Gen II Prius Individual Battery Module Replacement

Please I'm in the same dilemma John.
I can monitor voltages on some of the modules, but what's the easiest way to monitor current, if for instance I ha e a charger that doesn't employ a current monitor?

Thanks for the reply.

 

Any chance you forgot to fully tighten some connection?
Or perhaps you overtighted/stripped a connection?

Hopefully you have a small torque wrench to prevetn these two scenarios. If not, pick one up and go back and check your connections.

Also do a quick check for corrosion.

How are you checking the modules? While driving/under load?
Unloaded/static voltage may not tell the whole story.

 

Its s

It seems you connected those wires in parallel to the modules.
And I noticed you were charging all modules at once.
What voltage or current are you sung since the modules are rated 9.6V, and 6500mA?

 

M

Pls what's the full specifications of your X4, and how many are you using for your project?

 

MTL. Please can you make the pictures of your connections more clearer like his done? I really need that parallel setting of yours to reference in future.

Thanks

 

No that wire harness was just to balance the voltages on the modules before I put them back in, it was not for parallel charging. The X4 will do 4 modules at a time and you want to make sure modules aren't getting overcharged at higher currents....if you are grid charging at low current (under 1/3 amp at 240V) then overcharging is much less of an issue. I had 2 Hitec chargers doing my pack to speed up the process but just one will certainly do the job as well. Remember load testing is one of the most critical steps so keep charging current as low as possible (2A max! pref 1A) and discharge as high as possible for best results.

Settings:
Prius Battery rebalance thread | PriusChat

 

the only way I know of or can check those things is by the display on the screen. I am seriously on a tight budget to buy any expensive tools. I DID notice some corrosion and I used vinegar and baking soda choices to clean every one of those copper connections. was hoping that would help and it didn't as of now.

any other ideas or suggestions? is it possible where those cells connect where the two orange connections are ... something in there might be bad or going bad? I don't have a pic of what im talking about though.

 

Anyone with any of these chargers for sale? I mean used one.

Thanks

 

Would Parallel Balancing be done on a Grid Charger?

 

Get your tools out and go back and open everything up again and inspect it thoroughly.
Probe the wires to make sure nothing is cracked/broken.
Inspect the plugs for corrosion.

It will not cost you any money.

But it will cost you time.
I'd start there.

A Torque wrench would cost ~$20 at harbor freight.
You may be able to borrow/rent one free from a parts supply store.

 

If you are referring to this statement:

this is quite different to battery balancing. What is referred to here is voltage equalisation, and current thinking is that it adds little value to the process. Therefore is largely a waste of time and effort. As long as the modules are charged to within 0.1 V of each other they should assemble fine. There are other more important considerations such as capacity and rate at which each module charges/discharges.

 

As I play with more and more packs, I find the capacity of the modules are not as important as the self discharge rates. Modules with different capacities still work quite well together, as long as their discharge rates are similar. But more data is needed

 

Aren't they related though? A module with lower capacity will discharge faster than a higher capacity module, wouldn't it?

 

Yes. That's usually what happens. But I've had modules that discharge at similar rates for 2 weeks but differ in capacity when I load test them.

There should be a sticky telling people not to let their old batteries sit for long periods, that's a sure killer. They would need to be charged before they get put back into service after a long vacation. High internal resistance and self discharge are the killers

 

So a low mileage vehicle may not be such a good deal then?? As an example, I was looking at a 2011 CT200h with just barely 27K miles. A quick look at carfax showed the first 12K was in the first year leaving a 2-3K per year for the remaining 5-6 years.

 

Low mileage hybrid cars make me very nervous.

 

Same thing I think, when we apply ohm's law?

V=IR; I=V/R
Implies the lower the amperage (capacity), the lower the voltage of the module(s){self discharge increases}, and vice versa.

I think self discharge and voltages are related? If I'm wrong, please do correct me.

PS: Can't one calculate the internal resistance of any block or module using any of these equations?

V=IR; and I=E/R+r

 

Amperage is not capacity. Amp*hours is capacity of the battery. It's an important distinction.

 

I agree with your statement because I have used the prolong charger on my battery many times and clearly they are not all going to be at the same voltage and it didn't seem to matter when the vehicle started. It does take a little while for the vehicle to manage the voltages after the grid charge but I wouldn't bother with building the harness again. Grid charging (whole pack) / load testing really is the best method anyway but grid chargers are expensive to get the equipment so if you are on a tight budget it may be out of reach.

 

I found exactly the same thing.........this is why load testing is critical in the rebuild process.