2nd Gen Prius PHEV Conversion (Enginer plug-in lithium ion battery kit) - Page 19 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

GeneralAnarchy · 08-13-2010, 05:38 PM

It sounds like they are on backorder for quite a while. Jack says I'll have to wait around 6 weeks before they ship.

Did you folks put the Marinco plug on the rear bumper? I am thinking of feeding a cord up to the front bumper. Does 14 ga. extension cord sound easy to run in the door sill along with the controller cable? A front cord seems less conspicuous at a store parking lot or something, and it would just look like EBH in use. Plus with a triple-tap under the hood I could use a single cord for EBH and PHEV charger. Together it should be 12 amps. I guess it's more hassle for installation though.

Daox · 08-13-2010, 06:03 PM

I'd be more worried about getting it all working right before doing any fancy modifications to it.

I'm not too sure how well the new balancer is working yet, but before I had it, charging was a huge pain. Hopefully the new balancer takes care of things.

Daox · 08-16-2010, 10:39 AM

This weekend I put the PHEV kit back in the car. I plugged it in to charge (it had been sitting for a while) and I left it. When I came back a while later the new balancer had disconnected the charger from the pack and I could see that a few cell voltages were quite high.

Unfortunately, from sitting, I noticed the pins on the connector for the cord going from the switch up in the front of the car have gotten corroded. It looks exactly like a phone connector, but with 6 wires, not just 4. So, I have to get a new one of these (or a tool to put on a new connector). Any idea where I can get a 6 wire cable? I guess I'll try the local radio shack or best buy or something.

GeneralAnarchy · 08-16-2010, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Unfortunately, from sitting, I noticed the pins on the connector for the cord going from the switch up in the front of the car have gotten corroded.

How long since the last charge? Maybe there is a lot of self-discharge in the cells. I read about problems with that cord. Did it get wet or just Wisconsin humidity got to it? You could probably use a standard phone crimp tool, the RJ11 plug has 6 positions but they are usually not all filled in telephone applications.

They could have used a 6-pin trailer connector instead of a phone jack, it would be stronger and easier to service. When I get my kit, I might use a trailer connector as the service disconnect, and then make a couple of RJ11-to-6 pin adapters so I can carry a spare adapter in case the phone plug craps out. (Unless there is an easy way to bypass the phone plug entirely).

Daox · 08-20-2010, 08:41 AM

Its not discharge in the cell, it is discharge from the balancer. The last charger was probably 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure about the connector, it just corroded.

GeneralAnarchy · 08-20-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Its not discharge in the cell, it is discharge from the balancer. The last charger was probably 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure about the connector, it just corroded.

That's good to know. It would be good to see a picture of the bad plug. I searched for corrosion and found related info on RJ45 ethernet jacks www.keithl.com: RJ45 page and a guy says "if you stuff any connector with silicone grease (not glue!), it will even work under sea water."

For application to the Enginer PHEV phone jack, if they have this grease at Fleet Farm or somewhere it seems like a cheap investment

NiHaoMike · 08-20-2010, 04:28 PM

Dielectric grease is available from just about any auto parts store.

Daox · 08-26-2010, 11:11 AM

I picked up a new cable last night. I was going to get a crimping cool and connectors, but they were out of the connectors. The tool was also $30 and the cable was $3. However, it is a crossover cable and I need a straight cable. So, the plan is to cut off the end of it, and solder it in to replace the bad end on my cable.

Daox · 08-29-2010, 03:59 PM

I got everything back together and took it for a spin today. ~4 miles, 0 gas, me ->

Now, I just need to monitor the charging cycle to make sure none of the batteries overcharge. I must say, the balancer does seem to let them get quite high. I also have to inquire how low it lets them get so I can be sure it'll disconnect properly while in use. I know my wife won't be attentive enough to turn it off when it needs to be.

MetroMPG · 08-30-2010, 08:20 AM

Nice to see this project back on track.