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Daox's Enginer PHEV 4kWh install

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by Daox, Dec 24, 2009.

  1. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Well, I got the kit mostly installed. Pics and stuff to come. A few questions though. What side of the relay did you connect your Enginer to? I put mine on the battery side.

    Also, why does the Enginer kit wire up to the EV mode switch pin on the ECU? The controls that come with the kit doesn't seem to accommodate a momentary switch to activate EV mode.
     
  2. dan2l

    dan2l 2014 Prius v wagon

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    Hi Doax,
    The install manual has been updated with a picture of the connection. Does this help?

    240vConnection.jpg

    I think turning on the Enginer switch activates EV. But if you go too fast and drop out of EV then you need to turn the switch off and then on again to get back into EV.

    I did the EV Hack separately to the light flasher. This was esay and now if I flash the lights, the EV comes on. So I will not connect the Enginer systen to the EV.

    Thanks,
    Dan Lander
     
  3. linuxpenguin

    linuxpenguin Active Member

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    Hi Dan,

    I was under the impression that Enginer did not officially endorse using OEM EV mode (I remember reading something about not aggressively pursuing electric mode on their website). So the official installation manual includes instructions for hooking up the EV switch? Does it always activate EV mode immediately after turning the system on regardless of whether or not the engine is warmed up?

    Andrew
     
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  4. dan2l

    dan2l 2014 Prius v wagon

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    Hi Andrew,
    I think you are miss-informed on this or maybe have just miss-stated what you had heard or believed.

    The EV Hack is common knowlege for Gen 2 cars. This is covered in other threads. All the Enginer system does is to include this in their Gen2 kit.

    The car will act just like the Europian or Japanese Gen2 Prius does when the EV button is pushed in those cars.

    Thanks,
    Dan
     
  5. linuxpenguin

    linuxpenguin Active Member

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    Forgive me, I understand how it works--I have an OEM EV button in my vehicle as well. I just wasn't aware that Enginer actually officially used it...So people with the Enginer system--when you engage the system it will automatically activate the EV mode relay for OEM EV (meaning its tied to the activation switch)?

    The reason I ask was I remember reading FAQ #4 on their website which says they don't pursue EV mode. I know most people who have said conversion kit install an EV button, I just didn't realize that the EV mode relay switch was a part of the official installation process...I was just curious.

    Andrew
     
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  6. dan2l

    dan2l 2014 Prius v wagon

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    Hi Andrew,
    I think you need to go back and read the FAQ before making comments about it.

    However,:focus:
    Please lets not Hijack Doax's thread going on about EV. If you want to continue this discussion you can send me a private message or you can start or find an EV thread to do this on.

    Thanks,
    Dan
     
  7. linuxpenguin

    linuxpenguin Active Member

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    I believe I did read the FAQ's, hence why I asked my question...but anyway, I didn't mean to hijack anything or make anyone upset =). I was more interested in feedback from someone who had the system installed (hence the relevance to the thread). I only asked because it came up on the thread...

    Anyway, feel free to PM me if anyone wants to respond or feel free to ignore me...that's cool too =).

    And Dan, just for you....:focus:

    Andrew
     
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  8. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Andrew, I think that the are many new faces in the forum trying to know everything at once.
    I remember the good old days wen we were a handful of Prius owners nationwide starting the PHEV movement and integrating electrical modifications to our hybrids and EVs......:rockon:
     
  9. hybriddriveguy

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    All of our failures have been at the top. The cases actually cracked in some of them. Once they experience this sudden large jump in voltage while charging, they also drop suddenly on the bottom end.

     
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  10. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Well, there is no good news at this point. Ben and I started installing the pack on Thursday afternoon. By the end of the day I had the car all wired up and ready to go, but just not put back together. Friday morning I put the car back together and when I went to start it up I got a dashboard full of lights and the MFD saying "Problem" with a little red car in the upper left and an "!" over it. I searched online and worked on it that morning but couldn't figure it out. We were supposed to leave earlier that morning to visit relatives so the wife was pretty miffed (as was I). So, we packed up our other car and went on our way around noon.

    So, now I just need to figure out what went wrong. I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with the kit itself, just something I did while installing it or something. The only real thing I can see that isn't happening when I turn the car on is that the 12V is not getting power from the dc to dc converter. So, I'm not sure if I blew a fuse or if disconnecting the high voltage pack caused some error. In any case, I'll be trouble shooting it tonight.
     
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  11. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Ben did get some good video of the install that basically goes through the general install. I have some additional footage I took. I have no idea if its any good and I've been gone all weekend so I haven't even had time to take it off the camera yet.







    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z6Joz2kXM8"]YouTube - Prius PHEV Conversion Video part 4[/ame]
     
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  12. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Over on Ecomodder I got a reply to my problem already. Apparently you need to push the orange HV disconnect down after its reconnected... I was not aware of this, nor do the instructions say anything about it... Will try it out as soon as I get home.
     
  13. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Yet another quick update. When Ben was over on Thursday, he talked about a cell balancing system that Lee Hart put together that is incredibly simple. Basically, he puts a zener diode between the - and + posts on the battery. The zener diode's voltage is set to the max charging voltage. Once that voltage is hit, the diode starts shunting power through the lead and through some sort of load (like a light bulb in this case). Very simple, very cheap and sounds like it should work great for charging problems.

    Lee Hart's Shunt Type Battery Balancer
     
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  14. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    100% is that the ORANGE safety disconnects was not installed propperly and latched.
    More like;y, you will have to cycle the car on and off 3 times to erase any warning signs on the dashboard, and that will keep you going again.
     
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  15. dan2l

    dan2l 2014 Prius v wagon

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    Hi Doax,
    The balancer Lee is doing is for lead acid batteries at 6v and 12v. It will be much harder to get Zieners to act the way we would need at 3.75v with the tolerance we need. In addition the bypassing of a cell means that the pack voltage that the charter needs will drop while the charger is in constant voltage mode. This will drive the charger crazy. It would be important to have the charger design match to the type of balancer system. This then becomes a more expensive BMS.

    Thanks,
    Dan Lander
     
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  16. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Well, I fixed the plug and the car now starts up. I did have to turn it on and off 3 times as mentioned to get rid of the error lights.

    However, I took it for a spin and the phev kit isn't charging the pack (according to the scangauge ammeter xgauge). So, I'll be trouble shooting that another day. My hands are pretty frozen atm and its time to relax for tonight.
     
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  17. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    If the OEM Battery voltage is high, you wont see any amps to the battery. Make sure that the breaker is turned on and that your inline fuses on the converter output are intact.

    I just noticed that you are in Wisconsin so it must be quite cold. In very cold weather, the Prius normally keeps the SOC very high. In that case, you will get very little assist from the Enginer system when in blended mode.

    When the Prius is powered up and in park, the steady state current draw shown on the xgauge is about +1.2A. When you turn on a single Enginer converter, you should see -9 to -10A when the OEM pack voltage is below 230. Above that the current will be reduced. All converters are slightly different so these numbers may vary.
     
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  18. brad_rules_man

    brad_rules_man Hybrid electric revolutionizer

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    Thanks so much! I'm having one put in, I'm having an installer do it. I want to know enough to do a repair if necessary though.

    -Brad

    COOL
     
  19. Daox

    Daox Member

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    Well, krousdb was correct. The pack was working. I just had to burn some juice off it first to see the amps being pumped back in. And, with that, I just got back from my second phev drive (first was yesterday unknowingly haha)!

    From my incredibly minimal experience at this point, it basically kind of drives like you have 7 green bars, although not even as drastic as that. It uses the pack a bit more on take off, but cruising at speed you can't even tell its doing anything unless you really watch your gauges.

    Now, just to figure out a way to disconnect the pack with to prevent over charging and discharging...
     
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  20. dan2l

    dan2l 2014 Prius v wagon

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    What milage did your computer say that you got?

    I just did my first drive. 23 miles at 65.5mpg. I normally get 45mpg in that car.

    Thanks,
    Dan Lander
     
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