Hybrid by swaping Pwr Steering for Elec Motor
 

I read once that a company was going to offer a hybrid upgrade by swapping the power steering position for an electric drive. The system would supply about 2hp until the batteries were drained. The system was to be set up to provide constant force through the engine's belt drives whenever the brake pedal was not depressed. Charging the batteries would be via home electrical outlet. Claim was to improve mpg by reducing the load on the engine and by giving a constant force that would be like coasting down a 3% grade.

Could this type of system be built from scratch?

Sure. I doubt the effectiveness of it though.

Calling it a "hybrid" is maaaaybe a bit of a stretch too. More like a tiny power assist.

fairdinkumfrankies -

What kind of batteries? I am guessing that the original system would be hard to implement because of all the different power steering setups (unique dimensions), and you'd want a "light" car for conversion. Do you have the name of the company?

CarloSW2

the device is called the Electrocharger and is from VS Composites. I could not find a website, just references from the media. The other is the Poulsen Hybrid. That system drives the rear wheels by attaching to the vehicle's hub. The electric motors give a constant assist. Looks like smoke for now. Nice idea but no sales.

http://www.poulsenhybrid.com/index.php

Deep Cycle types but I can't find a website.

fairdinkumfrankies -

Ok, I "kind of" know a lot about the Electrocharger. It has been in "project phase" for a lonnnnnngggggg time :

Electrocharger / Retrofit PHEV Hybrid Conversion Kit :: Sigma Automotive

It's latest incarnation seems to target RWD drive shafts, so I don't know how much it has to do with replacing power steering.

I think you are describing an earlier incarnation of the system. It added itself to the drivebelt and gave boosts to the system while use regenerative techniques to maintain battery juice. It may still be the same, but the latest pictures look a lot different from what I remember (I have a picture somewhere of the old system).

I've checked the Sigma website maybe once every 6 months for 4 years, but I haven't seen it pan out. I am also guessing that it "fits" better in larger cars, like full size trucks and stuff.

CarloSW2

Saturn was messing around with something like that. They added a motor to the driveline instead of replacing the p/s. It needed another tensioner to make it work. I believe they used a 48V power system in the car instead of 12V.

I think the theory is to use the motor to reduce fuel consumption during accelleration.

i had heard that some auto manufactures were trying to get the higher voltage to be a new standard. I think they were saying the alternator works more efficiently in that range.

Don

a while back I read about a product that replaced the alternator and would kick in when the engine was under higher loads, I'm pretty sure that system just ran off the normal battery, bumping up the voltage and adding a dc/dc converter would be reasonably easy, other then you would still need a normal battery for starting as the dc/dc converters get pricey if they can handle that many amps.