Hybrid Battery Charger Question/Idea

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around charging a Ford Escape Hybrid's 330v battery, particularly in NYC where plug-in options are limited. A user proposed using a solar charger to splice into the 12v wire harness to charge the battery, but experts indicated that this method would not work due to the lack of a return path for current. Concerns were raised about the lethal voltage of the hybrid battery and the complexity of the vehicle's electrical system, which typically prevents feeding power back to the main battery. Additionally, there is a noted absence of cost-effective aftermarket chargers for these hybrids, despite the feasibility of producing high voltage chargers from mains supply. Safety issues are acknowledged, but the inflated prices of existing solutions may reflect market demand rather than actual production costs.
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I have a Ford Escape Hybrid. it is a 330v battery with about 1.4kw of capacity. Currently there is no cost effective after market charger. Also my location in NYC does not allow me a "plug in" option.

I had an idea on how to access the battery pack to charge it, but I wanted to know if this is a reasonable way to go about it.

All the electronics in the car received the energy from 330v batter. There is a converter there to step it down. There is a wire harness on the back of the battery that supplies the electric to the rest of the truck. This is a 12v system. Is it possible to deliver a 12v charge via a solar charger in series to deliver a charge to the battery system?

In other words, splice into a single wire, the positive end of the wire would go to the positive end of the charger and negative to negative. Would the additional amperage return to the battery and charge it, or is this a bad idea?
 
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You mean to put the charger in the ground connection of the battery?

No, it wouldn't work. There is no return path for the current from the battery charger. It would just boost the output by 12 volts.

The battery voltage on these cars would be lethal and you should not go anywhere near it.
 
not the 330 v side. the hybrid battery also has a 12 v side. this is all done internally in the battery where a step down converter exists. all the electronics are 12 v, only the drive train uses the 330 v.

my question is first can you charge in series. instead of connecting to the battery terminals, can I select a single wire, cut it, and insert a charger there all on the distal side of the radio for example?
 
You would have to see the circuit diagram, but, normally, I would expect that this 12 volt output was a one-way arrangement where you couldn't feed power back the other way towards the big battery.

It is not all that difficult to produce 350 volts from a mains supply for charging purposes and it is surprising that nobody does it at a reasonable price.
There are issues of safety, of course, but these could be overcome fairly easily.

Maybe the prices get inflated to match what owners are prepared to pay.
 

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