Lithium batteries and cold weather do not go well together. An incredibly important part of engineering the Volt, and electric cars in general, is to assure that they will function properly in very cold weather.
My MINI-E which is rudimentary and relies on cabin air to warm the pack, was just in the shop having been towed for the third time in its short 7 month life. In temperatures below 32 degrees I regularly only get about 55 to 60 miles of range. I came out of my workplace two weeks ago to find the car unable to start with the battery registering zero. A “battery module” was replaced.
The Volt battery has its own independently regulated software-controlled liquid thermal management system that ensures stability, reproducibility and longevity.
GM’s Voltec engineering team are on another road trip to Kapuskasing Ontario to cold-weather test the Volt. Kapuskasing is 500 miles north of Toronto and this time of year has temps regularly below zero.
As Volt engineer Pam Fletcher writes:
We want to see how the vehicle responds in temperatures as low as -40 degrees C. Basically, we try to simulate customer behavior to be sure the vehicle responds exactly as a customer would expect.
Despite the frigid temperatures, the Volt is engineered to handle extreme conditions. The battery is warmed up during plug-in charging, which is recommended particularly in cold climates, but we realize not everyone will do this. So at night, we plug-in some vehicles and some we don’t. We want to ensure the vehicles start in the morning, or if the battery is too cold, we want to be certain the engine-generator starts first to protect the battery. The engine-generator system will provide energy to heat battery if it was not plugged in or to supplement battery temperature. By the time you remote start the car, or remote cabin conditioning as we refer to it in the Volt, pack up your things and get in, the car is ready to go.
To learn more about cold weather testing the Volt, and to ask your own questions, tune in at 730 PM EDT for a live real time chat with Pam and Volt lead engineer Andrew Farah in the box below:
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Engineering, Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+3
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:06 pm)not having any problems down to 22 degrees with the Tesla given the excess capacity.
+6
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:37 pm)If I lived in Alaska or 500 miles north of Toronto, CA., buying a Volt wouldn’t make a whole lot of since. Give me a 4*4 pickup and a lift kit. Regardless of what you may think or us red necks with pickups, a low to the ground car with 2 wheel drive isn’t the vehicle of choice to get you there 6 months a year.
Now, my home in Arizona, that’s a different story…….
+4
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:41 pm)I think that, whatever problems may or may not surface after all of this, GM will be able to hold its head up and say that it made every possible effort to test and perfect the car before it was released. Then, if they take an open and aggressive approach to fixing whatever issues the early adopters may turn up, they should be fine.
As much as it’s fun to make fun of the competition in distress, and I’m as guilty as anybody, it’s a lot better to say “There but for the Grace of God go I”, and learn from their mistakes. As Jim Healy used to say, “My lips are sealed, but their initials are TMC”.
+9
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:42 pm)They picked the wrong week to start cold testing there, it won’t go below 0 degrees F for at least a week. I grew up on the Hi-Line in Montana and remember some rather cold days. The difference between 20 degrees and -20 is remarkable. At 30 below or colder, things just start to break, if you adjust your seat, the button will break off, and using the ash tray will break it right off. If you start the car, even if you have a head bolt heater, the transmission can take 5 to 10 minutes to unthaw and allow you to put it in gear. A normal ICE car should be plugged in in that kind of temperature, so the Volt won’t need special treatment, and in fact the pack management system will help the Volts battery avoid some of the cold weather degradation of performance that Lyle is seeing with his Mini-E. But any car takes a hit on its efficiency in cold weather.
I have always figured I would get around 36-8 miles AER in the Volt if I drove normally, and around 33-35 if I was using the heat or AC. I will be curious to see if heated seats will allow Volt drivers to use less heat overall, thus reducing the cold weather penalty.
I hope that GM gooses the AER a bit in the gen 2, but most importantly, I just hope GM can drop the MSRP each year the Volt is built. 9 months to go, hard to believe that GM’s ‘vaporware’ is about to be released!
+4
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:43 pm)Thank goodness for GM doing all this testing and not just relying on “synthetic” results from the cold chamber.
I fly lipo-powered model airplanes year ’round and can definitely testifly (oops, typo but I will leave it!) that lipos really wimp out in the cold. I keep the batteries warm in my pocket until the last possible second then attach them to the plane and go. Once in the air with some current going through them they work quite well in the northern Michigan cold behind Mom’s house. The batteries of today seem much better at this than those of 3 or 4 years ago. I even have some lithium-manganese batteries as used in the Volt. They used to be great in the cold but after 3 years… not as good. This is a concern for me but if GM is willing to warranty the battery pack then it’s their problem.
Aha, as I suspected, the gasoline engine can be used to warm up the battery pack. The thing is there, may as well make some use of it. I assume some heat can also be sent to the passenger compartment (I suppose it can be generated from engine-provided electricity if need be).
In any case batteries will only get better over time, and yes folks, they can be recycled. Lithium is an element, it doesn’t wear out. The molecules it is a part of may break down but the lithium itself is just fine. I’m not sure some people understand these basics (I remember learning element vs. molecule in 5th grade, jeez). This is why I haven’t thrown any of my old lipos away, I’m not “being green”, I just hate to waste things. Hopefully they can be recycled someday (and without burning a gallon of gasoline driving to a recycling center or whatever…).
Cool article!
(had to)
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:49 pm)Speaking of range, has there been any word on whether the Sport mode will come with a range penalty, relative to the Normal mode?
In fact, this is a fundamental question that maybe some physicists or engineers on this site can answer: **In an electric car, is there a range penalty for rapid acceleration?** We all know there’s a gas mileage penalty for ICE cars in rapid acceleration. But I assume that’s only because the ICE runs inefficiently (high revs) during a speed-up burst. An electrically driven car has only one gear ratio, so does it matter at all how quickly we convert the battery’s potential energy into kinetic energy (by “stomping” it, say)? As long as we use coasting and easy, regenerative braking, I don’t think there would be a range penalty to a lead foot in an electric car. What say, friends??
I would like to drive my Volt perpetually in Sport mode and the so-called “Low gear” simultaneously (it’s not really a low gear, just more regen braking during coast). That way I would have a nimble car capable of frequent speed-up and slow-down maneuvers (e.g., in city and town traffic) and making maximum use of regeneration to achieve this maneuverability.
Feb 17th, 2010 (5:56 pm)At zero degrees my Ford would experience sticky relays. And, as you mention, a knob would crack or break off now and then. I have ridden a motorcycle in 10 degree weather with no tar visible on the street. The bike functioned fine. Please don’t try this at home.
=D-Volt
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:21 pm)Hi sparks,
I believe the answer to your question is that it is always less efficient ICE or EV to jack-rabbit but since the electric motor is a more efficient machine than an ICE, it it less wasteful. I do not know the numbers.
Most of your waste though would come from frequent slowdowns, however, even pure regen-driven braking with no friction braking taking place because you will only get back a portion of the kinetic energy back into the battery, again, I don’t know the percentage and it would vary at different speeds I imagine.
The less dramatic changes in speed, the farther you’ll go in any vehicle.
Regarding sport mode, there”s no penalty unless you actually use the extra horsepower.
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:24 pm)[...] EST: Chevy Volt Winter Testing in Canada LIVE Chat: Cold Weather Testing the Chevy Volt LINK: http://gm-volt.com/2010/02/17/live-c…he-chevy-volt/ From GM-Volt.com… Lithium batteries and cold weather do not go well together. An incredibly [...]
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:33 pm)If the engine comes on by itself to warm the batteries, have they considered whether the car is inside or out. Granted, it would be an unusual circumstance if it were inside and got cold enough to have the engine come on, but could cause problems for anyone that breathed the fumes while they were asleep.
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:36 pm)Is there something about a plane crash regarding Tesla employees? I saw a google news story a few minutes ago, but can not get it back on my screen to be sure in this post. Perhaps it is incorrect. I certainly hope it is incorrect.
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:38 pm)In the Volt, on a cold winter day (or on a warm day, but just to pretend like this is on topic), I’m curious about the mechanical difference between L mode and D mode when letting off the accelerator. Is the increased regen/drag in L mode caused from a stronger induced magnetic field in the traction motor compared to D mode or in D mode, does a clutch actually decouple the traction motor from the drive wheels (I certainly hope not)? Does anyone have any knowledge or insight on this?
+2
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:47 pm)On my 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid…
I have had the car not plugged in at -25C overnight… Started fine the next morning but it took almost 15 minutes of normal driving (with a 5 minute warmup) before the battery was warm enough to start helping the ICE..
When plugged in at that temperature… it still took about 10 minutes with a 5 minute warmup for the battery to indicate it was warm enough.
After the car was completely warmed up (about a 1/2 hour of city driving) the car functioned almost the same as if the temperature was + 5 C or more… Tho every time you park for a couple of hours… there is a 3 – 8 minutes of driving to get the battery warmed up again.
Canadian milage in the winter is still around 7 L / 100 KMS (around 40 MPG Canadian)
or 33.6 MPG US… which is impressive by itself for the size of the car..
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:50 pm)That is certainly something the engineers would have anticipated and not allow the engine to ever come on unless the key is in and the vehicle “on”. Hopefully the driver would not leave the car in this state in a closed garage…but you know some just might.
While plugged in, the battery temperature would be maintained from utility power.
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:57 pm)Yes Dan, I just saw the same article. It reportedly crashed on take-off in heavy fog and hit some power lines. Very sad.
+2
Feb 17th, 2010 (6:59 pm)Knock off a third for “spirited driving”.
-SPARKZZ
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:00 pm)If not plugged in, it won’t do anything till you go turn it on or remotely turn it on from your iPhone or Droid phone app.
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:06 pm)Yes, this is the “Lenz Law” in effect during brake regen.
No. From the drive motor to the wheels I believe there is no clutch. But in front of the drive motor and to the genset AC generator there is and also from the other end of the AC generator there is also a clutch to disnegage the generator motor to help deliver the up to 111KW of power to the drive wheels.
+2
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:08 pm)” we try to simulate customer behavior to be sure the vehicle responds exactly as a customer would expect.
I wonder if they’ll do some donut holes in the parking lot?
C’mon Andrew F! I know your’re there…..DOIT MAAAN!!!
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:15 pm)From some of the questions I see.. it sure is apparent that the public needs educated about electric vehicles. From conversations with various people I have found that there still is very little known about electric vehicles… many misconceptions. It sure will be nice in a year or so when a lot more electric vehicles will be on the road… and the VOLT is still the best technology out there.
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:19 pm)I am not sure if it is true or not, but I have heard that if you keep a car in a heated garage it will rust out faster. This because of more freeze thaw cycles. Will there be extra corrosion protection in the Volt to compensate?
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:22 pm)FWD & Traction,yaw control take the fun out of such things. But you know I would try. I would also make joyous use of the parking brake!
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:27 pm)I wonder if it is as important for the pack to be kept conditioned after it has been depleted compared to the need for it to be conditioned before it is depleted? And, of course, to be conditioned before it is recharged?
+3
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:28 pm)Hey Noel, what a nice post! +1
I agree, all this testing is reassuring. I’m also very happy that the GM engineers have put so much effort into pampering the battery and keeping those Volt lithiums happy. The battery is such a critical (and expensive) component. Time will tell how important this pampering turns out to be but between over-engineering and intense testing, it does instill confidence in me anyway that the Volt should have good long term reliability.
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:35 pm)Good questions — I look forward to the answers they may generate. I have worried about clutches too in the past, and generally had my fears allayed by the answers. It now appears to me that there are no intermittent mechanical linkages, such as clutches, in the Volt. Everything appears to be solid-shaft fixed coupling (with the possible exception of the starter on the ICE — I dunno about that), with all on-off gating accomplished by the electronics.
For example, I understand that there are two separate windings on the drive motor. One winding is for propulsion. The other is primarily for regeneration, and it is “smaller” than the propulsion winding (about 1/5 the total kW rating of the motor). However, in Sport mode the regen winding gets drafted by the electronics into assisting with propulsion.
If the above is correct (and I could be off-base), it would seem reasonable to me that in normal Drive the regen winding is the only source of regen-based braking, whereas in Low maybe the propulsion winding gets drafted into assisting the regen winding in slowing the vehicle. One can imagine that operation would be more seamless when the two windings only do only their primary function, whereas for example there might be a slight “jerk” felt as the propulsion winding gets switched into regen mode when driving in Low. But with smart SW-controlled electronics doing all the switching, this could be managed very well.
So the above is all guesswork (strictly “suppository”) on my part, just probably to add to the confusion out there!
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:39 pm)Err, thanks for all the clarification dude…
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (7:55 pm)To be clear…. I think I am. The Volt has no clutch! The ICE is directly coupled to the generator. The generator makes power for the batteries. The batteries drive the traction motor thru an invertor. (the traction motor is A/C and batteries are D/C). Regen is accomplished by using the traction motor as a generator when you are slowing down. The Sport/Normal and High Regen/Low Regen are functions of the Invertor and Charger.
Ricky Bobby – Electrical Engineer.
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:04 pm)Is anybody else having tremendous trouble seeing the video feed? The text list of questions stalled after Cap’n Jack’s 7:39 question, and my video feed of the replies has been mostly dead since shortly after that.
Guess I’ll have to catch the re-play later. I did get to see Andrew answer the first of my three questions, though. Thanks Andrew!
-1
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:12 pm)Yes, what you just said (below) is in-line with my understanding as well. And kudos to the Volt engineers for keeping clutches out! I did have an additional understanding, that there are two windings in the propulsion motor, one major and one minor (with primary roles of propulsion and regen, respectively — see my post #25 above). But why they would do this, I wouldn’t know, nor does it matter. The key point is: No Clutches!!
Thanks for the concise summing up.
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:13 pm)Ditto, is very good to be able to chat live with the persons shaping the Volt. Hope GM finds that overtime is needed to meet battery pack production demand. I’m sure the employees wouldn’t mind a longer week. I expect employee moral is pretty good considering they are writing history with every punch of the time clock. Wonder if Andrew will test the Voltec truck for the drive back to the airport?
=D-Volt
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:14 pm)Yes, me too.
I was able to refresh several times with success but it appears to be offline now for me.
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:27 pm)Phil Colley was kind enough to post links to the several-minute chunks of video that successfully were captured:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chevrolet-volt
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:28 pm)#24
Thanks for your kind words. +1 right back at ya, LOL.
+4
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:33 pm)Sounds like the Volt will run better than the Live Chat.
Cheers
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:44 pm)The specialist windings for acceleration and regeneration certainly make sense (including how they might be co-utilized for higher-power driving), and also jibe with nasaman’s speculations on Lutz’s “secret transmission” comments of over a year ago. Specifically, nasaman speculated that the Volt’s motor might have switchable windings.
EREV will be a winner everywhere, but it will shine in the frigid North.
Being a Southerner, I would like to hear something equally encouraging about hot-climate operation …
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:46 pm)Thanks Mike-o!
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (8:47 pm)A great number of folks have kept their cars in garages during the old GM’s 100 years. GM should be able to anticipate those requirements, the New GM will not toss out this knowledge. Have you noticed this problem with recent GM vehicles? We’ve seen Tundras with the problem but I don’t know of any others.
+1
Feb 17th, 2010 (9:16 pm)In preperation for the Volt, I have recently started parking the HHR in an insulated garage. Or you could say I do not like to scrape the windows. Sure does make a mess on the floor(melted water)! So far so good, my recent GM cars are the best that I have had!
Feb 17th, 2010 (9:39 pm)By BROOKE DONALD and SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press Writer Brooke Donald And
EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. – A twin-engine plane carrying three employees of electric car maker Tesla Motors struck a set of power lines after takeoff Wednesday and crashed into a fog-shrouded residential neighborhood, raining fiery debris over homes, sending residents running for safety and killing everyone aboard.
But the crash somehow caused no injuries or deaths on the ground despite a wing slamming into a home where a day care center operated. The seven people inside the house, including an infant, all escaped moments before the home went up in flames.
Feb 17th, 2010 (9:40 pm)Since they are testing the Volt in Canada, is there a spot for a snowbrush? or umbrella? In my cars, I like to have those items when needed between the seat and the door (on the floor).
Feb 17th, 2010 (9:44 pm)Cold? What cold?
It was sunny and clear… about +78 around lunch time.
Took the T-tops off and drove around a bit… pretending I was driving around in the convertible version of the Cadillac Converj… someday…
Hey… I can dream, can’t I ?
Feb 17th, 2010 (11:15 pm)Well, I could not see any video (Firefox or IE), nor is there the text of any answers, just questions (and some good ones from regular contributors here).
Is there an audio only version somewhere?
Maybe it is just too cold for electrons to move enough. But that would be bad for the Volt also. Besides it is only in the 20′s from what I read.
Feb 17th, 2010 (11:45 pm)The volt ( like a helicopter ) will need dc-ac conversion, from an inverter as well as ac-dc conversion which is usally handeled by a transformer-rectifier unit or TRU. With all the talk of dual windings in the induction motor with multiple purposes for each, power and recharge, both sets of windings will need to be routed through both conversion methods, which would be very complex when coupled with software controled switching, read lots of single point failures ave VERY expensive to make redundant. Kiss = reliable and cheap. I would personally rather have my volt only get 30 miles aer if it meant no trips to the chevy dealer behind the tow truck.
Feb 18th, 2010 (12:21 am)I’m not having much luck getting a replay. Have you gotten one to work?
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****No More “Stay Tuned”!
Feb 18th, 2010 (12:25 am)Sounds like we’re not alone, and I can’t get a replay to work either.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****No More “Stay Tuned”!
+1
Feb 18th, 2010 (12:44 am)Yeah, I dont like clutches either. The reason for the dual windings on the traction motor is to increase the efficiency of regen braking.. if done carefully they can recover perhaps 85% of the otherwise lost brake energy, and this is an incredibly high number. It guarantees very high numbers for the EPA Hwy cycle mpg (since that cycle uses a lot of stops & starts), it also means that the high weight of the Volt will not affect mpg or range much.. brake pads should last the life of the car. GM is getting ready to surprise everyone.
-2
Feb 18th, 2010 (1:54 am)[...] now it is in a testing phase of development, a very real world cold weather trial in Canada. The gas motor to extend the live of the batteries warm them up in order for them to receive a [...]
Feb 18th, 2010 (8:29 am)I could not see the video portion of yesterdays (and as of now) chat.
Alas, these are the sorts of things that software does to us.
Maybe someday, I can talk to all these fine GM pros on an OnStar directly, and not need to
constantly attend to the software difficulties of the ‘net, keeping my attention more fully focused with dealing with software difficulties in the
service bays instead.
(/ – am really backlogged today, and must get right to work at 7:27am local. – have a good day everyone…)
(/…deepest condolences to the Tesla families for their losses yesterday).
+1
Feb 18th, 2010 (8:46 am)Hi Red HHR,
Me too, Red, so I’m impatiently waiting for my next Ampera (I saw my Opel dealer last week, he said that I’ll have to wait one year and a half … OK I have already waited for about three years, my granddaughter who was born practically the first day I commented on gm-volt.com will be able to understand how to drive it the day I’ll get it).
Best regards,
JC NPNS
Feb 18th, 2010 (9:41 am)Now that you mention it- I’ve had a tiny rust spot re-appearing on my cab corner for a quite awhile, but after moving to a heated garage, it’s exploded into a hole 2 feet long in only a year. I live in MN where it doesnt get above freezing for weeks at a time. Salty road slush frozen to your car is a daily thing.. I suppose pulling into a heated garage every night and melting it off means you’re soaking your car in liquid saltwater… Maybe there would be less corrosion by letting that stuff stay frozen. Interesting!
My garage is at 45 F. I read you don’t want to keep it TOO warm, because warmer air holds more moisture that condenses inside the gas tank when you pull outside. However, 45 degrees is pretty slow to melt slush especially near the floor. 70F might cause more water in the gas, but it would melt the slush quicker and there wouldnt be liquid salt water for as many hours per day. Trade off?
Feb 18th, 2010 (10:21 am)A good description of the affects of cold on things.
Feb 18th, 2010 (11:13 am)This post by Lyle today makes me want to listen to some music by the greatest rock band of all time from Canada … Rush! I like Canada just because of them. Rush is Canada’s best export ever.
Here’s Geddy Lee from Rush singing a song about the “Great White North”. It was a thing he did in the 80s with some Canadian comedians on a show that is like Saturday Night Live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot70G4wSQi0&feature=related
Maybe one of the guys in Rush will buy a red colored Volt next year … an electric “Red Barchetta” for the 21st century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djVGhqvl_8A&feature=fvw
Feb 18th, 2010 (11:15 am)Sweet, this makes me happy. It gets to 0 every year in Michigan, and sometimes below for periods of time. I want to be able to reliable drive my Volt year round.
Feb 18th, 2010 (12:47 pm)There’s a range penalty obviously if you break heavily as the generator wont be as efficient as stored electricity (60% compared to what you have in the battery already = 100%). Same with any regenerative breaking sysyem. So excessive stop-start shoud be avoided. Fast starts shouldn’t be a problem – unless you’re straining the battery (which I doubt), or unless you wheel spin – as obviously a slipping tyre is wasted energy. Best technique would be Prius style hypermiling (anticipating lights, slow traffic, etc) might get you 50-60 electric range at a guess (figuring 25-50% gain, same as Prius drivers can get up to 70mpg).
Feb 18th, 2010 (3:02 pm)Agree with everything you say here. I have long felt that the regen feature would almost nullify vehicle weight/mass issues (except perhaps for tire rolling resistance, hence range loss, which may increase due to more weight). In fact, I have wondered why there’s so much concern about weight when you have the regen feature. Maybe the real concern is the slower acceleration that comes with greater weight (which would reduce the Fun to Drive factor).
I keep my cars for about 100,000 miles and have never needed to replace brake pads, because I coast a lot and like to use engine (low-gear) braking. I also tend to get better than EPA gas mileage. But I tend to accelerate briskly. I drive a 2005 Pontiac GTO so am far from a hyper-miler, but I have a bizarre mixture of hyper-miler practices combined with other tendencies from a much more aggressive “school” of drivers. Guess I’m a true “bi-partisan.”
Feb 18th, 2010 (3:19 pm)Yep, I see it exactly as you stated below. Although I don’t know if conservative practices will get us into the 50 – 60 all-electric range you suggest. I can only hope.
Thanks.
Feb 18th, 2010 (4:29 pm)Not sure I follow everything you are saying, I’m a EE but more on the computer geek side of things. The way motors were controlled 40 years ago is not the way they are run now, the real magic is in the microcontroller software which is running things. I have 100+ brushless DC motors for my model airplanes and 50+ speed controls (very addictive hobby), and they are very simple, efficient, and cheap. This link has some good info on brushless AC motors (I hope posting links is OK). Microchip makes the microcontrollers like the PIC chips I have used (or maybe the Volt uses brushless DC? There’s another link for that type there):
http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=2125¶m=en542105
Safe to state that there’s no transformers involved here. The way they use the back EMF from the motors to make them sensorless is magic to me, there’s some very clever people out there!
I probably missed a message or three regarding this, but I’m not sure why people would heat their garage for the Volt. Plugging it in heats the battery so why heat anything else? Heating the garage all winter sure isn’t very “green”, and I sure know I’m not paying for it (heating the house is painful enough).
Feb 18th, 2010 (5:48 pm)Oops, I see now your comment about the transformer was regarding electric generation, not motor control. Still, they have newer technologies there as well which are much simpler, lighter, and more efficient than the “old school” techniques — switching power supplies, etc.
The primary thing which has zapped some of my r/c ESCs (electronic speed controls) has been water getting into them (usually melted snow). I think it’s safe to say that GM has taken care of this.
I personally believe that when the Volt/Voltec system is finally described in detail, and with photos, we will be surprised at how simple it is. The real magic (and complexity) these days is in the control software.
Feb 18th, 2010 (5:54 pm)For those that don’t like Kapuskasing for cold weather testing here is some data.
From Environment Canada
Winnipeg, MB
Average daily high 8.3C
Average daily low -3.1C
Record low -42.8C
Kapuskasing, ON
Avg daily high 6.9C
Avg daily low -5.4C
Record Low -45.3C
Fort McMurray, AB
Avg daily high 6.7C
Avg daily low -5.3C
Record Low -50.6C
Just because Kapuskasing is in Ontario doesn’t mean it’s warm. It’s a convienent good location to do cold weather testing for GM in the middle of the Canadian shield and gets plenty cold.
Feb 18th, 2010 (8:15 pm)Yup, my concern. I have a very small spot with 75,000 miles. I will keep my eye on it. My concern is with the places I do not see. The Volt by its nature will be much more likely be garaged. With its own heat source it could create its own freeze thaw cycle. It could really speed up the corrosion process.
I may need to leave a window open in the garage???
Feb 18th, 2010 (8:19 pm)Thank You Mr Farah for getting a Volt stuck! It is reassuring to know the Volt is getting the best testing posible. I could not have done better myself.
Cheers