I've noticed two interesting things in the last few months which I don't recall noticing before. I'm wondering if they're side effects to the harness "voluntary service" with the "reprogrammed" software, or if they happen, and I just never noticed, or don't remember noticing before (Remember, this is really only for the older FEHs out there):

1. ICE off with a Red. Yeah, this is pretty odd. A few weeks ago, I was running the defroster on my way home, a nice near freezing night in MI, with some light snow, and slowing at a light, the ICE drops off, like in normal operation and is off for the duration of the light. I'd gone about 12 miles of a 25 mile trip, and it had been parked outside for the last several hours, accumulating snow and ice on it during that time. I was astonished, as I double checked, I was in a red, and the defroster was working when the ICE was on, but dropped off when the ICE stopped.

2. More Friction Braking. This one may just be a side note to again, cold operations. I've noticed that again, here in freezing MI (not so much lately, but earlier in Jan/Feb) that during the warm up operations, I don't get as much regen as I recall getting, which as memory serves, was always a trickle and any more would be shunted to the ICE as bleedoff until the battery was warmer. Or, if I am getting regen, it's not showing up on the power display or on the C/A meter. Once it's warmed enough, it stops doing this, and operates as I recall it does. However, during warm up, it seems like I'm using friction brakes quite a bit more then I recall it doing so in the past.

 

Yep, mine does that too. It always did.

 

Rich, I have a 2005, made in December 2004.

Mine only shuts off with defrost if I have an ABS trigger when braking.
ICE will stay off until I reach a full stop.
Then, 2 or 3 seconds after a full stop, ( I guess the car determines everything is OK ) the ICE fires back up.

I may have had one time the car didn't start back up, but since it's not repeatable, I considered it a fluke.

I have had the harness fixed.
The harness fix did change the HV battery volts reported to the ScanGauge by a factor of 4 though. 320 volts DC was reading 80 volts DC after. Changing the math in the scangauge, I have normal "volts" now.

 

I noticed a few times this winter when the ICE shut off while in defrost, always below freezing. I have not had the voluntary service on my FEH.

-- Rick

 

My Mariner Hybrid will always shut off on red when it is really cold outside. It is a 2006, and I know the programming is a bit different, because 2005 owners say their cars regen a bit more when they are gliding. I wonder if you got a software update that drastically changed the behavior of you car?


OT, how do you get 33mpg! That is quite an accomplishment. I consider any drive over 30mpg to be quite good. There is no problem for me to get over 28, but 30 takes quite a bit of effort. I really have to make it to a hybridfest to see how you guys do this.

If it weren't for the snow, fwd would have been fine with me, but I have to get to the hospital no matter what the weather. I drove through our recient blizzard without a problem. MPG's dropped into the low 20's thought. Sorry I am rambling,

Rick

 

If it weren't for the snow and the unpaved roads, I'd have gone with the FWD as well. While I may not always need it, there have been about 12 days this year where I was really glad I had it.

LOL, 33 is easy, it's the over 40 MPG tanks that require work. If you do make it out to HF this year, and I'm there, I'd have no problem taking you for a drive. Really, pretty much everything I do is in the FEH FAQ to be honest. There may be some little things that I may not mention or emphasize enough, but really, it's all there.

Hmm. Seems my mind is playing tricks on me then, and my FEH is behaving normally and I'm just looking for problems or issues then. Eh, it happens every now and then. Especially with the weather warming up, I keep expecting more and more out of her.

 

It is quite possible for the compressor to shut off when it is sub freezing. There is a low pressure cut off that trips at 29 PSI low side pressure. The is about 32*F. This reports to the PCM and commands the compressor off, which in turn MAY allow an ICE shut down.