The message I got back on the charging issues from Ken at HotJuice Electric (makers of the BEQ1) indicated that the squealing battery could be ignored - it's either OK or it's toast, but continuing the charge with the voltage it's getting won't change things.
I also found out that my tires were at 40lbs. I thought they were at 50, must have misread my gauge or lost air since I re-inflated them... I noticed the tires say max pressure 50 lbs. - 55 won't hurt them then... and should make them roll a little better.
So Wednesday I decided to push ahead with a full charge. I wasn't able to start the charge until 6:00 pm as I felt I had to babysit it during the charge. I checked on it every 30 minutes (annoying my family no end) until about 11:00 when I figured I was committed anyway and just to let it finish. At 1:43 I heard the faint beep-beep of the Zivan in the garage indicating the charge was complete.
Thursday morning the batteries are all in the 13v range and I'm off to work. I planned a new route with less stops but a short 40 mph section. She does roll better and I did a better job staying off the accelerator. I got to work with an indicated SOC of 43% ( a little less than 75% in reality). I figured this would come up a bit as it sat.
By the way, the building at work set aside a primo parking place for hybrid drivers. You have to fill out a form an enter into a drawing where the winner gets to park there for a month. I filled out the form explaining that my car wasn't a hybrid but full electric and could they stick an outlet in the spot for me. I didn't expect much to happen, but figured it was worth asking. A week later I got a message that I won for the month of May! I must have been the only one to fill out the form... I replied thanking them and again explaining that my car was (still) not a hybrid, but would gladly use the parking spot.
At 12:30 the SOC meter showed 80% (90%). Not bad. Parking security put a nasty gram under my wiper explaining the spot was reserved for hybrids. I showed it to the attendant and explained that it "looks like a miata, but it's battery powered..."
At 5:30 the meter still showed 80% - I was hoping for 100% ; ).
I took the same route back home. I think I annoyed a couple of SUV drivers, but I stayed in the slow lane most of the way. I got home easily enough and after an hour the SOC meter showed 44%.
That's makes for about a 20 mile range with mediocre driving over a few hills and high-rolling-resistance low-profile tires.
Cool, thanks for the account. Does 20 mile range mean it's 10 miles to work, or that you'd expect 20 miles travel when the pack is at 50% DOD?
ReplyDeleteMy commute is actually closer to 10 miles round trip. My SOC meter only shows the top 50% - it shows 0% when the pack is at 50% SOC. I thought this would be more usable, but it's kind of a nuisance. At any rate, On this trip it showed the remaining capacity on my return was 44% which would be close to 72% in reality.
ReplyDeleteHope that helps.