Charging question

No, Safety idea!

 

good question. i'm gonna go try it without the brake and see what happens.

 

I thought He meant the parking (foot brake)! No!?

 

it works! i think he meant emergency brake?

 

Yeah! Thats what I thought!

 

Yes, it will charge without engaging the parking/emergency brake. The OP does not use the parking/emergency brake because it froze up in winter. But the parking/emergency brake should be used occasionally, or it the mechanism may seize up making the brake useless in an emergency.

 

You realize that without proper supervision the PIP may very well sneak out at night, to coast with other Prii.

 

Like everything " Use it or lose it" Even more interesting if you decide not to use the 12V after car is in ready, just disconnect it, the car will run fine. Think about all the current flow and outrageous electron behavior could be conserved.

 

If you are going to rely on the PARKING BRAKE in an emergency you're screwed!! It is pretty useless by design. The rear brakes of any car are only a fraction as powerful as the front brakes and if you can get enough power into the rear brakes to pull you up the wheels will lock and the tyres will skid.

To the OP, move toward the equator and use the parking brake, there is plenty of room down here.

 

I'd say it's about time that people start calling it what it is - the parking brake.

 

do people really think the emergency brake and parking brake are different things?

and to answer the question.. you're fine without it. charges whether it's engaged or not

 

that's why i always discharge her before going to bed.

 

I too remember those old emergency/parking brakes that rarely worked. But they improved a lot in the 1980s - as long as you use them! I bought a new Civic Si in 1986, and when I sold the car about three years ago, the parking brake still worked fine - because I used it all the time. The hand brakes are great for starting off on steep hills, but the foot brake will also keep working if you use it, and it gets serviced every year or three...

 

Though you don't need the parking brake for hill starts; just press down hard on the main brake and it holds while you move your foot over to the accelerator. Apologies if that is just standard in automatics; this is the first non-manual ("stick-shift") car I've had. Which reminds me, I must go and drive my wife's car, to remember how to use a clutch...