Battery Vehicle Society

Interesting, must admit I havent got a high level light

I'm almost 99% sure mine doesnt due to the horrible screeching of breaks I get when folks dont realise I'm slowing down, well thats what I presume it is (happened several times now )

I'll have to hook mine out and take a peep or get someone to follow me I think to confirm/deny it on older vans

ChrisB

Perhaps it is a feature of later ones?. I did wonder why my reversing park sensor kept flashing when I braked as it is only supposed to activate when slowing down and the brake lights come on.

Get someone to follow and have a mobile phone call at the same time. They can tell you when the lights come on as you lift off the Accelerator.

John

Simon

any news on your idea of a small PIC attached to the ecometer? i'm planning a conversion of a saxo to lifepo4 but could be usefull to adjust when brakelights are on when regen is active, i like the idea of a button that you press to tell at what level regen the lights should be on

can you tell what ultra ECO is?

my conversion is here:

http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk ... php?t=2041

Interesting observation, I came across an article in a motoring mag while waiting at Kwikfit while my daughters Clio was being MOTed.

Car makers are lobbying for a change in the law to allow for brake lights to be activated automatically when electric vehicles deploy regen.

The inference is that this would currently not be legal despite being a very good idea.

It is also implied that EV developers are looking to harvest as much regen energy as possible so retardation when lifting off the accelerator is more pronounced. To my mind this is counter-intuitive to the pulse glide technique. i.e. give it a squirt and let it roll but you can't have it both ways!


MarkTime

I cant see why it is not legal now Mark as it is on a production electric vehicle that is approvd in UK, the Blingo.?
John

Pulse-glide is quite a different driving technique to normal engine braking. I understand it gives better efficiency but you need to be quicker on the brakes if something unexpected happens. It is my contention that most people don't really drive their car, but sit there dumbly steering it.

For a homebuild, you can arrange it to suit yourself (as far as the law allows) but a manufacturer needs to cater for the masses.

Regen putting on the brake light would logically only be necessary if off-throttle regen was greater than diesel engine-braking ('normality').

Personally, I try to emulate pulse-glide in the Berlingo by balancing throttle position in the 'zero amps' position.

I was also a bit surprised, I know it's not very clear but I took a pic of the article as a prompt for my poor memory, it's from Jan 2010 auto express.




I might have misinterpreted the message of it may just be motoring journalists grabbing the wrong end of a stick.
Here is a transcript in case the photo image is not clear enough to read, I can't make out all the text myself but this is my best shot.

'Call for change in brake light law'
One of the oldest rules in motoring is being challenged by car makers working on next-generation models - and it's all in the name of road safety. Rear brake lights that come on when the driver presses the middle pedal have been part of the regulations for decades. But engineers building future electric vehicles (EVs) are now calling on the European Union to change the rules. A BMW spokesman told Auto Express that EVs need to take as much advantage as possible of brake energy regeneration. But he said that when drivers step off the throttle , there is a marked deceleration creating the risk of a rear impact. "We fell it's so strong that the brake lights should come on." He added the BMW-built MINI E on sale in the UK, has brake lights which come on without the pedal bring pushed. It's allowed to do this because it is licensed only for field trials. BMW's spokesman added "Today's legislation is ****** ***today's cars and those of the past. As ** ***** to EV's certain aspects need to be ********."

My guess is journo licence to print what they like. It beggars beleif that a production car got through all the safety testing with this feature already - unless my Blingo is a mistake and it shouldnt happen ???

Hi Tim, cross posted, I take your point about pulse - glide my reference was not really appropriate, I think I picked up the term form Niki talking about the City EL where I guess there is little or no regen so it's really just a matter of a series of pulses or pushes to keep moving and then gliding or rolling as far as possible.

Once you get into to vehicles with regen the key factor is does it replicate normal engine braking or is it more dramatic than that! The regen effect on my Prius (04-09 model not the current one) is very light, less than normal engine braking, I seldom touch the brakes and I'm aware that not all motorists realise I am slowing down!

MarkTime.

marktime wrote:The inference is that this would currently not be legal despite being a very good idea.

marktime wrote:'Call for change in brake light law'
One of the oldest rules in motoring is being challenged by car makers working on next-generation models - and it's all in the name of road safety. Rear brake lights that come on when the driver presses the middle pedal have been part of the regulations for decades. But engineers building future electric vehicles (EVs) are now calling on the European Union to change the rules. A BMW spokesman told Auto Express that EVs need to take as much advantage as possible of brake energy regeneration. But he said that when drivers step off the throttle , there is a marked deceleration creating the risk of a rear impact. "We fell it's so strong that the brake lights should come on." He added the BMW-built MINI E on sale in the UK, has brake lights which come on without the pedal bring pushed. It's allowed to do this because it is licensed only for field trials. BMW's spokesman added "Today's legislation is ****** ***today's cars and those of the past. As ** ***** to EV's certain aspects need to be ********."

mmmm recon its journo twaddle as Flying John says,.
I'm not aware of any "law" that stops the brake light from illuminating if the brake pedal isnt pushed but the vehicle is slowing down under regen, yes the brake lights must not remain on when the brake pedal is released but then it doesnt as once regen is complete as it goes out
I like the fact they say the BMW mini e thats on sale......then go on to say its field trials .....errrr its either for sale or its not

ChrisB