40 Miles of no EV

[SailCar]

Yesterday when I left work, I noticed the car acting strange. The ICE fired up right away and stayed on. No hybrid assist, little if any regen braking. We're in a cold front, so for the first few miles I attributed it to the cold temps. A few miles down the road though, the battery was full, no regen, and still no assist. The ICE wouldn't shutdown at stoplights, even with all accessories turned off. Leaves were dropping off the dash like it was November.

 

When I got home, it was idling in the garage (which has never happened). I turned the car off and back on again, and the ICE fired right back up.

 

Just under 14,000 miles on this early-build FFH. Only problems so far is air noise from the sunroof and a chattering wiper blade.

 

More of the same this morning. Battery is on FULL and staying there, and the car has become a 4-door, 4-banger. yuck.

 

I was thinking this might be a battery reconditioning mode, until at 25 MPH, the ICE began to hesitate/pulse. At this point. I'm reminded of Oldschool, so I get out my phone and begin to shoot video of the dash. I turn around and head to the dealer. (too many valuables packed in the trunk for the wkd, have to get to work, so I turn around)

 

When I put it in park at the office, the ICE shuts down for the first time in over 40 miles. Huh.... I back up in EV mode, and drive around the parking lot as the car behaves completely normally. EV when I want it, ICE when I need it...

 

I'm a little anxious about how it will behave this afternoon. Has anyone else experienced this?

[lolder]

It sounds like reconditioning. Going into reverse cancels the reconditioning for a while but if it wasn't finished, it may go into it again until the computer thinks it's finished.

[lrymal]

Yesterday when I left work, I noticed the car acting strange.

Doesn't quite sound like it, but I wonder if you had it in "L" by mistake. I frequently do that--not sure why.

[Oman]

I've got 20K on my early build FFH and it has gone through 2 reconditioning cycles (that I have noticed). The second one was during the cold weather and it was MUCH longer than the first. My entire commute home + was in recondition mode and that is about 30 miles. So this sounds very much like normal. I'm not sure if the temperature is a factor or not but like I said the second one was much longer than the first.

 

Jon

 

 

It sounds like reconditioning. Going into reverse cancels the reconditioning for a while but if it wasn't finished, it may go into it again until the computer thinks it's finished.

[SailCar]

Back to normal. Just completed a 7.2 mile run achieving 48 mpg. (starting with a highly-charged battery)

 

I'm glad I didn't waste a trip to the dealer for this. I'm probably gun-shy from oldschool's experiences, but I really wasn't nervous until the ICE began to lug. I still can't figure that into the equation.

 

I'm fine with the reconditioning process, but it alters the cars dynamics TOO MUCH to not have an indicator. Something as simple as the battery symbol flashing would be enough.

 

I haven't owned a regular 4-banger in a very long time. This reminded me why!

[lolder]

The Atkinson cycle ICE is really "lugged" most of the time in hybrids. I guess without EV assist it was more so. Did it miss or buck? It shouldn't although the Owners Guide says you should not worry about an occasional "knock".

[ctrcbob]

Two questions.

 

1. What does Reconditioning do, and how does it work?

 

2. How does the Atkinson Cycle ICE on the Fusion work? Does the Crankshaft connect direct to the connecting rods, or is there an additional rod between the two?

[lolder]

You need to "Google" "Atkinson Cycle" and go to Wikipedia for the best description. In all these hybrids, the engine construction is conventional except for perhaps a slightly offset crankshaft for better power stroke geometry. They close the intake valve late in the compression stroke to create the Atkinson Cycle "effect". The computer controls the transmission so as to run the ICE at the lowest RPM for the power required with a very open throttle position. It is run just on the verge of "bucking" that you could do with old manual transmissions. This creates near diesel thermal fuel efficiency. The HVB conditioning is controlled completely by the computer and analyzes and balances the cell voltages. You will see different operation of the EV system then. These events are rare but normal. If you put the car in reverse while one of these is underway, it is canceled as the car backs up only by EV mode and conditioning inhibits EV mode. They don't want you to be unable to back up. The computer will re-initiate the conditioning later to finish it. This is all to try to make good on the Owners Guide claim that the HVB should last the "life of the car". They really think they will.

[dogo88]

Two questions.

 

1. What does Reconditioning do, and how does it work?

 

2. How does the Atkinson Cycle ICE on the Fusion work? Does the Crankshaft connect direct to the connecting rods, or is there an additional rod between the two?

 

i think the ICE ia an Atkinson Cycle but not an Atkinson engine where the intake and exhaust valve openings are much longer. This results in a very narrow power band at a constant rpm. Here's a cutaway of the engine. Doesn't show it all but gives you a pretty nice perspective:

http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/2008hybridvehicles/ig/2008-NY-Auto-Show---Hybrids/Ford-Hybrid-cutaway-inverter.htm

 

Here's another link to a more detailed cutaway and it's comparison to the Escape:

 

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f13/introduction-ford-hybrids-20777/

 

Dan

[ctrcbob]

OK, I got it. The way I see it is that the Atkinson Cycle engine is the same as an Otto Cycle engine except for very different valve timing, and perhaps an offset crankshaft.

 

Google shows drawings of the Atkinson Cycle as also having an additional shaft to connect the regular connecting rod to an additional connecting rod which is then connected to an offset crankshaft.

[lolder]

That was the original idea but it's too cumbersome and expensive and the variable delayed intake valve closing accomplishes almost the same thing. Very clever. Running an Atkinson engine efficiently at high throttle and low rpm allows little instant excess power for acceleration. That's where the electric traction motor MG2 comes in. When you accelerate, the additional power comes instantly from MG2 and the computer increases the ICE RPM as quickly as possible with the eCVT to meet the power demand and reduce the transient power being produced by MG2. That's why it's important to keep a steady throttle to minimize EV assist which is inefficient. You can't use this technique in a non-hybrid because it would feel very sluggish. You can see how the combination of an eCVT, an Atkinson ICE and an EV mode working together, solves the shortcomings of each item almost completely. It still wouldn't work very smoothly without VERY sophisticated computer algorithms in the software to manage all this. This is where Ford is ahead.

Edited March 28, 2010 by lolder

[TopCog]

Interesting - I just found this post today while trying to figure out what was wrong with my 2010 FFH. Exactly the same symptoms happened to me - I called the dealer but their service department hadn't heard of this behaviour.

 

After fully charging the battery the conditioning cycle was done and we're now getting much more range on pure electric than before.

 

However, the computer should put up a message to say that it's OK and normal and not to worry that the engine is going to run for a bit and that the regenerative breaking is disabled. The transition is a bit alarming.

[paulbuck]

OK, again, what exactly is 'reconditioning'?????

[lolder]

OK, again, what exactly is 'reconditioning'?????

It's mentioned in the Owners Guide on page 7. It says that a small change in drive-ability may be noticed. It's actually a rather large change in drive-ability in that no HVB discharge is allowed and EV operation is inhibited. The HVB goes to "F" charge and stays there a short time (10's of minutes?) and then returns to normal (1/2 charged) slowly and EV mode capability returns. It's rare but normal. The computer looks at all the 204 cells periodically and if it senses a specified difference in one or more cells, it enacts the re-conditioning event. It is almost always successful. If it is not, a Message Center warning may appear and the dealer may be able to restore normal cell balance with additional measures. Since the vehicle only operates in reverse in EV mode, selecting "R" will cancel a re-conditioning event underway so as not to prohibit reversing. The computer will probably re-initiate the re-conditioning shortly after it's termination.

Other types of batteries can also be "re-conditioned". Deep cycle lead acid batteries are sometimes "equalized"; a similar process.

[paulbuck]

It's mentioned in the Owners Guide on page 7. It says that a small change in drive-ability may be noticed. It's actually a rather large change in drive-ability in that no HVB discharge is allowed and EV operation is inhibited. The HVB goes to "F" charge and stays there a short time (10's of minutes?) and then returns to normal (1/2 charged) slowly and EV mode capability returns. It's rare but normal. The computer looks at all the 204 cells periodically and if it senses a specified difference in one or more cells, it enacts the re-conditioning event. It is almost always successful. If it is not, a Message Center warning may appear and the dealer may be able to restore normal cell balance with additional measures. Since the vehicle only operates in reverse in EV mode, selecting "R" will cancel a re-conditioning event underway so as not to prohibit reversing. The computer will probably re-initiate the re-conditioning shortly after it's termination.

Other types of batteries can also be "re-conditioned". Deep cycle lead acid batteries are sometimes "equalized"; a similar process.

Thank You!!!