The battery stays on status charging and while in that status that feature is not available. My Pacifica is already a year old so my question is, is it cheaper to get a new one at the dealer or Pepboys or any other auto store?
So, yes, the ESS battery maintains the computer + other systems so in-cabin comfort is unaffected. In my mind, all that was supported by the main battery.ESS works this way:
Engine controls constantly monitor vehicle speed
When the vehicle brakes to a stop, fuel flow is cut and engine turns off – events that save gas and reduce emissions
Beefier batteries maintain other vehicle systems so in-cabin comfort is unaffected
When the brake pedal is released, the engine automatically restarts and the nine-speed automatic transmission, the segment-exclusive nine-speed automatic transmission is engaged – all within 0.3 seconds
That’s great news, glad to hear they got you taken care of!l went to the dealer last Saturday and they tested again both batteries. Both failed. After replacing it Stop-start is working again. l only drove back from the dealer, around 10 miles.
l was missing the silence of having the engine off at interceptions!
Sadly, it's a physical thing that has its own requirements that don't care about our whims. There are a lot of electronics on board that draw power, and if you don't charge that battery enough to power them, the ESS isn't going to work. The Prius has a huge battery, the auxiliary battery here is the size of a lawnmower battery- a lot gets asked of it, and your driving doesn't feed it enough. I'd actually congratulate you on needing to use your van so little.To me this is really annoying. That feature should be working no matter how short is the distance that you are driving. This is what I call BAD DESIGN. PERIOD.
I bolded the part I do not like. It seems that is not jut go and buy a high capacitor battery. It seems that some changes in the electronics behind that feature needs to be changed.Hello Mr. Garcia,
Thank you for contacting me in regards to the threaded conversation.
Your thread is correct, in that lead acid batteries (or any battery) does not have good “charge acceptance”. What happens is, the battery drains during cranking, and then it takes a long time to recharge the battery. Cold temperature, battery age, depth of discharge, charging capabilities, etc. all play into how long that battery has to be charged before it can perform the next start stop. As the battery ages, it quickly loses it’s charge acceptance, meaning fewer and fewer stop/start events can occur in the same distance. On top of that, many features of the vehicle are designed to turn off the ESS capability; turning on heat or AC, turning the steering wheel, if the temperature is below 40F, and other items. Some cars of over 200 things programmed in to prevent the ESS from functioning to avoid a failed start. I have given many speeches about this, and it is fairly well known in the automotive space. I can not say why companies still use batteries for ESS, as it is very clear that ultracapacitors are by far the better choice. For a small difference in price, the ESS system could participate in nearly 100% of stop events, over the life of the vehicle, without degradation to the capacitors.
I have reached out to the EPA to state that customers like you are paying for a stop/start vehicle, which includes a specific fuel efficiency advantage, which is lost in the first 8 months, according to my testing. That means that you are paying for a feature that goes away, and you’re no longer getting the fuel economy you paid for. I suggested that the EPA purchase several cars that are 1 year and 2 years old to perform the fuel efficiency test on them, and force companies to issue recalls when the ESS isn’t functioning. Unfortunately, this has not been done.
I cannot give you a specific capacitor design for your vehicle, as it would need to be sized and have some electronics developed to work in a car, which has other systems designed to function with the battery. But I can tell you that a capacitor would work extremely well, for the life of the vehicle.
Good luck in your search!
Best Regards,
Chad Hall
Co-Founder / Senior Vice President of Marketing
Ioxus, Inc.