I need a grid charger and possibly battery soon but...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Martaybirdie, Jul 6, 2018.

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  1. Martaybirdie

    Martaybirdie New Member

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    What is the best way to fully charge the battery now? Will the maintenance mode force it to charge fully?
    I can never get it to fully charge. I will get a grid charger soon anyway and replace the battery but today the low traction battery light came on and told me to put in park but I was in automatic drive through car wash. I was lucky it didn't die on me!
     
    #1 Martaybirdie, Jul 6, 2018
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    just get a new battery grid chargers are 500
     
    #2 tankyuong, Jul 7, 2018
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the battery should not be fully charged as a regular occurrence. how many miles on your car? what issues are you seeing?
     
    #3 bisco, Jul 7, 2018
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  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Maintenance mode does not charge the battery, it allows the gas engine to run.

    For car washes, find one that has the elements move around your car and not one that you have to go through in neutral. As you found out, that’s a good way to harm one of the most expensive components in your Prius.

    A grid charger can be used to raise the traction battery pack voltage, but not all the time.
     
    #4 Raytheeagle, Jul 7, 2018
  5. Martaybirdie

    Martaybirdie New Member

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    260K the traction battery never seems to get above 3/4 charged and routinely drops to 1-2 bars...
     
    #5 Martaybirdie, Jul 10, 2018
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  6. Martaybirdie

    Martaybirdie New Member

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    I see plenty of grid chargers for under $350. Even if I bought a new battery I keep reading about the benefits of a grid charger keeping the voltage between cells even, something the car fails to do. And $350 right now to get some more life out of it is cheaper than spending $1300+. I do not have extra income right now...
     
    #6 Martaybirdie, Jul 10, 2018
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  7. Martaybirdie

    Martaybirdie New Member

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    How is a car wash going to hurt the Prius? And the ones that have elements that move around use harsh chemicals to clean. i would much rather soft cloth than dumping chemicals on it and ground.
     
    #7 Martaybirdie, Jul 10, 2018
  8. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    try out the grid charger and let us know
     
    #8 tankyuong, Jul 10, 2018
  9. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    If you take your car through one that requires the car to be in neutral, you can damage the Prius battery if you are not aware;).

    If the battery state of charge gets too low, the Prius will not move and you’ll need to charge it up:(.

    As for the your pseudo environmental concerns, car wash places collect their water and recycle, so not as wasteful as you would think:).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #9 Raytheeagle, Jul 11, 2018
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