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Heater and climate control

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by rockerdan, Sep 14, 2012.

  1. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Whatever setting I left it at when I shut the car off, that's the setting when I start it up again. I don't see why, but maybe the PIP is different.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    so if the outside temp dropped, and it got cooler than 75 in the car, would the heat come on?
     
  3. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Yep, the system would do what's necessary to maintain the setting.
     
  4. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Ill be testing this more as weather cools.....If it "remembers" the last setting, that will be great ! I can see in winter having it set to say 72-74f AUTO and AC OFF. So when you get in car it would aim for this temp, and assume it would start ICE to get the heat.

    Dan
     
  5. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    My Cadillacs had automatic HVAC systems and they woudn't blast heat until the system hit a preset level. I wonder if this system does that.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    makes sense, but if the ice doesn't fire, 'she ain't never gonna get there'.
     
  7. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    That's probably why the heating grids were stuck in there. My TDIs had them too because diesels take some time to start throwing off heat.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well, i just thru the manual. nothing at all about heat. there are more pages dedicated to 'remote a/c' than anything else. i suppose they figure we should know how to use heat after all these years?:cool: RD, are you sure the ice didn't fire and you thought it didn't because no heat was coming out? it does say 'immediately after AUTO is pressed, fan may stop until warm air is ready to flow'.
     
  9. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Yep i went thru manual too...odd isnt it? So much aimed at AC but little to nothing about heat and ICE.

    My ICE DEFINITELY did not fire up, I specifically was watching the large EV logo on HSI, radio off so I could hear, waiting for ICE to fire when i cranked to 85. Nada.

    Now, is it true there are ELEC heater lines in the system? I did notice the air that blew was NOT COLD, but it was not hot or even warm. I would say it was same temp air as inside air was. I wonder if this was ELEC warmed air? Since the 59 outside temp would have felt cooler i assume.

    So noone had their PiP early last spring or winter? I thought many PiPs were purchased around January. I honestly thought when i started this thread many would chime in and tell me exactly how it works since I assumed many had their cars last winter.

    Seems there are more questions then answers on the heater! LOL

    Dan
     
  10. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    That's exactly what the Caddys do on AUTO.
     
  11. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    That's the only way you're going to get any heat without the ICE warming up. In the standard GenIII, they come on when the temp control is all the way up.
     
  12. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Does anyone know for sure if the PiP has elec heat within the system? I think tonight is gonna be another chilly night around 45f. I will try to take a ride late tonight and see if the ICE kicks on when i drive in EV mode.


    Dan
     
  13. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    I was curious so went out to my PiP in the garage. Inside the garage (according to the car) was 68. Inside the car (according to scan gauge) it was 64.8. I hit auto, increased the temp to 85, and the fan speed to Hi. The ICE didn't come on just as Rockerdan reported.

    The only change I noticed was after my overnight charge the EV miles said 14.2 and whenever I hit auto to turn on the fan, the reading went down to 12.5. Turn off by auto and immediately back up to 14.2. On 12.5, off 14.2.

    I also played with the fan speed while on the upper dash vents ... and there was zero heat. So I'm thinking there aren't any electric grids either in the PiP.
     
  14. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Check the readouts with and without the temp all the way up. The grids should have a pretty big draw.
     
  15. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Ok, that seems like a larger draw then just FAN ONLY. I think fan on/off only is about 1EV range mile. You are reporting more. I wonder if this could be elec coils?

    I agree mine was not hot, but it was similar temp to inside even in FRESH AIR mode(non recirc) Could elec coils just heat the air up enough so its not COLD air blasting? Seems ELEC coils would need alot of power to run if they were actually HOT.

    More questions then answers! LOL

    Dan
     
  16. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    Ok...you convinced me to go out again....lol. From 14.2 to 12.5 does seem excessive.

    I put a digital thermometer into the dash vent. Hit auto. Fan came on and I didn't notice the AC lit up. I heard the compressor cycle on and off a few times but didn't realized at the time it was the compressor. I was watching the EV miles and it never changed from 12.5, with the compressor off or on. I then noticed the AC was lit. And the vent temp was 50.x. I turned off the AC and set the temp at 65, around interior temp but 4 degrees higher than ambient in the garage.

    The dash vent temp went up to 63. I increased the temp to Hi. And the dash vent temp DID go up 68 and stopped there. I turned the heater temp back down to 65 and the vent temp dropped to 63 again. And I could hear a difference in the fan speed. The 12.5 EV miles did drop to 12.3 by the time I'd finished. And once I turned off the fan it only went back up to 13.8.

    So you've convinced me there is some kinda electric grid that's coming on. It doesn't provide much heat ... just enough to take the chill off.

    This wasn't very scientific ... partly because I was freezing and my hand was cold from holding the thermometer in the vent so I rushed it. Perhaps the thermometer would have been lower or higher with patience.
     
  17. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    great experiment thanks!

    this makes sense, as when i was driving the air coming out seemed similar to inside air, when outside was only 59. It was not cold but was not hot. Im guessing this was possibly an elec coil that just barely uses much power, but will warm air enough to blow air that is not cold from outside. But since i was in fresh air mode it must have been heating it somewhat.

    This will be interesting in the coming days/weeks/months to see how the heater in AUTO plays out...I am going to leave mine in AUTO when i come home this afternoon, with heat set to 80f and AC OFF. Then when I go out tonight Im hoping it "remembers" that setting leaving AC OFF especially. Then ill take a drive in EV to see what happens.

    My guess is there must be a certain TEMP that is low enough(or temp difference) that will fire the ICE. And this temp of 59f was just not cold enough to call for ICE, even though i was calling for 85f. The car is smart enough to realize I did not need HOT air, just the luke warm air of a possible ELEC element, we will see.

    Great work Chris!
    Dan
     
  18. Jimbo69ny

    Jimbo69ny Active Member

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    Im sure we will start seeing more of these threads as the cooler winter weather approaches....

    I have had this idea since I purchased my pip. I wonder if there is an AC or DC powered heater that can be sat on a seat or in the rear hatch that will heat the car. If its AC then we would need to install a power inverter. If it had a remote that would be pretty nice feature too. Remote climate control without starting the car. Me likes :)

    Obviously there would be concerns about running the 12v battery down. The user would have to look at how many watts the heater consumes.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have to disagree that outside temp has to be below 59 for the ice to come on. that's just too cold for us seniors!:p
     
  20. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    Thanks Dan ... do not know how accurate it was though.

    And bisco ... you're right. Aging takes lots of heat....lol. Not only are we in the SS crowd, both my wife and I are on diets trying to lose weight for our upcoming cruises. Less carbs = less body heat.

    The lil ole PiP will be complaining about the extra weight it's hauling back from Miami. :)