My official Prius Plus mods thread.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Aug 9 2007, 04:30 PM) [snapback]493222[/snapback]</div>

I did not make it to San Diego this time. Next time I'll get a chance will be in Boston, in September.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mrbigh @ Sep 9 2007, 10:52 AM) [snapback]509538[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, I've moved and I'm taking care of that stuff. I am also working on some modification kits when I can find time. I'll post more about that stuff tomorrow.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mrbigh @ Sep 9 2007, 10:52 AM) [snapback]509538[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, I've moved and I'm taking care of that stuff. I am also working on some modification kits when I can find time. I'll post more about that stuff tomorrow.

 

I want to make converting a hybrid to a PHEV easier for those who want to do this conversion. I'll be the first to say it is not for everyone. However, for those of you who are thinking about converting, I am starting to make kits for parts of the conversions that are difficult, or time consuming, or that just hack up your car.

My OEM fan was modified, so when it comes on, it comes on full blast. This is helpful because it keeps the OEM battery cooler in the hot summers down here in Houston. In my car the fan turns on when the OEM battery is at about 96 degrees. It stays on until the battery cools down below that. Nothing else is changed regarding that fan.

Then problem is that the wires to my OEM fan were cut, and spliced, and soldered, and taped. It takes about 30 minutes to do. During the conversion events that is a lot of time. That is why I've located the parts to build a plug and play modification for this conversion. Unfortunately when you start adding up the parts it is much more expensive, but this fan modification will now be reversible. I’m not trying to become rich selling these parts, because I will still tell you how to do this modification the Cheap! way.

You could even add this to your car if you don't want to convert to a PHEV. It would give you more air flow over the OEM battery if you are trying to cool it in the summer or even heat it in the winter. They are not for sale yet, but I will bring one to Boston next week for the Nilar conversion I'll be helping with, and I'll install one at the Austin Maker Faire in Darren's car in October.

I'll make a few of these and also I have plans to make a few other things that will make these conversions go a lot quicker. The Red, Green, and black (soon to be blue) wires go to a Molex connector that hooks on the low power control board. If you don’t have a low power control board yet, you could just add one resistor at the end to make it work. More on this later…

[attachmentid=11380]

 

I want to make converting a hybrid to a PHEV easier for those who want to do this conversion. I'll be the first to say it is not for everyone. However, for those of you who are thinking about converting, I am starting to make kits for parts of the conversions that are difficult, or time consuming, or that just hack up your car.

My OEM fan was modified, so when it comes on, it comes on full blast. This is helpful because it keeps the OEM battery cooler in the hot summers down here in Houston. In my car the fan turns on when the OEM battery is at about 96 degrees. It stays on until the battery cools down below that. Nothing else is changed regarding that fan.

Then problem is that the wires to my OEM fan were cut, and spliced, and soldered, and taped. It takes about 30 minutes to do. During the conversion events that is a lot of time. That is why I've located the parts to build a plug and play modification for this conversion. Unfortunately when you start adding up the parts it is much more expensive, but this fan modification will now be reversible. I’m not trying to become rich selling these parts, because I will still tell you how to do this modification the Cheap! way.

You could even add this to your car if you don't want to convert to a PHEV. It would give you more air flow over the OEM battery if you are trying to cool it in the summer or even heat it in the winter. They are not for sale yet, but I will bring one to Boston next week for the Nilar conversion I'll be helping with, and I'll install one at the Austin Maker Faire in Darren's car in October.

I'll make a few of these and also I have plans to make a few other things that will make these conversions go a lot quicker. The Red, Green, and black (soon to be blue) wires go to a Molex connector that hooks on the low power control board. If you don’t have a low power control board yet, you could just add one resistor at the end to make it work. More on this later…

[attachmentid=11380]

 

I was able to build mine with three 45 cent diodes, but the connectors that allow you to plug and play so you don't have to cut wires were expensive. If you have a better source for the connectors, please let us all know. Otherwise for you can do this mod for about two bucks if you don't mind cutting the wire. I did mind and now I wish I would have had more time to locate these parts before my conversion.

 

I was able to build mine with three 45 cent diodes, but the connectors that allow you to plug and play so you don't have to cut wires were expensive. If you have a better source for the connectors, please let us all know. Otherwise for you can do this mod for about two bucks if you don't mind cutting the wire. I did mind and now I wish I would have had more time to locate these parts before my conversion.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gripper @ Sep 13 2007, 11:11 PM) [snapback]512325[/snapback]</div>

Sorry about not keeping up with this thread. I've got a lot going on in my personal life.

However here are some of the things I've been doing with my "Prius Time."

Attended a "Mothers for clean air" event in Houston

Attended a Houston Electric Vehicle Association meeting
They were very interested in Plug-ins. I met some really nice folks.

Started purchasing parts for a new conversion demonstration in Austin, in October that I am overseeing

Met with the Austin Electric Vehicle Association and spoke about PHEV's and their benefits
Also asked for volunteers to help with the Austin conversion in October.

Getting things ready for the Embedded Systems conference in Boston
I will be flying out, early next week. The conversion demonstration in Boston will use "Nilar" Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, with a twist.

Other then that, I am about to pull out my entire pack and redo my conversion to make it look better. Much more like Chris' conversion.

I'll try to post more after Boston. This summer, I have been driving my PHEV everyday and I have now moved further away so I have to decide if I want to upgrade my battery pack so I can go even further on EV, and EV assist.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Sep 12 2007, 10:28 PM) [snapback]511713[/snapback]</div>

I'm looking forward to meeting you and getting a chance to talk to you about your experiences with your car.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Sep 13 2007, 10:39 PM) [snapback]512318[/snapback]</div>

This is a Calcars open source event where we will answer questions while we work. I'm not sure where your neck of the woods is but if you are near Boston, it wood be great to talk shop with you.