Was installing new front door speakers, dynamat and dynaliner material in my vehicle today. Checked the Scangauge values afterwards and found the SOC at 32.2. I then listend to music in my newly "sealed" vehicle and turned my dome light on for the next 30 minutes. My SOC value decreased to 29.5! One other time I had a SOC reading of below 30 and both times this occurred after I was "working" on the vehicle withe doors left open for extended time frames. Dropping your SOC below normal may not be healthy for the long-term health of the hybrid battery.

I currently have my engine block heater plugged in and I will post photos of this later. Hopefully, we will notice changes on the X-gauges.



I posted a photo(s) of this on the file attachment.

 

The file attachment has a photo of my scangauge 90 minutes after plugging in my engine block heater. There is no change in the hybrid battery SOC. There is significant increase in radiator water temperature and slight increase in the hybrid battery temperature.

 

1. I was under the impression that all power for lights and accessories was drawn from the 12v battery....and that the HV battery was 'cutoff' when the key is off.

2. Just leaving a battery sitting it will slowly lose its charge. I wonder if that is not the cause of the drop.

 

The file attachment reveals the changes in hybrid battery values after approximately 10 hours of "plug-in" engine block usage. In summary, the radiator water temperature increased from 98 to 101 degrees while the hybrid battery temperature also rose slightly.

This information may indicate use of a timer device with the engine block heater is electrical energy efficient. The engine block heater does not affect the hybrid batteries SOC---thus disproving the question if the "engine block heater is a poor man's PHEV" at low (below 30) SOC.

Would a heated blanket wrapped around the top and sides of the hybrid steel-enclosed battery increase the battery temperature more than the engine block heater?

Want to bet some of our well known posters will chip on this during the week?

 

I have had a HV battery start out at about 45'F and 3 hours later, it was at 90'F and kicked the A/C on on a cold morning!

However, this only happened the first ( or second, I forget ) time I used my new EBH + HVBH.

Ever since, I have had my EBH plug on a timer to run it 2.5 to 3.0 hours before work, and ever since, my battery temp has been in the mid-60's to 70 degrees *( in other words, perfect ) every time, for 5 times in a row.

So maybe, just maybe, there was some sort of "learning" the computer had to do the first time, to calibrate or something?


All I know is, for 5 times in a row, I have had 100'F to 104'F water, and a 66'F to 70'F battery with 2.5 to 3.0 hours of plug time. My garage is about 45'F when outside air has been about 35'F.

At SOC 35.0 the HV battery is supposed to cut off and only the 12v system power the radio and lights. However, you know how when you open the door, any door, or hood, it "wakes-up" the system and you hear the brakes pressureize, etc.? I would guess that if you had the key on, and your HV battery is below 35.0 SOC and you keep frequently opening the hood, hatchback, or doors, it keeps waking up the system for ~10 min intervals before shutting down again... dropping your battery to a very low level. The way you can tell is look at your low voltage. If you get 11.5v to 12.5v then the HV battery is "off". If you get over 13v then the HV battery is "on". Easy way to tell. In mine though, the one time I tried to run my HV battery down, it didn't work! Mine went to 34.8 and stayed there no matter how many times I turned the key... but I did it all within 10 min. Maybe after a 10 min rest, it cycles back on again? When I started it ran down to about 32% SOC before starting to recharge via generator.

I do agree, I've seen zero charge increase on the HV battery with the EBH plug... and I've been looking closely for ~2 weeks. My battery always warms up though!

Also, I can hear a "click" or maybe a battery vent door move when I turn on the plug. Go to a really quiet place and see if you hear any sounds when you first turn on or plug in the plug. I only noticed that recenty, about 2 weeks after I started using it. -John

 

I had a 28.9 SOC reading at 5:35 am when I got in my vehicle for the short trip to the YMCA for a workout. I did not run my vehicle yesterday at all. I did putter around yesterday trying to install the Gentek mirror which is another story. I did have the engine block heater plugged in overnight on a timer (3:00 am to 6:00 am range) and my hybrid battery temperature was in the mid 60s and the water temperature was 103 degrees if I remember correctly. The outside temperature was 35 degrees at 5:35 am and I was in electric mode function within .75 miles of the 1 1/4 mile trip.

I'm convinced the engine block heater can help your vehicle get into electric mode function sooner during the cooler/colder months of the year.

Within the next week, I'm going to (experiment) try to utilize the engine block heater without plugging into an electrical outlet! Therefore, you can utilize your engine block heater at the ski resort or at work without "plugging-in".

 

Billy, are you going to rob Peter to pay Paul?
Are you going to use your 12v battery to warm the engine and HV battery? While this may help the engine start easier, I don't think it will be economical! ( or good for the battery in the long run )

I have very accurately measured that my eBH takes 435 watts when cold, and 410 watts when at ~100 degrees. The HVB heater takes 75 watts, but is not always on. Thus, running both, I have seen 510 watts. So that is what you should plan for. If you have some other idea, I'm all ears!

Recent trip data:

11/16 35'F, EBH 2.7 hrs, 9.8 miles, 0.23 gal, 42.6 MPG
11/17 33'F, EBH 2.7 hrs, 9.8 miles, 0.22 gal, 44.5 MPG
11/19 34'F, no EBH, 9.8 miles, 0.30 gal, 32.7 MPG

* The route and weather was consistant all 3 days.
On first 2 days I had EV within 0.7 miles, and used P&G the rest of the trip. All EV the last half mile.

On the third day, I started cold. I did not go EV until a stopsign at the half-way mark, so I just drove conservatively the whole way and used no P&G. All EV the last half mile.

So on a 10 mile commute, $0.10 of electricity saved me 0.08 gallons.
0.08 gallons x $3.16 = $0.2528 or a net savings of 15 cents.
Is $0.75 a week worth it? That's for each to decide. But 42 MPG sure sounds better than 32 MPG! -John

 

I have off from work on Friday and the temperature will again be in the low 30's for a high. The next few days the weather is warming into the 50's. I want to try this "experiment" on Friday when it is colder--somewhat like the ski resort temperature.

I'm not robbing Peter to pay Paul. You will see the photo(s) in a few days.

 

I have a TCH, and my experiments show that the engine block heater (also 400 W like the FEH's) raises the block temperature ~30 degrees C (~54 degrees F) above the ambient temperature, given enough time. In 3 hours, it gets fairly close to this ultimate rise. Bear in mind that the heater is inputting heat at an approximately constant rate. The engine block temperature will thus rise until its rate of heat loss to the environment equals the rate of heat input from the block heater. It will approach this equilibrium temperature exponentially, so that although it never actually gets there, it will get as close as you like if you wait long enough. Three hours is long enough in the TCH, and probably also in the FEH, as gpsman1 has found. After reaching equilibrium, the engine block's temperature will stay constant, and not rise any further.

Stan

 

John (gpsman1) I don't have much of a mechanical and electrical background. Those numbers you are throwing out seem large and it is likely what I am going to try will fail because of that. However, when I post the photos you will (should) suddenly realize there is another way to improve on the current (and maybe future? ) Escape Hybrid capabilities that can benefit many of us.