Moving across continent with FEH
#21
Re: Moving across continent with FEH
My take on the 1,000# limit is that Ford had little real world experience with the transaxle and they intentionally under-rated it to keep down warranty claims. I suspect they wanted to say "no towing" but thought that would be a real sales killer. So they did what they did.
The real question on towing a load is whether the FEH can climb a hill without relying on the traction battery. Or said another way will it come to a stop when the traction battery is exhausted (& I don't mean at 40%, I mean exhausted).
The above discussion circles this issue but doesn't answer it. My experience says it'll do it, no sweat.
If it has the gumption to tow, climb a hill and cycle the traction battery then it's a mover.
The real question on towing a load is whether the FEH can climb a hill without relying on the traction battery. Or said another way will it come to a stop when the traction battery is exhausted (& I don't mean at 40%, I mean exhausted).
The above discussion circles this issue but doesn't answer it. My experience says it'll do it, no sweat.
If it has the gumption to tow, climb a hill and cycle the traction battery then it's a mover.
#22
Re: Moving across continent with FEH
My take on the 1,000# limit is that Ford had little real world experience with the transaxle and they intentionally under-rated it to keep down warranty claims. I suspect they wanted to say "no towing" but thought that would be a real sales killer. So they did what they did.
The real question on towing a load is whether the FEH can climb a hill without relying on the traction battery. Or said another way will it come to a stop when the traction battery is exhausted (& I don't mean at 40%, I mean exhausted).
The above discussion circles this issue but doesn't answer it. My experience says it'll do it, no sweat.
If it has the gumption to tow, climb a hill and cycle the traction battery then it's a mover.
The real question on towing a load is whether the FEH can climb a hill without relying on the traction battery. Or said another way will it come to a stop when the traction battery is exhausted (& I don't mean at 40%, I mean exhausted).
The above discussion circles this issue but doesn't answer it. My experience says it'll do it, no sweat.
If it has the gumption to tow, climb a hill and cycle the traction battery then it's a mover.
All in all, I myself would not normally tow with the FEH; 1000lb is too little (the trailer alone would use up most of this weight).
#23
Re: Moving across continent with FEH
It doesn't concern me at all. The little engine will pull quite nicely up to redline, so even with a depleted battery one will not get "stuck". On most gradual grades I did not observe the battery being used. It was those secondary roads with the hills that caused the battery to go down.
Not without the "clutch" engagement provided by the CVT "generator", MG1, and "motor" (MG2) in combination. No HV power to these and the ICE would spin uselessly.
And I would advise that the clutch "coupling" is via the synchronous motor's rotating electromagnetic field applied to the permannet magnet rotor, put too much torque load on that rotor and "slip" results, the rotor stalls. That stepper motor type "torque coupling" aspect may be the limiting factor, engineering design wise, for "tow" weight.
Last edited by wwest; 09-17-2011 at 10:13 AM.
#25
Re: Moving across continent with FEH
"The little engine will pull nicely..."
Not without the "clutch" engagement provided by the CVT "generator", MG1, and "motor" (MG2) in combination. No HV power to these and the ICE would spin uselessly.
And I would advise that the clutch "coupling" is via the synchronous motor's rotating electromagnetic field applied to the permannet magnet rotor, put too much torque load on that rotor and "slip" results, the rotor stalls. That stepper motor type "torque coupling" aspect may be the limiting factor, engineering design wise, for "tow" weight.
Not without the "clutch" engagement provided by the CVT "generator", MG1, and "motor" (MG2) in combination. No HV power to these and the ICE would spin uselessly.
And I would advise that the clutch "coupling" is via the synchronous motor's rotating electromagnetic field applied to the permannet magnet rotor, put too much torque load on that rotor and "slip" results, the rotor stalls. That stepper motor type "torque coupling" aspect may be the limiting factor, engineering design wise, for "tow" weight.
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