2006 iTech, let the mods / upgrading commence

The pack took 12.17 kWh to recharge. So allowing for efficiency losses and the fans, it would appear that the pack has around 11kwh useable. Or 47ah not bad for a 40ah rated pack.

So I have now updated the bms to have a capacity of 47ah.

The below pic shows after a full work and back commute.



jason.

 

Went to John's place again today and did a few more jobs.

Altered the power and switch for the front controller.
using a 12v illuminated switch mounted in the left side silver trim.
Looks much nicer this way I think.
Also, it's now getting power from the ready signal, not the acc as it was before.

Also installed a TSHRCA module that I purchased here on Prius chat.
Quick clip showing it in the garage. I'll get better video in a week or 2.

Jason.

 

With winter approaching here in oz, I had to go get a heated seat cushion today.



Just a cheap one that plugs into the acc socket. I plan to add proper heated seat pads later in the year.

The one down side of not running the ice is that I have zero heat in the cabin on the way home from work.

Being a little spoiled here in Sydney, any time it's less than around 18c it's too cold for me. It can get down to low single digits over night here in the middle of winter though.

The proper heated seat install later in the year should take care of that nicely.

I plan to do it with the help of a buddy in another state, so it has to wait till I'm up there again.

I did get a quote for it to be done by a local shop, and they wanted over $1,100au for the job. Crazy. Especially when I know I can get a kit off eBay for less than $100.

I'll post up pics of that when it happens. Won't be till near the end of the year though. So the cushion I just bought has to get me through this one winter.

Jason.

 

Our cars don't seem to have the PTC heaters installed from factory.
I've tried every possible combination of fan speed and vent position, and no heat.
And I don't see any extra load on the electrical system (via the scangauge) either.

No heated seats here either. My car is the top level model for its year, no heated seats for oz.


My last car (05 golf diesel) had the PTC heater. It was great.
Within seconds of starting the car, I had warm air in winter.
The way that one worked was up until the coolant got to 70°c the PTC element worked.
After 70°c it switched over to the coolant heater.

Jason.

 

A little update.

Been seeing a few DTCs that seem to be related to too much load in ev mode.

Had 2 codes. Can't remember them exactly, but one was motor A performance and the other was inverter performance.

I switched to driving the car in blended hybrid mode with the plug in system running and the ice. So far I've not seen a reoccurrence.

I'll keep the thread updated.

Here's a pic of a typical weeks commute in blended mode.

I'll report back after I have done a full tank.
I think I can get better fuel numbers with ease. It's been super easy to get the 2.2

I actually prefer the way the car drives this way too. It felt a little under powered for the work commute in forced ev mode.

I'll still use ev mode though. For any local running to and from the shops etc. just not for the work commute.

Updates as and when they happen.

Jason.

 

So, I've now done the first fill up since the new plug in system went live.

2010km on 35L and 241kwh.
Got 1.78L per 100km. 132 MPG us or 158 MPG imperial.

Also of note is that the system wasn't running for the first 400km or so of the tank.

I'll report back more accurate numbers once I have done a 100% tank with the system running.

Jason.

 

Had a friend with a vinyl cutter make me some decals this weekend.



I'm not 100% sold on the dino yet.
May or may not be leaving it on.

Jason.

 

Done 1200km so far this tank. Used around 1/3 so far. Averaging 1.2L per 100km.
Also averaging 17kwh per 100km. Most of my daily driving is now done without fuel use.

I did several highway trips running in blended mode, and this is accounting for the little fuel used.

Will report again once the next fill up happens.

Jason.

 

So, the next round of mods happend this last holiday period.

Heated seat install done.

Wasn’t that difficult of a job actually. Took us maybe 4 hours total to do both front seats.
Including the wiring. Haven’t tested them beyond a quick check to make sure that they were heating.
Temps here in oz right now are super hot. These will get a workout in winter no doubt.

The kit was a $99 one from eBay.
They have been wired up so that the heat can only work when the ignition is on, not accessories.
That way we limit the potential for flattening the battery.



Big thanks to my buddy Roy for doing most of the heavy work on this install.
I’m super happy with the results.

Jason.

 

One other update.

I have been running mostly in the blended mode. I have discovered that it’s much nicer and actually cheaper to drive in this mode than In ev mode. If I had access to off peak power or solar power, that would change the equation somewhat however.

In blended mode, I can get better than 2.0L/100km in the city, and about 2.5L per 100km for the first 150km of a highway trip before the car returns to regular hybrid mode. This is actually good.

A recent 2500km round trip for holidays, I averaged 3.9L per 100km fuel use.
Including the local city driving I did while I was there. 1100km each way all highway at 100-110kph.

In the 9 months or so since the system went live, it looks like I have lost around 1ah of battery capacity.
So not too disappointed with that.

Still happy with the car. Plan to keep it for many years to come.

Jason.

 

I wish I had that problem.

But even with running in blended mode, it looks like I’ll only need to fill the fuel tank about 6-7 times a year. So I’m happy with that.

As for active cooling of the battery, I hadn’t really given that much thought. Something to consider.

Jason.

 

I won’t be going down that path for this car.

I’m now starting to save hard for my next car which will be a full ev of some kind.

Maybe in 3-4 years time.

 

I am thinking model 3 or the new Honda urban ev when it is released.

The leaf still doesn’t have any thermal management for the battery pack.
With the summer time temps we see here in Sydney, that’s a must have for me.

Jason.

 

Yeah. Happened a few weeks ago.
Have had no responses from repeated emails sent to Robb also..
so I can assume that there will be zero support going forward.