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Ford Fusion Energi Forum

larryh

Fusion Energi Member
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Everything posted by larryh

  1. I measured the MPG in hybrid mode at different speeds on the same 12 mile section of Freeway: speed (mph) MPG 70 41.0 65 44.4 60 47.1 In this speed range, the relationship between speed and MPG also seems to be linear. I doubt this holds true at significantly slower speeds. So, I would estimate at 75, you would get about 38 MPG and at 55 you would get around 50 MPG. If I divide the MPGe for EV mode by the MPG for hybrid mode at the various speeds I get: speed (mph) ratio 60 2.81 65 2.67 70 2.55 This is telling me that at 60 mph, EV mode is 2.81 times more efficient than hybrid mode, i.e. I can go 2.81 times further with a given amount of plug-in energy, i.e. electricity, vs. the equivalent amount of energy from the combustion of gas. Note that the efficiency ratio increases with decreasing speed. That suggests if you cannot complete the entire trip in EV mode, it is best to reserve the plug-in energy for the lowest speed portions of the trip, or equivalently, the portions of the trip that use the least power. I estimate that from this optimization you could save at most about 0.1 gallons of gas. Ford should offer an option in the EV Auto mode to set a threshold for turning on the ICE. At the moment, it appears to be fixed at 40 kW. If one could adjust the threshold, you could have the car automatically select EV mode for the lowest speed portions of the trip and reserve the ICE for the higher speed portions, thereby optimizing EV range. For example, tell the car to use the ICE when going over 60 mph; or as another example, when the power exceeds 30 kW.
  2. It is 93 degrees today. Yes, the battery fan in the rear is on when I am driving. It is not very loud, so it is difficult to hear. Have to turn off climate control, ignore a noisier fan or something else from under the hood, and wait for all the other cars to go away. I would expect that it would stay on while the car is on or charging and be off otherwise, since charging and discharging the battery is what generates the heat. The battery fan should not be causing a problem with the 12 volt battery while driving or charging. At these times, the 12 volt battery should be charging if things are working properly. If they stayed on for a long time while the car was off and not charging, that would be a problem. Are the battery fans very noticeable on your car when you stop at a stop light? In my car, you would not know that they are on unless you really tried hard to detect them and the environment is very quiet.
  3. You could press the Hybrid Leaves icon at the bottom of the MyFord Touch and then the Power Button on the left to get to the EV Information Power Flow screen. It should give a reason for turning on the ICE (page 400 of the manual).
  4. In the winter, the car cools off very quickly when the heating element is turned off. It would be nice if the grille shutters would close in the winter time to conserve heat. I wonder how much of a difference it would make?
  5. This addresses one of my major concerns with purchasing a newly designed car. It takes time to work out all the bugs and optimize the software algorithms that control the car. As Ford works out these issues, I would like updates for the car. Now Ford has stated that it is committed to providing performance enhancements to existing owners. So, just as for computer hardware/software, we can continue to get updates for the car to enhance performance. This is unlike cars in the past. Generally, you are stuck with what you get when you purchased the car--there is no upgrade path.
  6. Ford has announced several calibration updates to improve performance of its hybrid cars http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=38296. It doesn't specifically mention the Energi, but hopefully there is an update that applies to it as well. The following is an excerpt: Better on-road mileage performance for hybridsAs its electrified vehicle market share grows, Ford also is taking action to improve the on-road fuel economy performance of 2013-model hybrid vehicles in the United States and Canada. Starting in August, the company will make calibration updates designed to improve on-road fuel economy for owners of the 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid, 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. “We are committed to continuously improving the fuel economy of our vehicles,” said Nair. “We believe these actions will provide our customers enhanced on-road fuel economy satisfaction.” Calibration updates to Ford hybrid vehicles include control system enhancements for a variety of driving conditions on the highway, during short trips and while using the climate control system. Enhancements designed to improve customer satisfaction include: Increasing the maximum pure electric speed to 85 mph from 62 mph, allowing increased use of electric-only mode on the highwayOptimizing the use of Active Grille Shutters to reduce aerodynamic drag under more driving and temperature conditions including cold weather, during air conditioner use and when the engine coolant temperature is higherReducing the electric fan speed as a function of coolant temperature to minimize the fan’s energy consumptionShortening engine warm-up time by up to 50 percent to enable electric-only driving and engine shutdown at stops sooner after cold startsOptimizing the climate control system to minimize use of the air conditioning compressor and reduce the energy used in cold weather operation“Just as individual mileage can vary based on driving styles and environmental conditions, we expect fuel economy improvements will differ from customer to customer depending on individual driving habits,” said Nair. “Customers should see the most improvement at highway speeds, during air conditioner use and operation in colder climates.”
  7. Here is another reason the engine stays on from the manual: Why does it take a long time before the engine shuts down? There are several reasons the engine stays on for an extended amount of time when it is first started. One common reason is to ensure that the emissions components are warm enough to minimize tailpipe emissions. As the climate gets cooler, this engine-on time is extended.
  8. You need to set up a value charge profile. See my post in the following thread: http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1016-new-myford-mobile-release/
  9. I inquired again with the dealer regarding this issue. They offered to replace the windows, but that seems like a lot of inconvenience and it probably won't solve the problem. The new windows would have the same issue. So, for now, when the trim pops out, I will have to gently pound it back in, until Ford announces a real fix for the problem.
  10. From MyFord Mobile FAQs: Q: Why doesn't the distance-to-empty (DTE) displayed on the cluster at key-off match the MyFord Mobile DTE?A: The vehicle displays the distance-to-empty estimate which includes your average accessory usage if any accessories are turned on, but the vehicle sends the distance-to-empty estimate that does not include any accessory usage to MyFord Mobile.
  11. MyFord Mobile will report MPGe for you. Change the settings on the console for the car to display MPGe. Actually, you are supposed to use the kWh consumed from the wall outlet to compute MPGe, which is more than what is reported by the car and MyFord Mobile. For the 120 volt charge that came with the car, the kWh consumed from the wall outlet is about 1.4 times that reported by the car.
  12. I think the button functions differently on different chargers. I saw the followed posted in the CMax Forum: It would appear that on some chargers, pushing the release button simply releases the lock holding the plug in place, in others, it also disconnects the control lines, which tells the car to stop charging. I am using the 120 volt charger that came with the car. I think it would be safer if the charger was informed that the release button was pressed and to stop current flow before pulling the plug.
  13. I haven't received the accidental unplug notice since I started holding down the button on the plug until I here the click. I only get it if I unplug it when it isn't fully charged.
  14. If I plot kWh consumed per mile. vs. speed for the data above, I get the expected response curve: energy consumption increases with the square of speed. So, theoretically, going 75 mph vs. 60 mph uses almost 60% more energy. Well, maybe not quite due to other factors. Based on my data, it is around 40%.
  15. From the album: Car

    Energy Consumption of Fusion Energi in kWh / mile vs speed in mpg.
  16. Using the MPGe measurements in the post above for constant speed, you can estimate the kW of power required to maintain constant speed as follows: power = mph / (MPGe / (33.705 kW/equivalent gallon)). This yields: speed (mph) power (kW) 20 2.7 30 4.6 40 7.1 50 10.8 60 15.3 70 22.6 When going between 40 or 50, I notice the power indicator in the Empower screen is around the first mark. And when going around 60 to 70, it is at the second mark. I would guess that the marks on this screen each denote 10 kW of power. This is further confirmed by an experiment I did this morning. I maintained a constant power with the indicator on the Empower display up to the first mark. After 2 minutes and 35 seconds, the trip odometer display indicated I had used 0.4 kWh of energy. So the power was then 0.4 kWh / (2.58 min / 60 min/hour) = 9.3 kW. Which is not exactly 10 kW most likely from measurement errors and difficulty maintaining constant power.
  17. From the manual: The vehicle may automatically enter Engine Enabled mode if system conditions require it. A message Engine Enabled for System Performance will display if this occurs. This is normal function, and your vehicle will return to EV Now when possible. It could be for emissions control or something--some sensor is telling the control modules that the ICE needs to run. You could try running the ICE on purpose for a longer trip and see if it then goes away. Otherwise, something else must be wrong. If you look in the hybrid display in MFT, it should give a reason that the engine is on.
  18. The description states 100 Watt maximum capacity. The car draws 1.3 kW for 120 volts, and 3.3 kW for 240 volts. That far exceeds the capacity of this device. If you want to use a 240 Volt charger, you will need to install a dedicated 240 volt, 30-50 amp (depending on the charger), service for the charger.
  19. According to the following article, after five years, the battery should retain between 85% to 92% of its capacity depending upon where you live, i.e. the average temperature. This is for air cooling the battery. Liquid cooling will achieve slightly better results. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1077329_how-long-will-your-electric-car-battery-last-it-depends-where-you-live
  20. You can use the keyless entry keypad to enter your 5-digit entry code if the doors fail to unlock when you touch the door handles.
  21. Something must not have shut off like it was supposed to after you unplugged the car. Another software bug? The car cannot charge either battery unless it has power to the on-board electronics in the car that are responsible for charging the batteries. I know that while waiting to charge with the charge setting set to "Value Charge", the on-board electronics consume 60 watts of power waiting to charge. Some of that power is used to charge the 12 volt battery until it is time to charge. But I think it needs to 12 volt battery to initially supply the power. Otherwise, it gets the 60 watts from the charger.
  22. If you connect to the car with MyFordMobile, it probably has to start of the MFT hardware and SYNC. They are probably the computer hardware/software that send data to and receive data from MyFord Mobile. I assume the cellular communication hardware that talks to MyFord Mobile is always on so that you can contact the car from MyFord Mobile at any time, and hopefully does not use much power. A cell phone doesn't use much power.
  23. You can read some C-Max Energi users experience with this at: http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/topic/1400-clipper-creek-lcs-25-with-dryer-plug-install/page-2 Apparently, battery temperature increases rapidly with higher speeds.
  24. Pull down the smaller section of the rear seat. You can feel the fans blowing air out from the battery behind the seat through the slots to the box surrounding the battery. I don't feel much air being sucked in from the vent on the rear deck and I don't feel any air being vented into the trunk.
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