Ford Escape Hybrid...... Surely someone must know how to indicate to the Vehicle System Controller (VSC) that the engine is at the proper temperature to run all electric even when its cold..... When I asked Ford why I have to heat the engine to around 172 degrees before it will run all electric, I was told," to reduce emissions.. " SO I said, "to make sure I understand,,, you run the engine to reduce the emissions that you wouldn't have if the engine wasn't running?" It doesn't seem to matter if i'm stopped or if the batteries are fully charged. This cannot be an EPA issue , since we are not bypassing or eliminating any required control. We simple aren't running the engine if we have enough "juice'. On this tankful the guages told me I was at 30.7 MPG, now here in Chgo, we have a spell of cold weather and it dropped to 28.4 mpg. The car gives good fuel mileage but it could give even better if this requirement was bypassed. I'm not suggesting that engineeering requirements for choke control, richness, idle speed etc be impacted,only the logic in the VSC "to think" the engine is warm. Then it would shut off the engine at all stops whenever the batteries had enougn charge to continue on. and not turn on the engine when the temperature drops to below 140 when you're at a complete stop. Thanks....Ted

thaddeus




Ford Hybrid System Controller

 

It is true that the CAT must get up to temperature before it operates at its best. But I partially agree with you. I've often wished that the truck would let me run off of battery until I requested enough power to start the engine the first time. Once that happened I see no problem with how it acts now.

This would measurably increase my mileage as well. Certainly going starting up, going down my driveway, and sitting at my first stop light could all be done without the engine. The distance isn't tremendously far, but the time I spend there not moving with the engine running seems like a waste.

 

I've also heard there is the other issue involved that has to do with marketing There was a belief from Marketing that the "new hybrid" technology would be confusing to the owner who is used to hearing the engine come on when they start the vehicle. To make it transparent they have the engine start for a bit... this also heats the catalytic converter to pass emissions resolving two things at once in marketings' opinion.

The problem with that reasoning is that most people buying hybrids are "early adopter" types and accept that the differences are "normal"... (however I've read enough questions here of people PANICING about not going into EV mode when they slow down sometimes on this site, so the marketers might be right). In a sense the marketers felt it would be more acceptable to the general public and sell better if the hybrid system were more transparent. Thus the startup.... the topic has been covered in a couple of other threads.

 

Well, to be fair, it is a hybrid and designed to be a hybrid.

I guess one could change it from a hybrid to an electric car. With that, ensure that it will only run all electric even if that meant lying motionless on the side of the road with a dead HV battery.

Otherwise, if one ever wants the ICE to kick in, then the ICE's emissions becomes a valid concern.

This all kind of reminds me of a question asked Team Mustang. Someone asked why, with all the wonderful high-performance parts Ford sells thru the parts department, none were ever put onto Mustangs from factory. The answer was that if they came from the factory installed, then Ford is responsible for meeting all sorts of requirements like emissions. If the customer puts them on, then Ford is not responsible.

 

I will admit, this surprised me but the other way. I was expecting to just turn the Hybrid 'on', and if the ICE was needed, it would start on its own.

This also reminds me of the surprise that the Hybrid will actually creep forward when you release some of the pressure on the brake pedal. Even though the ICE is not running, someone designed in "idle creep" into the electrics.

 

I remember the first time I was suprised by the "electric creep" when I released the brakes as well and thought "Oh....they put that there to make it transparent" It took a few seconds of thinking to figure it out though.

 

I guess that electric creep is for marketing reason as well, perhaps just like the ICE going on at start (and warms up the catalitic at the same time). So so far, there seems to be good reason for ICE to come on.

What I was really surprised about is what gpsman (i think), pointed out on some thread that even with the ICE turned on at start, for the first 30 sec, you're driving on electric only! I've tried this, and with rather strong acceleration, my RPM does NOT rev! The hybrid dispay shows "strong" power flow from the battery during this accelleration, and NO power flow from the ICE to the wheels! (there's a little power flow from the ICE to the motor). During normal driving after that first 30 sec, there's NO WAY I can get all electric with the acceleration that I played with.

So this begs a similar question: why not allow stonger EV acceleration all the time. It's obvious the motor is cabable, and with ICE staying off longer, you would expect a better FE, and less pollution?

 

I don't know that this is necessarily true, but even assuming it is, Ford is going to limit the use of the electric motors in order to elongate their lifespans.

 

Perhaps it was designed this way protect the engine from to many cold starts. As much as I would love to have the FE it wouldn't be worth the extra wear and tear on the ICE. Now, if a a person's trip wouldn't involve multiple starts, i.e., you could do it on battery alone, it would be a preferred design.

Ford might have designed it to have the ICE come on after the battery power's been used up (this would allow for short trips and possibly avoid the using the ICE). A problem they probably saw with this is that if your ICE is not starting until mid trip you don't know it's going to start until you are on the road....not exactly the best time to discover a mechanical problem.

 

I think the answer is that while the wheels are driving electric at that point... the engine is driving the generator and providing "some" current to the motor. The battery is supplying some as well. This is more current than the battery can supply by itself when the engine is off in EV mode. I'm not sure how much current those two arrows represent.... but do realise they probably represent a percentage of the TOTAL power each component, the battery, and the generator, can produce. In other words its possible a small arrow on the generator represents alot more current than a large arrow from the battery. Isn't the generator 75kW.... That sounds like alot to pull out of a battery. How many mAhrs is that battery anyway... how fast would it drain and what is the maximum current drain it can put up with.