HV battery Dead on 2006 Prius HELP!

That's what I would do if in your situation. At this point you don't have anything to lose.

 

I didn't change out my cells. I installed a ReInVolt for $2000 and after rehabbing the 27 good modules, sold them to 7 other people (some here and some on eBay) so that they could fix their HV batteries. The $700 that I cleared after expenses made my net cost $1300 for my repair.

JeffD

ps: I still have the good Battery ECU from my 2004 Prius HV battery if anyone needs one.

 

Here's a better question for Jeff:

If you had to do it all over again, would you just change out one cell and save $1260 and eliminate the hassle of selling the batteries?

 

I would have to buy a set of modules so that I could find one to match my existing ones in capacity and series resistance. I would also buy 3 more charger/re-balancers so that the job could be done in a reasonable amount of time (about two weeks). This would cost $250 and the unavailability of my Prius for that duration.

My other option would be to buy a salvaged, low mileage battery for about $1000 and still buy three more charger/re-balancers (about $100). Then I would refurbish/test all of the the salvaged unit modules while my Prius was still drivable (if limping) and after swapping the batteries, sell the remaining good modules (after testing and re-balancing) to bring the overall cost down to about $400 and again get the pleasure of helping several others to get their HV batteries going.

Of course this assumes that my ReInVolt battery fails before some other costly repair ends the useful life of my 2004 Prius which now has been driven 225,000 miles (30,000 on the ReInVolt).

JeffD

 

I have a rebalanced battery for sale if you end up needing it

 

Sherri,
I bought some rebalanced modules from Jeff around October 2011 and replaced 3 modules in my 2006 Prius.and my Prius is working great since I have. I have put on 30k miles since and all is well. The biggest thing you have watch is being careful removing the battery and the high voltages. The other thing is get the voltages as close as possible when replacing the modules. If I remember correctly I think the spec is no difference of more than .200mV between the modules. I discharged my to .020mV within each other. As far doing the whole job if was relatively easy in comparison to other automotive repairs. A lot better than engine or trans work... Best of luck and there are some very knowledgeable members of this forum which helped me out.

 

Tell your husband to check the orange traction battery interlock switch located on the traction battery case. I assume he removed it for safety reasons before he started to work on the traction battery.

When the switch is inserted, the handle must be pivoted 90 degrees. Then the handle must be slid to lock it in place. The second part of that procedure is frequently forgotten.

 

Disconnect the 12V battery negative cable where it bolts to the body for a few minutes. That will allow the ECUs to power down.

He also should measure the voltage of each of the 28 modules. If any one module's voltage differs by more than a few tenths of a volt compared to the others, the battery is not going to work.

 

Hey Sherri,
Stick with it. You guys will get it. Be patient and don't give up.

 

I'm glad to hear that you can declare victory on this.

I am wondering what caused the 12V battery to discharge to such a great extent that it only measured 4V?