Chasing equipment in a Hybrid vehicle?

[Tyler_Costantini]

I was thinking about making some changes to my DC power system in my car when it hit me. How does the 12v system in a hybrid car work?

Do they have a normal 12v system for starting gas engine?

Is their and alternator? If so does it only run when the gas engine Is running?

If not a standard alternator does it use a DC-DC converter to get 12v

Can you run radios, inverters, etc? Without draining the starting battery?

Does the start / stop cycle cause dirty DC?

Are their any problems with RF getting into the electronics of the hybrid?

If anyone is running chasing equipment in a hybrid how do you power your equipment?

 

[John Erwin]

A great question! I'm looking into a hybrid option as well somewhere down the road.

I've done some preliminary investigation; the Toyota system uses 2 electrical systems; the "main" or hybrid power system can operate somewhere between 200-275 vdc depending on the generation of the system. Obviously this is mainly used for powering the drivetrain but there is a DC-DC circuit to supply 12 vdc for electronics and passenger use. There's also an "aux" system that is supplied via a 12vdc battery for times when the hybrid system isn't energized; this battery is recharged via the hybrid system though. I'm not entirely sure of the specs in terms of what kind of current is available; something I would want to know before using a lot of add-on electronics.

Not sure about other brands, however I would suspect they are similar.
Generally it seems there is no "alternator" since that functionality is built into the electrical motor portion of the drivetrain. I think it will be some time before we get a lot of feedback on issues such as how clean the power is etc,

Do you currently own a hybrid?

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

Thanks for the input. I figured that a DC-DC converter would be the answer, Knowing how much current could safely be drawn from the system would be very important. The current "aux" 12VDC outputs seem to be fused at ~20A not much, with all of the things most of us have running now days.

I'm doing some research tonight i will post what I find.

Update

http://wa8lmf.net/mobile/prius/index.htm < This site explains the Toyota Prius 240VDC / 440VAC - 12VDC system

 

[John Erwin]

Update

http://wa8lmf.net/mobile/prius/index.htm < This site explains the Toyota Prius 240VDC / 440VAC - 12VDC system

Wow, great find! That article is loaded with good info.. however it looks like there is indeed some noise issues, although those appear to be at lower frequencies.

 

[jladue]

I've been chasing in a 2005 Prius with a ham radio directly connected to the 12 V battery. I have a 150 watt inverter connected to one 12 v adapter powering the computer, camcorder and cell phone. My colleague brings his second inverter connected to a second 12v outlet and powers his monster 17" Dell laptop. I've had sufficient power for all of these devices without interference or power fluctuations.

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

From http://wa8lmf.net/mobile/prius/index.htm

The Prius 12 VDC system is a very vestigial affair intended to power just the radio, lights and computer display. It uses a 240VDC-to-12 VDC stepdown converter that can provide about 40-50A but the 12 VDC battery is a 20 AH device that looks like it came from a motorcycle. It's main purpose to power up the computer electronics that need to boot in order to start the hybrid power system. (In the Prius, EVERYTHING is fly-by-wire. The power steering, the water pump, the power brakes and the air conditioning are all powered electrically off the 240 VDC system which in turn is controlled by the 12 VDC powered computer systems.)

I'm glad to hear that you have had no issues with the 40a-50a DC-DC converter in the Prius. I have been looking into one for sometime that has been the only issue with using the Prius for a chase vehicle.


BTW are you just using a cigarette lighter plug?

Do you have any RF noise on your radios? I read that the 240VDC to 440VAC inverter was a huge noisemaker. Although they made no mention about VHF/UHF the article was primarily about HF.

I bet a few years down the road their will aftermarket DC-DC converters for hybrids, inverters, etc, that run directly off of the 240VCD. With the car stereo business they way it is someone will come up with a way to power giant stereo amp's / sub's in a hybrid. I have always looked to the car stereo market for high current DC parts.

If anyone else has any experience with the power systems in hybrids I would like to hear it even if it’s not directly related to chasing. For example technical specs, stereo systems, or battery replacement.

 

[Patrick McCarthy]

Environment Canada recently used a Prius as a mobile Observing platform:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/environment/envirogeog/weather/unstable/Field_Teams.html

The wx equipment is designed to go on any rental.

You could contact them about how the car handled the power.

Pat