Yesterday evening I built a new resistor bank by using 6 12 Volt 20 Watt halogen spots from my bathroom which replaced them with LEDs a few years back.
3 parallel pairs of lamps switched in series, they should dispatch 5 Ampere at 24 Volt, which is about as much as the voltage difference between my battery and the IMA system should get.
I mounted the lamps in a door rack from an old fridge, slightly slanted so air can flow around the lamps, and partly open at the back. The lamps are fully isolated by themselves.
Nice, no?
Lets test. Key on, flip the pack switch:
That's about 3 Ampere flowing toward the IMA system. Not enough to trigger IMA codes.
I can see the glow in my rear view mirror.
The IMA battery symbol in the car shows 3 bars below full.
I start the engine. The glow recedes. The Insight starts to regenerate (???) and the battery quickly fills up to one bar under max.
Once the engine is warm, time to trigger EV mode.
It works. The lamps glow yellow and gently get brighter. The battery level indicator starts to drop. And the fun lasted just a minute, the engine kicks in and starts regenerating. The lamps are off again.
The battery replenishes quickly again, at least that part is covered.
Time to leave town and take it out on rural roads and the highway.
Constant speed, CC on.
The economy appears to be no better than usual. But the current flowing in must be small - the lamps hardly glow - and I have my HIDs on.
At least it does no longer throw codes.
A T junction ahead - and on this time of night there are cars speeding. Time for some very brisk acceleration!
No problem. It revs like the best of times and support is maxed out.
Catching up with the cars I just let by, it regenerates again under braking.
A stop at the traffic lights and then an uphill entry to the interstate. Someone is pushing from behind? Aha. Someone is getting smaller in the mirror. Merge into the 5 lane interstate, at more than the average speed there. The someone passes me way over the speed limit.
I gently let the speed drop off, but going against the wind the fuel economy is just normal for the conditions.
Battery level is higher than usual though.
On leaving the interstate the Insight does only marginally regenerate, it keeps coasting by itself. Feathering the brake pedal brings it back to its usual level.
Getting home in the reduced speed residential area I get full EV mode for a long time.
All in all I get more EV mode and more support, and some less regen, than without the buddy pack.
But it hardly affects the feel, and the effect on economy is marginal.
This morning we went to the swimming pool.
This involves a short trip on the highway over a high bridge immediately followed by an exit.
I always get bad FE on those trips.
Today was slightly better, at least on the way in; way better than usual.
Going back it did trip an IMA error when I switched on. I reset it and restarted before I even drove 1 meter, but apparently an IMA code / reset does cause some reluctance to use it well.
In the end the FE was coming back again, and all in all I got a pool trip economy on this cold morning that compares to the warmest of summer mornings.
So, yes it does something. And these lamps (almost) got rid of the IMA codes.
It could do a good deal more once I know the limits better, and actively allow the current to approach those limits at all times instead of just when it is in EV mode.
I do need a controlled current limiter of some kind, and meters to tell me the exact voltage and current flow.
I'll do a few commutes with this setup, I know those conditions best.