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Enginer PHEV Test Pilots: Mpg reports and important data

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by plugmein2, Aug 17, 2009.

  1. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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    Hey Joanna,

    I guess you could do the same maneuver the night before after first charging up the kit, and then you can top up the kit as well again after topping off the stock battery too, no?

    I'm getting my 4kWh system installed next week, finally. So I don't have experience in how the charging logistics work.

    Questions for anyone:

    Once I get home is it ok to plug the kit in and leave it that way until I use the car again? I mean this thing has a smart charger right?

    My understanding is that it takes about 2-3 hours to charge a depleted kit. correct?

    Can the balancers do their thing when the kit is plugged in?

    Thanks
     
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  2. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    The current sensor is inside the box on the left labeled "STOCK BATTERY MODULE"
     
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  3. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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  4. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    ATFSI Accordingly to the picture provided (courtesy of CHENYJ), the connection points of the Enginer system withing the OEM NiMH assembly does NOT go through the "HALL SENSOR" as you stated more than once; hence, no instrument, being Scangauge or CANview will never see the extra current injected to the HSD to compute extra SOC or DOD or battery health.
    [​IMG][/IMG]
     
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  5. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    The wire that you mention is ORANGE and always has been ORANGE & not "red".
    ORANGE color in the AUTOMOTIVE industry is a "SAE International" standard color code for High Voltage wiring power distribution and adopted by all automotive manufacturers for EV propulsion.
     
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  6. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    I stand corrected ....it only looks red on my monitor....bye the bye, it is the current flowing from the Enginer pack to the HV pack that goes thru the sensor not the wire (orange, red or whatever)
     
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  7. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    atfsi, as a mater of fact, the "Hall Sensor" provides a reading of the current flow for Coulomb counting so the Battery ECU can report Battery DOD and SOC.
    The external applied power from the Enginer system is handled by the Batt ECU as an extra power, like if it were REGEN while breaking because the "Hall sensor" reading is directional, or outflow or inflow, but never bidirectional at the same time.
    For the "Hall Sensor" to count an extra power and to report it through the CAN, this extra power must go through the "Hall sensor" at the same time and with the negative (-) NiMH 6 gauge orange lead.
     
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  8. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    That's absolutely correct. The "Hall Sensor" provides a reading of the current flow from the Enginer pack to the HV pack for Coulomb counting so the Battery ECU can report Battery DOD and SOC. Any current from the Enginer pack flowing in the other direction is not counted (that's why chenyj said 18 + 3 = 21) A correct monitor for power input would be placed somewhere in the line from the Enginer pack.
     
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  9. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    Second trial, this time from a full charge, 42 miles (w/ stop) to red LED ON @ 73MPG or roughly 13 e-miles this time. The batteries are still spending a lot of time balancing
     
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  10. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    FYI, It wold be nice of you that when you "copy and paste" other peoples text to be included in your paragraphs like your own, to kindly "quote" the reference of origin.
     
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  11. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    The answers are "yes" to all your questions except the following: Keeping the OEM battery charged too high or low for long periods of time (overnight) is not good for its longevity. I try to have about 3-4 bars when I finish a trip. This assures I don't damage the OEM battery. Also, if you try to keep the charge high, the OEM battery drains itself to a safe level anyway, so pre-charging the OEM is only good when you plan to leave within 30 minutes of the initial charge.

    JOANNA
     
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  12. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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    Thanks Jo,

    Anyone, please correct me if any of these statements is false:

    If the car is "Ready" the charged enginer kit will charge the oem battery. I believe Joanna implied that this can take the oem batt from 3-4 bars to 8 bars in 15-20 minutes

    And if/when the oem battery gets to 8 bars (80% SOC) the prius will use an electric motor to spin up the ICE to dump some electricity trying to get the SOC down to 75% - meanwhile if the kit is on, it will still be dumping juice into the oem battery during this ICE spin. I expect the ICE spin dumps at a faster rate than the kit can charge.

    I believe that this ICE spinning maneuver is the only means the Prius has to dump excess electricity from the battery. And this can only happen when the car is "Ready".

    So to anyone, Is Joanna correct that it is harmful for the oem battery to regularly hold a 7-8 bar (75-80%) SOC overnight?

    And does the car have a way to dump juice when the car is off and would it attempt to do so if the charge is high but below 80%?

    Anyone?
     
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  13. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    When the OEM battery gets to 80%, No, the ICE doesn't come on to drain the excess charge. The only time this has happened to me was when I had the OEM battery charged all the way to the top "green". The ICE came on for a few minutes and then shut down as I was driving.

    Just Saturday, I was talking to someone about the car and left it on. Before I knew it, we had been talking for about 35 minutes and the battery was "green" (the ICE never came on). I then drove in EV for a few minutes and it went back down to blue. This experience tells me the ICE will "not" come on to drain unless the OEM battery is completely full.

    Great minds think alike. I attempted to have the OEM battery charged at 80% overnight, so the next day I wouldn't have to "charge" the car as long. Unfortunately, the battery was at 50% the next day even though I had charged it the night before. This tells me the OEM battery "slowly" drains to the 50% level over a long period of time, say, a few hours. Toyota has done this to protect the OEM battery. So now, I just plan ahead and charge before leaving the house.


    JOANNA
     
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  14. chenyj

    chenyj Member

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    It seems working according to Joanna. You might waste some of the electricity if you charge it too much and the MG1 motor will spin to prevent OEM battery pack from overcharging.

    The effect is not just storing energy in the OEM battery. It actually pushing the SOC so high that Prius will try to use more electric assistance which our Enginer kit will contribute.

    I think Dkroushl tried this but he did it at the end of the drive instead of beginning of the drive. The SOC will leak overnight. Joanna's would be more effective.
     
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  15. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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    Can the kit be plugged into the grid AND still "on" and charging the oem battery when the car is "on" and parked?
     
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  16. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    Looks that way..but I havn't tried that yet.....I think the charger and the converter are independent....
     
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  17. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    I try to park my car in my garage with the battery at green or nearly there. That way I can drive to the train station in EV mode only. If it is 1/2 scale, I can't make it in EV mode. I have never noticed the charge drop over night. Is your battery weak, or does the temperature drop a lot over night? Anyway, I am working on an inexpensive plug in charger to charge the traction battery so I can always leave with 80% charge.
     
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  18. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    Third trial, from a full charge, 58.7 miles (w/ 1 stop and cold start) to red LED ON @ 72.8 MPG or roughly 18 e-miles this time. The batteries are spending a bit less time balancing now. It will be interesting to see if it continues to improve.
     
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  19. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    No. I tried this once. I left the car in the "on" position with the enginer kit "on" and had it plugged with the charger going. I watched it for a while and the OEM wasn't charging. Apparently, if you are charging from the grid, the kit will not charge the OEM battery. This might be a safety feature. :eek:hwell: I'll have to ask Jack.

    LATER,

    JOANNA
     
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  20. atfsi

    atfsi New Member

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    Could be that the voltage seen by the converter exceeds its MAX input voltage if the charger is on...do we have that spec ?
     
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