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Hybrid Vehicles Hybrid Vehicles - Archived Discussions Plug-in Hybrids 
330 messages, Last post on Nov 13, 2008 at 12:13 PM
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Replying to: larsb (Jun 25, 2008 2:03 pm) Just what is the problem? I did not see any explanation only spin about gas being dangerous. Well I agree and would prefer diesel as it is MUCH safer than gas or hybrids. Boulder, Colo.-based Hybrids Plus has advised all of its conversion owners to stop driving the vehicles until further information is available. According to the press release, forensic examinations have not been able to conclusively identify the cause of the fire, but established that the battery cells – which, according to plug-in advocacy group CalCars.org came from A123Systems – were not the reason. The company said it has begun inspecting and upgrading all of its systems to eliminate potential concerns, and would upgrade all its customers’ systems for free. It isn’t the first instance of fires in conversions. CalCars last month reported a failure that resulted in a meltdown of the original nickel-metal-hydride battery in the world’s first Prius plug-in hybrid conversion. Ok, let me get this straight. I take my $30k Prius and have it modified to a PHEV for an additional $25k plus and it is not to be driven. My advice don't park it or any other hybrid in your garage unless you are trying to get out of your mortgage. From the article a quite a few of these experiments have gone sour. If they are upgrading free of charge would that not indicate they know what the problem is?
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 25, 2008 2:41 pm) Note: I need to eat some of my words about the added-battery conversion system (that piggybacks the original battery with a new pack) being safer than systems like Hybrids Plus' that replace both the OEM battery and BMS. The particular failure mode I experienced is unique to two-battery systems, though a BMS failure could possibly produce similar results, depending on the PHEV battery's failure characteristics. The best advice with PHEV is have an automatic fire suppression system installed in you garage. If you can afford to waste $60 on a PHEV another $10k to protect your home is just good insurance. I would give the same advice to someone with a CNG car being filled over night by PHILL. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 25, 2008 2:41 pm) I would speculate that they know it's a good business practice to provide any recall as a free service. I'm pretty sure they also know that the problem did not originate in the battery.
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Replying to: michael2003 (Jun 26, 2008 3:00 am) If Chevy uses the same brand of battery used in this fire for their new Volt it will be interesting to see how they plan to prevent fires caused by overcharging.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 26, 2008 4:54 am) Two points: 1. The charger needs to have a sensor that stops charging when the batteries are full. Note this is much easier to implement than a heat sensing system. The $6 aftermarket charger for my cell phone (li-ion) senses the full charge, so it is hard for me to believe that a custom charger for a plug-in car would not also account for a full charge and stop supplying power. To me this means that the batteries overheated while being charged (NOT after being charged), leading to the second point. 2. Customers are going to complain if their batteries are not fully charged when they ran their charger all night, but it cut off due to heat in the batteries. The issue remains the same - do the Li-Ion batteries heat up more than NiMH batteries as they charge, and if so can the problem be fixed?
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 26, 2008 11:01 am)
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Replying to: tpe (Jun 26, 2008 12:29 pm) On June 7, 2008, the converted Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owned by Central Electric Power Cooperative in Columbia, SC, was destroyed by an internal fire that occurred during a routine drive. Thankfully, there were no injuries. But the converted Prius was destroyed. The cause of the fire is not known. Full story: link title This raises the question if the charging device is part of the original Prius or aftermarket. Of course Toyota can not be held responsible for changes to the original Prius. I am sure Toyota is not thrilled having their baby kluged up and displayed all charred from a fire.
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 26, 2008 4:11 pm) I would never get an aftermarket phev setup. These systems are so complex, and the components so unproven, that I want Toyota's or GM's neck on the line (along with mine). |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 26, 2008 4:11 pm)
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Replying to: tpe (Jun 27, 2008 6:57 am) Boulder, Colo.-based Hybrids Plus has advised all of its conversion owners to stop driving the vehicles until further information is available. According to the press release, forensic examinations have not been able to conclusively identify the cause of the fire, but established that the battery cells – which, according to plug-in advocacy group CalCars.org came from A123Systems – were not the reason. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/plug-in-hybrid-catches-fire-1032.html PS I tried to find info from the owner of the Prius just what kind of mileage they were getting. They did not mention it on their website. They have a total of 7 of these hybrid conversions from Hybrids Plus in Colorado.
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