want to save the planet but only if it saves me money. If these things are important to you, they should be worth spending a little money on.

We're (myself included) willing to spend $1500 on a sunroof, or leather seats, or a nice stereo, but not to extract ourselves from a bloody mess in the middle-east, or fend off a looming climatic disaster.

As much as I have technical concerns about this kit, I am very excited at the huge step forward it represents in cost and accessibility! I'm also impressed with the responsiveness of the vendor in how quickly they are dealing with issues and refining their product. Its just a bit sad that we're too short-sighted in this country to be developing these cost effective solutions ourselves, and have left it to the Chinese to dominate this up and coming market.

 

You may very well be right about that. My comment was more in the general sense, the Chinese government has invested huge amounts of cash into green industries like battery technology. With that huge R&D boost, combined with their cheap manufacturing base they are certainly well poised to become a dominant player in this industry.

 

Putting a few batteries in a Prius isn't going to do anything to stop this country from supporting terrorists. We've got some of the largest oil and clean coal reserves in the world but it's the environmental wackos that keep our use of those resources tied up in lawsuits. I wonder where their funding comes from?

We need to develop our own resources for our own use while also developing other forms of energy using both future and current technologies. We need oil because so many of the products we use come from it. Less than half of a barrel of oil is used for making gas. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't find cleaner alternatives but while we're doing that we still need to drill and mine here.

Why do we send so much of our money to countries that hate us when we have the resources we need right here? Pollution over there or here is still going to happen so why not produce the resources here where we'll do a better job of producing less pollution for the same amount of energy? We then keep our money here where it will benefit our own people.

You want change? How about electing people that will push for domestic energy production as well as advancing future energy sources.

I buy used vehicles and don't spend extra for any of those things. I have a responsibility to make wise financial decisions for the wellbeing of my family. I will not spend money on something that saves gas but doesn't save me money. That makes absolutely no sense and is not fulfilling my responsibility to caring for my family.

The bloody mess in the middle east has been going on for thousands of years and nothing you or I can do will change that.

What looming climate disaster? Don't tell me you're one who believes those lies? Yes, we do have a responsibility to reduce the pollution that we create for our own health's sake and for those that will come after us, but human action is not causing "global warming". Why do these people ignore the fact that the earth goes through cooling and warming periods? Simple, because big money is involved and it pays very well to scream fire.

Check the correlation between sun spot activity and the earth's temperature over the last several hundred years. Why where being told back in the 70's that the next ice age was coming? Why have temperatures not gone up over the last 10 years? Do you think that Greenland was always covered in ice? Ever wonder why it's called "Green"land?

I agree 100% with this last statement. It won't be long before I will also buy this kit. I will not jump on it until it is cost effective but this kit shows that being cost effective is very close. My family doesn't have disposable income to spend on something like this. However, I am more than willing to spend money on something that makes financial sense as well as saving gas and pollution.

I only respond to this "off topic" because it was brought up by someone else and the other side of the argument should also be presented.
:focus:

 

Obviously you are a scientist. :focus:

 

Let's keep the rants in FHOP and keep this on topic, OK? Don't want to see an otherwise very informative thread cluttered. There's plenty of threads there covering this debate.

 

Done. I've started a Thread in FHOP to discuss...

Thread [post="960689"][rant relocation] PHEV -vs- Cost -vs- Energy Independence[/post]

11011011

 

You could be right about the custom made cells. Reason I asked is that the shipping cost to Europe is quite expensive ($500,- for the 2 kWh) because of its weight, so I could order the $995,- basic kit and try and order the cells directly from Mottcell. Might’ve been cheaper.

Maybe I misunderstood some of the technical details. The Enginer approach is bypassing the entire system by simply sneaking power directly into the OEM battery, so I wouldn’t expect it to throw a code. I assume you mean an error could occur when the OEM battery gets under/over charged?

And what would happen if I use the original 110V charger on our 240V grid. I assume the charging current would double but could it damage the charger or cells?

 

You're exactly 180 degrees out of phase Most conversions up until now (at least ones that don't replace the oem battery/BMS) do sneak current in, bypassing the current sensor. Therefore they have to pull the HV voltage high enough to trigger the battery computer to recalibrate and increase SOC (SOC drift) artificially. The enginer kit is the first one I know of that brings current in through the current sensor such that it is counted by the BMS coulomb counter. In the past trying to do this has resulted in DTCs. The assumption was that because the BMS can see this current, but doesn't know where its coming from it gets confused/concerned and throws an error. So far this kit seems to make it work (most of the time), although I'm not sure we really understand why.

 

Apologies for the OT, was having a crabby day and bypassed my troll bait filter. Will take discussion tot he rant thread, thanks drees and dan.

 

I keep hearing that a lot lately, apparently too much alcohol does decrease the amount of brain cells I have left.

I read about the different systems a lot within a short time span. Must have gotten some of the Hymotion, CalCars and Enginer details mixed up.
I noticed Dan made a first draft of the diagram of this system. It might be a good idea to put a complete diagram in this topic, including where all the wiring goes, fuses, parts of the original system, etc. If anyone can send me a simple draft on paper, scan it and send it to me I wouldn’t mind making a diagram using a graphic program. If there’s any demand for it that is.

Concerning your OT, I’m only interested in trying to become self sufficient by using solar panels for my home and driving a car for (virtually) free. Fuel costs have gone down a lot lately but currently still € 1.55 a liter regular gas, that’s about $ 9.12 a gallon. Time to put a stop to that.

 

They can ship to Europe with 240VAC charger complete in Kit

 

at what pump do you buy your gas?
i see 1,36 at the pump of a brand like Q8 or shell self service station.

 

That's a $500 price increase I believe on the 4kWh. Is that right?

 

It seems that I may have lucked out. I was guaranteed by Jack that I'd have the latest and greatest 4kWh kit with the motcells, improved case and corrected converter, etc. (I nagged him a lot), but I paid $2500 with the trip log discount. My kit just shipped and should be here on Wednesday.

The good news for him though, I have a big mouth and everybody and anybody is going to know about my kit.

 

Not 100% sure but I think it is one of our own Royal Dutch Shell. It’s on route to work in an industrial area, self service and quite cheap compared to what you’d have to pay along the highway.

I’ve had my Prius for a few weeks now and I’m getting used to driving more efficient. Over the last 200 miles I’m still at 3.8 l/100km (61.9 MPG) with my standard Prius. No highway though, only country roads (50 mph) and inner city.
@ Flying White Dutchman: Will installing the Enginer kit void the dealer/factory warranty? Maybe you know if any precedent has been set in this part of the world.

I didn’t know that, kiitos Arlei. In an e-mail to Jack I asked him about it but in his reply he didn’t get into that. Do you intend to buy this kit as well?