It is horrifying to think that very few people know how to maintain their hybrid vehicle. Even more alarming to realise that their local mechanic don't know much either.
The hybrid vehicle is very unlike the standard gasoline or diesel vehicle. It does not have the usual components in a standard vehicle that often breaks down such as starter motors, alternators, distributors, cam belts.
Hybrid vehicle owners including owners of the Series 1 Prius now 12 years old will testify to the fact that they don't spend much money in repairs to the vehicle except for the HEV battery. The truth is that a little maintenance would have prevented most breakdowns including the HEV battery.
Essential Maintenance
1) There are 2 coolant tanks. One for the ICE motor which most owners know about and the other is for the electric drive which is less known and I have personally seen it go dry. When this happens the transmission systems runs hot and the engine clunks when it heats up. This will lead to gear box failure and a very expensive repair.
2) The Air Flow Meter. This is a very important piece of equipment to maintain in a hybrid vehicle. As the vehicle runs very lean slight degradation in performance will affect the power output of the internal combustion engine, which in turn affects the charging and the HEV battery, shortening the life of the HEV battery. This is a major cause of HEV battery failure.
The air flow meter can be cleaned with a mass air flow meter cleaner which comes in a spray can and it is recommended that this be done every 10,000 km.
The ICE motor determines the power at the higher end. If you feel a loss in power on acceleration or a dip in smoothness in the acceleration then it may be time to change the air flow meter.
3) The 12 volt battery. If this battery fails or does not hold a charge get it changed. A low capacity battery will affect the functioning of the on board computer and you will get strange errors. Eg power steering when the power steering is perfectly OK.
4} Spark Plugs ; Change the spark plugs! Many of the Series 1 Prius have done 150,00 Kms and are still on their original sets of spark plugs. This affects the combustion and power from the ICE.
Taking care of these items will go a long way towards getting trouble free motoring with your hybrid vehicle.
Showing posts with label Air Flow Meter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air Flow Meter. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, October 30, 2009
Reply to a Matt's question - Updated
i purchased a reconditioned battery from The Battery Clinic last year to get my car back on the road, which it did and ran great after fitting it. I was told that the battery computer would have to be replaced to get rid of the triangle as the computer gets damaged from overcharging.
Patrick i see that you're now able to have the battery computer repaired, do you know if there is any way to check for sure that its damaged also im guessing that driving the car with the computer in this state could cause damage to some cells? If so im hoping i can replace the damaged cells myself and get rid of the triangle with a repaired computer,
Matt
I nearly gave up repairing the battery and as luck would have it I found a company with an S2000 scanner who were able to clear the error code encoded in the battery computer. The triangle error is cleared but the problems which caused the battery to fail are still there.
Firstly the HEV battery is already more than 10 years old and wear and tear has reduced the battery's capacity. Reconditioning only replaces dead cells and increases the capacity to a working battery again but it will never have the full 100% capacity of a new battery. The advantage is that the hybrid car does not need a 100% capacity to operate at full power. It only need the battery to hold it's voltage for the short burst that is required of it.
The Air Flow Meter has probably never been changed since new and it should be replaced every 100,000 Kms. If this equipment is not functioning correctly it will cause the battery to fail. This is more important as the capacity of the battery is not 100%.
The spark plugs should also be changed every 10,000 Kms. These are just standard spark plugs and are not expensive to replace but will improve the performance of the ICE motor.
You can try to change the cells yourself by taking out the most suspect cells looking at the voltage. I can supply good cells. This is still not fullproof as some cells show good voltage and collapse only under high load. It is all relative so unless you know how much charge a cell has to start with you can't be sure if a cell collapse because it is bad or has low capacity.
After you have had it fixed then you must ensure that other problems with the car are not contributing. Usually the air flow meter.
Your battery is still under warranty so you could send it back to be reworked.
Patrick i see that you're now able to have the battery computer repaired, do you know if there is any way to check for sure that its damaged also im guessing that driving the car with the computer in this state could cause damage to some cells? If so im hoping i can replace the damaged cells myself and get rid of the triangle with a repaired computer,
Matt
I nearly gave up repairing the battery and as luck would have it I found a company with an S2000 scanner who were able to clear the error code encoded in the battery computer. The triangle error is cleared but the problems which caused the battery to fail are still there.
Firstly the HEV battery is already more than 10 years old and wear and tear has reduced the battery's capacity. Reconditioning only replaces dead cells and increases the capacity to a working battery again but it will never have the full 100% capacity of a new battery. The advantage is that the hybrid car does not need a 100% capacity to operate at full power. It only need the battery to hold it's voltage for the short burst that is required of it.
The Air Flow Meter has probably never been changed since new and it should be replaced every 100,000 Kms. If this equipment is not functioning correctly it will cause the battery to fail. This is more important as the capacity of the battery is not 100%.
The spark plugs should also be changed every 10,000 Kms. These are just standard spark plugs and are not expensive to replace but will improve the performance of the ICE motor.
You can try to change the cells yourself by taking out the most suspect cells looking at the voltage. I can supply good cells. This is still not fullproof as some cells show good voltage and collapse only under high load. It is all relative so unless you know how much charge a cell has to start with you can't be sure if a cell collapse because it is bad or has low capacity.
After you have had it fixed then you must ensure that other problems with the car are not contributing. Usually the air flow meter.
Your battery is still under warranty so you could send it back to be reworked.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Air Flow Meter, HEV Battery And How To Maintain A Hybrid
The Air Flow Meter
In a hybrid vehicle the single most important sensor is the Air Flow Meter. We cannot overstress how important this sensor is.
In the Generation 1 Prius 54 Kwh of power is provided by the internal combustion engine. If the
air flow meter is not working at 100% this full amount of power is never available. In a standard vehicle with 90 - 110 Kwh power you will not notice much difference, however in a hybrid the loss in power is compensated by the electric motor. This drains the HEV battery and usually leaves the HEV battery undercharged, leading to early battery failure.
A new HEV battery can handle this adequately but a reconditioned HEV battery with reduced capacity would struggle We have put in a perfectly good HEV battery is a vehicle with a faulty air flow meter and noticed the battery going down to yellow very quickly.
HEV Battery
The next most important component of a hybrid vehicle is the HEV battery. Assuming that all cells are working the battery always gives the full voltage and current to the electric motor. However how long it can maintain this depends on the state of the battery.
So the difference between a reconditioned HEV battery and a new HEV battery is the duration that the battery can maintain full power to the electric motor. As long as it can provide this power the battery will not out the triangle error.
However because the ICE motor charges the HEV battery the ICE motor is the more important component in this power chain. Keeping the ICE engine working at peak efficiency will keep the HEV battery healthy as well.
How to maintain the ICE motor.
Fortunately there is not really much to do to keep the ICE working at 100%.
1. The Air Flow Meter - If there is lack of power on acceleration clean or change
2. The Spark plugs - Change every 10,000 kms
3) Change motor oil when dirty.
4) Top up coolants in both reservoir
Loss in compression in the engine is a normal feature in standard vehicles. However in the hybrid vehicle even after clocking uo 150,000 Kms there is no appreciable loss in compression. This is because the engine does not run all the time and it works at much lower RPM. ( Notice that the motor oil is seldom black, and there is usually no oily deposits on the spark plugs. )
In a hybrid vehicle the single most important sensor is the Air Flow Meter. We cannot overstress how important this sensor is.
In the Generation 1 Prius 54 Kwh of power is provided by the internal combustion engine. If the
air flow meter is not working at 100% this full amount of power is never available. In a standard vehicle with 90 - 110 Kwh power you will not notice much difference, however in a hybrid the loss in power is compensated by the electric motor. This drains the HEV battery and usually leaves the HEV battery undercharged, leading to early battery failure.
A new HEV battery can handle this adequately but a reconditioned HEV battery with reduced capacity would struggle We have put in a perfectly good HEV battery is a vehicle with a faulty air flow meter and noticed the battery going down to yellow very quickly.
HEV Battery
The next most important component of a hybrid vehicle is the HEV battery. Assuming that all cells are working the battery always gives the full voltage and current to the electric motor. However how long it can maintain this depends on the state of the battery.
So the difference between a reconditioned HEV battery and a new HEV battery is the duration that the battery can maintain full power to the electric motor. As long as it can provide this power the battery will not out the triangle error.
However because the ICE motor charges the HEV battery the ICE motor is the more important component in this power chain. Keeping the ICE engine working at peak efficiency will keep the HEV battery healthy as well.
How to maintain the ICE motor.
Fortunately there is not really much to do to keep the ICE working at 100%.
1. The Air Flow Meter - If there is lack of power on acceleration clean or change
2. The Spark plugs - Change every 10,000 kms
3) Change motor oil when dirty.
4) Top up coolants in both reservoir
Loss in compression in the engine is a normal feature in standard vehicles. However in the hybrid vehicle even after clocking uo 150,000 Kms there is no appreciable loss in compression. This is because the engine does not run all the time and it works at much lower RPM. ( Notice that the motor oil is seldom black, and there is usually no oily deposits on the spark plugs. )
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