ICE in EV Mode ... Again

You could put the start time at two hours before you leave.

 

No, you'd have to use an external timer...or start the timer such that by the time you get in the car it hasn't finished yet. This is a bit difficult because it estimates that it will take much longer to charge than it really does (most of the time).

Mike

 

True, You would have to make sure your battery was down to about .05 of EV left before charging. then a two hour start time should be about right I would think.

 

i leave my house on a 20 mph road for 1000'. the ev indicator drops .2 as i accellerate and gets it back as i glide to stop sign. then i turn onto a 40 mph road. i usually accellerate moderately depending on if anyone is coming up behind me. i when i hit the downslope, ev indicator is down about .5. if i'm going 40 mph at that point i have to let off the pedal so i won't speed up anymore and the ice has fired up 4 times now. when i tried going slower and hitting the downslope at 30-35, i was able to stay on the pedal and not regen and the ice didn't come on. the only problem is, when i turn left onto the 40 mph road, the cars coming from the right are around a corner and i can't see them until 100' or so, and they are coming out of a 30 mph zone so they are hitting the gas hard as most traffic does 45-50 out here. so if i isee them coming on strong in my mirror, i have no choice but to goose it a little.

 

I'm actually thinking the opposite. Maybe I need to goose it a little (short of power mode) to draw down some of the charge before glidng or stopping. I'll experement and report back. I just took the PIP out for a couple of errands-Statred ar 7 miles EV. Did not baby it at all and EV all the way baby. The morning is the acid test. Unfortunately (for this application only) I live on a little hill and the roads drop away every direction.

 

I have a big hill also after I leave home, But I burn about 1.5 miles or so of EV before the hill and I have never had ICE start. Cold morning temps have been 18 degrees to 25 degrees. Regen, about .5 -.6 going down hill.

 

if regen is the problem, there must be a threshold at which it will allow it. but it might be temp related and how fast it's trying to regen. or, it could be fixed.

 

On a full charge, the battery's state of charge will be about 85% (85-85.1%). Regenerating up to 84% will trigger the ICE to start (I always say 84%, but in reality, I only see 83.9%.. but being at 83.9% for "a few" seconds will start the ICE.. so I always assumed 84% is the 'ICE start" point).

Looking at my data from yesterday (which did not trigger the ICE), when I got to the 1sst Stop sign, my SoC was at 84.31%. From the Stop sign and accelerating to 45.36MPH, my SoC dropped to 82.75%. From there, I regen'ed up to 83.92% by the time I got to the 2nd Stop sign. I was at 83.92% for 5 seconds before coming to a full stop. I guess I was lucky yesterday.. came really close to triggering the ICE.

 

I don't do anything special other than keeping it light on the gas pedal.
I read an article on the PIP and it mentions that the ICE would come on at any time.

 

track, how many tenths of a mile came off the range meter in that process?

 

I did not charge last night. Had 3 miles of EV charge left. Took a drive this morning along same route and NO ICE. For me the mystery is solved. If your battery is full and you do something to charge more (like a down hill stretch), the ICE will come on to keep the battery from overcharging. It then stays on until the catalytic converter is hot or water reaches a set temp. For me that is 2-3 miles. Then you have access to EV again.

 

agreed, but does it have to be completely full? i think it is happening after i've burned off half a mile. and regen is just starting when the ice fires, i haven't actually gotten any miles back.

 

Replace "full" with "arbitrarily close to full"
I think someone posted earlier that 82% SoC seems to be the threshold.

 

yes, that makes sense. if there's anything linear about the ev range meter (which there probably isn't) half a mile would be about a 4% drop from full. i also wonder if there is something special about temps in the 40's. the four times it's happened so far, that's what it's been. hasn't happened in the 30's i don't think.

 

I mentioned this in another thread. The standard GenIII has heater elements and a humidity sensor in the HVAC system. Supposedly, the PIP doesn't. Maybe the ICE is being signaled to come on to warm up the system to get rid of humidity.

 

maybe, but the windows fog up in a lot of different temps requiring some type of defog/defrost and the ice doesn't come on. i'm heading out in about a half hour and will do another test. temp is in the low 30's however.

 

another theory killed. went to church this morning, same route as my commute. temp 34 degrees. very dry out, no fog or frost on the windshield. car in unheated garage at 46 degrees. finished charging 5 minutes before leaving. hit my little downslope that sometimes makes the ice fire (i think) at 30 mph. kept the hsi at 1/4 so it wouldn't regen and the ice fired anyway. exact same place.

 

with climate control set to off?

 

always.