AC on Battery

1600 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by jcanoe, Jul 16, 2018

JRRF

Discussion Starter · Jul 13, 2018

So I'm at the dealer today in the hope they will update the backfire issue. The SA said it takes a long time (to hook the thing to a computer and walk away???). Anyway, I drained the battery so if they had to go for a joy ride they could experience the issue quickly. I got to wondering with my drained battery about how long the AC would run on almost no battery while sitting at a traffic light. I know a lot of start/stop cars will start the engine after a minute or so sitting with the AC on. So how long will the Volt be able to run the AC at a light if there is effectively no battery left before it starts the engine?

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jcanoe

· #9 · Jul 14, 2018

hellsop said:
Stoplights aren't that long, regardless of how they seem.* The buffer at CS mode is big enough to power the heating for about five minutes at full blast from engine shutoff to needing to start it again, and if the cabin is already comfortable, it could easily manage 15 minutes.

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* Generally accepted traffic planning has signals change from red after no more than 100 seconds and between 60-90 seconds are recommended from a side street into an arterial.

The traffic lights in MD, DC and especially Northern VA are whole different trip. I believe that one traffic signal in Fairfax, VA was timed to have a cycle that is 7 minutes long.

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jcanoe

· #11 · Jul 14, 2018

Don M said:
I can imagine lots of people give up after way less time than that and just drive through the light - Do they have a cop posted nearby to fill the city's coffers by writing tickets??

Don

No cop usually, just long lines of vehicles. red-lights-that-try-the-soul

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jcanoe

· #13 · Jul 16, 2018

MikeyCVolt said:
Yeah, I think I'd wait 5 minutes and after that, I'd assume the lane sensor was broken and just pick a time when I know it's safe (obvious break in traffic, no cops, no red light cameras) and I'd drive through it. I've never seen one around here longer than about 2.5 minutes.

Mike

You might be able to jump the light between 0100 and 0400 but the other 20 hours a day the opposing traffic would prevent you from moving through the intersection. There are traffic cameras to monitor traffic flow in real time, not sure if there are also red light violation cameras.

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