PHEV mod under way, Bristol, UK.

Hi Flying,

Yes, I've been monitoring temperatures. Eventually I'm going to use multi-thermistors. At the moment it's just a digital thermometer with a single point of measurement. I haven't seen anything above 20 degrees C.

The failure of my last battery was due to a short - which caused the modules to get overcharged and then get hot. By the time they'd got over-charged I would assume it would have been too late.

Each additional battery seems to be performing well and is not giving any major discrepancies in module voltages. I think I'm ready to go to the next stage now: Proper mounting!

 

Yes - the short was a bad cell - but if that wasn't charging but the others were (either the cell reversed or completely shorted out) it would have raised the voltage to everything else...

The short happened when charging. The temps are during/immediately after driving - before charging.

The DTCs I got initially was due to my connecting the additional packs the wrong side of the hall-effect current sensor. As soon as I fixed that, most DTC went away. The low-voltage ones occurred up until the pack blew. Since replacing it I've had none...

So my conclusion on the pack was that it must have had a poor cell which was causing all those problems...

Nikki.

 

Yes, I learnt the hard way. At least I know have two working packs eh? (Which I tested!)

The low voltage DTCs were occurring when the pack total voltage hovered around 198V, and then suddenly it would drop to 195V and cause the error.

But as I said, now I don't see that. I can take the pack down to 195V gradually with no errors!

 

Curses!

I was just about to post that!



Glad you found it, Flying. I've been so busy this week with end of term stuff that I've been extra quiet. Kate, my partner, has also just been left in the job-lurch after the company she worked for pulled a fast-one and didn't pay her a month's salary... So we've been busy with other things other than Prius hacking

But yes! 805 miles on a single tank! BIG eh?

Bear in mind that for at least two or three trips a week Velma is taken well beyond the range that her PHEV pack can give economy boosting power. I'm hoping that the next tank will end up at well over 900 miles...

You're right on cost too. I think electricity for me it works out at 17.33 pence per kWH - about £15 per tank of petrol for 25 full recharges at daytime rates. It costs about £40 to fill up with gas.

If I recharge at night that cost is reduced to £11 worth of electric over the life of the tank.

So for me it IS cheaper to have a PHEV, but only really after the first two years have elapsed and I've paid off the conversion costs. At this rate I may even start hitting the savings sooner than I thought.

I still have to finish the battery box. I will do this when I return from our long-planned vacation. I also have to help my friend with his latest project, which we're looking after for him.

I will try and update at my blog too - so if I go quiet here then you can catch up at my blog.


There's a barbecue today for all the local electric vehicle and hybrid owners, so I'll take Velma along and show her off!

Oh, and there's a 2007 Prius battery on the UK Ebay. If only I had some spare cash - I'd get it!

 

Hi Mark!

Well, you're really welcome to drop by when I'm back in the UK and have a drive!

EV mode is hard to stay in as it would be in a regular prius. But once the engine is warm and I've got the battery power I can use high speed stealth mode. This is really easy to stay in provided I don't floor it!

You're right of course about night-time rates on economy 7. I'm not on the cheapest electricity as we choose to have electricity supplied by renewables.

Still, it's a good savings over the petrol price!

Nikki.

 

Hi Flying.

Yes, I'm leaving for home tomorrow. I'm visiting my partner's family in Washington DC

 

I'm using the CANView/BMS+ combination for the reading of the cell module voltages. This second module seems to be the first to reach full voltage and the first to drain.

I'll have to take the pack apart to get a good reading.

 

Both.

I tend to turn the car on at the end of the charge cycle - I know how long it takes to fully charge it so only turn the charger on about 2.5 hours before I leave... I wait for the final bit of charge to get in before driving off.