I now have a pure Ev mode.

Hi,

I now have pure Ev mode on my Phev ie foot flat to the floor on the accelerator and no Petrol motor starting up.

How did I do it? I pulled the fuel pump fuse (under the hood) and then ran the motor out of fuel (I used charge button because the Hv battery was low enough for it to start the Petrol motor) until it stopped (took less than 1 minute). Then I drove on Ev mode about town and tested it.

Well all I can say is it is unreal. Foot flat to the floor and getting the full 60kW of the Hv battery is still a heap of power around town here in our 60kph zones, where we drive everyday, and no accidental start of Petrol motor. We hardly ever use petrol running around through the week. Weekends are the only time we sometimes go on trips outside of Ev range. Everything seemed to run perfectly except no Petrol motor start.

Now the negatives of this test:

1. Yes the dash lights up with warnings and these could be logged on the computer in the Phev to be seen by the service department. I will check later with my son's ScanGauge (when I see him) and see what is logged and if they are can they be cleared.
2. After stopping the Phev and restarting later the Petrol motor ran (after pressing charge button again) for a little while (maybe 30 sec) and again ran out of petrol. Warnings were off until this happened (ran out of petrol) and then they came back on. Obviously a little fuel gets back into the Petrol motor.

Edit. I have now put the fuse back in the Phev and all warnings have gone from the dash and Petrol motor is running perfectly.

Now the disclaimer: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS PROCEDURE. For obvious reasons.

This was just a TEST to see what it is like in a pure Ev mode where we use my Phev around 90% of the time (60kph zones). It was great. I know the reasons Mitsubishi have for starting the Petrol motor ie need of extra power in a emergency etc but it seemed to me to have plenty of acceleration unless I was drag racing at the traffic lights.

What I would like from Mitsubishi is a "soft" stop on the accelerator so I can easily press down with my foot and stay in Ev mode and if more power is needed push through the "soft" stop and then bring in the Petrol motor. Or a Hv battery that can discharge at 120kW.

Regards Trex.

Thanks for posting.

So it proofs, it can be done in a simple way, and the result is not dangerous at all,
and really pleasant. I do sincerely hope Mitsubishi will eventually give in and offer a software upgrade.

I still don't get all those complains about safety etc. Prius in EV mode is capable of just 70kph,
and nobody is worried about it, the button is just there, if you use it, you know what to expect.

Mitsubishi is capable of 120kph in pure electric mode, more than enough in the city zone.

What happens if the fuel tank is empty or you simply fool the fuel level sensor?

PolishPilot said:

Thanks for posting.

So it proofs, it can be done in a simple way, and the result is not dangerous at all,
and really pleasant. I do sincerely hope Mitsubishi will eventually give in and offer a software upgrade.

I still don't get all those complains about safety etc. Prius in EV mode is capable of just 70kph,
and nobody is worried about it, the button is just there, if you use it, you know what to expect.

Mitsubishi is capable of 120kph in pure electric mode, more than enough in the city zone.

Click to expand...

The EV button on my Prius certainly didn't inhibit the petrol engine from starting if you pushed the accelerator hard.

george said:

What happens if the fuel tank is empty or you simply fool the fuel level sensor?

Click to expand...

The car will go into its empty fuel tank routine, reducing power to conserve the battery at some point.

jaapv said:

george said:

What happens if the fuel tank is empty or you simply fool the fuel level sensor?

Click to expand...

The car will go into its empty fuel tank routine, reducing power to conserve the battery at some point.

Click to expand...

How so? Obviously you need some decent SOC for EV mode. But granted you have decent SOC, why would the car reduce power?

At some point....It will be in its no-fuel panic mode.

jaapv said:

At some point....It will be in its no-fuel panic mode.

Click to expand...

But this is only when the battery is near empty. And since the objective of the experiment was to create a pure EV vehicle, it would make sense to assume you would not let the battery run empty. What would happen to a Leaf or a Tesla when the battery is almost empty?

You get out and walk. :mrgreen:

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.

Finally got the ScanGauge to check for logged faults and none showing so hopefully ok.

I still cannot get over how great the experience was. Normally when I drive the Phev I am keeping well short of the spot on the power meter where the petrol motor will start unless I glance at the power meter the whole time.

This was just press your foot to the stop and bang 60kW of power which is way more than I normally use around town unless I am showing off at the stop lights. :lol:

Regards Trex.

This is what happens when a Nissan Leaf is fully depleted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1kXfflWnk

I'm almost running out of fuel on my phev. No remaining range, just EV range, but the engine is still running to charge the battery.
I would love to test the pure ev mode
Should I try to get a empty tank? ... or that limited power mode will start after the end of petrol juice?

t3lmo said:

I'm almost running out of fuel on my phev. No remaining range, just EV range, but the engine is still running to charge the battery.
I would love to test the pure ev mode
Should I try to get a empty tank? ... or that limited power mode will start after the end of petrol juice?

Click to expand...

Hi t3lmo,

If you keep going without refueling the petrol tank and you have charge left in your drive battery your petrol motor will stop (with fuel left) and then the Phev will force the use of the charge left in your battery ie ev only mode. Once the charge is gone (no range showing for ev mode) in the drive battery then it goes back to using the remaining petrol until it is gone and then goes back to drive battery (still a little charge left ie 30%).

From there at 22% SOC air conditioner and electric heater off, 17% SOC power reduction (turtle mode) and at 13% SOC the Phev will come to a stop. It takes at least 9 lts of fuel to restart the petrol motor in the Phev from here (once the petrol motor has run out of fuel) I have read.

This is what I have read happens but I have not tested this. I just pulled the fuel pump fuse.

Regards Trex.