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Weird ICE/EV action this morning

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by San_Carlos_Jeff, Mar 14, 2006.

  1. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    Strange thing happened this morning on the way to work. The car was warmed up, it was 51 degrees F out, I was stopped at a red light, and the battery was in the upper blue bar range.

    At the signal the ICE shut down like it always does. While sitting there all of a sudden the ICE kicked on. I was surprised to feel it so then took a look at the MFD and the display was showing flow from the battery to the wheels (like when in EV mode). I thought maybe my foot wasn't on the brake enough and the car was creeping, but that wasn't it. The car wasn't moving and my foot was now mashing on the brake just to make sure. The MFD didn't show the ICE being on during all this, even though it was definitely running. Then the light turned green and off I went. For the rest of the trip, about 20 minutes, it all acted normal.

    Hopefully this will be a one time event, like the time I got the red triangle of doom a few months back :unsure:

    No questions here, just wanted to mention a strange happening with the car.
     
    #1 San_Carlos_Jeff, Mar 14, 2006
  2. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    Did you have the heater on?

    The ICE provides the heat for the cabin through coolant as with most cars. If you have the heater on, the ICE can run just to heat up the coolant to keep you comfortable.

    (Yes, there are electric heaters but they only work on MAX HEAT setting which I'm assuming wasn't the case at 51 deg)
     
    #2 Tempus, Mar 14, 2006
  3. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    The heater was on, but on other mornings at this signal the engine is already warmed up enough that it stays shut down. However that could be why the ICE turned on and wasn't being indicated as running on the MFD.

    The strange thing was that when the ICE kicked on the MFD started indicating electrical power to the wheels and the car wasn't moving.
     
    #3 San_Carlos_Jeff, Mar 14, 2006
  4. finman

    finman Senior Member

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    So far, my rule 'o thumb has been that unless there are many, many idiot lights that come on (either moving or stopped), then the ICE action is completely normal for the Prius. I mean, there are so many varibles that would tell the engine to come on at "weird" times, that I find it amusing that I still cannot figure this machine out.

    Maybe the engine temp was too low, in combination with the interior heat being on, in addition to the battery level just slightly lower than what the system deemed normal...the list and combo's are endless.

    Monitor MPG or performance or bad noises (screeching clunking, etc.) I'd say that with no idiot lights staring at you, your ICE is as 'normal' as any other Prius.
     
    #4 finman, Mar 14, 2006
  5. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    definitely unexplainable. but unexplainable things in windows usually causes a spontaneous reboot... i guess if that happens to u, it would be good that you had your foot mashed on the brakes at the time.
     
    #5 DaveinOlyWA, Mar 14, 2006
  6. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    I agree. I don't think the car was actually trying to move forward. For some reason the MFD was indicating something that wasn't happening. It (hopefully) probably won't happen again because now it has had a chance to reboot.
     
    #6 San_Carlos_Jeff, Mar 14, 2006
  7. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    some questions
    1 how far had you driven yesterday before you shut the car down for the evening.
    2 how far had you driven this morning
    3 what was the actual engine temperature
    4 climate control on Auto or manually set
    5 was the car in S4
    6 Battery compartement temperature
    7 how long was the light
    8 what was the BSOC
    if you can answer all of these questions you should have your answer. Most likely is the ICE had dropped below the temperature threshold forcing the ICE to start up.
     
    #7 Frank Hudon, Mar 14, 2006
  8. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    ive seen times when the wheels started turning when the ICE kicked on. never thought it meant much of anything to be honest with ya. i equate it to the ICE creating charge that is not sent to the battery right??


    USUALLY, its for making the car go, but there are other electrical needs that have to be addressed like your heater for instance
     
    #8 DaveinOlyWA, Mar 14, 2006
  9. olends

    olends New Member

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    I've seen this too. Reason i rationalized was my car was facing uphill. it called it an anti rollback feature.
     
    #9 olends, Mar 15, 2006
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