[Quietcars] Hybrid Maintenance.

[michael townsend]

This is probably off topic and not interesting to many of or constituents,
but I am a car nut and like to dealve into what makes a car tick.  Many of
us have known for some while how our guide dog schools have enlisted the
hybrid vehicle to adequately assist us in guide dog training, and both the
ACB and NFB have been working diligently to find a solution to this
noiseless or quieter way of travel.  With that in mind, Pat Goss of
Motorweek.org, their resident guru of technology and motor repair, did a
recent piece on hybrid vehicle maintenance and I wanted to share it with you
so that people who were interested in such things, and even for those of you
who may not be, could learn a few of the dos and don'ts regarding hybrids
and the myths about their upkeep and maintenance.  

Mike T in NJ

Hybrid Maintenance
Pat Goss
PAT GOSS
: There's lots of hybrids on the road these days, and as is typically the
case with
any new technology, there are a lot of myths. And to give us the true story,
we have
Chris Peterson. He is an instructor with Toyota. Chris, welcome to Goss'
Garage.
CHRIS PETERSON: Thank you, Pat.
PAT: Alright, number one myth: You can't service your hybrid yourself.
CHRIS
: That's absolutely not true. The customer can do any of their own
maintenance if
they want. That includes changing the spark plugs, the oil, the air filter,
even
the brakes.
PAT: OK, but one thing that is different, is two cooling systems.
CHRIS
: That's true. This is just like a conventional car in many regards, with
the exception
of the cooling system. Over there is the cooling system for the gasoline
engine,
and this would be the cooling system for the hybrid transaxle.
PAT
: Alright, but there's one gigantic "Don't do it" and that is the orange
cables.
CHRIS
: And that's part of the reason we're wearing the gloves today. The orange
cables
under the hood -- a customer that's doing their own maintenance should never
touch
or try to disconnect, because they could potentially carry up to 650 volts
electricity.
PAT
: Ah, that could ruin your morning. And that voltage comes from this unit,
this battery
pack, and again. we hear lots of stories that these are unreliable, and I
haven't
seen that at all.
CHRIS
: No, not at all. And one thing, a customer would never be in here doing any
kind
of service work. And what a lot of them don't realize is this is actually
warranteed
for 8 years/100,000 miles.
PAT
: Okay. So there's no worries there. Alright, but we have to control all of
this,
and that means we need this inverter.
CHRIS
: Yes, basically what the inverter does is... that's DC, or direct current,
similar
to what you use in a flashlight. The inverter actually takes the DC and
changes it
into alternating current, or AC, that we're going to use in our transaxle.
PAT
: Okay. And it does it through electronic circuits and various components to
do that.
Again, a reliable piece.
CHRIS: Absolutely.
PAT
: Okay. But, here is where all of this ends up, and this is the business end
of things,
this is the transaxle. And if you looked at it in the car, it doesn't look
that much
different than any other, but here at cutaway, big differences.
CHRIS
: Oh, quite a big difference. Inside we have two what we call
motor/generators. The
motor/generator over here, if I send current into it, is actually our
starter motor,
and that's what we spin the engine over. Now, once the engine's running,
we'll use
that motor/generator as a generator to actually recharge the hybrid battery
that
we just looked at on the bench. This particular motor/generator is used to
drive
the vehicles. It's attached to the front wheels. When we send current into
it, it
actually makes the car move. And then we also use this for what we call
regenerative
braking. When you step on the brake pedal, we turn it into a generator to
help slow
the vehicle.
PAT: Which also improves brake life.
CHRIS
: It improves brake life. And in addition to that, it also helps to recharge
the
battery pack up. So it's two benefits.
PAT: Okay. So all of this stuff that we're seeing on the Internet, 99% of it
is pure
garbage.
CHRIS: Just like anything else, you have to be real careful what you read on
the
Internet.
If you have a question or comment, write to me.
The address is MotorWeek, Owings Mills, MD, 21117.
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/goss/2914.shtml

"I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself...but I think
I have
a right to resent, to object to, libelous statements about my dog."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Mike Townsend and Seeing Eye dog Brent
Dunellen, New Jersey  08812
emails:  mrtownsend at optonline.net; 
michael.townsend54 at gmail.com
Home Phone:  732  200-5643
Cellular:  732  718-9480