Custom Enginer PHEV (8kWh)

[Dan.]

Originally Posted by krousdb

[/INDENT]I have these programmed. So can you provide more detail on CCL? How do you use it?

PHEV discussion on CCL. CCL tells the Inverter the maximum regen ampage that the pack can consume. It boots at 125 then will bounce around in the low 100s. When the pack gets real hot or real high SOC it will drop pretty low. I've seen it as low as 30 on a force charge. If CCL gets too low, you may waste some regen chances for "free energy" from the road. On my typical highway exit into a red light my regen ampage peaks at about 25 amps. If I am really easy on the brake and keep a good constant decel I can keep it under 20. Obviously you want your CCL to always be higher than your expected regen load for any portion of your commute.

11011011

[Dan.]

Think I may have forgotten to add the decimal point on "buf". Just change the high nibble in byte 2 of RXF to 8 and I think that will fix it.

Originally Posted by Dan.

GAUGE: BATTERY TEMP (UPPER READ)
CONF?: YES, BUT FAILS OF "UPGRADED" SCANGAUGES (3.15*)
UNITS: DEG F
->TXD: 03 C3
->RXF: 01 03 82 CB 00 00
->RXD: 30 08
->MTH: 00 5A 00 05 01 40
->NAM: buf
NOTES: (PRIUS) °F MAX FOR THE 5 MS CYCLE[/INDENT]

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[kiettyyyy]

Kinda curious,

How did you wire the chargers together?

Did you just parallel them to the + and - buses? How many amps are pulled while using 2 chargers?

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by kiettyyyy

Kinda curious,

How did you wire the chargers together?

Did you just parallel them to the + and - buses? How many amps are pulled while using 2 chargers?

I assume that you mean the converters. Yes, I wired them in parallel. It is difficult to tell how much they put out maximum, but in park they put out 18A. Probably more when there is more load on the system.

[plugmein2]

Originally Posted by krousdb

Needless to say, I'm a happy camper.

No component failures (except for one charger), no balancers beeping, no MIL's and no DTC's.

So what was the improvement with the Custom Enginer 8kwh PHEV? As I stated earlier, this test drive was very similar to my daily commute one way. Normally on that one way commute, I get 65 MPG. So 106/65= 163 or 63% improvement. This is twice what I had expected. I will report back after tomorrow's commute.

Awesome!!! I am impressed! Your install is amazing and well thought out. I am excited that it performed better than you anticipated. Yes, the Enginer PHEV conversion kit "does" work. I wonder how far you can go on a single charge?

JOANNA

[MJFrog]

Originally Posted by krousdb

I assume that you mean the converters. Yes, I wired them in parallel. It is difficult to tell how much they put out maximum, but in park they put out 18A. Probably more when there is more load on the system.

Is that 18A enough to allow for extended EV mode (short distance)? My 2kwh system only stayed in EV mode for about 1 1/4 miles before the main pack SOC dropped too low to remain in EV mode. This is only about 10-15% farther than without the kit.

Apparently, one converter is not enough to keep the main pack from draining too fast. I was hoping to be able to run short errands using only EV mode, but the setup I have is not robust enough to do that.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by MJFrog

Apparently, one converter is not enough to keep the main pack from draining too fast. I was hoping to be able to run short errands using only EV mode, but the setup I have is not robust enough to do that.

I disagree that the Enginer kit is not robust enough. You are trying to use it in a way that it wasn't designed to be used. This kit is not going to turn your car into an EV. If you read the FAQ's on the enginer.us website, it says as much. It is suitable for motor assist. On longer trips it will give you results similar to hymotion.

[MJFrog]

Originally Posted by krousdb

I disagree that the Enginer kit is not robust enough. You are trying to use it in a way that it wasn't designed to be used. This kit is not going to turn your car into an EV. If you read the FAQ's on the enginer.us website, it says as much. It is suitable for motor assist. On longer trips it will give you results similar to hymotion.

I understand what you're saying. I wasn't asking for design limitations...you're going well beyond that yourself. I know the kit won't take me all the way to work in EV mode. I'm looking for the quick trip to the drug store or grocery store and back...maybe 2-3 miles one way, and not more than about 30mph.

I'll ask my question again:

Is that 18A enough to allow for extended EV mode (short distance)?

Short distance being...to the limit of the charge in the Enginer pack. And I have a 2kwh pack.

[krousdb]

8/31/09 Morning Commute

Charge Info
Begin Charge Aux Pack Voltage = 51.7
End Charge Aux Pack Voltage = 54.5
Actual kWh used = 8.84
kWh to Aux Pack = 7.66 (87.6% Charger efficiency, does not account for balancers draining charge)

Readings
Beginning Aux Pack Voltage = 54.5
Beginning OEM Pack SoC = 67.0
Miles Driven = 67.6
End Aux pack Voltage = 51.2
End OEM Pack Soc = 70.5

Driving Conditions
Moderate rain, and wet roads.
Ambient Temp = 68F
Winds = Calm
Windows Closed
Fan set to level 2, no AC.

Route
12.0 Miles suburban at 25-45 MPH
52.0 Miles in the Interstate, CC set to 55MPH
3.6 Miles suburban at 45 MPH

Results
Trip ScanGauge MPG = 95.5
Trip MFD MPG = N/A *** See note
Current Tank = 61.6 Miles
Tank ScanGauge MPG = 98.4
Tank MFD MPG = 97.8

Analysis
Wet roads, rain and cooler temperatures than my first test drive yesterday. Under these conditions I would normally get 61 MPG on the way to work. The ending Aux Pack voltage is promising. Yesterday I ended at 50.0V. Still plenty of juice left for the drive home.

PHEV Performance
95.5/61.0 = 56.5% Improvement

Notes:
*** Filled up the tank 6 miles into the drive, MFD ended at 97.8 MPG for 61 miles and does not reflect the cold start this morning.

[imwoody36]

Thanks for sharing Dan! ( and thanks for your regular maintenance business last month) By comparison I wish to report we installed a Plug In Conversions kit last week here at AutoBeYours.com The 13500 dollar kit arrived well packed 6 weeks after we paid for it as expected and promised.
Missing installation diagrams were emailed by Kim at Plug-in Conversions quickly.
We spent a day locating the Brusa charger profile software, and the rs232 to usb adapter. finally resolving to use an old laptop with an rs232 plug.
we spent another half a day locating the 70 dollar tool to crimp Anderson connectors.
Ewert Energy overnighted a missing Hybrid energy module ( that thing to make the prius go 70mph in all electric mode).
They then emailed the missing software to allow the driver to turn the system on.
( fortunately I owned a Candapter required to use said software on a laptop).
the first 7 miles were over 255 mpg. then an engine racing issue came up.
selecting normal phev mode resolved this for now.
I expect to post more results as they are available....probably on a new thread.
I believe picc is experiencing growing pains, and will give them the benefit of the doubt to improve the final product.