New Hymotion Firmware Revision 105

[TheForce]

I just got my letter today about the new revision 105 firmware.

Here is a list of changes in the new firmware.

• Reduced sensitivity to low 12v auxiliary battery conditions
  
• Reduced occurrence of "cannot go into EV mode" displayed on the MFD
  
• Prevent rear camera interference while in reverse
  
• The brake light charge indicator changes:
  
  • The brake lights will display for 5 seconds initiation the charge cycle
    
  • The brake lights then turn off for the remainder of the charge operation
• Firmware limits are designed to improve the performance and the reliability of the Hymotion L5

The letter goes on about it taking 45 minutes to reprogram and to contact your nearest Green CHIP dealer to have this update preformed.

I'm going to contact Jim to see if there will be any house calls scheduled my way. If there are not going to be any house calls this time I guess I will schedule an appointment at Smart Motors in Madison Wisconsin if I go to Hybridfest next year.

[gkalkas]

Originally Posted by TheForce

I just got my letter today about the new revision 105 firmware.

Here is a list of changes in the new firmware.

Thanks for the info. I do like it better, but I'll have to get used to counting the hours to see if I'm fully charged up.

O.T.
I'm driving to N. Carolina for Thanksgiving. There's a McD's there (Cary) with a free charging station. I used it several months ago, and charging up over lunch is a real trip!
The Manager there was very helpful, as I was the first one to use it, and it required some activation stuff. It's probably a net minus if you count the drive time, but I like to show support for the concept. Dont mean to be too off topic.

Thanks again for the software release info. I think my battery will last longer, esp. re Chicago winters.

George

[ibcs]

Just got a call from Jim Strong from A123. He is setting up appointments for next week maybe Thursday for A123 customers in Ohio that need the firmware upgrade. I'm going to drive to Columbus (about an hour) to meet him. Very nice gesture by Hymotion to service customers when they are not close to a service center. I will post the results after the upgrade.

---Kent

[TheForce]

I plan on meeting Jim for the upgrade also. He told me it would be on Friday but I have not heard from him for about a week.

[ibcs]

I talked to him today, but he said he was still firming up his plans. It does not matter to me which day, but I really appreciate them trying to help people out by scheduled service in our area. Hope to see you next week.

---Kent

[TheForce]

Hope to see you next week too.


Here is a tip to you and anyone else that will be going in for an upgrade.

If you want to try to get a little mileage boost on you trip to get the firmware update be sure to use your battery on your way there and not wait to use it on your way back. I say that because the last upgrade I got reset the SOC of the Hymotion battery. I had a full charge before the update and after the update the battery reported a low or no SOC. I could not use the full battery until it went through a charge cycle.

[TheForce]

Well I got my update today. So far so good. I dont know if this new firmware has changed the way the screen flips to the energy screen but I did notice that when I had it turned on when I was on my way back home the screen only flipped once when I was on the navigation screen. I hope this screen flip is fixed or made less annoying. I'll keep testing.

One thing I got to do is ride in a Prototype Ford Escape plug in hybrid. The place that Jim did the update was AEP (American Electric Power). They had one of the prototypes so they could test out 2 way communication with the grid. Chris is the Program manager there and took Jim and I to lunch in it. It did not have a full charge so I could not experience all EV. I looked through the MFD and its all just some basic hybrid stuff nothing of real interest. Theres really not much else to say about it other than it was pretty cool for a prototype. I think it was the same thing that was at Hybridfest 09 for anyone that was there this year.

I'll keep this topic updated if I have any issues with the new firmware or any feedback on noticeable changes.

I also have to thank Jim and A123 for lunch.

[boxer93]

Jay, I don't have nav so I don't experience screen flipping. The one thing that I do notice is when I put it in reverse the L5 disconnects and EV mode will go off(I use the stock setup) and the MFD shows the stock SOC. It also appears that my SOC (of the prius battery) is green longer. I have not experienced a change in how far I get on a charge. One annoyance of the L5 disconnect in reverse if the car has not reached the proper stage the ICE starts up.
Chris

[linuxpenguin]

Originally Posted by boxer93

Jay, I don't have nav so I don't experience screen flipping. The one thing that I do notice is when I put it in reverse the L5 disconnects and EV mode will go off(I use the stock setup) and the MFD shows the stock SOC. It also appears that my SOC (of the prius battery) is green longer. I have not experienced a change in how far I get on a charge. One annoyance of the L5 disconnect in reverse if the car has not reached the proper stage the ICE starts up.
Chris

Pardon me for commenting, but annoyance or not--allowing the ICE to warm up properly will /significantly/ reduce the amount of regulated emissions produced by the vehicle (by a factor of 8 to 12 times). That is afterall one of the big reasons for going the plugin hybrid route anyway isn't it? I know getting awesome mileage is...well, awesome, but at what cost is it acceptable?

Andrew

[sjensen98104]

I was having also sorts of problems with my Hymotion Kit related to the aux battery wearing down during hymotion charges, etc. Was getting fed up with almost daily failed start attempts related to the weak aux battery.

With Rev 105, all my problems have been solved (except for flipping of Nav screen.) Have been running it for about 4 weeks and haven't had a single issue.

Solid update by 123.