Getting the ICE to run on demand

[adrianblack]

I noticed something interesting yesterday.... Useless but interesting.

Coolant Temp above 157F, "READY" and at a complete stop.

In Neutral:
- No matter how much throttle input you give the car, nothing happens at all.

In Park:
- If you give the car any throttle input at all, the ICE starts. But it stops as soon as you let go of the throttle.
- The RPM does not vary with amount of throttle input. The engine (if I recall) was at around 1000rpm.
- While ICE is running, the MFD does not indicate any charging is happening, so it seems like the engine is just is idling the the MG1/MG2 is free wheeling.

I wonder why Toyota did this? Perhaps it's to help diagnostics in the future -- a way to get the ICE to run during testing?

[Philosophe]

Originally Posted by adrianblack

I wonder why Toyota did this? Perhaps it's to help diagnostics in the future -- a way to get the ICE to run during testing?

The most probable and simple answer is to allow mechanics to make the engine run on demand during/after their work on the ICE.

[pinzvidz]

Originally Posted by adrianblack

I wonder why Toyota did this? Perhaps it's to help diagnostics in the future -- a way to get the ICE to run during testing?

Can't tell you why TMC did that, but it's not how techs set the engine to run constantly. Have a look here for the actual procedure.