Power Jockey Benefits

1. Overall increase in power to the vehicle as a more efficient electric drive also contributes towards a more powerful ICE motor as both are now working within it’s best effective range
2. More power leads to better fuel economy. The vehicle engages the silent drive more often. The ICE does not have to labour in the low REV range where it is inefficient. Acceleration is smooth and quick.
3. Protects the battery sub packs from failure by preventing the battery pack voltage from falling below the critical threshold where the sud packs will be damaged under load.
4. Allows a weak or even damaged battery pack to work with the vehicle as the parallel voltage tricks the car computer into accepting that the overall battery pack voltage is normal. Holding up the base operating voltage prevents the ICE from disengaging itself from the drive train.
5. Using power from the vehicle’s own charging system, ensures that the Power Jockey is working all the time.
6. Simplicity of the design and quality component used in it’s manufacture ensures that the Power Jockey is robust and reliable.
7. The unit is small and compact and is easily mounted in the boot of the vehicle occupying very little space.
8. As the unit only needs to be connected to the battery and the vehicle’s charging system installation is a simple matter and can be accomplished by the vehicle’s owner although it is recommended this job is done by a professional. Even if installed by a professional it’s simplicity means low cost of installation.
9. Cost of the Power Jockey is low. It is less than a fraction of the cost of a new battery pack replacement and even less than the cost of reconditioning the battery. Vehicle owners can even choose to just replace damage cells in their battery pack which is cheaper than a full battery reconditioning service.
10. If installed in a new vehicle or with a new battery pack it will extend the life of the battery as the battery pack will have a shallower depth of charge and discharge.
11. It is conceivable that with the Power Jockey installed the battery pack could last the life of the vehicle purely because the owner can never accidentally or intentionally stress the battery beyond the point where sub pack damage occurs.
12. Expensive parts such as air flow meters and plugs on coils that have to be changed even with little deterioration in efficiency because loss of power in the ICE quickly leads to battery pack failure as more load is placed on the electric motor. With the Power Jockey installed these expensive parts can be used longer leading to less maintenance cost.
13. People purchase a hybrid because they save on fuel and as a result it is good for the environment. Their only concern is the cost of battery pack replacement and the reliability of an older battery. With the Power Jockey installed we are confident that this fear can be completely ameliorated.
14. Once confidence in the reliability of the hybrid vehicle is established these vehicles will have good resale value and many more people will choose to change over to hybrid and electric vehicles which will mean huge savings to the economy and benefits to our environment.
15. The inverter also allows the vehicle to be used as a generator, when 230 volt AC is required in off grid locations or in the instance of a blackout. When used as a generator the ICE will turn itself on and off automatically.

Mon, 22 November, 2010 3:17:40 PM

Hi Patrick

Great to have the car humming again and able to be driven like a normal car. This morning on the way to work I was booting it to test it and use the battery in the morning, something I would normally not do. At the final hill it did turtle and yellow, just once. Then was fine after a downhill run.

I’ve turned the ignition off before the power jockey switch many times and had to reset. But I will get the hang of it.   I think it will be difficult to give any feedback for a while, though.

In the last 13 months since you first reconditioned the battery, I have not had more than 6 weeks of  continuous good battery functioning.  (of course the new air-flow meter in June helped) . So if we can get to 3 months, then I think, it will be a credit to power jockey.

See you later. Hopefully not next week.

Tue, 30 November, 2010 6:53:51 PM

Hi Patrick,
Checked out the car over the weekend. Still goes well (actually I could not find a problem at all – not even a turtle).
My mother was not operating the Jockey properly (yes seeing the red light is a problem) so I have given her very clear instructions on what the do. As I said before though, it does not show any obvious difference on or off but we will stick to using it.
John

Great. Whenever you step on the gas the jockey pumps up to 170 watts and levels off.
So you get the assistance in impulse burst. Just when the inertia load is the greatest.
I suppose that is how it protects the battery and the transition from the electric drive
to the ICE is very smooth.  The ICE engine to me sounds different does not whine
as when you have a weak battery.

Still much to prove but if it keeps the battery healthy for six months then we know it will go for
much longer.

Thanks
Patrick

Fri, 19 November, 2010 2:03:54 PM

Hi Patrick,
I installed the battery and power jockey this morning. I thought I would send you an update. It is early stages, but so far pretty good. I have only had a run for 20 minutes but all looks promising. Firstly the triangle did not return (not like the first battery replacement). Secondly the charging indicators seem to be working normally (not like the first battery replacement). The HV fan is not very loud  (not like the first battery replacement). The power seems to be good all the time  (not like the first battery replacement).
A few negatives so far:-
1. The turtle came up a few times (maybe we need a longer run?) and stayed on for 10 minutes in one case.
2. The power jockey does not seem to improve anything (tried on/off when the turtle was on, same power etc… does the jockey only help out when things are real bad?
3. The on/off switch for the power jockey is too clumbersome. If you forget, you have to pop the boot, switch off, start the motor, switch back on… It would be better to say use a relay and 12volts in the dash when the 12volts is present when the motor is on. Is this possible?
Question:- If the 240v AC -> 320v DC inverter is unplugged from the 12v DC -> 240v AC inverter to a 240v AC wall socket, would it charge the HV battery whilst in the garage? Just curious…
I will let you know more next time (especially if turtle goes – I hope it does).
John

Fri, 19 November, 2010 2:23:50 PM

Your turtling is not due to the battery. It is something else.
Most probably an ICE reset which hopefully will reset itself in your case.
Usually the scanner will isolate the problem.

Still it means that you can use the vehicle even with it turtling
and the turtling don’t cause a loss in power. Without the power jockey
we will be back to the situation we had before with the battery going
downhill to failure very quickly.

Don’t forget it is not design as a power unit.
It is meant to protect the battery primarily

Don’t know about charging from the wall socket.
You are only suppose to charge the battery to 80% SOC
You have to leave some headroom for the car.

Thanks for the feedback

P/S
Do not connect the 240 volt to mains.
The rectifier is not reference to mains supply.

It is illegal and you may blow the resistors.
I have to provide a warning sticker but it never occurred
to us that someone may attempt that.

Thanks for pointing it out.