A method and system for operating a vehicle that includes a plurality of engine starting devices and an internal combustion engine is described. In one example, the method determines whether or not to inhibit automatic engine stopping so that a lifespan of an engine starting device may be extended. In one example, the inhibiting is based on a ratio of an actual total number of engine starts generated via the engine starting device to an actual total distance traveled by the vehicle since the engine starting device was installed.

A vehicle power supply system and a method for operating the same are provided. The vehicle power supply system includes a main battery and a sub-battery to supply power to an electronic load inside a vehicle, and a controller to control supplying of the power to the electronic load using at least one of the main battery or the sub-battery, by monitoring the main battery and the sub-battery. The controller determines whether the main battery allows entrance into Idle Stop and Go, determines whether the sub-battery is able to assist the ISG, and controls the sub-battery to assist the main battery to supply the power to the electronic load, when the main battery allows the entrance into the ISG, when the sub-battery is able to assist the ISG, and when entering into the ISG.

A auto-stop/start vehicle with an engine and a battery includes at least one controller that calibrates an engine auto-stop delay time based on a state of charge (SOC) of a battery. The calibrated engine auto-stop delay time increases as the SOC of the battery decreases, and decreases as the SOC of the battery increases. The controller further initiates shutdown of an engine upon expiration of the calibrated engine auto-stop delay time.

Systems and methods for improving operation of a driveline disconnect clutch for a hybrid vehicle shifting are presented. In one example, pressure of a working fluid supplied to the driveline disconnect clutch is adjusted in response to a rate of change in accelerator pedal position. Further, pressure of the working fluid may be decreased responsive to selected operating conditions.

An electromagnetic switch device for a starter includes a pinion-pushing solenoid for pushing out a pinion toward a ring gear of an engine by a plunger thereof, and a motor-energizing solenoid for energizing the motor. The electromagnetic switch device is configured to detect a magnetic flux change in a magnetic circuit of the motor-energizing solenoid due to displacement or deformation of a core of the motor-energizing solenoid caused when the plunger of the pinion-pushing solenoid abuts against a stopper, to determine a timing to start current supply to the motor-energizing solenoid.

The invention relates to a method for operating a power generating device (2) comprising an internal combustion engine, in particular a gas motor or a gas turbine, and an energy accumulator. Said internal combustion engine and the energy accumulator are electrically coupled together. Said internal combustion engine (16) can be operated in accordance with a first estimated value and in accordance with a second estimated value.

Provided is a start-stop control apparatus to be mounted in a vehicle including an engine, a starter motor configured to restart the engine, and an auxiliary battery configured to supply electric power to the starter motor. The start-stop control apparatus includes a stop processing unit and an engine measuring unit. The stop processing unit stops idling of the engine while the vehicle is being stopped. The engine measuring unit measures an internal loss of the engine. The stop processing unit determines whether to stop the idling of the engine on the basis of the internal loss measured by the engine measuring unit and the state of charge of the auxiliary battery.

A vehicle controlling apparatus includes an engine processor, an electric motor, an electric power storage, an SOC detector, an internal resistance detector, and a resistance threshold setting unit. The engine processor is configured to stop an engine of a vehicle on the basis of a stop condition, and start the engine on the basis of a start condition. The engine processor is configured to prohibit a stop of the engine based on the stop condition based on determining that an internal resistance of the electric power storage detected by the internal resistance detector is equal to or greater than a resistance threshold set by the resistance threshold setting unit on the basis of a state of charge of the electric power storage, and permit the stop of the engine based on determining that the internal resistance is less than the resistance threshold.

A control system of a vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to (a) measure characteristics of a battery installed on the vehicle, (b) determine whether the battery is a designated battery or a non-designated battery, based on at least one of the characteristics, and (c) determine whether an idling stop function of the vehicle is permitted to be executed, based on a threshold value of at least one of the characteristics of the battery. The threshold value is set to a first threshold value when the battery is determined as the designated battery, and set to a second threshold value that is different from the first threshold value when the battery is determined as the non-designated battery.

An electronic control device automatically stops an engine operation when a remaining electric power amount index value is equal to or larger than an engine stop permission threshold. The device automatically restarts the engine operation when the remaining electric power amount index value is smaller than an engine restart threshold after the engine operation is automatically stopped. The device changes the engine stop permission threshold from a first threshold, which has been set until a start of an activation of an electric actuator, to a second threshold, which is larger than the first threshold, when the automatic engine stop is not carried out and the activation of the actuator is detected.