Battery or ice?

[ripnetuk]

Sorry if it's a common newby question . How to tell if running petrol engine or not? How to get a history of recent status ?

Thanks

 

[AndyInOz]

I've found that I can hear the engine when it is running.

There is also a couple of places you can display it on the dashboard.

1. On the MMCS screen if you have a high-end model
2. In the middle of your instrument panel on all models.

To get to number 2. you press the Page button until you see a display that includes a diagram showing an engine, battery and wheel.

An arrow indicates where power is coming from.

Andy

 

[AndyInOz]

PS. The air-conditioner is quite noisy in the engine bay, a couple of times, I had thought the engine was running, but it was just the air-conditioner.

 

[ChrisMiller]

How to get a history of recent status ?

And the information screen displayed prior to the one Andy mentions shows the percentage of the current journey run on electric power. Again, the MMCS (where fitted) has more detailed information.

I don't find the aircon is noisy (though it probably doesn't get as much use here in the UK as it would in Oz ), it's just that the car is normally so silent that these noises are much more noticeable than in a standard car (unless, perhaps, you're used to a Roller). Similar comments apply to the 'excessive engine noise' which is sometimes referred to.

 

[AndyInOz]

Yes, I've never heard "excessive engine noise" or "engine screaming" and made the same assumption as you, that it is purely by comparison.

Similarly, the air-conditioner was quite loud in my previous car (under the bonnet, not in the interior of the car), but in that case, you never got to hear the air conditioner without the engine also running.

In the case of the PHEV, I think the noise of the air-conditioner, is probably the fan on the radiator, it makes a sound like an engine running.

(i.e. a loud whirring noise).

And again, I'm talking about the sound outside the car, not inside.



May have mentioned this one before:

In the comments section, before the first service being performed on his Rolls-Royce, a customer noted: "The car is wonderful, at 80mph on the motorway, the only thing I could hear was the ticking of the dashboard clock"

In the service notes, after the car was returned: "Faulty dashboard clock replaced"

:lol:

Pretty much how I see the PHEV, except the clock makes no sound.

 

[anko]

To get to number 2. you press the Page button until you see a display that includes a diagram showing an engine, battery and wheel.

But we should be aware, this diagram is not 100% truthful. Sometimes the diagram suggests the ICE is off, while it is actually running (and consuming fuel). Sometimes, the diagram only shows a yellow arrow from ICE to wheels, but no blue arrows (from or to battery), while power is being drained from the battery.

In general, the diagram is false, as power cannot go from the generator through the battery to the wheels. Battery goes from the generator to the wheels directly and any power surplus or shortage goes to / comes from the battery.