Just closed deal over the phone - hopefully pickup tomorrow

[Don]

Every electrical thing on the car runs on 12 volts . . . . which is constantly being replenished from your 330 volt drive battery, so it doesn't really matter - In actuality, EVERYTHING runs off 330 volts

I *think* your biggest problem so far is . . . . you've never got a full charge since you bought the car - If you left home with it fully charged, none of this drama would be happening . . . . and you'd be able to get a full 120 volt recharge overnight because you wouldn't be starting from empty all the time

Still, you're learning valuable lessons early on - Once you get your EVSE modified for 120/240 @ 12 amps, even your opportunity recharging at work will help keep you full up, as opposed to always worrying if you have enough to make it back home

Don

 

[rdct]

+10 on the lack of full charge.
Exactly why I opted to leave it home today.
I thought I had a full charge coming Sunday night and found that my son depleted it immensely showing his friends and wrecked that night.

I'm not sure I follow the mod for 12amps.
Do I need to specify a particular 220 box?

I have that extra plug on the drivers side for 440 but none of those charging stations around here.

 

[jray3]

I go back in, more chit chat, mess around with the remote with a salesman.
Go back out in another 15 mins, the wall charger is blinking Fault.
Crap again.
Promised I'd be back to work shortly. 2hrs 45mins later I show up back at work with Mr Turtle on the dash.
It felt like I waited forever to make 10 miles turn into 19.

To me, the key phrase was "mess around with the remote". I'll bet that is what tripped off the charger. The charge timer is counter-intuitive, and I turned a short charging stop on a Blink into a long ordeal during my first week of ownership by messing with with the remote!

 

[jray3]

On the coasting vs braking for regen; actually one of the bigger questions I wanted to ask.
My initial naive thoughts were to try and get charge back in that cell, but it did in fact feel prohibitive to my needs.
Yes, besides finding it awkward to maintain speed, it just felt like all pain no gain.
I was hoping I could ask without sounding like a complete idiot, is it ok to put it in neutral down hills?
I haven't seen anything yet on the design of the drivetrain to understand how that would affect it.

Neutral is just fine to use, and a number of us frequently rattle that lever between N and B. I'd like to hack a 'coast button' to allow neutral coastdown and then bring back full regen at the desired moment. There's no actual changing of gears with this car, the lever just moves a cable-actuated electric switch. However, I haven't heard of anyone admitting to switching into reverse at speed- so don't know if that would cause electrical issues or if that scenario has been idiot-proofed. At very low speeds, a rolling reversal shows no ill effect.

 

[Don]

I'm not sure I follow the mod for 12amps.
Do I need to specify a particular 220 box?

You can send your OEM EVSE to www.evseupgrade.com and have it modified. When you get it back, it will allow you to charge using either 120 volts @ 12 amps or 240 volts @ 12 amps. Stock, the EVSE charges at 960 watts. 12 amps allows for charging with 1440 watts (50% more than stock) or 2880 watts if you plug it into 240, which gives you a recharge time of around 6 hours

Don

 

[Vike]

Allow me to set a tone here for myself; I'm laughing and smiling all the way thru my experiences.
I was trying to get people to laugh with me not cringe.
I have a horrible habit of taking everything I do to test the limits.
I thought yesterday was an amusing experience that went well in the end.

Sorry, didn't mean to be a pill. As long as you're taking it all in stride and having a laugh, that's fine. I am not happy out at the edge myself, but don't begrudge a good time to those who find their fun out there. I would just caution you that routinely taking your battery to its limits will cause its capacity to deteriorate more rapidly over time, and that would be the opposite of fun.

On the coasting vs braking for regen; actually one of the bigger questions I wanted to ask.
My initial naive thoughts were to try and get charge back in that cell, but it did in fact feel prohibitive to my needs.
Yes, besides finding it awkward to maintain speed, it just felt like all pain no gain.
I was hoping I could ask without sounding like a complete idiot, is it ok to put it in neutral down hills?

Ah yes, there are a couple of hills on my daily commute that I coast down in N. The key is to make sure I give myself plenty of time to get back into gear so I can regen brake before the stop signs. While regen is worse than coasting, it is absolutely the way you want to slow down when it's time to do that. And of course be hyper-vigilant, since your reaction time might have to include getting the car back into D (my hand stays on the shifter, truth to tell) . Two things to remember:

1. you don't regen in N, so the braking is fully mechanical/friction. I try to use the friction braking as little as possible, so make sure I'm in D/E/B before braking.
2. you can can coast while in gear - just lightly apply throttle until you see your power meter get just barely up out of the charging area

Overall, I've found E works fine for most of my day-to-day driving, making "one-pedal driving" fairly convenient. I do keep in mind how closely I'm being followed, because letting E slow one down with enhanced regen is wicked fun, but also doesn't activate one's brake lights, perhaps causing an inattentive follower to collide from the rear. On the acceleration side, I've learned that E neither creates a slow-pokey hazard nor covers for one's lead foot - plant the go-pedal and she'll dart ahead full steam, whether in D or E; D lets you access full power more gradually, but as far as I can tell E still delivers full force if you really insist on it. Of course the usual caveats apply - planting the pedal routinely will diminish range, both short-term and long-term. Most important, those different driving modes are there for different drivers as well as different situations - use what's most comfortable for you.

I'm really glad you're enjoying the car - I love driving mine, and feel oddly protective of the model, so I'm always glad to hear that one of them's found a home with someone that can appreciate its virtues.

 

[rdct]

To me, the key phrase was "mess around with the remote". I'll bet that is what tripped off the charger. The charge timer is counter-intuitive, and I turned a short charging stop on a Blink into a long ordeal during my first week of ownership by messing with with the remote!

You got it.
That's what I said to the salesman when he tells me he swears it was charging.
Must have been me and the other salesman messing with the remote.
In retrospect this story was more of a funny awkward day; I was keeping track of everything I would do different and what I wanted to ask questions about.
I will master that remote - programming our Harmony One remote ( http://www.logitech.com/en-us/support/harmony-one-advanced-universal-remote) for the media room is excruciating (if you want to get fancy with all your components and add lighting and blinds) in comparison.
I figured the MiEV remote was basic enough to not require me to open the manual, but I admit that night I figured I better glance thru it.

 

[Applewins]

Using N verses B.
I have found using B instead of applying the brake conserves the energy immensely. I drive through town, about 13 miles, going stoplight to stoplight on mostly level ground and often only consume 4-5 miles off of the estimated range. I switch between E and B and seldom if ever use D.

Just my 2¢

Enjoy!

 

[rdct]

Neutral is just fine to use, and a number of us frequently rattle that lever between N and B. I'd like to hack a 'coast button' to allow neutral coastdown and then bring back full regen at the desired moment. There's no actual changing of gears with this car, the lever just moves a cable-actuated electric switch....

Coasting is my new friend! Dropped my daughter off at college today. 36 miles total. Got my first full charge leaving it at home yesterday (ya me); full charge minus 36 = 24 miles showing on the DTG (my new acronym - dist. to go). Seems that gauge is very reliable.
Kept it between 55 / 62 on the hwy today. No heater fan. This makes up for Tuesday

Ah yes, there are a couple of hills on my daily commute that I coast down in N. The key is to make sure I give myself plenty of time to get back into gear so I can regen brake before the stop signs. While regen is worse than coasting, it is absolutely the way you want to slow down when it's time to do that. And of course be hyper-vigilant, since your reaction time might have to include getting the car back into D (my hand stays on the shifter, truth to tell) . Two things to remember:

1.you don't regen in N, so the braking is fully mechanical/friction. I try to use the friction braking as little as possible, so make sure I'm in D/E/B before braking.
2.you can can coast while in gear - just lightly apply throttle until you see your power meter get just barely up out of the charging area....

So this is what was going thru my mind on the not so good day this week - if N was safe, am I gaining more from coasting or regen. I'm absolutely learning to the coasting.
And I "down-shifted" today like I would in our old 5spd Mustang. Very little brake useage.
Overall, its just plain fun.
This thing coasts like a go-kart. Held 62mph down all hills on the hwy even slightly past the bottom. When I saw 1mph drop, back into D and on the throttle.

 

[alohart]

In the past, I have lamented the lack of a driving mode in which lifting off the accelerator would result in no-regen coasting. In this mode, lightly pressing the brake pedal would control the amount of regen desired. Some have emulated this driving mode by shifting to N, but this requires shifting back into any drive mode for regen braking or emergency acceleration to occur, so this seems less than ideal.

Don pointed out that shifting to N in an i-MiEV isn't like shifting to N in an ICE vehicle where N disconnects the drive train from the engine. Instead, N merely disconnects the motor electrically so that neither regen nor assist occurs while the motor continues rotating. Don pointed out that this same coasting mode occurs in any drive mode when the accelerator position is adjusted to provide neither regen nor assist. This can be superior to coasting in N because regen braking or emergency acceleration can occur without shifting back into a drive mode.

So I now prefer to drive in B mode where coasting, maximum acceleration, and regen braking are all available with a quick adjustment of the accelerator pedal.

 

[nsps]

So I now prefer to drive in B mode where coasting, maximum acceleration, and regen braking are all available with a quick adjustment of the accelerator pedal.

Hi, I should be taking possession of a new i-MiEV tomorrow, and was curious about B mode. I mainly tested D and Eco during my test drive, having been told that B was mainly for going down steep hills. Now, however, I've seen a couple different posts recommend driving in B all the time. So in B, you have more acceleration power than in Eco?

 

[alohart]

So in B, you have more acceleration power than in Eco?

My feeling is that you have the same acceleration power in all driving modes but that in Eco, you must press the accelerator down further to access that power; i.e., Eco mode desensitizes the accelerator pedal in its initial range only. The sensitivity of the accelerator pedal feels the same in D and Eco, but the regen power is greatest in B followed by Eco with D the least.

 

[rdct]

Regarding the "B" mode; does anyone have reliable info to confirm that it is safe to drive constantly in it?

I'm not discounting it either way as I haven't read anything from Mitsubishi on it, however my salesman was the only "qualified" person at the dealership on the MiEV, and after asking the same question, he informed me that he was told not to drive around in it.

He did admit that he wasn't given a technical explanation why when I asked because like a kid I need to know why and it needs to make sense or I'm likely going to do it anyway

I myself would like to know the technical aspects or ramifications of it.
However I find you need to be quite smooth on the throttle or you nose dive as if driving around in first gear.


Last night coasting down a half mile hill in town, the coasting versus regen kind of came to me in better words.
While I might not be gaining back a quarter of the half mile hill in regen, I'm traveling a half mile or slightly more and using nothing.
Doesn't look as good now on paper as it sounded in my head - very tired 13hr day again.....
Must be easily amused when brain is drained

 

[Zelenec]

Regarding the "B" mode; does anyone have reliable info to confirm that it is safe to drive constantly in it?

Using B mode on flat roads presents a certain danger. Regenerative braking is faster without warning of brake lights, which can mislead drivers behind you that your speed remains unchanged, and so safe distance between cars can be reduced and in worst scenario... You know what I mean.

 

[aarond12]

Regenerative braking is faster without warning of brake lights...

I was wondering if my brake lights came on during full regen. That seems dangerous if they don't illuminate. I always drive in "B" mode. I like getting to work on only one bar (9 miles).

 

[JoeS]

Slowing down in "B" is no different than slowing down a stick-shift car by downshifting.
It's only dangerous if you are not paying attention to the traffic behind you; i.e., don't use "B" in heavy traffic and instead modulate regen by gently using the brake pedal (it does the same thing). This is a driver-responsibility issue and not a vehicle idiot-proofing issue (we have enough of those already).

 

[Don]

Regarding the "B" mode; does anyone have reliable info to confirm that it is safe to drive constantly in it?

My car has about 7500 miles on it now . . . . all but 4 or 5 of those miles have been driven exclusively using the B mode and no 'issues' so far - I'll let you know if anything changes

Used properly, the B mode gives you everything you need. You don't need to shift into neutral to 'coast' down a hill as there is a throttle position where the motor is in neither in the regen nor in the drive mode, which is the same thing as shifting to neutral

Once you get used to B, it's the most natural way to drive as you have total control over both acceleration and deceleration, all by modulating the throttle. It's not unlike driving any car with a manual transmission. Since the drive motor is directly coupled to the wheels, you are either accelerating (if you're pressing the pedal) or decelerating (if you lift off the pedal) or at steady cruise. The same is true of our EV, except that we do have a midpoint where no energy is being consumed, which is as close to 'coasting' as we can get, since we have no true neutral, nor do we have a clutch

Don

 

[jray3]

Regenerative braking is faster without warning of brake lights...

Yep, I think that it's a design mistake not to follow Tesla's lead and flash the brake lights during heavy regen, so I watch following drivers and will often tap the brake pedal. One fellow actually pulled alongside and warned that my brake lights weren't working, and I've seen several surprised expressions through my rearview mirror... In traffic, my full regen deceleration often matches or exceeds that of all the vehicles braking around me. And riding a manual ICE gearbox down to a crawl? Well, that's almost less common than an EV in these parts! :lol: