With the weather now being cold (i.e., highs in the 20s & 30s) here in PA, I have noticed that I cannot use the LGA to get my 2006 FEH 4WD to go into EV mode. The RPMs just go up. However, if I press the brake, it goes into EV mode. Any insight as to why that is would be appreciated.

 

The HV battery is too cold for that heavy of a charge in "L". It's good that your still getting heavy regen (noting the high RPM) so all you now have to do is warm up the battery. That requires charging the battery as often as possible with the generator/motor (MG1). The lower your SoC the night before a cold start in the morning is the best way to start the day warming your battery. A block heater does have a connection for the battery heater and that would help on a timer 3 hours before start-up. Drive as much as possible in EV to maintain a warm battery. You may even be able to use LGA once the battery is warm enough.

GaryG

 

Thanks for the information, Gary! Yes, I can get it to go into EV mode using LGA once the batter is warm. I do not have a Scan Gauge in order to know what my SOC is. Usually, we are able to go into EV mode almost one-mile before our house in order to use some of the charge. The FEH is my wife's vehicle, and she will not use it, but she is good about using the different "techniques" to maximize FE. I have recently considered a battery warmer. However, my wife works at night, and is very tired from working and watching the kids all day, that she probably would forget most of the time to hook it up when she got home, or she might forget to unhook it before she pulls away in the morning. Take care!

 

I have been having the exact same problem. I guess when I move out of my hotel room I'll have to get a hold of an EBH with the battery hookup.

 

Hmm, you can read my post about my cold weather woes with my FEH up here in the really cold land of Winnipeg (from Hybrid cars):
http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/win...d-perform.html

What's a warm battery anyway? On the rare ocs when it will go into EV these days, I've noticed the bat temp has been as low as 35 and it's never got to more than 55 these days. Not sure, but those being F degs makes more sense than C deg. I think the main thing is that I'm just making short drives, which in warm weather was fine, but doesn't work with very low temps!

On the few longer drives I've done recently, typical temps where it did go to EV were, bat 50ish, motor 80-90 and CAT 1250 ish. Once the engine stops at our low temps, the CAT drops rapidly. Sitting at a light, it seems that at minus 20 deg C (minus 5 F ish?) the engine will kick back in after less than a minute. I wonder if it's the dropping CAT temp that triggers this? Watching tho I've seen the engine restart with a CAT of anywhere from 1050 to 1200, so I'm puzzled.

Whenever I've checked the temp of the electric side of the motor it's always been much cooler than the gas side. EG. yesterday, Engine read 90 after a 20 minute drive, while electric side read 35. 20 minutes out these days will not get an EV start. takes 40 minutes plus.

 

Look at the ScanGauge Data Depository Sticky at the top of this thread.

There are many parameters that determine when you can have EV mode.

HTH,
-John

 

Thanks, looked and I would guess that CHT must be the Biggie of the equation these days.

 

Meant to add, from the scang. info dipos. the bat temp is puzzling tho, as it actually seems to be quite hot, given that all the other temps are C degs (and within the ranges that the scang post stated). For recently, 35 is common and I've seen 50, which is 122F! At that upper range, according to the info, A/C would run and there would be no EV. This seems odd, driving along at -20 Deg C. Next time I see those kind of temps I'm gonna stop and see how hot the battery feels.

 

The best workaround that I have found is to avoid Low in cold weather and induce EV mode using the traditional method of double-tapping the brake when in drive. Of course, this will only work when the engine is warm, but in colder temperatures, the ICE warms up quite a bit more quickly than the battery pack.

 

ranger, your battery is giving degrees F and not C.

Your battery range of 35 to 50'F sounds "normal".

I'll bet you a box of doughnuts your battery has never been 122'F!!!

Your battery is running 2'C to 10'C.