Does your 13 do this too?

[acdii]

Just curious if its a 2013 thing, or just with mine. The 2010 doesnt do this, which is why I am asking. When sitting in idle,with nothing on, no lights, no HVAC, no radio, no headlights, not even stepping on the brakes, it is discharging the traction batteries. If I sit with the ignition on for any length of time, in park or neutral, eventually the pack will discharge enough for the ICE to kick on, regardless of the temperature outside.

 

Another thing I noticed, if I am cruising at 55 or so and throw it in neutral, I also see it. Something is drawing off the pack when the ignition is on, I have never seen any other hybrid do this unless the AC was on. Oh and the MFT hung too trying to connect to my phone. I checked and the AC is not on, I verified by looking, feeling the lines and listening to the compressor.

 

[hybridbear]

This is normal. A Prius does the same thing when "idling"

[acdii]

Strange, dont see the 10 doing this, so had me wondering.

[elle]

Yup, mine does this, too.

[murphy]

Strange, dont see the 10 doing this, so had me wondering.

My 10 does this.

When the ignitioin is on, whether or not the green ready to drive icon is lit, the HVB is being used to charge the 12 volt battery via the DC to DC convertor.

It should not happen if the car is in neutral since the HVB is disconnected in that case.

Connect a voltmeter to the 12 volt battery and it is easy to see when it is being charged. The voltage will be at least at 14 volts instead of around 12 volts or lower.

[acdii]

I didnt consider the 12V charging. Makes sense now. From what others have found out, the wrong battery can put a larger load on too since its too low a CCA. I will check it out, provided my car will actually start now. I didn't notice it until later when I looked at the pic I took, but my HVB was nearly empty.

 

Well, if 1. the 12V is too small, and 2. the HVB is discharging on its own, that would explain all the issues on mine.

[murphy]

I tried to get a bigger 12 volt battery for my 10. It's so small physically that I couldn't find any other battery that would fit into the available space. The battery is unique to Ford and is not available from the usual battery merchants.

[acdii]

Thats what hammers are for, dontchaknowthat?

[lolder]

My 10 does this.

When the ignitioin is on, whether or not the green ready to drive icon is lit, the HVB is being used to charge the 12 volt battery via the DC to DC convertor.

It should not happen if the car is in neutral since the HVB is disconnected in that case.

Connect a voltmeter to the 12 volt battery and it is easy to see when it is being charged. The voltage will be at least at 14 volts instead of around 12 volts or lower.

The HVB is charging the 12 vdc whenever the switch is in the run position, whether the car is started or not and regardless of it being in "N". The M/Gs will not operate in "N" and and therefore the ICE will not start except when you are coasting downhill in "N" and exceed the maximum EV speed, the ICE will be motorized even in "N" above that speed ( 47 or 62 mph.).

[Kaleido]

The HVB is charging the 12 vdc whenever the switch is in the run position, whether the car is started or not,

That is how I thought it should work, but if that is so, why do some people have to be towed because they have a dead battery? Wouldn't the HVB charge the 12 VB up just by turning the key on, and then the car would start.

[murphy]

That is how I thought it should work, but if that is so, why do some people have to be towed because they have a dead battery? Wouldn't the HVB charge the 12 VB up just by turning the key on, and then the car would start.

If the 12 volt battery is completely dead turning the key on does nothing.

The HVB is disconnected by a relay when the key is turned off.

Without the 12 volt battery there is no power to pull in the relay that connects the HVB to the systems.

[majorleeslow]

Just curious if its a 2013 thing, or just with mine. The 2010 doesnt do this, which is why I am asking. When sitting in idle,with nothing on, no lights, no HVAC, no radio, no headlights, not even stepping on the brakes, it is discharging the traction batteries. If I sit with the ignition on for any length of time, I'n park or neutral, eventually the pack will discharge enough for the ICE to kick on, regardless of the temperature outside.

 

Another thing I noticed, if I am cruising at 55 or so and throw it in neutral, I also see it. Something is drawing off the pack when the ignition is on, I have never seen any other hybrid do this unless the AC was on. Oh and the MFT hung too trying to connect to my phone. I checked and the AC is not on, I verified by looking, feeling the lines and listening to the compressor.

 

the only thing I can think of while at a stop, the traction motor is constantly pushing forward. this is if you are on a hill its imitating an automatic transmission. about the high speed possibly the front grille louvers are draining or the abs or trsvtoon control is. additionally there is a dc to dc converter to change the accessory battery and radiator fan . it functions independently and which could be what you're observing.

[rfruth]

Some what off topic but isn't there a fan to help cool the high voltage battery, if so does this cooling fan continue to run even after the car is off ? (again if so the 12v battery must get a real workout)

[TX NRG]

Some what off topic but isn't there a fan to help cool the high voltage battery, if so does this cooling fan continue to run even after the car is off ? (again if so the 12v battery must get a real workout)[/size]

Yes and yes. It can run in certain situations to protect the battery from high temps, even after shutdown.

[hybridbear]

the only thing I can think of while at a stop, the traction motor is constantly pushing forward. this is if you are on a hill its imitating an automatic transmission. about the high speed possibly the front grille louvers are draining or the abs or trsvtoon control is. additionally there is a dc to dc converter to change the accessory battery and radiator fan . it functions independently and which could be what you're observing.

The traction motor does not fight against the brakes like an automatic transmission car with a torque converter that you're thinking of. My ScanGauge shows about .85 amps of current is drawn from the HVB when stopped with foot on brake or when stopped in Park or Neutral to run headlights, computers, charge the 12V battery, etc. As soon as my foot comes off the brake pedal the amp draw jumps to about 2 amps in order to make the car roll forward in "idle creep" like an auto tranny car.

 

Another interesting note from my first few days with a ScanGauge...the reason it is so hard to get the battery to show neither charging nor discharging is that there's a very small window for that. It seems in most situations the current discharge or charge to the HVB must be less than 1 amp to get no arrows up or down. However, while stopped a current draw of less than 1 amp does show the down arrow. In some driving situations a current draw less than 1 amp will still show a down arrow. But i have not yet observed a current flow greater than 1 amp and no arrows. I will be posting many more ScanGauge observations in the coming days as I find the time and gather my thoughts. It's providing a wealth of information and I'm learning to better understand the car but also have many more questions now.

[corncobs]

Sounds like HB got himself a new toy ;-) can't wait to get your insight with the additional information.

[majorleeslow]

I've got a scangage - e. which is the basic version with some different features. May be I should start playing with it too. Thanks for the tip HB!

Edited September 4, 2013 by majorleeslow

[hybridbear]

Sounds like HB got himself a new toy ;-) can't wait to get your insight with the additional information.

I did! :play:

[acdii]

Holy old thread resurrection! LOL