The "no arrow" display

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ May 11 2006, 09:10 PM) [snapback]253939[/snapback]</div>

It is the drive motors (I think) even though there are no arrows.. Try looking at MG1 and MG2 torque +/- numbers, not amps. I'm not sure if can view does that yet. THHS obviously will. I can't miss this opportunity for a plug for the canview. They are nice.
Regards, mike

 

Interesting! Thanks guys. So as with other MFD situations, what you see isn't quite what you get. Kinda tempers the nirvana.

The 1-4A at rest is reassuring. That's the same with an EV depending on the other loads that are on. Lowest is about 1A. Of course that 1A is at almost 400V in my case.

I would LOVE to have CAN-view... but as far as I know it still isn't available for teh 2006, right?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 11 2006, 10:12 PM) [snapback]253962[/snapback]</div>

The thing is, with the light glide portion of P&G you are also scrubbing a "touch of regen" off the top, so to speak. Again the MFD is quiet. Think of the screen as your electrical tachometer. In other cars with factory tachs it is sometimes hard to detect the a/c on, idle up bump because it is only 40 rpm. Factory meters aren't so accurate. Like the prius fuel meter... (ducking and running). I had a bit of an awakening after finally opening one. I have had significant electrical training over the years but I had forgotten one basic fact I learned as a kid. Magnets are strong. It took a significant ammount of finger strength for me to get MG2 to turn by hand. In fact most people reading this would require a full hand grip to get it spinning. Once you have it going you can keep it going fast with the same finger effort as very lightly snapping your fingers. When I stopped feeding it, it did not really want to stop. When it did stop, it rocked in the forward and backward direction in a diminshing 30* arc for nearly 1/2 a second as it fought the approach and departure angles of different magnetic fields. This magnet weighs in at 12-15 pounds (guessing).
Regards, Mike

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 12 2006, 05:44 AM) [snapback]253930[/snapback]</div>

Yes, I know. An electric motor can easily have an efficiency of >90%. But, in the Prius, all the energy ultimately comes from the gas engine. So, regardless the efficieny of the electric motor, the cycle gas engine -> dynamo -> batteries -> electric engine -> wheels will always be significantly less efficient than gas engine -> wheels (at constant speeds).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 12 2006, 05:44 AM) [snapback]253930[/snapback]</div>

I agree 100% about the regeneration. I think this is the real beauty of the Prius, and it gives a big advantage for city driving. Also, while accelerating and decellerating, there might be a point in using the regenerator as a regulator to keep it at optimal efficiency.

But, at constant speeds, why would the engine ever be in an inefficient RPM regime? With my manual 6-speed diesel car, I keep it nicely at 1300-1600 revs/min when I drive at constant speeds for an extended period, the sweet spot for fuel consumption for that engine. I then consistently observe smaller fuel consumptions than with the Prius at the same speed. I understand and appreciate the beauty of the regenerative hybrid system for changing speeds, but I still don't see any advantages for constant speeds, apart from the fact that the manufacturer can put a smaller gas engine in the car and still have adequate acceleration performance.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ May 12 2006, 01:10 PM) [snapback]253939[/snapback]</div>

Yes, it's from the CAN-View. It varies a little from 5-7 amps for slower speeds and around 12 amps for higher speeds.

Depending upon what all is turned on (ie. AC, headlights, stereo, etc) the baseline draw when at a full stop is 1.5-3.5 amps, so when in a no-arrows glide there's still another 3-4 amps being sent.....somewhere. I think it's probably to drive the motors, but I really can't say that with certainty.
[/b][/quote]
The 5-7 amps observation is another symptom of the simplified MFD function.
You could see 0 amp if you release the accelerator a little and the MFD still shows no arrow.
We see about 1 amp when we put in neutral without AC, headlights and others.

Ken@Japan

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 12 2006, 02:12 PM) [snapback]253962[/snapback]</div>

Prius is also about 1A lowest at about 230V.

Attila wrote very nice program running on Sharp PDA.
http://vassfamily.net/ToyotaPrius/CAN/cindex.html

There are a lot of Japanese users of the program and we enjoy the screen.
Good thing is we can see the Navi screen on the MFD. You can't see the Navi with the CAN-View screen.

Ken@Japan

 

While I have no way to view the CAN-View and the car's own Energy display simultaneously, I am skeptical of Evan's statement that there are 5 to 7 amps flowing when the MFD shows no arrows. There is plenty of current flowing in stealth mode, as the car is being powered from the battery. Do you have some way of seeing the actual amperage when the MFD is showing the Energy screen so you really know there are no arrows displayed?

Vtie: On the highway at constant speed there is very little current flowing. As you surmise, in that situation the engine alone can operate efficiently, and in fact it provides essentially all the power. However, at slow (city) speeds no gas engine big enough to power the car is efficient. That's why conventional cars get worse mileage in the city, in spite of the virtually nil wind resistance at slow speeds. That's where it's more efficient to combine electrical and gasoline systems. On the highway, it's the smaller size of the engine that makes it more efficient, and the smaller engine is possible because the electric motors are available when more torque is needed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ May 12 2006, 05:35 PM) [snapback]254089[/snapback]</div>

This confirms my suspicion that the electric part was doing little or nothing at constant speeds on the highway, despite the fact that you see the arrows changing all the time. It's a shame that the screen doesn't give you any quantitative measure. At the very least they should make the thickness of the arrows proportional to the strength of the energy flow.

Anyway, we bought the car for city driving, and the hybrid system really excells here. It's hard to think of any better car for city driving: very silent, reacts quickly with the CVT, very short turning circle, and, best of all: an unbeatable mpg!