What I learnt from charging my Prius
in [Toyota Prius]
|
Prev: Starting Problem
Next: Battery Longevity
From: David T. Johnson on 4 Jan 2010 18:11 urod wrote: > 1. The Prius batteries are somehow interconnected. When I forgot to > switch off the light, *both* were discharged. No, they are not directly interconnected. But...if they were, the larger battery has enough juice (6.5 Ah at 201VDC or roughly 15x the little battery) to run your little 12VDC overhead light for several DAYS. > 2. It is hard to charge the battery. When you connect your Prius to > another car's battery, the system thinks that there is enough voltage > in the batteries, so it doesn't charge them. When you break the > connection, You can charge the little 12VDC battery with a conventional battery charger but...why would you want to? Once you jump the little battery, the 12V system will power up the computers, close the main power relay to the big battery, and start the gasoline engine (if necessary) to charge everything up. At that point you should disconnect the jumper cable and close the hood. > 3. All, or almost all, automobiles are poorly designed. They should > switch off the light when the battery is close to be discharged. > Imagine a computer which, if you forgot to close the windows before > switching it off, requires a maintenance. Most of the 12v lights on the Prius (and most newer cars) switch off automatically after a fixed period of time if left on with the vehicle not running. Some do not on the assumption that the owner wants the lights on for some reason. The one I have heard of on the Prius that sometimes causes problems is the little light in the cargo compartment in the back. > 4. This has nothing to do with charging, but another problem with all > cars is, if you raise the parking brake during movement (in case of > Prius, stomp on the parking brake), it is a guaranteed accident. It's not just a 'parking' brake but also an 'emergency' brake and no, it is not a guaranteed accident if you stomp on it. It is a completely separate mechanical braking system designed and intended to be used if the main hydraulic braking system is non-operational (usually because of a loss of hydraulic pressure due to damaged brake lines or lack of maintenance.) It is a 'guaranteed accident' if you your main braking system fails and you do not use the emergency braking system. I suggest that you take your vehicle to a wide-open area with no other vehicles around and then practice using the emergency braking system so that you become familiar with how it operates in an emergency. > Imagine a calculator which explodes into your face each time you try > to divide by zero! A reasonable car would display the word "ERROR". > No, I never raised the parking brake, but the thought that if I did, I > could die or kill somebody else, is uncomfortable. I don't want the car to show 'error' when I push the emergency brake...I want it to slow down and stop. > 5. Manual for Prius is poorly written. The manual for my 2006 Prius is reasonably well written...no better or worse than manuals I have for vehicles from GM, Honda, and Chrysler. My complaint about car manuals in general would be that they don't put enough technical information in them. > > I am now going to sell my Prius and never buy any car until car > manufacturers start to make cars at least as intelligent as a pocket > calculator. Perhaps try a bicycle? Bonne chance! -- Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52 and Sea Monkey 1.5a
From: Al Falfa on 4 Jan 2010 18:42 "Mike Hunter" <Mikehunt2(a)lycos,com> wrote in message news:4b427522$0$6398$ce5e7886(a)news-radius.ptd.net... > You are confused! The Volt, unlike the Prius hybrid, is a true electric > vehicle. The only thing its engine does is drive the generator. The > Volt could be left "on" indefinitely, there is no flow of current until > you active the motor. > A distinction without a difference. The Volt has a gas tank and a battery. The Prius has a gas tank and a battery. Both have two energy supplies. Both are hybrids, the specific hardware for turning the wheels not-with-standing.
From: Mike Hunter on 4 Jan 2010 19:35 The Volt is technology that is years ahead of any hybrid, it is a true electric, dummy. It's only motivate source of power to the wheels is its electric motor. The engine can not motivate the vehicle. Hybrids are outdated technology. If you do not drive over 40 miles at a time and plug it in, the engine will never need to run. "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message news:4b427ce1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... > > > "Mike Hunter" <Mikehunt2(a)lycos,com> wrote in message > news:4b427522$0$6398$ce5e7886(a)news-radius.ptd.net... >> You are confused! The Volt, unlike the Prius hybrid, is a true electric >> vehicle. The only thing its engine does is drive the generator. The >> Volt could be left "on" indefinitely, there is no flow of current until >> you active the motor. >> > A distinction without a difference. The Volt has a gas tank and a > battery. The Prius has a gas tank and a battery. Both have two energy > supplies. Both are hybrids, the specific hardware for turning the wheels > not-with-standing. > >
From: dr_jeff on 4 Jan 2010 19:52 Mike Hunter wrote: > The Volt is technology that is years ahead of any hybrid, it is a true > electric, dummy. It's only motivate source of power to the wheels is its > electric motor. The engine can not motivate the vehicle. Hybrids are > outdated technology. If you do not drive over 40 miles at a time and plug > it in, the engine will never need to run. Actually, it is a hybrid. It is called a "plug-in hybrid." And you call the other poster a dummy. A hybrid means it uses more than one source of energy. And it does. It uses both gasoline (or another fuel like diesel or ethanol) and electricity. Jeff > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message > news:4b427ce1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... >> >> "Mike Hunter" <Mikehunt2(a)lycos,com> wrote in message >> news:4b427522$0$6398$ce5e7886(a)news-radius.ptd.net... >>> You are confused! The Volt, unlike the Prius hybrid, is a true electric >>> vehicle. The only thing its engine does is drive the generator. The >>> Volt could be left "on" indefinitely, there is no flow of current until >>> you active the motor. >>> >> A distinction without a difference. The Volt has a gas tank and a >> battery. The Prius has a gas tank and a battery. Both have two energy >> supplies. Both are hybrids, the specific hardware for turning the wheels >> not-with-standing. >> >> > >
From: Daniel who wants to know on 4 Jan 2010 20:30
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop(a)nastydesigns.com> wrote in message news:elmop-7E5E2A.20111504012010(a)nothing.attdns.com... > In article <pan.2010.01.04.15.36.46.623365(a)e86.GTS>, > Hachiroku �?n�?`�?�N <Trueno(a)e86.GTS> wrote: > >> The batteries are not interconnected, and there's no way they could be. >> The batteries running the drive system are 280V > > 201v. NHW10: 288V NHW11: 273.6V NHW20: 201.6V ZVW30: 201.6V |