The original FE/FEH had an entirely different F/awd system, one much more appropriate to cold climate, wintertime, conditions. It was very much like the one in the old Aerostar except the rear drive could be engaged manually. With, of course, the appropriate not to ever do that when driving on a high tractive surface.

Unless you can disable the traction control functionality I rather doubt the newer FE or FEH could get up that ramp.

 

Interesting video...

At 53 seconds, and again at 1:06, there is clear indication that the FEH rear drive is LOCKED "on", as we see the passenger side rear tire spin, as if being "driven" in both instances. Obviously no TRAC system.

At exactly 5.0 minutes the passenger side front tire breaks traction partially and starts throwing dirt, and the driver side rear spins freely. Exactly as one would expect with fully open diff'ls front and rear and a locked "transfer". With true 4WD, solid coupling between front and rear, two wheels must lose traction for you to be "stuck". Add an LSD at the rear and it takes 3 wheels having lost traction to be/get stuck. LSD also at the front....

The only other possibility is that this has the new F/awd system but with TRAC disabled and the rear clutch wired "HOT". Just the way I might rig it for "cold climate" wintertime adverse roadbed conditions, a TRUE (part-time) 4WD

 

If you could disable the Traction Control while maintaining the front and rear, or even just the rear, LSD virtualization then the new FE/FEH F/awd system would allow you to climb that ramp.

With a FWD or F/awd vehicle so as not to compromise safety through inadvertent loss of directional control the Traction Control firmware MUST be written to INSTANTLY brake both front wheels should one begin slipping while simultaneously dethrottling the engine.

Had the CR-V the ability to increase the drive coefficient to the rear, as does the FE/FEH, it would have easily made it up that ramp with the front wheels on "ice".

 

As I said about understanding the engineering…

The way one would monitor the temp of a solenoid, if you’re not interested in an accurate temp reading, just protection from over temp… would be to monitor the current flow. When it falls below a certain point there is an over temp.

And of course copper wire can be used to do this. When you do it with a solenoid the large amount of wire involved makes it more and more accurate as the number of turns of wire increases.

Come on guys, let simple things remain simple.

Sheesh… give a guy a scan gauge and he’s an instant rocket scientist…

 

Guys, thanks for the info on the FEH AWD. I started a new thread where we can continue that discussion: https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f26/4wd-feh-22764/

 

It doesn't have ATF or power stearing fluid to congeal or even freeze up in the cold night but I would still suggest keeping it inside at night in at least a partially heated garage. Otherwise you may find the FEH's wintertime FE even lower than an FE.

Someone will undoubtedly dispute this but I am of the firm belief that Ford makes use of the US patent they were granted a few years ago. The patent describes a technique wherein the regen capability of FWD hybrids are significantly reduced when the OAT is near or below freezing. The technique also calls for disabling regen the INSTANT ABS detects the need to activate.

My advice for operating an FEH in the wintertime in Alaska would be to disable, drop, one front halfshaft, provide a CONSTANT 12 volts to the rear driveline clutch and install a resistor in parallel with the OAT thermistor. You'd have a dramatically SAFER FEH for wintertime use and since ALL regen would be at the rear drive wheels there would be little need for sub-freezing OAT detection.

 

Data was posted on THIS SITE showing regenerative braking is NOT reduced when the outside air temperature is near or below freezing. This guy is standing on his soapbox again.

 

The regen amperage / wattage is reduce based solely on battery temperature.

Some people, like Willard have jumped to false conclusions, since after a very long idle period, the battery temp. will be very close to outside air temperature.

If you keep the battery warm(er) by parking indoors, and/or use a heater, the regen is not reduced, no matter how cold it is outside.

After a few miles of use, a cold battery will become warm(er) on it's own, and regen will be restored.

Either Willard West is a lier, or mine and Billy's and 5 other Ford Escape Hybrid owners have malfunctioning cars. Which all malfunction in exactly the same way, and allow full regen in all weather.

You decide.

For what it's worth, the 2005's don't even have an outside air temperature sensor. So how's the car going to know when weather approaches freezing?

 

I feel sorry for this lady. She asked a simple question only to end up with several pages of arguments which most likely offered her no help whatsoever.

I hope I can offer some input from experience. Keep in mind that I live in southern BC Rockies and not in Alaska...

I personally own a 2008 FEH FWD. Only minor problems last year winter where we had many days of heavy snowfall which resulted in roads not being properly cleared and a variety of driving conditions. And that was with the stock mud and snow all-terain tires that came with it, although I do plan on swapping to winters this season.

My parents liked our FEH so much, they bought a 2009 FEH AWD. They live in the same town as me and had no problems either. Their home is located at the top of a steep road and they had no problems plowing through this despite the conditions.

As for cold starting, I'm not sure if I can offer the advice you're looking for. I can say that -15 degrees F wasn't a problem, but I suspect you're looking at much colder than that. We do have a block heater and it worked well, although we park in a heated garage so it really was only used during the day while my wife was at work.

As for the hybrid battery, you may or may not be aware that it is located in the rear storage area which is open to the passenger compartment so it isn't exposed to the elements.

I'm not really sure about a remote starter, but there seems to be one person who has it over in this thread:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...starter-16225/

I hope that helps answer your questions at least a little bit.

 

A battery blanket is not practical for the hybrid battery. But also, probably not needed either. The hybrid battery starts the car. The standard 12v battery under the hood is used to turn on the electronics that allow the car to start. It does not need to put out a lot of power since it does not start the car. But it may benefit from the traditional battery blanket you speak about.

I've used mine just fine at -17'F but don't park it for more than 12 hours at those temperatures between drives which warm everything back up.
HTH, -John