Plug-in Prius Battery Upgrade

The downside of uber filtration is that those replaceable elements ain't cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

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We mostly just roll with the windows down through summer, ventilation system off, another hillbilly mod I guess. I appreciate it's just a wee bit hotter down south.

 

There was a time when I was more adventuresome and wanted to to the A123 System plug in conversion back in 2008 but I didn't so now I will wait for a decent all electric car but since I have a new car it will be several years.

 

you made a good decision back then. most of them are in land fills now.

 

The red spec is probably 3.3Ah.
Tesla's little 18650 cells require a proper TMS to operate at that high rate. You won't be charging or discharging them as hard as they can be in a Tesla,,, but still....

Did you simply parallel this module to the PiP pack?
That is not ideal.
The Pip pack may just discharge first and that's that.
Also what about a BMS for this module? Those individual cells need that attention.

There is a PHEV that meets your needs currently! It has TMS and a warranty. No added patching required!

 

Actually if they connected the modules in parallel to "patch" the system they may have voided any Toyota warranty.
Toyota cannot warranty a hybrid system that has been modified like that, for obvious reasons.

 

I don't believe the last line!

Is TMS=thermal management system?
What Oskar did was best described as an "experiment". He did not use either a battery management system or TMS, he simply paralleled the "range extender" with the existing battery ahead of all the cont actors. Oskar proved, again (the Plug In Supply range extenders proved this previously) that the computers in the PIP do NOT contain any hard coded battery data and will adapt to a larger capacity battery and not "throw fault codes". Oskar's approach, savaging Tesla cells, adds a lot of time and effort to battery building. Clearly suitable new 18650 cells are available, see previous post. Toyota uses fan forced air cooling of the battery and the 21AH pack is fused @ 150 amps, meaning the stock cells must endure over a 7C peak discharge. The energy density, either WH/mass or WH/volume, of the stock cells is way below the TESLA benchmark. It is an ambitious project but replacing the cells in the Gen 1 PIP with modules of 18 paralleled 18650 cells, retaining the forced air cooling and the stock BMS is absolutely feasible (about 2.9 times the capacity and EV range in the same enclosure and should weigh LESS). The PIP BMS stops charging at a little under 4 volts/cell (220 volts/56cells) This dramatically increases the cycle life of the battery and would remain with the altered cells.

Edit: Here is a Plug in supply kit for sale.
Prius Plug-In Extended Battery kit (2012-2015) Extend EV Range to 30 miles. | eBay

 

>You don't believe there are +50 mile EV range, 5 seat PHEV's?

>Yes. TMS comes in two flavors. Gently blowing cabin air through loosely spaced cells or liquid coolant based, which directly cools or heats the tightly spaced cells as required. One brand of BEV has 'No TMS'.
Running the Tesla 'module' without its liquid TMS can't be good.

>I think Oscar is saying he parrelled in the Tesla module with the stock pack and did not replace the stock pack.
That would mean no TMS or BMS for that module.
He may be able to add a custom BMS, but so far it sounds like his hack does not play nice with the stock pack and the car.

10 points to him for trying!! 0 points for the results....

 

I need to fully charge the range extender battery, then I will let you know the results. Remember this is just a test. If things go the way I want, that stock battery will be for sale asap.

 

Which phev is that mate?

 

The only thing that is stopping me to fully charge my range extender battery is the current sensor. That's why charging my range extender separately would give me a clear idea of what is going on.

 

Boulder Hybrids (@3prongpaul) still has Gen3 (and Gen2) conversion to 10 kwhrs on their website:

GEN 3 PRIUS LIFTBACK (MODEL YEAR 2010-2014)
10kwh Pro MPLG*
$12,750 Installed (around $7,000 after tax rebate for CO residents)

• Up to 20-40 miles all EV range around town
• Top speed over 50mph in EV mode
• 100MPG in blended mode for 70-100 miles per charge
• Assembled in Colorado
• 2 year manufacturers warranty
• Limited quantities available for 2014 installation

 

Are you charging this pack with a simple ~220 VDC low current power supply with no BMS to keep the cell groups balanced?
That will work,,, for a while. But can you charge it up overnight?
I doubt you can get the Prime's Onboard charger to play nice with it.

What about the tightly packed cells without the coolant based TMS for heating and cooling the pack?

Well I don't know what is available in Merry old England. Google it.
In the states there is at least one choice that meets you needs.
It has a proper TMS, 150 HP as an EV, and it's a full-featured 4 season PHEV.
The smelly gasser only comes on if you tell it to, or the pack is depleted down to the the Hybrid buffer range.

 

volt

he doesn't have a prime, he has a pip.

i would like to see more than batteries laying on the kitchen floor.

 

It depends on what you mean by fully charge. Before you connect the range extender you'll need to charge it to the same voltage as the on-board battery otherwise both packs can be damaged by excessive currents. The on-board charger only charges to 220 volts even though the battery has a rated voltage of 235.2. Not charging fully dramatically improves the life of these batteries, even Tesla does this.

NO!!!!!!!
The current sensor is part of the drive system as well as the charging system. The current sensor does NOT need to be changed or re-programmed! With the range extender connected both packs will be charged and discharged in parallel the amps going in as well as out will divide between the two packs as neeeded
BILL is right that the range extender needs a BMS of sorts to keep the cell groups balanced they will stay balanced for a few cycles of test runs and you can manually observe the temperature rise and keep the cell voltages equal for testing but longer term use as a range extender would need a BMS .

 

So then why does it take exactly the same time to charge with or without the range extender battery? And the range doesn't change much?

 

Which 1 is it? And what is the range of ev?

 

Oscar,

It sort of sounds like you don't have the range extender actually connected where your videos show.
Or you have blown at least 8 fuses in the range extender pack.
With the range extender connected, what is the measured voltage of the range extender pack before and after charging?
The stock PIP with no EV miles left will have a pack voltage between 196 and 200. After fully charging the pack voltage will be 220, you should see these voltages at the range extender.

 

pip has an average range of 10 miles or so, but it depends on driving conditions.

 

I checked and tested the range extender battery before and after driving. Before charging both batteries, the voltage was 198v. Fully charged both 220v. I disconnected the range extender battery and rechecked the voltage and if all cells are balanced. The voltage remained at 220v and each group of cells at 3.92....v. Even if I leave the range extender battery overnight to see if it doesn't self discharge. Everything alright. Before connecting both batteries in parallel, I checked the voltage again on both batteries and check the balance on range extender battery. After connecting them, I get exactly the same milage/range. Then I checked the voltage and the balance on cells. Everything is alright.