2014 Accord Sport SQ Build keep_hope_alive

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

i learned a few things about the charging system behavior today. i finally put a voltmeter in the dash.

under normal conditions, the alternator maintains 12.5VDC. even under load of A/C or the sound system the voltage didn't move while the car was driving. so the alternator maintains 12.5V on purpose. however, under braking the voltage would climb to 14V - indicative of regenerative braking. even if the car was simply slowing (i.e. turn off cruise) the voltage would climb - so the PCM uses the alternator as a load to both assist braking and provide regenerative charging.

of note - when the headlights are turned on the voltage climbs to 14.4V and stays there.

i did not observe any typical ELD behavior during 4 hours of highway driving.

i made two videos showing charging behavior

 

[Staynlean 10+ year member]

i learned a few things about the charging system behavior today. i finally put a voltmeter in the dash.
under normal conditions, the alternator maintains 12.5VDC. even under load of A/C or the sound system the voltage didn't move while the car was driving. so the alternator maintains 12.5V on purpose. however, under braking the voltage would climb to 14V - indicative of regenerative braking. even if the car was simply slowing (i.e. turn off cruise) the voltage would climb - so the PCM uses the alternator as a load to both assist braking and provide regenerative charging.

of note - when the headlights are turned on the voltage climbs to 14.4V and stays there.

i did not observe any typical ELD behavior during 4 hours of highway driving.

i made two videos showing charging behavior

Explain that a little more. I know what they mean but cant grasp the concept...Maybe I am reading the way you wrote it incorrectly, are you talking about braking is putting a load on the alt, which puts a load on the engine, which helps slow the car.. etc... And in return this charges the battery at this time of braking?

What are your thoughts on the 14.4 constant with the headlights on? Think you can find a way around having to keep the actual lights on to maintain 14.4?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Explain that a little more. I know what they mean but cant grasp the concept...Maybe I am reading the way you wrote it incorrectly, are you talking about braking is putting a load on the alt, which puts a load on the engine, which helps slow the car.. etc... And in return this charges the battery at this time of braking?

What are your thoughts on the 14.4 constant with the headlights on? Think you can find a way around having to keep the actual lights on to maintain 14.4?

the PCM controls the alternator behavior (voltage output and field current). when braking or slowing the PCM turns the alt on and lets it charge the battery - this means the alternator is now a heavier load on the engine and when slowing without brakes will slow the car faster. granted, this is not the same regenerative braking that a true hybrid does - where the motors become generators. but when braking the PCM turns the alt on. both situations (slowing or braking) don't hurt fuel economy - which is the entire reason for this charging scheme.

headlights are also a load so we'd rather not have them on just to maintain a higher voltage. i thought a bit about just "faking" the headlight signal or adding a toggle switch in front of the headlights - but that could be a safety issue and i haven't verified the PCM is controlling the lighting. i'm still not sure what role the ELD is playing in this scheme - maybe it's monitoring more than just ignition load and it's actually responsible for the increase in voltage when i senses the additional load from the lighting. if that is the case, my old ELD bypass would work fine. a quick test could be unplugging the lights and seeing if the lack of load prevents the voltage from increasing.

i'm personally not too concerned about it. i was happy to see voltage stability - thought i would rather the base voltage was 12.8V or 12.9V so the battery would float a bit higher and hold a charge longer.

 

[Tantricz]

Great looking build man always like looking at your builds. Post videos when you can

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Great looking build man always like looking at your builds. Post videos when you can

what kind of videos do ya'll want to see?

 

[phemps 10+ year member]

Your builds are awesome man, very informative. Keep up the good work

 

[Motokid 10+ year member]

I've always loved your builds. So many pictures and very descriptive, I always learn something new. Keep it up man!

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I'm missing the ability to tweak and tune, so i picked up a Alpine DVA-9860 and Alpine PXA-H701/RUX-C701 combo. Will feed the H701 via optical output from the 9860. Controller will be in place of the sunglasses holder (like in my 2001). should be fun.

 

[phemps 10+ year member]

I have a question for you sir. i would like to add absorption in my doors as you have done, so i will be trying a similar method of using fiberglass batting or the tiles, and covering them in plastic. My question is how you sealed the plastic drop cloth around the material to keep it watertight. It looks like you may have just used packaging tape? do you think this is suitable enough to keep it sealed and are you worried about moisture getting into the bags at all? I took a liking to your deadening materials used in the last build that you got from home depot's website as well, but was also wondering if you could point me in the direction to get some good CCF. Thanks for any help, I look forward to seeing your build progress.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I have a question for you sir. i would like to add absorption in my doors as you have done, so i will be trying a similar method of using fiberglass batting or the tiles, and covering them in plastic. My question is how you sealed the plastic drop cloth around the material to keep it watertight. It looks like you may have just used packaging tape? do you think this is suitable enough to keep it sealed and are you worried about moisture getting into the bags at all? I took a liking to your deadening materials used in the last build that you got from home depot's website as well, but was also wondering if you could point me in the direction to get some good CCF. Thanks for any help, I look forward to seeing your build progress.

packing tape worked fine, it seals to plastic well, i use it to hold plastic over windows (90 yr. old house) and it has stayed for years. Thinner plastic tears so just be careful and tape over any tears. The real trick it's keeping it free from window track and mechanism. Feel free to avoid those areas.

I highly recommend Raamaudio Ensolite PSA for ccf with adhesive.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Great build, I enjoyed the read!

 

[phemps 10+ year member]

packing tape worked fine, it seals to plastic well, i use it to hold plastic over windows (90 yr. old house) and it has stayed for years. Thinner plastic tears so just be careful and tape over any tears. The real trick it's keeping it free from window track and mechanism. Feel free to avoid those areas.
I highly recommend Raamaudio Ensolite PSA for ccf with adhesive.

Thanks for the input, I tried today with some Fiberglass rolls I got that were made for small projects and its looking like i'm going to need quite a lot more to cover the whole inside. My batting is only 3/4" thick and i'm assuming i want to have it thicker and compressed to absorb better? I tried sealing the drop cloth bags with metal tape i had, way too cumbersome to make work well.

 

[ronirome]

I have a 2014 accord sedan and I've been searching for the sail panels and cant find them anywhere,where did you buy yours and price

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I have a 2014 accord sedan and I've been searching for the sail panels and cant find them anywhere,where did you buy yours and price

HondaPartsDeals.com

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Order Number: 149423

Date Ordered: Friday 02 May, 2014

Products

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1 x LINING ASSY., L. FR. DOOR *NH167L* () = $0.00

1 x LINING ASSY., R. FR. DOOR *NH167L* () = $0.00

20 x CLIP, DOOR LINING (APPLE GREEN) () = $3.60

1 x GARNISH ASSY., L. DOOR MIRROR *NH167L* (TWEETER) () = $19.97

1 x GARNISH ASSY., R. DOOR MIRROR *NH167L* (TWEETER) () = $19.97

1 x Touch Up Paint () = $7.69

Color Modern Steel Metallic (NH-797M)

------------------------------------------------------

Sub-Total: $51.23

UPS (Ground): $18.44

Handling Fee: $4.95

Total: $74.62

 

[ronirome]

Thanks