Coastal Tech now has EV switch!

YAY... now i get to wait a week to make sure i can get the funding for it.. hehe.. balancing my budget for this month.

 

YES! I've already spoken to the folks at the Az Dept of Transportation and this will qualify me for alternative fuel plates and access to the HOV lanes. Now I can get back at all those bi-fuel Expeditions that have teensy 2 gallon propane tanks just to get their plates!

 

I ordered one at the end of May. Their confirmation email said it would ship in 3 to 10 days, but then they were back-ordered. They finally shipped it two days ago, and I'm hoping it will arrive today. They told me "You need a pair of pliers and a screwdriver and takes about 20 minutes to install."

I have an appointment at my dealer on Monday the 12th for my first oil change and the SSC 40D. (I talked the the service people, and mine is not the first they've done, and they've had no problems up to now, and they know about keeping the battery charged during the procedure, so I anticipate no problems.)

So I'll wait until after that to install the EV switch.

When I get it and see the installation instructions, I'll post a report in the Performance Modifications forum, and I'll update that once I have it installed, hopefully early next week.

 

I'm waiting for a few installs to be reported on before I get one. I wanted to go to Florida for bigger stuff, but my vacation came and went with no bigger stuff made available.

The hold-the-switch-for-2-seconds part sold me, since I don't want to have the cruise control being disengaged turning on EV mode. Nice touch...

 

I like to cruise through the parking lot at work on battery, but I've had a run of bad luck doing that lately. Drive to work fully recharges battery, yet when I engage the cruise at 25MPH per lot speed limit, at least 50% of the time it goes to gas. Frequently, when I come to a stop at the light at the employee's entrance I can get it to go electric, but not always. When the light is green and I didn't have to stop before turning into the lot, most times I can't get electric to kick in at all.

It'd be good to have more leverage in convincing the car to do what I want, even if it isn't perfect...

 

I received the Costal EV switch today. I had ordered it quite some time ago, but they were back-ordered. Perhaps to make up for that, they did not charge me for S&H.

The installation looks pretty straightforward: You have to remove the passenger-side A/C vent and open the glove boxes. Then there will be a rat's nest of wires and plugs. You have to pull out the indicated plug. You then have to locate the correct wires and install the included wire taps.

Then you must insert the infamous pin into the indicated slot. They are clear about which way it must go in, and they talk about a "bar" on the side of the plug that must be lifted to allow the insertion of the pin.

Do-it-yourself posters have written about problems with the pin, and since the pin is already attached to the wire, it looks as though you have only one chance.

Then you replace the plug, replace the A/C vent, and you are done. Some of the photos are not as clear as I would like, but it looks pretty straightforward.

Now I have to get up the nerve to actually do it! I'll report again when and if that happens.

 

One question I have: the instructions say that the computer will take the car out of EV mode if "The driver accelerates quickly." I wonder how gentle one must be on the pedal to avoid this? Without the EV kit, if I want to stay in EV mode from a stop, I have to accelerate much more slowly than traffic conditions will normally tolerate. How much more leeway will I have with the switch?

It will also go out of EV mode if you exceed 34 mph or the battery needs recharging. That's not a problem for me, as speed limits in town are 25 mph on most streets, and at 30 mph nobody is going to think I'm holding up traffic, providing I can accelerate at a reasonable pace.

And a postscript: they included a box of jellybeans with the kit. I don't know if that's standard, or a token of appreciation for my patience. But after 5 days in UPS trucks in hot weather, I'm not sure I'd want to eat them.

 

"How I did it" will be to follow the included instructions. However, I will definitely post how hard it seemed and how it turned out, along with any problems I encountered.

 

Thanks, Evan. It probably won't happen today because I'm going to be pretty busy. Maybe tomorrow, though.

I am a bit nervous messing with my $24,000 car. And the instructions do recommend: "... have this installation completed by a certified mechanic or someone familiar with automotive electronics...." but other than the Toyota dealership, I'd trust a regular mechanic even less than myself. Ha ha.

Your pictures are definitely clearer. I'm printing out the ones that are relevant to this install. I would NOT have the courage to try the DIY version.

 

I installed the switch. My (long) report is here

 

Any problems after insallation of Coastal kit?

Has anyone who has done the Coastal modification had any problems that occurred after installation? If yes, what sort of problem?

 

I have had no problems. I'd have prefered a one-second delay rather than the 2-second (which seems to me like 3 seconds) delay. And since the CC stalk rotates with the steering wheel, it is nearly impossible to engage it while turning. But I've experienced no problems.