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REVIEW: Hymotion Battery Plug-In Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by TheForce, Aug 12, 2008.

  1. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    cant even begin to tell you how much i appreciate the effort put into this thread to give us the info, but to be honest with ya, the post is becoming a bit unwieldy.

    can you finalize your first post, make it a sticky, then start another for other observations? i realize there is no elegant way to do this, but i am getting to the point where now, i miss a few days, i have to reread several posts just to determine whats going on

    or maybe add a synopsis in a FAQ format to first post? just something to think about...thanks for the contribution
     
  2. chogan2

    chogan2 Senior Member

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    No, sorry, I just have a ScanGuage. But I have a Kill-a-Watt in the circuit, so I can tell pretty nearly the fraction of charged based on the reported KWH. The full charge takes just over 5 KWH. The partial charges, as measured by the Kill-a-Watt, correspond well to the blue/green bars on the MFD. And when I unplug and replug 2 (or sometimes 3) times, I get up to the full 5 KWH and all green bars. So I'm sure it's a partial charge, but I can't say whether the L5 is misreading or misreporting its own SOC as it charges.
     
  3. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    chogan2,

    I am confused by your last post -- apologies if this is just due to my ignorance.

    I thought the Prius "reads" 100% SOC until the Hymotion battery reaches a certain discharge level ?
     
  4. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well I started out to work today a received my lowest mileage yet. About 65MPG. :mad: The reason for this low mileage was because my pack did not turn on. The LED just flashed at me indicating an error.

    After sending Erin an email she forwarded it to Jim the tech. He said I need to count the flashes. Apparently the flashes are like computer beep codes so if anyone has a problem with their Hymotion battery be sure to count the flashes. There should quick flashes with a long flash in between.

    Of course when I went outside to count the flashes the battery worked just fine and had a full charge. So as of right now I'm fine and I have no idea on what the problem may have been.

    I'm going to try to EV it all the way home to try to make up for the wasted gas this morning.

    I have no idea on the regen efficiency.


    I plan on making the images smaller and try to clean it up a little when I finish my tank.



    I have not had another partial charge yet but it also has not been hot out. I think if the partial charging is a heat related issue then what it should do is stop charging until its coled down. Once its cooled down it should start charging again but it does not. At least it did not during the time I had mine plugged in. It should not take anymore than a few hours to cool down to start charging again.
     
  5. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    Congratulations Jay!!! I told you Plug-ins work. I’m glad you waited for lithium with a good BMS. That is the only way to go!
     
  6. stevenergy

    stevenergy New Member

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    Mr. The Force,

    I am scheduled for installation in Dec. 2008, and had a quick question: Is it OK to put luggage on top of the Hymotion battery? Have you travelled with a lot of luggage? Will 50-100 pounds of stuff hurt the battery? Any impact on air supply to the battery?
     
  7. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Luggage should not be a problem because the original deck goes back in place.
     
  8. NC_Prius

    NC_Prius Member

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    I bought 200 lbs worth of topsoil over the weekend and my car sagged like crazy. I was concerned about driving it. I hope the Li-on battery doesn't do the same.

    Now I have another newbie/stupid question ... I'll just go ahead and post the red face :redface: ...

    Since the li-on battery pack is used for the plug-in conversion, why can't one be used as a replacement for the current hybrid battery for longer EV mode? Is it mainly that the expense isn't worth the amount of increase that would be provided or just that the car isn't optimized to utilize the li-on?

    My apologies ahead of time for another ignorant question. Hopefully I'll learn enough one of these days to ask something intelligent. :)


    EDIT: Never mind I found the answer on another thread!
     
  9. chogan2

    chogan2 Senior Member

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    Yeah, the Prius reads 100% SOC most of the time for the original Prius battery, but Hymotion sets the MFD up so that it alternatively displays the Hymotion SOC and the stock Prius battery SOC. Just flips back and forth between them. It's an annoyance, really, but you see the SOC of both batteries.
     
  10. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Force,

    Ok, I am going to ask the question everyone keeping up with this thread wants to know.

    How much gas do you have left? LOL

    I don't know about everyone else but I am wanting to see the actual MPG as a calculation of miles driven divided by gas purchased. We all knew it was going to take you awhile but you're killing me with this waiting, patience is not my strong suit :D

    Congrats on the great MPG. Keep us updated.

    Chris
     
  11. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    You will have to wait to at least October 12th. :p
     
  12. boxer93

    boxer93 Psyched for PHEV

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    About the same for me. I hit 500 Mi. on the trip ODO1 today and I went to 5th PIP (1/2 tank) yesterday. I should be filling up around October 14th, unless a longer trip comes up in the meantime.
    Chris
     
  13. renewablesnow

    renewablesnow Junior Member

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    I got my L5 installed in Boston yesterday (9/23) in my 2005 Prius.

    The Boston area Toyota dealer installer encouraged me to test the unit prior to driving home. They tested for 5 miles with 99.9 avg mpg on screen. (They are installing 2-4 units per week and have experienced one unit that failed a few miles into the test and was warranty-replaced by Hymotion). I test drove on <40mph roads for another 7 miles then headed home on the Mass Pike at 61MPH (65MPH speed limit). The pack lasted 30 miles total with average over 140 mile trip of 66MPG. The terrain is pretty brutal going through the Berkshire Mountains.

    I bought and have received the EV MODE switch wiring from coasteltech. But I am not sure I should install it. The Prius that has the L5 is my wife's who commutes 10 miles round trip with highest speed limit of 40MPH. I am reading on other posts that the L5 unit modifies the Prius to enable EV mode. is this true?

    The Force, are you able to keep the ICE from running when you enable the aftermarket EV switch? You do mention in your original post that you were able to travel 25 miles in complete EV mode and this mode is dependent on the SOC of the stock battery.

    I am a little skiddish about installing the EV MODE switch thinking it may negatively impact the L5. What are your thoughts?
     
  14. Huibin

    Huibin Junior Member

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    No authorized dealer in China!
     
  15. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    OK so here is my 1000 mile update.

    I have 1000 miles on this tank so far and everything is going OK. The CAN-view is showing %40 left in the gas tank and 182MPG. The Scan Gauge is showing 159MPG for the tank.

    The only issues I have are with the AUX battery. I accidentally drained it one day with the car in AAC mode and now I think its damaged. Normally I can run my car PC for 10-15 minutes in AAC with no problems but now just running it 5 minutes drops the voltage well below 11v. I found the car wont start if the voltage is below 10v but will start if its at 10.5v or so. So now I have a Optima yellow top battery on order for a replacement. I was planning on getting one next summer but since I damaged my stock battery I figure I better replace it before it gets too cold out. I'll have a small SLA in the trunk to use as a jump battery in case I need to use it while I'm waiting on the Optima to get here.

    I don't think I will reach my 1400 mile goal because I took last week off and I'm taking next week off to. I don't plan to do much driving during my time off. So I guess my next update with be on October 12th sometime or even the 13th. It just depends on when I get back from Cincinnati.


    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]
     
  16. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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    Can you explain why there is a discrepancy between the two gauges? Which one do you put more faith in?

    Thanks

    R
     
  17. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    so over those 1000 miles your avg speed is 25mph thats not a lot...
     
  18. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    The ScanGauge reports .01 GPH even when in EV mode. So it thinks I'm still using gas when I am not. I trust that the CAN-view is more accurate but we wont really see until October 12th when I fill up.

    That average includes all the time I have spent with the car in ready mode and not moving. Not moving because of red lights, stop signs, traffic, and just sitting working on my computer for a few minutes a day. My true average speed for my commute is about 32-35mph.
     
  19. boxer93

    boxer93 Psyched for PHEV

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    Jay,
    Nice update. I see the difference between the SCII and CAN view is more than I thought it would be. I figure I have about 30-35% of fuel left at 670Mi. I was hoping for 1000Mi for the tank, but it will be close. I think my AVG speed is also higher than yours, but Stop lights definitly make the AVG. lower. Good luck with the battery.
    Chris
     
  20. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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    I'm sorry if you already outlined the details of your typical commute/driving patterns, but if you haven't already, could you describe the distance, speed, elevation, time. I'd love to compare my commute with yours. (Gmap pedometer might be useful).