The FutureTech Auto Blog

If you've never kept an old magazine (or a few) then you may not know the sudden joy of finding a blast from the past like this. Here's one for you pack rats out there - maybe we will find something about NiMH, Li-Ion, and Vehicle Electrification in your magazine stacks in the future? 

Delco-Light Plants were a glass battery (24V dc System) from over 100 years ago. Quite amazing how far our technology has come - and how amazing it still was back then!

Read more about Delco-Light here. 

Hybrid, Plug-In, and Electric vehicle technologies have implemented a multitude of battery technologies into a significant number of vehicle platforms.  From 2000 – 2010 Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) dominated hybrid vehicles and it continues to dominate the hybrid market today.  However, in 2009 Lithium technology began to make its mark in the hybrid market and this technology has continued to move steadily into the hybrid market with each passing model year.  Plug-In and full electric hybrids have been predominantly Lithium technology from the very beginning and these vehicles have been strictly Lithium for many model years. 

Every technology has iterations during its life cycle.  The frequency of these iterations becomes less frequent as the technology matures.  Battery technology is not maturing, but, it is iterating quickly due to the rapid cell technology changes.  When applying these changes to the repair industry where vehicles must be - it has a profound effect on the technicians that must perform the data analysis, diagnostics, and repair.  Unlike traditional vehicles that are far more mature and can be repaired by using pattern failure (pattern failure symptom recognition) analysis for a given vehicle manufacturer and model, advanced technology vehicles with electric drives and battery packs cannot be diagnosed using pattern failure recognition.  With changes in battery cell chemistry, sometimes by model year, pattern failure recognition is impossible.  Furthermore, when cell chemistries change, this means that the data and how it will react with various driving conditions is very different from year to year – even for the same vehicle model.
​
To solve this dilemma, service technicians and their managers need to recognize that the necessary analysis and diagnostic treatment for the advanced technology vehicles is significantly different than a traditional vehicle.  Technicians will need to accept that they will need to learn the operation of the different battery technologies so they can determine how to interpret scan tool data and how to manipulate the vehicle system to force the diagnostic process into something less gray and more binary.  So, it’s time for technicians to go back to school; the train has already left the station.   

​Many times during a FutureTech hybrid training class, we’re asked by students if there is any easy method of determining whether a driveability problem is engine related or electric propulsion related.  Depending on which manufacturer and systems design this can be more or less difficult to determine.  However, there is one generic method of at least isolating whether the problem is engine or electric propulsion related and that is to use the Regenerative (Regen) Braking mode. As a short review, Regen converts the kinetic energy stored by the vehicle (in motion) into electricity by the 3-phase electric drive motor.  This converted energy is then transferred to the 3-phase power inverter and rectified using software controls from alternating current to direct current.  This direct current is transferred to the battery pack to store the energy.
 
To determine whether a hesitation, chuggle, fish bite, or other low power condition is engine or electric propulsion related, merely accelerate the vehicle at wide-open throttle for about 5-10 seconds.  You will likely feel the problem during this acceleration.  After the 5-10 second acceleration, immediately perform an aggressive braking event.  If you can still feel the problem during Regen braking, it’s a problem related to the electric propulsion system (drive motor or power inverter).  If the problem is no longer there during Regen, the problem resides in the traditional engine system.  I want to stress here that, this is a simple generic test to help narrow where the problem may be stemming, it is not meant to be an “all encompassing” test.  Notice that I didn’t mention the battery pack.  There is a separate test that can be performed on the battery pack (stress test), and this can be performed during the same test drive for the engine and electric propulsion system by using a scan tool.  The battery pack can also cause hesitations, chuggles, fish bites, etc.
 
In total, this is about a 20 minute test drive for the engine, electric propulsion, and battery pack.  It’s simple, effective, and will save a technician significant diagnostic time.   

Automotive service businesses may be missing out on how the can market their services to a new generation of vehicle owners.  The new generation of Plug-In Hybrid, Extended Range Electric, and Battery Electric (Advanced Technology) vehicle owners are very “tech savvy” and are constantly scanning their local area for businesses that can maintain, analyze, diagnose, and repair their Advanced Technology vehicle.  Acquiring their business may be very simple and does not require more than a few minutes of your time with them.  By adding a plug-in Charging Station, you can easily begin to market your business as “friendly” to these Advanced Technology vehicle owners.  The marketing is very simple:  Most plug-in vehicle owners want to know where they can plug-in to charge their vehicle.  In fact, many owners use smart phone apps such as Charge Point to determine where the nearest charging station is located to receive a quick charge.  And, it would be very simple to add your business to the many smart phone apps that are available to vehicle owners.  If your business is already diagnosing and repairing Advanced Technology products then, this would be a simple and inexpensive strategy to market your business as a location for not only vehicle charging but, also vehicle repair.  Level 2 charging stations can be purchased for less than $750.00 and only need a dedicated 220V electrical circuit with 20 – 40 Amp capability. 
 
You may want to think about adding a charging station to your business.  It’s an inexpensive method for exposing your service business to Advanced Technology vehicle owners globally.  It’s also a method to acquire traditional service business from a customer.  Remember, most customers believe that, if a business can maintain and repair their Advanced Technology vehicle, certainly they can repair a traditional vehicle with “old” technology.

​How many customers could your charge station attract in your business' service area? FutureTech can develop a report that is unique to your business, showing how many Hybrid, EREV, Plug-In Hybrid, and Electric Vehicles are close to you. 

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) technology has been used in the automotive electric propulsion market since the early-1990’s, starting with Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) applications (ex: GM EV1).  It was a welcomed replacement to the Advanced Lead Acid battery technology with offering an Energy Density that was double that of the lead acid technology.  As NiMH continued to mature it was utilized in the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) market for products such as the GM Tahoe/Yukon, Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Lexus RX400h, and Toyota Prius – to name a few.  Therefore, as the NiMH products increased in volume, there was a natural interest in high voltage battery pack rebuilding or remanufacturing in the Aftermarket as the vehicles were exiting the warranty period.  This led to hobbyists, “weekend warriors” and, do-it-yourselfer technicians rushing into the market to stake their claim for a profitable business venture in the rebuilding of HEV battery packs. 

However, as many of the hobbyists and others eventually learned, there is more to rebuilding battery packs than meets the eye.  There is significantly more to rebuilding these packs than reading an article, blog, or other posting on the internet on how to “condition” battery modules.  Most individuals are unaware that there is much more to analyzing, diagnosing, and rebuilding a NiMH battery pack than conditioning or what some refer to as reconditioning.  Professionals must consider Screening and where the vehicle has spent its service life.  The experiences of our company engineers at FutureTech is that most hobbyists and other individuals simply do not have the training, equipment, or experience to properly screen, condition, and rebuild a battery pack.  Field quantitative and qualitative data support this these assertions.  So, let’s take a look at some of the areas that expand past the mere conditioning of NiMH modules.

Conditioning
Conditioning is another word for “cycling” the battery pack.  Cycling is defined as discharging the battery pack/modules to 0% State-of-Charge (SOC) and charging the pack to 100% SOC.  Cycling the NiMH modules will increase the capacity of healthy modules and provide data so battery pack capacity can be increased and balanced.

Screening
Screening battery modules requires appropriate equipment, and professionally trained technicians using the equipment to acquire battery energy, power data and, discharge (curve) signatures that permits a trained technician to review all testing data and review the performance of a battery module or cell.  Screening is a component of the conditioning process and serves as the essential diagnostic point of the entire rebuilding process.  Screening is one of the most crucial steps in determining what treatment a battery will need while being rebuilt, whether only conditioning is necessary or if module/cell replacement is necessary. 

Testing Procedures    
Battery packs (modules or cells) require both Power and Energy (capacity) testing to ensure optimal performance.  Power and Energy are not the same values/quantities.  Most hobbyists, do-it-yourselfers, and others typically do not understand this difference.  Energy is “how much” energy can be stored (capacity) by a module or cell. Power is the rate in which the energy can be delivered.  As an analogy, if a battery module is a 55 gallon drum that stores water then, the amount of water it can store/hold is Energy (capacity). Power is how fast (rate) that the water can be removed from the drum.  Therefore, both quantities must be tested because, one of the quantities may be functioning properly while the other is not.  Battery modules can be Energy limited but, not Power limited – and vice-versa.  Both must be tested.

Vehicle Service Life
One of the areas that FutureTech engineers have tracked for over a decade is how the geographical area, terrain, drive cycle, and calendar aging variables effect how a battery pack will perform.  Based on where a vehicle is located geographically provides a strongly correlated indicator for determining battery pack longevity and performance.  Ditto for the terrain, how the vehicle is used (drive cycle), and the age of the battery pack.  Each variable has a weighted value when analyzing the Power and Energy test data.  When FutureTech trains battery technicians, we use all of these variables to assist the technician in how to interpret battery testing data and arrive at the correct diagnosis and action plan before rebuilding the battery pack.
​
So, What Does This All Mean?
If your business plans to rebuild NiMH battery packs, it is imperative that you properly vet your equipment and training supplier before taking the plunge.  In FutureTech’s experience, seldom do suppliers within the automotive Aftermarket make it through the vetting process.  The supplier should have at a minimum vehicle manufacturer experience in the areas of electric propulsion, and high voltage battery pack systems in particular.  If you plan to purchase battery packs from a supplier that rebuilds, it is essential that you properly vet them to learn about their capabilities in testing and rebuilding battery packs before you make any commitments.

​