Gs450H Economy Without Hybrid

[Hayne]

More of an observation than a question, for those who may be interested;

Since my hybrid transmission pump packed up, I'm now running on just the 3.5 petrol engine with no hybrid system.

I normally get an average of 33mpg with the hybrid system working, but without the hybrid, on the same journeys i am getting 28mpg. Not a huge difference! (not as much fun running at 50bhp less though).

[LexIS200Sport]

Is it safe to drive the car with a malfunctioning transmission pump?

[Hayne]

Valid point Ganesh, but the mechanical transmission pump driven from the engine is working fine. The auxiliary pump only operates when there is no engine power (i.e. in Hybrid mode). As the hybrid system is currently disabled, the auxiliary pump is not required, therefore i believe that it wont do any damage.

[royoftherovers]

Giles,

Are you still running the 450h without the Hyrbrid function?

Regards

John

[Hayne]

Hi John,

Yes, I'm still running it without Hybrid functionality. It runs absolutely fine, just with less economy.

I haven't had much chance to fix it lately, but my findings are as follows;

Read fault code.

Checked all Hybrid fuses ok.

Removed Battery and reapplied to see if fault resets - it returned straight away.

Put the car on a ramp to check ATF level - all is ok.

While on the ramp, I checked the power to the pump - 14 volts present, so ok.

I have come to the conclusion that the pump is at fault, not the pump controller or wiring. The cheapest price for a new pump is about £900 online, so I'm not prepared to pay that until there is no other option. On inspecting the pump, the electric motor housing appears to have got hot, which points towards an electrical fault with the pump. The brushes could be worn, or the motor needs rewinding.

My next step is to remove the pump and check the brushes and windings and repair it. I just want to make sure I can remove the electric motor without the ATF draining out so I can still use the car, otherwise it will be off the road for a few days. I have contacted a motor re-winding shop who say they are likely to be able to rewind the motor for me.

I hate this modern throw-away society. No one wants to repair anything anymore. I my opinion, everything is repairable!!! I'd rather repair the pump for £100 than spend £900 on a new one (well, who wouldn't).

I will post again when I have an update.

Regards,

Giles.

[Krayfish]

This is quite interesting love hearing stories of people brave enough to to get their hands dirty on tech that most of us don't understand lol

It's things like this where you will no doubt fix this for a fraction of the predicted price and give hope to others if and when it happens.

good on you Giles!

:)

[LexIS200Sport]

All the best Giles! Watching this space with a keen eye :)

[andypower]

hello giles.

just wondered if what you thought would fix it, fixed it?

[Hayne]

Hi Andrew,

Yes, it is now fixed. See the thread titled 'GS450h Loss of Power' for full details.

Has your pump stopped operating?

Giles.

[andypower]

ive not actually bought one yet but in the process of buying one.

this was really putting me off so i'll check out your other thread thanks