Engine Cold, ICE On, Not Charging

[shinytop]

Have noticed that when ICE first engages the charging indicator is the down arrow.  Not for long, maybe up to a mile, so I suspect it is something to do with engine temp but I wonder if any of you know why this happens.  

[fotomoto]

Yes, use a screen that has both the ICE and EV motor usage meters.  You'll see the EV motor is initially higher than the ICE lessening the load on it and letting it warm up a bit before asking more load (charging) from it.  

[SnowStorm]

That's pretty neat - but a bit scary to see.  I've seen it many times at first ICE start, even with a very low SOC.  I think SOC goes even lower than EV+.  With all this pampering and EV only operation the C-Max ICE should last 500,000 car miles no sweat! :shift:

[HannahWCU]

And it will be REAL noticable when the outside temps get lower (ICE needs additional time to get to operating temps).

[ptjones]

And it will be REAL noticable when the outside temps get lower (ICE needs additional time to get to operating temps).

It has to do with the HVB SOC if it is low  EV won't last long, but if it is high you can go longer distance. :shift:

 

Paul

[ScubaDadMiami]

Have noticed that when ICE first engages the charging indicator is the down arrow.  Not for long, maybe up to a mile, so I suspect it is something to do with engine temp but I wonder if any of you know why this happens.  

This is why I always try to arrive at my home with at least half to 3/4 battery charge. Rather than crawling through my parking garage (highrise building has a long distance to get out of the garage) and driveway with ICE running, I EV out of my building. I try to wait for a blank space in oncoming traffic, before pulling out onto the roadway. That way, I can use that last little bit of juice in the HVB to ramp up my speed to about 25+ MPH before ICE first kicks in. By that time, I have squeezed out the all but last of the charge from the HVB, per the battery icon. (Yes, I know that this really isn't the full extent of the last of the charge; there is still charge that is not indicated by the icon.)

 

When ICE first kicks in, I drain perhaps one more tick from the HVB (the indicator is at the very bottom of the battery indicator) while I mosey up to about 30-35 MPH, the speed of the road fronting my building. This usually takes 10 to 15 seconds. At that point, even though ICE is running, you will see the arrow on the battery pointing down. After that, I keep ICE running to give my first charge-up of the HVB for the drive.

 

This procedure has worked well.