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EV mod quit working

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by jamesleber, Sep 29, 2006.

  1. jamesleber

    jamesleber New Member

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    I just installed the ev mad from coastaletech. It worked GREAT for about a day. This morning, I was using it and sped up past 34 mph and it shut off like it is supposed to, But I have not been able to get it work since. Does anyone have any ideas?


    Please help


    James
     
    #1 jamesleber, Sep 29, 2006
  2. BobZ

    BobZ New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamesleber @ Sep 29 2006, 09:00 PM) [snapback]325846[/snapback]</div>
    look for any loose connections make sure pin is all the way in the plug at the puter.......
     
    #2 BobZ, Sep 29, 2006
  3. jamesleber

    jamesleber New Member

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    I checked all the connections and the pin that goes in the plug. All is crimped all the wan and the pin in the plug is inserted all the way. Any other ideas?


    Thank you!!!

    James
     
    #3 jamesleber, Sep 30, 2006
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    How many times have you re-tried to enter EV mode...are you sure all conditions are met. Are you getting the triple beep when you try to enter or is there no sound a all?

    Often folks who are having trouble w/ their EV mod it is b/c they are trying to use it under conditions where EV won't work...not fully warmed up, HV SOC too low, etc.

    Try it from a cold start in the morning in the first 5 seconds and see if it will enter EV mode.

    If not, then more than likely one of your taps is loose or the pin isn't all the way in it should be as deeply inserted as all the other pins in the ECU plug. The taps can look like they're on correctly, but not quite be making contact...removing and replacing is a good idea as part of a check.
     
    #4 efusco, Sep 30, 2006
  5. jamesleber

    jamesleber New Member

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    OK, I went for a drive this morning and it wouldn't work at first. Then about a half mile down the road it started working. It worked for a while. I live in the mountains, so I use it quite frequently when I am going down hill and when I am on the flat roads. Then I just give it more gas or speed up past 34 mph to disengage it. But after a while, about 6 miles of down hill with the car in B, not exceeding 34 mph, I heard the three beeps and has not worked again since.I was not going too fast and my battrey was 1 bar from full. What would make it work and then not? Could the charging system be getting hot? I have no idea.
     
    #5 jamesleber, Sep 30, 2006
  6. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Can't use EV in B-mode....
    And, except for long steep mountain grades (like the kind you'd be going over 34mph on for several miles) you shouldn't be using B-mode anyway.

    Sounds like the mod is working fine to me, I think you're just encountering various conditions that are not satisfactory for EV mode to enable. You 'may' be having some intermittent short, but I doubt it from the description you gave...

    Again, I'll ask, when you say "it has not worked since" is it giving you 3 beeps? If so, then the mod is working fine, you're just in a condition where EV is not allowed.

    Sometimes when the battery SOC is 1 bar from full you cannot enable EV mode. Other times you can. You see, there is significant hysteresis of the SOC of the battery. Above a predetermined threshold (maybe 70% SOC?) EV is not allowed...in the SOC 1 bar from full the SOC could be anywhere from 65%-77.5%.
    [​IMG]

    And yes, part of it could be that the inverter temps or battery temp is out of range to EV mode to be allowed. Sometime I can't get EV to work...usually I know why, but sometimes I've not sure. But I am always sure that it's that way to protect my car and I'll accept that at face value.
     
    #6 efusco, Sep 30, 2006
  7. jamesleber

    jamesleber New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 30 2006, 03:25 PM) [snapback]326124[/snapback]</div>
    Yes, It does give me the three beeps when it does not engage. Even when I am not near full but more than three bars it still does nopt work. I usually turn the screen to the graph page and when it changes to the battery page, I know it is on. I wish it had a EV light on the dash so I deffinately know it is in EV mode. The reason I use "B" is so that I do not have to use my brakes as much when going down hill. When I am in ev mode, It does not turn off when I switch to B, So I just left it alone. And when I stop, I am still in EV mode because the motor does not start.

    Why would it kick out of EV mode when going down hill and not exceeding 32 mph. Because the battery is too charged? I would think that a fully charged battery would be even better for EV mode. But I am not the engineer who designed it.

    Thanks again for your info.


    James
     
    #7 jamesleber, Sep 30, 2006
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    If you're getting 3 beeps every time then the EV mod is working exactly as designed.

    I believe you can engage B-mode after you're in EV, but not the other way around...but would have to test to be sure...I just don't use B-mode enough to know for sure. There really are very few conditions where B-mode is a good choice and using it in almost all conditions can actually have an adverse affect on your fuel economy. I suggest doing a search on "B-mode" for the many many threads and links to excellent information that will back up what I'm saying.

    Again, I'm not the engineer either and your question about why EV won't engage above a predetermined SOC is one of the mysteries...but we assume it is to prevent heavy use that could damage the system at high SOC.
     
    #8 efusco, Sep 30, 2006
  9. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

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    I don't think it's the SOC being too high that is limiting the use of EV mode. More than likely, the batteries are too hot. After a long period of regen, the batteries will be super hot (49+ celcius), and you have to wait till they cool down.

    It was quite a mystery to me when I first installed the EV button. SOC would be in the blue, and ICE hadn't started yet, but I would get the 3 beeps. After a while, I figured it was the temperature of the battery back, and I confirmed it when I got CAN-view, and actually saw the battery temp.
     
    #9 Presto, Sep 30, 2006
  10. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Sep 30 2006, 02:50 PM) [snapback]326138[/snapback]</div>
    Again, SOC is clearly a limiting factor, even if battery temp is within acceptible limits
    Again, battery temp is clearly a limiting factor even if SOC is within limits
    Again, inverter temp is clearly a limiting factor even if SOC and battery temp are within limits.

    Any and all are taken into account and can determine if one can or can't enter EV mode. I know that I rarely see the battery temp out of range (above 105 degrees F makes it very difficult to use EV, above 110 it isn't possible at all) except in the heat of the summer. But if the battery has been exercised a lot via extensive use of the EV button or something else causing rapid swings in the SOC it can get hot in other conditions.

    This doesn't even take into acount the what stage of operation the hybrid system is in...another thing that can and will prevent EV mode from engaging.
     
    #10 efusco, Sep 30, 2006
  11. driveprius

    driveprius New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 30 2006, 04:01 PM) [snapback]326146[/snapback]</div>
    I had installed the Coastal Modification back in January and it had been working fantastic until about a couple months ago. I have had experience knowing about EV mode not working under certain conditions and have experienced this. But a couple of months ago I found the EV mode becoming more and more intermittant.

    Now this week it no longer works. No beeps at all. The gas engine refuses to stop in response to the lever pull under all conditions. Here are some theories that I have not tested out:

    1) Possibly the pins got shaken loose after 6 months of driving. This is hard to believe. In order to verify this though, I'll need to unplug that plug and test with a multi-meter. Unplugging that plug is a real pain so I really don't want to do this.

    2) Possibly the Coastal EV part is "burning" out from over use. I became a heavy user of EV mode to allow me to achieve brisk acceleration from a stop light without having to see single digit mpg readings on the screen. I usually accelerate on electric up to 20 mph and then kick out of EV mode.

    3) Possibly the US sold Toyota Prius computer has a EV count limiter. Since there is not supposed to be an EV switch on US sold cars, maybe Toyota wrote software that turns off EV mode after too many uses. Yes, I'm probably reaching for straws here, but when my EV mode started to stop working it almost felt like this.

    Anyway, if anything the EV switch seems to have trained me to be more naturally conscious of how to get pure electric rides. So for the most part I seem to be able to achieve the same kinds of driving without the EV switch. So despite the fact that the EV switch was kind of fun to have when it was working, I'm inclined not to worry to much about getting it to work again considering how much of a pain it is to remove and test the plugs.
     
    #11 driveprius, Oct 10, 2006
  12. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(driveprius @ Oct 10 2006, 10:29 AM) [snapback]330605[/snapback]</div>

    I'd say 1 is possible if the pin wasn't seated deep enough to begin with. If i remember right from my install, there was a locking thingy that is supposed to secure the pins from being extracted. 2 is also possible, as electronics do wear out over time... but i would say unlikely. 3, IMO, isn't going to be it.

    Rather than pulling the plug to test, give this a try: take your handy DMM and hook it up to a ground and the wire going to the pin you put in (i'm sure you can find a bare spot to test it at, or maybe even make one you can patch later). Take a drive around and try engaging the mod. have a buddy along in the ride to keep an eye on the voltage reading from the DMM... if it changes like it should, then you know the circuit still works and the problem is in the pin. if it doesn't, then the problem is in the circuit, not the pin. In case 1, you pull the plug and mess with the pin. case 2, you cut the wires and solder in a new circuit without having to mess with the plug.
     
    #12 eagle33199, Oct 10, 2006
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