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Prius plug-in not charging completely

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by GCPExit12, Sep 24, 2012.

  1. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    There are two independent timers, and you set one or the other. From what people report, the End timer just subtracts the time for a full charge from the specified time, and starts charging then, regardless of how much charge the battery actually needs. Contrary to intuition, it is NOT an interval timer, where you specify a start and an end time.
     
  2. GCPExit12

    GCPExit12 Member

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    Thanks! I think this answers my original question of why the battery does not appear full when I get back to my car. Since I still have half a battery left, it's done charging 90 minutes BEFORE the set finish time? So by the time I get back to the car, the battery's SOC has been slowly eroding for 90 minutes? charge indicator 0.jpg

    again, the indicator looks like this when i get back to the car. the very small portion that is not filled could be explained by leaving it fully charged for 90-100 minutes?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no, the amount of charge the battery loses in sitting for 90 minutes is negligible. however, i can't speak for the indicator. can you snap a pic when the charger shuts off? i would like to see the difference.
     
  4. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    If you are typically only using 8 EV miles it might be worth running through a full cycle or several. Its very unlikely the battery properties have actually changed in this relatively short time, but its feasible for the computer that manages the SOC to get a little off particularly when tracking partial cycles. Running it through a full discharge/recharge cycle or several might help the computer recalibrate itself, but its probably not something to really worry about.

    Its also worth restating that the estimated EV miles is not a very good indicator of how much charge the battery has received. As I understand its calculated by charge in the battery (SOC essentially, but in Wh rather than %) divided by estimated Wh/mi. This Wh/mi estimate is constantly being refined based on your driving history to try and predict future performance based on your past driving. As this number moves around, its hard to back out the kWh in the battery with any accuracy.

    Ideally you want to monitor the kWh going into the battery directly by measuring charge current/power over time with a kill-a-watt, or something like PKs setup. Assuming the charger efficiency is pretty fixed, and your driving pattern is pretty repeatable you should see about the same amount of charge going int0 the battery each time. Then you can monitor this value over time to look for changes. This is easier if you are routinely depleting the battery though, as weather, traffic, mood etc could result in your using more or less power out of the battery over a fixed distance. Still charting it over time should help you see the trends if you really want to know what the battery is doing over time.

    Rob
     
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  5. NO, I do not believe so, the timer accepts either START or FINISH. Not both.
     
  6. If by battery charge indicator, you are referring to the vertical row of green bars, then like amount of EV battery charge left...these are only rough indications of current situations. I don't believe these are to be relied upon. Interestingly, when your EV is depleted and you are driving HV, the battery icon shows full, but can deplete rapidly, and , can also charge up again, quite rapidly. So 50-60 mpg or higher may be attainable in HV as long as you don't drive like a NYC cab driver.
     
  7. LenP

    LenP Member

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  8. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Ok guys...let me make sure i get this right.


    when i first got car....I set Start time to 3am , I also set end time to 6am thinking i needed 3 hrs total charge time.


    Now each time i use timer, i just hold the button, i dont pay attention to what pops up(either start or stop)

    So are you saying that whichever is showing when it pops up, and i HOLD button, that is the one it uses?


    for instance if END TIME is the one I happen to HOLD button down on, and it pops up the green light, then it will only use the end time and go backward in time to a predetermined time the car needs to allow for full charge correct?


    OR

    If Start time pops up ect ect....then it uses the start time and pays no attention to the end time i have set.


    Dan
     
  9. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    are you talking about the icon of the battery itself? that icon is FULL. How could it fill any higher?

    Dan
     
  10. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    You don't have to press and hold; just tapping the timer button is sufficient to activate the timer you last used. You only need to press & hold when you want to change something. You can activate the timer any time you have the key fob within range; the car need not be "turned on".
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    this has to be one of the most confusing threads!:confused:
     
  12. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    Nice, just tried tapping the timer button and you are right, it just shows either start/end timer and green light comes on. So i do not need to hold it ever, nice. also a tap turns it off too.


    the manual is so vague, it does not state clearly except for one part to say start OR stop. the OR makes me believe you need only to set either start or end. just odd IMO.

    So why would there be a start and end time if only one is needed?

    Dan
     
  13. To give you a choice .
     
  14. GCPExit12

    GCPExit12 Member

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    i believe the battery icon that shows up after your EV runs out is not showing the entire battery capacity, but rather a zoomed in version of the last 25% of the battery capacity. You are referring to the battery icon consisting of eight discrete horizontal bars right? It goes away and recharges faster because each bar represents like 25%/8 bars=3% of you total battery capacity.

    wait...is this true? Now that you mention it, it does look kinda full. Maybe it's the glare when pictures are taken up close? From afar it doesn't look as full as it used to look (see zoomed out picture below) Maybe I'm just in denial that my driving style (and estimated EV) has deteriorated ever since my daily commute was halved. I was pretty sure the two nipples at the top used to fill up as well but that might be me hallucinating as well.

    Can anyone else please post pictures of how their battery indicator looks when car is fully charged? From afar mine looks like this:
    charge indicator 2.jpg
     
  15. 1st para: Yes. When I was younger I would hallucinate about nipples. I didn't realize the PIP offered that option. Seriously, with a shorter commute, your consumption should improve. ( with-in EV range ). On your 1st para. Where did you get that info?
     
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  16. ryogajyc

    ryogajyc Active Member

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    It's less than 25%. The switchover from solid to bars is at 0.8 EV miles. The bars are basically HV mode like in a Liftback.
    Your picture looks slightly less than full to me (small gap at the top of the indicator). The two battery terminals do not fill up when full.
     
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  17. GCPExit12

    GCPExit12 Member

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    forgot to snap the picture because I was so disappointed that it looked exactly the same =T
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    looked at mine last night after charging, looked the same as yours. i don't recall if it ever looked any more full.
     
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  19. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    My PiP's nipples are never full either :(

    I want full nipples!
     
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  20. rockerdan

    rockerdan PiP Rocks!

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    nipples do not fill...that is what i meant from earlier pic he posted.

    you will find that the very first tiny part will go away very fast, i watched mine close and as soon as i tapped the pedal to back out of garage it lost the first tiny part(not the nipple) but the first section...

    remember the sections in EV mode are very small, can barely see them....when you get to under .9 miles the sections are much larger and easier to see. Im sure you all know this.

    Dan