So everything is powdered by the 12v battery which is then charged either from the alternator (with ICE running) or from the traction battery without ICE running.
Its a complicated set up !!
And so is the cooling / heating system !
I can remember one of the technicians saying the cooling/heating system was one of the most complicated systems he had worked on, in the way it operates.
Oh yeah, if you heat up the ICE and then it stops working, both cooling systems maintain 90 degrees (visible on dash). This includes the ICE cooling circuit. But when driving only in electric mode the dash does not show any cooling system temperature.
How that happens, I have no idea.
Now I thought that was the main difference BETWEEN PHEV’s & EV’s. I thought the only thing the traction battery died is provides propulsion, the ICE charges the 12volt, then once the 12v is at 80-90%, the small hybrid battery is charged using a step up converter.
I may be wrong, but that is how I have had it described . Look in the owners manual about charging the auxiliary and 12volt batteries.
The PHEv is a 2-in-1, so the procedures are dual — like those of a bit traditional car (sport mode) or like those of an EV (electric mode). There’s probably a third option, a hybrid of the above (hybrid/comfort mode).
That’s what I thought, and how the tech guy told me when mine went in for batteries.
But then again each of my visits to the dealership over the last 12 months, and there’s been many visits, I get told something different each time 