Battery Showed Complete Top Up...

[Jim Nazium]

A couple of days ago while driving along, on the highway I noticed the Hybrid System Lite up all the available LCD Indicators GREEN. This is my preferred display setting, and I did a double take, just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. In fact, the battery full indicator remained full for quiet sometime.

STATS (techie information):

- Temperature approx 32 F

- Vehicle is always parked indoor heated garage.

- Left for work, and driving along my usual route, mainly highway.

- Mileage 36,000 miles.

- Heating and Ventilation System was off, and no other electrical load (not even radio).

- Had my last service performed at 35,250 miles (standard stuff, oil and filter change).

I do know, that the hybrid system likes to NOT completely charge up the NiMH batteries, usually backing off at about 80% charge. But, I did find it interesting to see this happened for the very first time (to my knowledge... can't exactly log this stuff), and am curious if anybody else has noticed this before.

If this has occured to others, please chime in with as much techie information as possible...

Cheers,

MadloR

[lwleedy]

I have an 07 RX 400h and I've seen it a couple of times but like you said it is rare.

Lenny

[lemon]

2006 RX400h with 125000 KM. Have seen it a few times, but it is rare. More often I've seen it green, but one bar from the top. Usually this happens if the truck has been parked close to the 80%, then the at the next start up, I drive agressively enough to keep the ICE running.

[RX400h]

I see it quite often, but then again, it never gets very cold here in San Diego. In addition, much of the last 3 miles is either down hill or level. Halfway down the hill, I see green.

[cduluk]

I've never seen my battery get even into the green unless i force it (there's a method for charging it up by pressing the gas and the brake at the same time in D). Mine usually stays in the 3-4 blue bar range...

[Jim Clark]

I've never seen my battery get even into the green unless i force it (there's a method for charging it up by pressing the gas and the brake at the same time in D). Mine usually stays in the 3-4 blue bar range...

Seen ours in the green plenty of times but I don't remember seeing it all the way up.

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Even if/when the battery screen is full green, the battery is still not full. By not designing the system to charge to the max (instead, only to about 80% of full capacity) Toyota is able to meet 100K mile warranty mandates (150K in some states). Not maxing the traction pack's charges means your pack will have an incredable life expectancy. Same is true when the screen appears fully BLANK/empty. There'll still be 20% battery capacity left that the ECU's will not allow to be discharged. Aren't you glad though? The traction pack is where you get starting power ... and it'd be a drag for you to loose the last 20% because you couldn't start the ICE. Btw, all you need to do if you really really want to see a full green screen, is find a nice, long, steep hill. Riding the brake on the way down will do it in quick order. I see it each time we cross the contenental divide. The quirky issue is that once the battery gets to where you see fully green on the screen, your hybrid will actually waste electric energy by forcing discharg. So it looks cool to see fully green, but you're electricity generation is waste in that rare scenerio. That's how the system fully protects itself from overcharge ... which happens once it goes over 80% charged.

[Jim Nazium]

Even if/when the battery screen is full green, the battery is still not full. By not designing the system to charge to the max (instead, only to about 80% of full capacity) Toyota is able to meet 100K mile warranty mandates (150K in some states). Not maxing the traction pack's charges means your pack will have an incredable life expectancy. Same is true when the screen appears fully BLANK/empty. There'll still be 20% battery capacity left that the ECU's will not allow to be discharged. Aren't you glad though? The traction pack is where you get starting power ... and it'd be a drag for you to loose the last 20% because you couldn't start the ICE. Btw, all you need to do if you really really want to see a full green screen, is find a nice, long, steep hill. Riding the brake on the way down will do it in quick order. I see it each time we cross the contenental divide. The quirky issue is that once the battery gets to where you see fully green on the screen, your hybrid will actually waste electric energy by forcing discharg. So it looks cool to see fully green, but you're electricity generation is waste in that rare scenerio. That's how the system fully protects itself from overcharge ... which happens once it goes over 80% charged.

I have attempted in the past, to see if I could ever fully charge the battery packs. I am always intrigued by why things are what they are. I have tried in the past to drive down a very long hill, had the transmission in "LOW", as well as gingerely having to ride the brakes (aka, the regen.brakes) and only noticed the following... The kw/h indicator would for the most part, shift to the neutral position after a certain point. I.O.W., it was like the ECU was over riding any further ability by the Hybrid system to charge any more. I understand fully, the reason why to not have the NiMH batteries charged to 100% capacity. I was just kind of taken aback, it was the first time ever (for me), and I did not try to do anything specific (I gave up on that).

Cheers,

MadloR