(may be broke/outdated!)
When driving a Hybrid the electric motor is used at low speeds, then the gasoline engine kicks in for more power. Question is how does the gasoline engine turn on or is it always on?
now that I know how the gasoline engine turns on, it does not seem to have any warm up time, so you could be accelerating hard onto a freeway with cold thick oil. should I be worried about excessive wear?
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4 Responses
well its not alwqays on its automatic the hybrid has about 20 computer chips and about 2 computer systems in it so you dont hav e to worry about turning it on
Once you reach about 40 mph (64 kph), the gasoline engine will turn on. The generator suddenly changes speed, causing the planet carrier to turn and start the engine.
Once the engine is running, it settles into a constant speed while the generator varies its speed to match the output speed with the electric motor.
If you are really accelerating hard, the motor will draw extra power from the batteries. Once you are up to freeway speed, the car will move under a combination of gas and electric power, with all of the electricity coming from the generator.
There is a relay control module and amperage sensors built into the main control module which detects the amount of current flow. When the current flow reaches a certain amperage the relays kick in and start the engine. The voltage level of the batteries are also monitored and will also start and stop the engine when the baterries reach a certain level of charge.
When you excelerate your electric motor draws more amps and voltage , which kicks on the gas motor. When you deceleratate the amp and voltage demand decreases so the gas engine is turned off.
on a Prius, the actual process that starts the engine is complicated and computer controlled. when the car is moving the engine is turning even if its not actually running. the way it does this is thru computer controlled valve timing. when there is no call for the engine to contribute power, the valves remain open, that way the engine turns but does not create any drag on the electric motor.
when the computer detects a need for power, the valves close and the fuel is supplied and that is why the engine fires up so easily and quickly. because the engine is turning this whole time, there is no worries about cold or uncirculated oil.
keep in mind that the engine can and does run at any speed. on the Prius, it will start up about 5 seconds after power on if only to heat up the exhaust so the catalytic converter will run cleanly. although designed to use the electric motor primarily at speeds under 41 mph, the engine will come on at any but the most modest of acceleration and the electric engine will only go at most a ½ mile before needing the engine to recharge the batteries.