Has anyone installed the enginer PHEV?

Hi everybody! First post but I've been a reading 'member' of PC since I found it in December. I am having the overheating charger issue as well. Here's been my experience with the kit so far.

I ordered the 4kwh kit the first week in July. I received it, minus 2kwh of batteries, 2 balancers, 1 fire extinguisher and various nuts and bolts about a month later, the first week of August. I notified Jack and he let me know the additional batteries were shipping out right behind this delivery and he provided me tracking information. I decided to go ahead and install the 2kwh (I was pretty impatient). The pack was balanced after 2 nights of charging/plugging and unplugging and my first trip I did see an immediate improvement in performance. That is until my first DC/DC converter died with two loud pops and lots of odor.

I notified Jack who shipped me a new charger so it would arrive on the same day as my missing parts from the original kit order. I received and installed the new batteries (which were miswired on delivery so be careful of that), the new converter and the new balancers. Note, the new balancers did not include mounting plates or hardware so there was some fabrication required for me. Another 2 days of charging/balancing got all of the batteries nicely balanced. This time I started out right with my Kill-o-watt all hooked up so I could track as many details as possible.

Again, immediate improvement (I'll post more complete information later on today about my results so far) but now like kiettyyyy my converter shuts off after about 10 minutes of use due to overheating. I've found it doesn't seem to matter if I have the windows open or shut or the AC on or off. Also it hasn't mattered if the external weather was 91 degrees (like yesterday) or 72 degrees (like the other morning).

I let Jack know of the issue and he told me to try removing the storage pouch to the left of the kit to help air exit the vehicle. He had also suggested adding a piece of 2 inch tubing between the fan and the case of the converter to force the air out of the kit. I did both and that seemed to buy me another 5 minutes or so. Jack was nice enough to let me know that the converter is keyed to shut down for a high temp of 150. I think it seems to reach that limit far too quickly. Oh and I've also already moved the charger out of the box to allow for additional air flow.

My plan for this afternoon after work is to hook up 2 additional fans and a piece of duct work to forcibly remove the air from the box and help push it right out the side vent. I'll post later today the results of that. Otherwise I can only think of one other option for the heat issue short of replacing another converter, moving the converter out of the box as well.

Anyway, the kit is definitely DIY which was exactly what I was looking for and Jack has been great with providing additional information quickly as well as replacement parts. My only gripes so far are the overheating issue and not having better pack status displayed up on the dashboard. When mine overheats anyway there are no beeps or alarms I just notice I'm dropping out of green bars on the MFD and the green LED on the switch for the pack is no longer glowing green.

Thanks for all the information you guys have provided so far, it's really helped me keep it together while dealing with some of the issues that have come up. I hope this information helps too..

-greg

 

I'm having the exact same issue. It'd only last between 10 to 15 minutes, then it'd die out. I added fans, removed the storage pocket and added a 2" tube. This seemed to give me about 10 minutes of additional run time. This solution seems to be a bandaid, not an actual fix.

Could our converters be bad?

Also, here's some more data:

Today was pretty chilly around San Diego.. somewhere in the low 70's, during the time I was driving it, it was 64 degrees.

A couple days ago, I noticed the same run times when I was in Los Angeles at around 85 degrees.

Ambient temperature doesn't look like it's affecting the converter.

 

I suppose given the number of issues with parts I've had so far anyways it's possible there could be something wrong with both of our converters. My thinking is that the 2 fans being used in the converter are not moving enough air to keep the unit cool so it's my fear that it's more of an inherint design flaw then a bad couple of converters. I'm going to email Jack later this morning with my results so far.

Where did you add the additional fans so far and what size were they rated at? Also, will yours let you turn it back on after it cools down a bit? Mine seems to need like 10 to 15 minutes of 'cool down' time for every 10 to 15 minutes of run time this too seems independent of outside temperature or inside AC level.

I'm planning on trying later this afternoon one fan inside the box, a few inches behind the converter where the charger used to be to move air accross the converter towards the vent holes on the other side. Then some duct work from those vent holes, leading directly to the side vent in the back of the car. I've got an additional fan that I'm putting inline in the duct work to pull air from the box and push it out of the car. I'm going to wire the two new fans so they come on when the stock fans in the converter come on. This should hopefully help to exhaust the hot air right out of the car.

I spent the weekend looking around at other PHEV kits and the more polished ones seem to have some venting systems tied in this way so I'm thinking there must be a reason.

 

can you adjust the converter output? if yes try lowering the output voltage

 

What are you using as a power source for your fans?

What type of fan are you using and how are you installing them?

Fans seem like a very good idea. Ours has never shut down from heat. We do run the AC all the time.

 

Update:

Jack got back to me and it looks like I might have a bad converter, I'm waiting to hear the verdict after doing some additional testing and then for a replacement I suppose

I purchased the stuff for the fans and duct work and have hooked them up but haven't tried it out yet beyond making sure they all fire up. I'll take it out for a drive later on to test the results. Regarding fans/venting I grabed 2 12VDC 85CFM (I think that was the CFM) brushless PC case fans that I had laying around. I planned on tieing them into the 12VDC lines on the existing fans so they all fire at the same time but will wait to hear from Jack in case I have a bad converter (no need to make things worse I suppose). For now they are running on an independant battery power supply I threw together with a switch. One is blowing at the converter inside the case, the other is installed inside a piece of flexible dryer venting which is attached (loosly right now) to the vent holes in the box on one end and the car's exterior vent port on the other end. It doesn't look very pretty but I'm still going to see if it helps since I really feel like the kit needs some additonal ventilation assistance. I'll test it out later tonight when I need to run some errands and will post results. If it helps I'll neaten it up a bit and take some pic's too.

Cabledave, how long are your typical drives using the pack and do you have the 2KWH or 4KWH kit (if you don't mind me asking ) installed?

 

We have the 4kwh kit. I have driven it up to around 40 miles without any issues.

I am going to pick up a remote thermometer (Fry's has a Timex for around $10) and place the sensor near or on the invertor that way we can see if it is a case of needing more ventilation.

I'll let you know what kind of temps I get after I drive it around a bit this afternoon.

 

you have been __( very) helpful . i'm dave77 .

i would like to set mine up just like yours. you live in clayton nc.

i live in knox. tn. when you get yours done, please let me know.




[email protected]

 

There seems to be a lot of reports of defective off the shelf components. I'm surprised. Bad design ? Use way over spec ?

 

David,
I haven't actually set mine up yet. Waiting for batteries. Then it will take some time to do it right. Keep tuned in and remind me later once Ive worked the kinks out.

 

Could be a number or reasons, from improper installation, to improper operation and charging. There was no documentation that came with mine, I'm glad Jack and his crew did the install or I might be reporting similar issues. Mine seems to be "breaking in" now and beginning to stay in EV mode longer. It's starting to feel like an electric car at times. The ICE still turns on whenever I climb a hill or give any decent acceleration. But it use to turn on at the drop of a hat, so I'm happy so far.

It's hard for me to report mileage since I don't have a daily commute currently while I'm in summer break. Also, I'm new to having the Prius, only bought it to have this kit installed and drove it a week as normal. So I can't accurately rate it versus "normal" but it does seem to be staying in EV mode longer as previously mentioned, thanks to Plugmein's advice.

 

I picked up a remote thermometer at Lowes. The temp got as high as 137 after driving about 15 miles.

I do think it needs more air circulation as that is cutting it pretty close to the shut down temp.

 

Question for y'all: when you go from the 2KW kit to the 4KW, how
are the additional batteries wired in? Do you wind up with
two big series packs that then go in parallel? Does it all
go in series to double the pack voltage? Just curious, and thinking
about what people might need to do when expanding even more.
.
Sounds like a distinct move away from Thundersky is afoot. No
surprise, really..
.
_H*

 

Sorry to hear about the overheating issues. I don't have this setup, but, there are some possibilities besides poor design. If you are putting out more current then it is designed for, it could overheat. Maybe Jack set them up to aggressively. Are there any adjustments to reduce current output? Did you check that the output current is correct?

 

WhooHoo!

I am up and running. I'm liking it so far. I got 90mpgs with mix driving in the city for 7-10 miles. Not going to let it run too low since I want a proper breakin. Also, if you get a 3.99H reading on any of your battery cells, it means your balancer is kaput (broken). See you tomorrow.

 

137° is high. If you got information for each component check to see what the operating temp range is. If the air is a 137° the components are running 15° to 20° higher then then ambient temp or higher. A smaller box fan may help to cool hot spots within the component enclosure. Most consumer and industrial electronics are rated to run below 141°F in many case 132°F. Larger heat sinks may help if you can figure out how to mount them.

 

You add 2kwh series packs in parallel with each other. The only limit to expansion is space. Supposedly, the same goes for the converters. You can parallel as many as you want. I'm starting with four 2kwh series packs in parallell with two converters in parallel.

Why do you say that? It is my understanding that the change to Mottcell was because they are shorter and will arrange more compactly in the smaller carrier. This was done so that the cargo cover would fit after installation. The Mottcell are 39Ah vs 40 for the TS. The volume and weight of each battery is about the same. Have you heard another reason that they are moving away from TS?

 

Thanks for pointing that out Florian. I checked the Chargery manual and one bullet under the main specification is "Current drain for balancing = 300mA/cell". From that I assume that seven cells will be drained to the level of the lowest (eighth) cell. This is disappointing because it lowers the overall efficiency of the system.

I may look at rearranging cells to match sets of sixteen based on cell levels after charging with the balancer off. This should shorten balancing times and lessen the impact of balancing on the system efficiency. It won't do anything to balance the four sets of sixteen with one another but hopefully they won't be too far off.

 

Jack,
When do you expect the 16 cell balancer will become available?

 

Hey,

I got 62mpgs from my round trip to work today. 32 miles total, 20 on the freeway at 70mph cruising, and the rest stop and go with top speed of 40mph. Not to bad. I usually can only get 45-46mpg. Also, I was able to run the AC for 45mins at 78F with the lowest setting. This is separate from my commute. I am liking it so far. Just need to replace those damn balancers. Peace.