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A better 12V battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Misanthropic Scott, Dec 29, 2014.

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  1. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    You're still confused. It's not a Honda.
     
    #41 CR94, Jan 4, 2015
  2. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    You really need to monitor the battery condition. Regardless of whether it's AGM or lead-acid, a 10V battery is probably not going to work well enough to get the car started. Look into OBD2 equipment. There are numerous threads on things like Torque, Mini-VCI, Techstream. Beware of measuring the voltage while in READY mode - if the voltage is 13V+, then that's the car inverter, not the battery. Get a voltmeter like this one: Digital Multimeter - 7 Function, w/ Backlight . Measure the voltage at the charge point in the engine compartment with the ignition off.
     
    #42 RobH, Jan 4, 2015
  3. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Any chance you could find a place (and/or get permission) to install a small solar battery tender?


    Might address the concerns of wasting neighbors electricity etc while still letting you do the one thing folks seem to think most likely to prolong battery life.

    Rob
     
    #43 miscrms, Jan 5, 2015
  4. Misanthropic Scott

    Misanthropic Scott Junior Member

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    Thanks to everyone who didn't accuse me of leaving my doors open for the advice. I have learned a lot from this thread and from googling based on what I read here. Unfortunately, it is not practical to do any of the things that will work. I am not willing to leave a battery tender on the car when not absolutely necessary. I am not willing to take the power from the building and am even less willing to risk sparks anywhere near the building's gas main.

    When the car sits for weeks, that is most often because I am away for weeks. So, charging once a week is not realistic either.

    From this thread, I have learned:

    1) The 12V battery does not crank the ICE in a Prius. Bad assumption on my part.
    2) There are better batteries available to me that may help. I will likely buy one the first time that an OEM battery is not completely free at the dealer. I may do so even if the dealer offers me another for free.
    3) I can and will test my battery at regular intervals rather than waiting until the car dies.
    4) There are options that would help if I were willing to take the power and risk of connecting my battery to a charger.

    I really do appreciate all of the help and advice.

    Yes. I do know that my habits are bad for any battery. A city lifestyle is hard on a battery and makes many options impractical. I also know from my prior car that a better battery will at least help. Now that I know there are better batteries available, I know that is an option.
     
    #44 Misanthropic Scott, Jan 5, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    zipcar.com:p
     
    #45 bisco, Jan 5, 2015
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    what an idiot
     
    #46 JC91006, Jan 5, 2015
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