Another EV question

[jgruiz]

Hey people; here is a hypothetical situation. If I' am stuck in heavy stop-n-go (very slow) traffic on a hot day and we have A/C on, will EV mode shut off eventually? I know the A/C compressor is electric so its going to drain the battery much faster, so how will the "Big" battery get charged? We have family in Mexico and the wait coming back across the border is anywhere from one to two hours. We've had our hybrid for a year now and we haven't driven it south of the border yet. Has anybody experiencing anything similar to this?

[Infinitiguy19]

I am not 100% sure on this one but check out the owners manual and the service manual: http://Nicoclub.com/FSM

[rtking]

I wouldn't worry about the trip. The engine will start to recharge the hybrid batteries as well as the 12v battery used for starting the car. I have sat in heavy traffic for well over 1.5 hours and never had an issue.

[scrutmonkey]

rtking has it correct. the gas engine will automatically come on when the Big battery's power is reduced to a certain level. It happens to me a few times when i get stuck in traffic and the AC is on.

[jgruiz]

Ok; but what is charging the "big battery" if you are in stop n go traffic. I imagine there is something in the system that prevents the electric motor from starting but without a normal alternator, like non-hybrid cars, how is that "big battery" been charged? And sorry for my delay at replying but several things kept me from this site.

[insaneturbo13]

nothing is charging it... its draining constantly until it reaches a low point, when it gets low enough then the engine will turn on to recharge it.

a typical alternator is just an electric motor working in reverse, so the gas engine turns on and uses the electric motor to pump energy back through to the batteries.