Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit Using Alternator as Motor
 

Hey guys, over the past year and a half I have been working on a universal plug-in hybrid retrofit kit for any conventional vehicle. This conversion uses the vehicles existing alternator and belt drive to add electric traction and because of this innovative approach the kit is inherently inexpensive and simple to install. Using 100vdc I am able to reliably and continuously apply up to 8000W of electric assist with the vehicles OEM alternator. I installed the system on a 2011 Mazda CX-7 SUV with great results as an “Electric Cruise Assist” or ECA. Over the summer I automated the system and decided to commit to a full blown demo vehicle using a dedicated 2004 Ford Taurus with the system packaged as it might be sold in the near future which will be complete within the next several weeks. Check out all of the videos on my website ECA Systems and let me know what you think. I am trying to gauge interest in this kit since a market for hybrid retrofit or conversion kits really doesn’t exist at this time. I am posting on several forums to get the most feedback so if you’ve already seen this post I apologize.
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Interesting concept. How much would this cost, how much weight would it add to the vehicle, and would it cause the alternator to prematurely wear out?

Is there any regeneration (charging) of the system when braking? Does the engine shut off while the alternator is assisting? If not, then I can't understand how this system will improve efficiency/mpg for each tank of fuel. Yes, there is less load on the engine (better mpg) when accelerating, but the power that assists the engine when accelerating comes from the battery, and the battery was charged using engine power (gasoline) which means worse mpg during idle/low speed driving.

Since these electrical components will give off heat energy, I would guess that overall mpg would be worse.

This seems to be essentially an anti-pulse and glide device. In a way, it evens out the load on the engine (it works a little harder under light load in order to charge the battery for the assist during high speed/high load driving).

I would like to see some 3rd party double blind testing showing the whole tank mpg over many miles rather than just instantaneous mpg under acceleration.

I do appreciate your company's honesty in calling this "Electric Cruise Assist"- so people should know up front that they aren't getting a regenerative braking device.

neat idea but i have my personal doubts...either what little fuel savings your going to get is going to be eaten up by the cost of a new alternator or battery.

Don't know. They said they're looking for feedback, but they seem silent now.

It is going to be tough on the belt too, no way an alternator belt is going to handle 8000 watts of power in my xB! 100 volt battery pack will add weight and kiss your odb2 port goodby as it uses that too. Don't I think it's going to help on acceleration it's a cruise assist. Not a traction motor to accelerate the car. It could put the engine in fuel cut off if it has enough torque to spin the motor over at idle.

I'm almost regretting my decision to not ban & delete as soon as I saw this. I had the impression that they wanted to engage us in discussion, now it appears they're just a link dropper like all the others that show up with "miracle" devices. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and let this stay for a little longer, but if they don't respond soon, I'll have to do something...

Thanks for all of your comments and sorry for not getting back sooner.

I really encourage anyone really interested in this retrofit kit to check out the website, www.eca-systems.com, there are loads of informational and technical videos and a FAQ section that will answer many of your questions.

I estimate the ballpark cost of the kit to be right at $1000 or just below.

The added weight all depends on the battery system that is chosen by the customer which will depend on their specific assist requirements. Since the systems is always seeking to maintain a preset amperage draw based on the vehicles speed you can count on needing 1.3AH at 100Volts for every 1 minute of assist if you are using Lithium and about 2.5AH if you are using Lead Acid. This battery pack can vary from the size of a large brief case used in the "Alpha" 2011 Mazda CX-7 prototype to a large 8 cell lead acid permanently installed battery pack I plan to use on the 2004 Ford Taurus demo/test vehicle (I only chose Lead Acid due to budget constraints as Lithium will always be a better choice and actually cheaper in the long run). The added weight of the conversion kit minus the battery pack is negligable since the drive system already exists.

As for endurance of the converted alternator used with this retrofit kit, once the alternator is converted all that is left are bearings, metal and coated magnet wire so the only factor effecting the longevity of the converted alternator is the temperature of the wire. On my website you will find videos which compare the stock alternator operating temperature with the converted alternator temperature under full assist amperage continuously for 12 minutes. A 3" flex duct is required to pipe outside air into the vacinity of the alternator to allow continuous use otherwise the system is limited to a 3 minutes on 2 minutes off duty cycle. The addition of this duct is simple on most vehicles using a specially designed, clip-on, under bumper scoop that only measures 1.5"H X 8"W and will be included in the kit. With the temperatures recorded in the video the estimated life of the alternator is 20,000 hours. You can see how I came up with this estimate by reading this short 2 page document: https://www.toshont.com/ag/mtrldesign...re%20Rise).pdf

As far as the durabilty of a standard automotive belt is concerned, the belt is designed with a generous safety factor to drive all of the vehicles accesories such as the alternator, a/c compressor, power steering pump, smog pump etc... I don't doubt the belt will need to be replaced more often than without the system but it shouldn't be more than every year. Another option is to use a commercial belt such as a green-strip or green-line belt from Gates or Napa to extended the belt life. In my testing so far, I have not experienced any squeeling or accumulation of rubber dust on the alpha prototype.

The system has no regeneration capability and is purely plug-in on the high voltage hybrid assist side. Essentially you're just carrying around electrical storage instead of a quanitity of fuel in the gas tank. Once the battery is depleated the system is suspended until the battery is charged.

The system is not designed to accelerate or start the vehicle's engine because the power needed to provide that capabilty is not possible with the conventional alternator and belt drive system. It is merely substituting electricity for gasoline when the vehicle is traveling at more or less a constant speed. For people that drive mostly stop and go and sit in traffic the system will minimal effectiveness. The main purpose of this systems is mild assist that is always supplementing and never driving. This design trait enables the use of the converted OEM alternator and existing belt drive system.

It is true that the retrofit kit uses the OBDii port to get vehicle data but there are OBDii "Y" connectors available that can allow you to both connect the retrofit kit and another device such as a scan gauge or diagnotics tool.

As for blind testing, I have always intened to conduct field testing with independant drivers. After I get the Demo/Extended test vehicle completed in the next several weeks and get a month or so road time, I will consider recruiting a few trustworthy interested parties form this forum and others to carryout independant testing and report results and document problems. If you may be interested in doing this send me an email through my website or this forum expressing that you would like to take part in field testing. Because I am operating entirely off of personal funds at this time, the beta testers will need to have the technical skills to convert the alternator and purchase and assemble the components. I will supply instructions, a bill of materials with suppliers, software and consulting in exchange for full rights to your test results and signing of confidentiality agreements. Don't worry, all of the current components used in the system are off the shelf with only minor electrical assembly and soldering.

I will do my best to check this forum each day to answer your questions and concerns.

Again I really appreciate the comments.

I am surprised you can not get some regen energy out of the alternator but I guess an add on high voltage alternator could be connected to the engine to recharge the battery. I have never heard that Y connectors were available but that's good to know. Price sounds good!
It would be good if it could keep the motor turning over at say 1200 RPM with no gas being burned so you could save fuel when stopped yet keep the car engine operating and ready to go easily on a manual transmission vehicle.

What range of battery voltage can the system handle?

Unfortunately, I am constrained by the limitations of the purchased speed control to 110V. The manufacturer said they can customize the controller but I think I would have to purchase speed controllers in large volumes of 10+ to get them to agree to do this and at this point I only purchase 1 or 2 at a time because this componet happens to be the most expensive part of the retrofit kit (aside from the batteries).

Turning over a dead engine takes a lot of power. It would be like running the starter for the entire time you were sitting still and a starter pulls hundreds of amps.

By the way here are the connectors I am talking about:
OBDII Splitter Y Cable, J1962M to 2-J1962F, 1ft (145802) : Amazon.com : Automotive

Actually in my xb the fuel burn rate at idle is as low as 0.13 gph some of which is alternator load, this roughly translates to 1100 watts to keep the engine turning over once warmed up and already spinning. Any assist at that speed should further reduce fuel use at the lowest applied power levels.
Higher voltage was not what I would be interested in, I am wondering how much lower the voltage can be since that determines how many batteries are required thus the initial cost.
It seems you have converted a standard alternator into a motor (semi brushes) and I am wondering what kind of efficiency you are getting. I assume you have a way of disconnecting the stator diodes when you are powering the windings.
PS thanks for the splitter cable, we scan gauge users don't like having our gauges disconnected, like for inspections etc.

OK, I see what you are talking about, basically eliminating the power draw of the A/C compressor, Power Steering Pump and Alternator from the engine by supply some level of electric assist while idling. I thought you were talking about shuting all fuel off to the engine and having the alternator motor continue spinning the engine. That is a good idea and I will have to check this out when I finish the demo vehicle.

The high voltage control unit can be run at lower voltages. I did find that running (5) 12v lead acid batteries resulted in over 100mpg at 30 mph on a 2011 Toyota Corolla. At the time I was just trying to proove the concept and only had use of the vehicle for a weekend at a time and then had to remove the system on Sunday. If you haven't done so already, check out the last video on the "Historical Videos" page. I am sure you could run lower voltages depending on your driving needs. You could probably count on about 1mph of assist for every 1.6 volts and the minimum voltage is 16V.

The lower voltage would need to be specified at the time of ordering because the control system would need to be programmed accordingly.

As far as actual efficiency, I don't have the equipment to test the actual output at the alternator pulley. The 8KW was measured muliplying the voltage and amperage on the input side but the mpg gains seem to indicate that a appreciable amount of the input power is being translated into mechanical power.

With the system not being able to recharge until you get home to plug it in again, how long/far does the charge in a typical installation last?

From above long post:
"Since the systems is always seeking to maintain a preset amperage draw based on the vehicles speed you can count on needing 1.3AH at 100Volts for every 1 minute of assist if you are using Lithium and about 2.5AH if you are using Lead Acid."

Looks like it needs a lot of amp hours, I wonder if HHO would be a better choice. I would think since it is trying to maintain a certain amount of current draw (constant max current to the windings) then it would be a function of the speed that you're traveling being less power at lower speeds since it would require less voltage. The controller would draw less power at lower speeds thus lasting longer on a given size battery. It does look to require a lot of battery power which makes sense since it does take considerable power to move a car. This is why HHO often yields greater results as it helps release more energy from the gasoline than it uses to make the gas. Now if you run the HHO on a separate battery ... hybrid!

But something's got to be lost in the conversion of water molecules to HHO, then pushing the HHO through the intake manifold to be burned in the cylinders and converted to mechanical energy. I would think this system would be more efficient as its taking electric energy and converting it to mechanical energy. Just one conversion. HHO is taking electric energy, converting it to potential energy, then thermal energy, then finally, mechanical energy. Something has to be lost in those multiple conversions.

Well if you think about it in reality you are just burning electricity instead of gasoline, making the gases is a little lossy but the efficiency of using an alternator has a motor is pretty inefficient and increases wear on the converted alternator, belt and pulleys. HHO is just adding a more combustible gas mixture to the air and gasoline and operates separately plus installation is just running a hose to the intake manifold if you run a separate battery, plus if you're going to use a 12 volt battery that is separate you can still charge off the car battery whenever you want to.

Thanks guys for all of the questions and comments. I am devoting full time to the demo vehicle so I will no longer be monitoring this thread actively. I can still be contacted directly through ECA Systems. I will also be updating the website as things progress.

As always with these systems we need to know the actual operating cost to see if there's a justification in using a system like this to save money. If it ends up costing more just to get a little better gas mileage then the return isn't worth it.

If you ever have the demo vehicle in the Washington, DC area I'd be interested in seeing it.