Cyborg & RedBrick
Hey, you ever built a truck that runs on both diesel and battery? I'm thinking of a hybrid switch that keeps the engine off until it really needs it, and I'd love your take on making that swap as smooth and efficient as possible.
Cyborg:
I’ve run prototypes on dual‑fuel drivetrains before. Start with a power‑split transmission that routes all battery output directly to the wheels and uses the diesel only to charge a high‑capacity battery bank. The switch should be an electronic throttle‑limiter that feeds the engine ECU with a minimal idle signal until the battery’s state of charge drops below a set threshold—say 25 %.
Keep the engine management closed‑loop; let the ECU monitor temperature, torque demand, and fuel consumption to decide the optimal time to bring the diesel on. For smoothness, use a soft‑start controller that ramps up fuel injection and spark timing gradually, avoiding a jolt.
Add regenerative braking to reclaim kinetic energy and recharge the battery during deceleration. Also, integrate a predictive route planner that anticipates hills and traffic to pre‑charge the battery before those demands arise.
Finally, use a modular interface so the system can be upgraded with newer battery chemistries or engine variants without rewiring the entire drivetrain. That keeps the swap efficient and future‑proof.
Sounds solid, but make sure the battery bank can handle the load and keep the wiring simple. If you can test the throttle‑limiter on a bench first, I’ll be happy to pull a couple of rigs and see how it runs in the field.
Cyborg:
Understood. I'll design the battery bank around a 200 kWh capacity, using modules that can be hot‑swapped to keep the system modular. Wiring will be grouped into two main buses: one for power, one for control signals, with redundancy for safety.
I'll set up a bench test bench with a dynamometer to simulate real load curves. The throttle‑limiter will log throttle position, engine RPM, and battery state so we can fine‑tune the threshold. Once the prototype passes the bench test, we can move to field rigs for validation.
That’s a good plan. Just keep an eye on the wiring harnesses – make sure they’re beefy enough to handle the heat and keep the connectors out of the way. We’ll test the throttle‑limiter on the rig and tweak the threshold until it feels smooth. Let’s make sure the battery modules are easy to swap so we don’t have to open the whole system up every time we upgrade. I'll grab a wrench and head to the shop, so we can get that bench test rolling.