There are opportunities out there right now for you to take advantage of hybrids on the road, as long as you take the time to really learn the technology and look into predictive maintenance, something different from preventive maintenance.
Mark Quarto says once you get the core information, there are revenue opportunities. He discussed “Advanced Technology Powertrains – Electric, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Systems: The Impact on the Automotive Aftermarket” during the Automotive Service Association’s (ASA) Annual Convention. Quarto is global aftersales powertrain engineering, Engineering Group manager, advanced powertrain technology systems, General Motors.
But first, there are hurdles to overcome, such as legacy knowledge and technology transfer, as Quarto says there is nothing about the internal combustion engine (ICE) that transfers over to hybrids. Also, you’ll have to address techs who may not feel it’s an immediate need to acquire education and/or training. The time to go through the learning the systems, it’s going to take “significant” time with hands-on learning.
And you need to know what you’re getting into to make sure you learn everything you need to about these different systems, he says.
Know Nothing? Get Cracking
There is a lot of information to learn about these new vehicles, from just the basic function of the engines, to safety and parts pricing. Hybrid vehicle system instruction can include transmission hydraulic system, planetary gear and clutch operation, controller I/O sensor and switch system interfaces with controller, engine/fuel control systems operations, emission control systems (like OBDII) and ignition systems.
But what should you focus on in your learning? Well, basically, you need to know how these systems work. He says that good training should include some basic building blocks: AC induction electric machines, permanent magnet electric machines, power inverter and control system, DC-DC converter system, rechargeable energy storage systems and propulsion control system.
He continues to say that training should teach how the electric machines work, regenerative braking and how it works, construction of the motor assembly and how the system works. The Prius transaxle also needs to be explored and how torque is produced.
“I think the techs really need to know how this stuff does what it does,” he states. “There’s lot for the techs to learn and not just he tech information, an overview, but how the systems work and why they do what they do.”
Quarto suggests that if you’re going to get into training, really look into the company you’ll partner with for training. Ask a lot of questions and really examine their roles. The curriculum for traditional automotive systems is detailed and broad, while hybrid electric vehicle curriculums exclude component and systems detail whether OEM or aftermarket. Most training avoids the core technical detail and breadth of topics.
But beware, as Quarto says most aftermarket hybrid curriculum has not undergone professional scrutiny and even OEM instruction does not get into the needed detail for techs to service these vehicles. He adds that OEMs provide only enough training information, service information and system diagnostics to support regulatory requirements, emission credits and OEM warranty requirements or optional implementation and reduce warranty part investments.
“This is what the training is designed to target. And if there’s anything outside this window here, the OEMs don’t really go after it b/c there is no return on investment,” Quarto offers.
What Opportunities are Out There?
Once you get the training in place, or even before you make the decision to go this route, there are a number of revenue streams that you can explore. One opportunity is helping your customers see where their vehicles might need maintenance.
Predictive maintenance, according to Quarto, measures and permits long-term tracking of high voltage propulsion system – basically State of Health (SOH) – levels to statistically measure and document the performance of high voltage components. It also can provide short term SOF analysis and diagnosis.
Trending of high voltage propulsion components is just like analyzing an ICE with a compression test. Drive motor and generator, power inverters, energy system (battery pack) and DC-DC converter all are tested under a SOH plan. Depending on the vehicle, it’s about a four-hour process to do a thorough SOH assessment.
Your probably customers probably will be out of warranty owners, as well as some in warranty owners because dealers don’t do SOH inspections, fleet customers, used car sales, sub-contracted services from dealers and co-op agreements with other non-dealer companies.
Revenue streams include a SOH check before a prospective buyer purchases a hybrid, working with fleets and consumers who want to track their vehicle conditions and out of warranty consumers who want to know if any service will be needed soon. You also can look at in warranty vehicles to monitor hybrid systems. This is a service that dealers can’t or won’t offer, as there is no return on investment, Quarto says.
With this, you can go to your customers and show them empirical data from the SOF assessment that is irrefutable. You also will be reduce or eliminate unnecessary part replacement of expensive components and the associated labor costs.
Other opportunities to consider are joining with a used car business to provide their analysis on prospective trade-ins and sales, as well as offering your own customers an annual SOH check-up.
Parallel and Series Hybrids
But what exactly might you be working on and learning about once you get all of this training and planning in place? Under the hood, there are two systems at work – parallel and series. On parallel hybrids, which Quarto says is somewhat of a misnomer, as the system runs, the engine sends torque through the motor. Motor B is in charge of most of the power and sends it to the axles.
Controllers in these make sure the right torque blend is found in the transaxle. Once the engine is started, then torque is blended. Parallel hybrids also can run as a series hybrid on electric traction alone.
On series hybrids, which the Chevrolet Volt concept is one, the engine never is really coupled with the axle, Quarto notes. The engine is coupled to the generator, which provides power to the battery pack or drive motor. The engine does nothing but running the generator for the most part.
With these, he says that you can tune the engine to electrical load and get rid of transient loan, giving techs the ability to tune the engine pretty lean.
Two-Mode Hybrids
Two-mode hybrids are found in SUVs and large pickups. There are two-mode hybrid rear wheel drives (RWD), which Quarto says you can drive on full electric most of the time.
Inside the two-mode RWD, you’ll find three clutches, three planetary gear sets and two motors. There’s also an auxiliary pump, a damper and no torque converter because it launches electrically.
“The operation is very different from our competitors. It’s much more efficient, We can scale this system to go in any transmission,” Quarto says.
Two-mode operation operates in two distinctive modes. Mode One is electronically variable transmission (EVT) — EVT Low and EVT High — with gear ratios for low/intermediate speed vehicle operation that combine electric and engine propulsion.
Motor B torque is used to propel the engine, while Motor A charges the battery pack, provides torque for propulsion and provides torque smoothing.
In Mode Two (used at highway speeds), the engine is connected to driveline mechanically through clutches C2 and C4. The engine is the dominant torque producer. Motor A only generates electrical power and Motor B supplies only propulsion torque and can assist engine in supplying torque. It will not operate to generate electrical power in this mode.
One note. Quarto says that it is difficult to diagnoses problems on transmissions in these hybrids. The system is very sophisticated in how much torque the motors are providing and direction they are rotating. The only thing to care about is how fast the motors are turning and produce torque.
“You cannot apply the same set of rules to this one that you apply to other transmissions. We’ve tried for years,” he says.
BAS and E-Flex
Two other types of hybrids are the Belt Alternator Starter (BAS) and the E-Flex.
With the BAS system, which means 5KW power is hung on engine, with power electronics with inverter and DC/DC converter, 36-volt advanced nickel metal Hydride battery pack highlighted on the engine system. The electric machine helps with propulsion after start.
At least from GM, you’ll see more of these belted systems, as they are less expensive to produce, Quarto says.
The E-Flex system is found in Chevrolet’s Volt concept vehicle. E stands for electric drive propulsion system and flex is flexible power. It can run on an internal combustion engine (ICE) on gasoline, an ICE with E85, an ICE with E100 or a fuel cell or bio-diesel engine.
One other thing Quarto noted is that the Volt battery pack has half the kilowatts of the EV1, but the weight is one-third that of the EVI at only 400 pounds.
