[billvon]

I got my 05 Prius last week, and this week I just received some of the kits I ordered from Coastal Tech. I ended up installing three of them last night - the cig lighter always-on mod, the EV-only mod, and the XM radio - all at the same time to reduce the number of times I had to take trim off the dash.

The cig lighter always-on mod was a piece of cake. Took about five minutes once I got the hang of CoastalTech's slightly odd wire taps.

The EV mode mod was somewhat difficult just because of the tight space behind the right side dash. There are three electronics boxes right there, with hundreds of wires and very little service loop. Plus which, you really only have room to get one hand in there. Between having one hand, and having very few spaces to both look into the area and get light into the area, going was slow. But I did it in a little over an hour, and it worked without much trouble. I don't know how difficult it is to remove the right hand dash structure, but it might be worth it if you're doing this mod. That is, even if it takes you 30 minutes to get it off and 30 minutes to get it back on, you're probably still ahead of the game.

The XM installation went very quickly. Some notes:

-You don't have to move the white plastic 'computer module' much at all to reach behind the radio. I took out the screw and just reached behind the radio; the module obligingly slid out of the way as my hand pushed against it.

-An inspection mirror helps immensely in this process. I could see what I had to clear away and where the plug had to go.

-The pictures on the CD helped a lot. You don't really need them - the text is clear and self-explanatory - but it's helpful to do something, look at the picture, and realize "yeah, that is where it goes."

-Open question - why two RF connectors on the XM antenna? My Roady only needed one coax connector.

I have the XM installed except for the external antenna (it's inside the glass for now.) I have to convince myself the wire won't cause leaks around the hatch frame seal; I'll probably finish it in a few days. In the meantime the tuner works 90% of the time - the antenna is often shaded by the posts around the hatch so I'm not getting 100% coverage. I'm sure that will be remedied by moving the antenna outside.

Now I'm just waiting on the 2" hitch receiver/box. Once I install that I can stop making my wife nervous by disassembling the brand new car.

 

[romad]

-Open question - why two RF connectors on the XM antenna? My Roady only needed one coax connector.

quote]

The first generation XM radios had separate antenna inputs for the satellite and terrestial transmitters and separate antennae for the different inputs (altough they were housed in one case). Newer smaller antennae use only one input and I guess there is a splitter inside the radio.

The XM radio that Toyota uses is ancient technology (it can only read out 10 characters to a display; my three year old, discontinued Sony Plug-N-Play can display 16), which is why I decided to wait until they release a newer version that can make use of the full MFD screen. The Sony with a Belkin Tunecast II works excellent.

 

[efusco]

Just FYI, there's a little adapter you can buy to convert the bipole connector to a mono connector...and then you can use one of the nice new little micro antennae...if I'd have known this before I installed my kit I'd have spent a little extra for that.

 

[Hobbit]

Getting at the D connector on the HV-ECU is aided
greatly by pulling a bunch of the other connectors into both ECUs
in the area, and bending the entire harness out
toward you. You may get a couple of MILs on the next
power-up afterward, but they appear to clear in another couple of
reboots. Just keep track of which connector goes where...
_
_H*

 

[billvon]

Just FYI, there's a little adapter you can buy to convert the bipole connector to a mono connector.

Cool! Got a source for that?

 

[melgish]

The XM radio that Toyota uses is ancient technology (it can only read out 10 characters to a display; my three year old, discontinued Sony Plug-N-Play can display 16),

I think it's the Toyota inetrface limiting it to 10. Pioneer made the receivers, and they've never sold a Pioneer branded model that would only support 10... they went from 8 to 16. It would be odd to think that they would limit the Toyota unit to 10 without reason.

What we need really is an 'adapter' that will convert Pioneer's head-unit protocol to Toyota MFD protocol and vice versa... then we could install the latest stuff.

 

[Coastal Dave]

xm characters

Just a note
It is my understanding that the screen only allows for 10 characters, regardless. It is not about the age of the technology. I like the comedy channel when I can find it, theres so many! I always forget where it is


Kelley
http://www.coastalEtech.com
mailto://[email protected]

 

[bobc]

billvon,

Here's the adaptor that let's you use a micro antenna (the newer style) with the older style (Solara/Prius) receiver.

The micro antenna has one lead which plugs into the adaptor which then splits into the two leasds that plugs into the Prius' XM receiver.

http://www.myradiostore.us/antennas-cab ... itter.html

I installed one of these for two reasons: I wanted the smaller antenna instead of the honkin' big antenna that comes as part of the kit. And, because of the thickness of the wire, it's obtrusive where it runs over the rubber gasket of the rear hatch and how the interior trim has to be left ajar where the wire feeds behind it as the wire heads down to the receiver.

I ended up running the smaller wire from the micro antenna through a small hole I made in the rubber connector that runs from the car body to the hatch. This is the rubber connector that houses the wires for the license plate lights, etc. I made a small hole on the side of this connector facing the rear of the car since this connector is subject to water (snow, rain, etc.) and I didn't want the hole on the forward side where it would be more subject to leaking. I then sealed the small hole with rubber cement.

The small micro antenna wire was then and easy feed under the ceiling trim on down the inside of the car to the XM receiver. Very clean install.

Cheers,
-bob

 

[Tylandr]

Did they work?

Billvon, I just purchased the 2007 model and was looking to Coastaltech for the same hacks as you did. The constant-on power and the EV mode.

Has the EV mode been worth it?

 

[DanMan32]

It's nice to have when you need it. Most of the time you won't need it, you'll probably only use it to impress your friends. However there are a few times when:
1. I wanted to go to READY without having it kickstart the ICE after 7 seconds. Either because I was only moving it out of the garage, or I wanted full 13V for my air compressor
2. You are driving at very low speeds for a short distance, such as a parking lot or housing complex, but ICE insists on running for some reason

There may be other similar reasons.

You can get the specs on doing the power mod yourself with a few parts from an autoparts store or RadioShack. The kit is just a wire, taps and instructions, and the instructions are available on his website.

The Coastal EV is neat, but you can install your own. Either use the flash switch on the combo stalk (the one that operates the headlamps) or you can put in your own pushbutton switch somewhere on the dash.
Instructions I believe can be found on PriusChat.

 

[firepa63]

I can't quite grasp the logic of using an EV button. There is no such thing as 'free energy'. Whether you run the traction battery down to a lower SOC or charge it when the computer normally would start the ICE to charge, the cost is the same.

So as Dan says, it's really a toy to impress people, IMHO.

 

[DanMan32]

Yes, but there are times such as the examples I gave, when it is more efficient to use pure electric power and charge the battery later, than to run the ICE at low speeds.

 

[Neil]

I just ordered the kit and I did have a question I thought would be answered when I got it but perhaps someone can answer it for me here.

If I hold the cruise stalk while I press the power button with a cold engine, will the ICE still start to warm up or will it stay off? I ask this because I regularly drive the car about 3/4 of a mile and then shut it off. It would be helpful if I could do it one way in electric and the return trip, normal so that the engine could charge the battery during the warm up.

Right now, the engine runs almost the whole time both ways netting me an average of 34 MPG.

 

[DanMan32]

Power up, and once it is in ready, then hit the CC cancel. Since you have to hold the cancel for 2 seconds, and ICE starts in 7, you have 5 seconds to put the car in EV.
If you miss this window, wait 30-60 seconds for ICE to shut off, then you can operate in EV. However if you are demanding heat for the cabin, ICE might not shut off. Heck, heat demand might be a criteria for not allowing EV mode or being cancelled out of it.

Besides low battery SOC, EV cancels if you exceed 34 MPH, or if you accelerate too hard.

 

[Neil]

Thanks... I feel a lot better about this now and look forward to installing it.

On a good note, the kit arrived today which was very timely... Some good news about Coastal...

I did read the instructions and I am pretty inteligent when it comes to technology and I have to admit, I have butterflies in my stomach about tapping into the wiring on a $27,000 car!

 

[Neil]

Well it's in and it was an easy install. I am thrilled with how it works. Everyone should get this mod. In EV mode, the computer allows you to push the electric motor pretty hard and get decent acceleration. I am able to drive to work on electric only as I was hoping and now can make the return trip allowing the ICE to run and charge the battery while warming up.

 

[MQuillen]

My wife drives about 1 mile to and from work. The short distance is hard on an engine and exhaust system that never gets to temp. I'd love an EV button, and an option to recharge with household current.

 

[redwein]

I am able to drive to work on electric only as I was hoping and now can make the return trip allowing the ICE to run and charge the battery while warming up.

Can you let us know how much your MPG improves? This sounds like an ideal test case.

 

[Rambler]

I can't quite grasp the logic of using an EV button. There is no such thing as 'free energy'. Whether you run the traction battery down to a lower SOC or charge it when the computer normally would start the ICE to charge, the cost is the same.

So as Dan says, it's really a toy to impress people, IMHO.

In my case I've found that I can actually drive to the post office and back in EV mode, and save the engine warm-up for a longer trip. Yes, it is true this energy isn't free but I think that charging the battery up once I hit the expressway uses less gasoline than running the engine to the post office and back - during warm-up on very short trips the MFD shows quite low MGP numbers.

 

[hwp57]

Electric Only switch

I would like to get the Coastal E Tech EV only mode switch kit. However, no reply from them via email. Website doesn't let me order because I am in Canada. Does anybody know where I could get one, Canada or elsewhere. I like Coastal Tech's kit because it connects to the CC cancel switch, which I think is handy.
I own a 2004 Prius since a couple of months ago, and really enjoy this car, and I think the EV switch is a great idea, really should have been standard on the North American cars as it is elsewhere.