Hello,
My father has a honda accord hybrid and was curious to know if there are conversion kits out there for them. i know that they make them for the toyota prius and ford ranger but what about honda? Or are there any home made ways to do this? i assume not because of all the computers and circuitry inside but you never know. I have been telling him he should just sell it and get a full electric but he has to go on trips acrossed the state occasionally so that might not work.
I'm not aware of any plug-in conversions for Hondas.
I own a Civic Hybrid and I also got the factory service manual with about as much wiring information as they will give out. Adding additional batteries could be done in a manner similar to a Prius, and charging from the grid is no problem.
The problem would be to reprogram the IMA computer to take advantage of the extra stored juice. All communication between the IMA and the main engine computer is by CAN, a type of serial interface protocol. There are readers that can look at the stream, but making sense of it might be pretty difficult without some insider information.
I once had a recall on the IMA program and they uploaded new software, so I know that could be done. Getting a programmer and figuring out the code would be the hard part.
Another approach I thought of would be to intercept the line that goes between the main ECU and the IMA computer and come up with a PIC that could "spoof" the throttle position information to fool the IMA into giving more juice to the electric motor, as happens when you step on the accelerator.
I'm just waiting for the warranty to run out before I do any serious hacking.
This is a pretty old thread.. So, I'm wondering if anything has changed in the last year or so..
Are there any plug-in mods for the Accord or Civic Hybrids being installed yet??
It seems like there are a lot of Prius cars being converted to plug-in..
Cheers,
Rich
As I understand it, all the Honda hybrids are mild hybrids and not two-mode hybrids like the Prius/Ford Escape. Consequently, the electric motor only provides assist to the ICE, and cannot power the vehicle by itself. So, while a plug in system in a Honda has the possibility of providing better MPG overall, it would never result in a potentially full-electric vehicle like the plug-in Prius can (though only at lower speeds and for short distances at this time). I believe this is the reason why conversion companies like Hymotion have focused on the Prius/Escape, as they provide the opportunity of eliminating gas use for at least short distance driving.
I used to have the hybrid accord too but I decided to sell it instead to buy the full electric. I was tired of thinking that there are no conversion kits for it. And the honda accord parts for it are quite limited in our area. So selling it and buying a new one was the best option for me.
Even if a "Super Battery" were to be sucessfully integrated into such vehicles as the Honda Insight/Accord/Civic Hybrids, conversion to a "Plug in Hybrid" would not be very practical, as the electric motor that is standard on these vehicles is TOO SMALL/WEAK for sustained "electric only" travel at any practical speeds. These vehicles electric motors are intended soley to start and assist the gasoline engine, which provides the majority of the vehicle horsepower.--(Perhaps if you could fit an electric motor capable of 50 horsepower or so, you could make a useful conversion, but expense and re-engineering would be considerable!)--Bob Curry
Robert M. Curry
Another way of getting at what "Mary" (marylandbob, heh heh) had to say, people refer to the Accord as a "Mild" hybrid. I get the idea the little electric motor doesn't actually take it to speed from what I read. Someone once wrote on a board that the existing battery would be good for less than 2 miles.
Now that purpose built PHEV vehicles are becoming available, you can expect to see the effort to modify die off. But there are other options that will probably be around for some time. E-wheel for any vehicle
WHo dares, WINS!!!!
I think the best option for "Plug in Electric" on the HONDA cars would be to fit a suitable (40 horsepower or more) electric motor to drive the REAR wheels, from an additional (Lithium) battery and controller. With such a conversion, you would retain the existing powertrain, with the option of switching to fully electric for shorter trips, and if you include the means to activate BOTH systems together, you would have 4 wheel drive capability for escaping snow problems! I would use a system voltage of at least 144 volts, with higher voltages being better, as wiring size and losses are easier to manage at the higher voltages with such power levels.-Bob
Robert M. Curry