Got it! Thank you!

 

FWIW, the bolts that pinch on the blades at "hot when safety plug in" are isolated and will not show a voltage.

 

Success! Charged for 2 hours to 345 volts. Car started right up. Still shows wrench light but car acted normally. ICE ran for about 5 mins, shut off, drove car, ICE ran after driving on battery for a few minutes. I assume i should clear codes and see if wrench light comes back on.

 

Good job. Please report back about the wrench light and any codes you find that return.

 

Hi, All experts in the forum,

I have a Ford Escape Hybrid 2009. I have been following this discussion for a long time and read many of the posts multiple times since my car was not driving during the shutdown period of the pandemic and could not start. For the first time, I towed the car to the local dealer and they magically started it and taught me to remove the service plug. Recently, I tested positive (not symptoms) for COVID but need to isolate at home for 12 days. I did run the car at the third day but later forgot to do it and it cannot be start now. The voltage of the HV battery is 295V from the Forscan. All the error codes is similar to people reported here. So I bought all the tools, lines, charger and would want to install a harness like many of you did. Because in the future, I need to be out of town for some travel and this might happen to my car again.

I have electron engineer BS minor degree. My major is chemistry. So I can understand most of the diagrams. However, I have two questions that would like to hear clear answers from expert in this forum.

1. I got the HLG-120H-C350B since it is the quickest available unit I can get. This B model has an additional pair of DIM on the right (output) side of the unit. Based on the circuit diagram, it should be connect to some adjuster. What should I do with these pair of DIM wires? Should I just (1) leave them open (highest resistance) (2) short them (lowest resistance) (3) I must find and connect an adjuster?

2. Each time when I need to charge the battery, must I always disconnect the left side (driver side) black communication cables and the right side (passenger side) orange power cables? I remember some one has asked whether they can use the Forscan to watch the voltage during the charge but I don't remember to hear a clear answer of that question.

Although I have not done this yet, I want thank all of you to post detailed steps with diagrams, pictures and videos which make things very clear to me. I think I will install some fuses immediately after connection to that relay so if some accident of connection of the harness lines, it will cut immediately before it lead to disaster. I think S Keith suggest to install 250V 1A fuses. I already bought that. I also bought the diodes that I want to add to the charge unit to prevent the reverse flow of the current.

Thank you in advance again if I can hear your answers from the two questions above.

Best,

River

 

Sorry for not study deeper for the LED. I think I now know what to connect the DIM lines. There is three different modes to input the control of the output voltage. I will choose the third way using a potentiometer with 100KOmh range. Maybe I can lower the output voltage to 368V instead of the 430V maximum voltage.

I also make a mistake. The fuse should be 250V 2A which I have.

I still hope someone can ask whether we can charge the battery when it is connect to the car. Maybe not.

River

 

S Keith, I followed your detailed instructions and charged a FEH 2009 HV battery successfully. Thank you!
The car sat there from June 2020 until today. It started up after I cleared the codes.
thank you all others that pitched in with videos and other info.
if anyone can help with my next issue on this vehicle I really appreciate it.
we have two FEH 2009. There is a big difference in EV mode from one to the other. One we can drive with some amount of gas pedal travel and the car stays in Ev. The other there is less travel and the engine quickly kicks in. How can one remedy this difference and change it?
if there is another thread on this please let me know the title. Thank you.

 

Is there a meaningful mpg difference? If so, enjoy the variety.

If there's a meaningful mpg difference, assess if the difference is driver/condition-related.

Remember, there is no honor in excessive EV. ANY EV operation MUST be compensated for with higher gas burn at some point in the drive.

If the vehicle that needed jump starting operates more in EV mode than the other, it is likely due to the excessive discharge "reconditioning" the battery. NiMH doesn't actually lose much capacity. It loses the ability to deliver that capacity in the operating voltage range. Consuming the capacity by operating a lower voltage will restore the capacity to the operating range. A deep discharge below 200V can be very effective as can any voltage below 250V. Conversely, the one that didn't sit is likely operating with a reduced battery capacity.

Ultimately, I wouldn't be concerned about the difference in behavior if mpg is not affected.

There could be other underlying issues that inhibit EV function - failing battery, temperature issues, etc. Get Forscan. It's an invaluable tool for diagnostics and troubleshooting.

 

Hi S. Keith, I like your response and I will do those comparisons. Remember that the one i jumped was sitting for a year and a half. It actually has a greenish hue now from white original color. I guess I did not explain myself properly. What i meant by travel, is the distance of the gas pedal travel. Say on this one, you can barely press it beyond the first 3/8” and the other has more travel say you can depress the gas pedal down to 3/4” or close to an inch before the engine kicks in. Obviously I could not measure them but both wife and I noticed this. Even before the HV battery lockout.
As for voltage pre charging I had it at 228; one layer was 118 the other 110. Don’t recall which was the higher voltage but I think that it was the top layer. Did not read the two layer voltage after charging but it reached 358V. Maybe one layer has another row more that the other, 8 volts difference. I noticed no temp difference I had it in cooler temp garage as I’m in CT.
Thanks again for your generosity in sharing your knowledge.

 

I finally get everything set up and start charging. I tried to play with the potentiometer on the DIM line of the B model. It does not show a linear current as their manual showed. At beginning it increased then to a peak then drop again. The maximum current is when the potentiometer dial in the middle and only 33.63mA. Is this normal? Anyone can help?