Systems and methods for improving operation of a vehicle are presented. In one example, a minimum battery state of charge (SOC) threshold for automatic engine stopping is adjusted responsive to a temperature of a battery. An engine of the vehicle may be automatically started responsive to a battery SOC discharge amount that is greater than a threshold. The approach may allow a battery to discharge a greater number of times so that battery life may be extended.

A method for operating a vehicle that includes a DC/DC converter is described. In one example, the method includes adjusting an output voltage of the DC/DC converter after the DC/DC converter is used to crank an engine. The output voltage of the DC/DC converter may be adjusted responsive to a state of charge of an ultra-capacitor.

An energy storage system (ESS) for a vehicle propulsion system includes a first battery electrically coupled to a first voltage bus, a second battery electrically coupled to a second voltage bus, and a bidirectional DC/DC power converter electrically coupled to the voltage buses. A starter for cranking an engine is electrically coupled to the first voltage bus. A controller executes computer code stored in memory. The computer code is configured to operate the converter in a boost mode to transfer power from the second voltage bus to the first voltage bus, in response to the controller determining that: a power capability of the first battery is below a power demand on the first voltage bus; a state of charge of the first battery is below a state of charge threshold; or a temperature of the first battery is below a temperature threshold.

A system for discharging or charging a capacitor of a hybrid vehicle according to the present disclosure includes a target state of charge (SOC) module and a capacitor charge/discharge module. The target SOC module determines a target state of charge of the capacitor based on a speed of the vehicle. The capacitor charge/discharge module determines whether a state of charge of a capacitor is greater than a target state of charge. The capacitor charge/discharge module dissipates power from the capacitor to at least one of a battery of the vehicle and an electrical load of the vehicle when the state of charge of the capacitor is greater than the target state of charge.

A battery starting and charging system that monitors battery and other sensor readings; tracks vehicle state, determines a charging voltage based on battery temperature and vehicle state; sets the alternator to charge the battery with the charging voltage; determines current collected parameters based on the battery and other sensor readings; and makes vehicle start predictions based on the current collected parameters. The system can also determine whether the vehicle actually started; add the current collected parameters to a set of start events if it started, and to a set of no-start events if it didn't start. The start prediction can also be based on the sets of start and no-start events for one or multiple vehicles. The collected parameters and start predictions can also be based on collected weather data. The system can use a local interconnect network (LIN) alternator with a LIN network.

A power management system for a vehicle includes a first battery monitoring module configured to monitor a first state of charge (SOC) of a first battery of the vehicle. The first battery has a first nominal voltage. A second battery monitoring module is configured to monitor a second SOC of a second battery of the vehicle. The second battery has a second nominal voltage that is greater than the first nominal voltage. A control module is configured to, using a direct current (DC) to DC converter, selectively charge the second battery with power from the first battery until the second SOC of the second battery is greater than or equal to a predetermined SOC.

To prolong a lifetime of a starter battery, a starting system (5) for an internal combustion engine (3) includes: a starter battery (22) constituted of a lithium-ion battery and configured to supply electric power to a starter motor (21); and a controller (51) configured to drive the starter motor (21) by the electric power from the starter battery (22) to perform cranking operations of the engine (3) intermittently, wherein the controller (51) is configured to prohibit the cranking operations for a first time interval before the cranking operations are performed a prescribed number of times within a prescribed time window, and to prohibit the cranking operations for a second time interval longer than the first time interval right after the cranking operations are performed the prescribed number of times within the prescribed time window.

A control apparatus for a vehicle allows execution of an idle-stop control for temporarily stopping an engine, in a case in which a plurality of conditions are satisfied. The plurality of conditions include (i) a first condition is that it is determined upon power ON of the vehicle that the execution of the idle-stop control is allowed in a result of a determination stored upon power OFF of the vehicle last time and (ii) a second condition that it is determined that a smoothed value of an output voltage of a power storage device is at least a predetermined voltage value that guarantees the start of the engine. The smoothed value is obtained by a smoothing processing for smoothing the output voltage during a preparation period from the power ON until elapse of a predetermined time for which an initialization processing of the control apparatus is executed.

The present disclosure provides a method in a vehicle, comprising detecting an engine stop opportunity and recording, in a memory, data corresponding to a first engine stop that occurred in response to detection of the engine stop opportunity. The method further includes detecting an engine stop inhibit, and recording, in a memory, data corresponding to a first missed engine stop wherein the first missed engine stop indicates detection of the engine stop opportunity without an engine stop in response to the detection of the engine stop opportunity.

A system for determining an operating mode of a battery includes a voltage sensor configured to detect a present voltage across terminals of the battery. The system further includes a non-transitory memory configured to store previously detected voltages across the terminals of the battery, and a previous operating mode of the battery. The system further includes a processor coupled to the voltage sensor and the non-transitory memory and configured to determine the operating mode of the battery by comparing the present voltage across the terminals of the battery to the previously detected voltages of the battery and based on the previous operating mode of the battery.