2008 prius owner. Couple questions?

It reaches 40*C to 45*C (104*F to 115*F in the lower level of the workshop between 11am and 5pm during summer, the mezzanine level can go well over 52*C (125*F) during the day so we only venture up there early morning or after the sun goes down at around 8pm. Very dry heat here though, a 5 ltr container of water for cooling stuff attached to the grinder will evaporate dry in about 2 days. We live on the edge of the Murray River, the biggest river in Australia, so it's not too bad

T1 Terry

 

I didn't know. Hmm really like a Las Vegas heat on summer? Well the flipside of that at least your able to manage your Prius purring that at these season. But.. I wanna know how you're able to manage or tricked out your HV battery at these conditions?
Joe

 

Do use evaporative coolers in Australia? I use one in California and people in other states that have low humidity in the summer also have success with them.

 

Hi Patrick and how are you? 'Wanna show you something.. Genuine or "Chi-oyota?

 

The lithium cells in the 10kWh pack can handle 60*C and down to -30*C and fortunately we don't see either of those extremes here, although the inside of the car could get up above the 60*C when parked in the sun .... I might have to monitor cell temps and add a fan with a thermostat to move air over them. No idea what temps the NiMh cells can handle, but there are temp sensors in 3 spots under the battery pack so maybe it starts the cooling fan up if it senses high module temperatures.
We use reverse cycle air cond at our house (5 of them in different rooms actually) and in the workshop office. Many use the swampies (evaporative air cond) centrally mounted in the roof around here, but after a serious outbreak of Legionnaire's disease back in my home town of Wollongong being traced back to a swampy cooling tower in Shopping centre I have no plans to ever use one.

T1 Terry

 

Well, the packaging appears to be genuine and the parts number label says "Made in Japan", I think.

 

The home ones have no ductwork so I clean mine every year at the start of the season. Replace the pads also. Never had a problem.

 

Hi Terry and how are you?.
I was once stationed in Vegas. when it gets around that hot it can be an inferno in an enclosed black car. Were talking about melting a CD or cassette tapes. That's good to know your Prius can get by. I kind of heard some people had their Prius priming that cool air almost continuously. I think that's a good upgrade. I might do that before summer.
In regards to the swamp cooler. I had a condo that has one of those. I actually sleep good on those centralized cooling system. I just have to change and clean the filters religiously. Just to avoid any foreign contamination. But I have a backup AC in case especially now those window type aircon are more better and green! I miss that house. Its a good thing that my new home is a 1 floor so its a power saver. all I have to worry is not letting the drafts.
Anything new to the Prius? Well on mine, I just did an R&R on the inverter pump today. I almost didn't lose any coolant. I primed it just a bit. test, and took temperature. Piece of cake but I still need to get the rest of the parts on Thursday. That's when I will replace everything including the coolant flush. I also replaced all the exterior light bulbs besides headlights. In this way I wont have to worry about getting caught by TJ Hooker. I already had my fair share of it in my younger days..
Au revoir

 

I think Jason in Oz (member here) replaced all the globes in my '06 Prius to LED before I bought it, so no issues with failed lights anymore.
Are you looking at adding a plug in battery pack in the future? By far the best upgrade for a gen 2 Prius. Mine is a Plugin kit with a 10kW battery and makes the Prius an absolute pleasure to drive and very fuel economical. The traction is continually topped up from the plug in battery to hold it at around 70% SOC so all the bars in the battery meter on the touch screen remain full green. This makes the on board computer preference electric drive and only supplements it with ICE power when the electric drive isn't enough. As long as I don't want to go over 85km/h (roughly 50mph) I can drive it in all electric mode so real cheap to drive.
I'm just working on getting the 10kwh battery recharging from solar direct. I have that part working but need to automate the end of charge shut down now, so that is the next project I have to sort.

T1 Terry

 

Hi Terry,
Very interesting. I actually don't know anything about this on the Prius and I wanna learn. I have a lot of experience with Lilon and LiPolymer batteries because I build a lot of electric model airplanes pretty close to equivalent of 200 cc gas engine. I work on R&D and military specs. designer and CNC programming. I design some of my brushless engines and battery pack conversions. Its very hard to beat the Lipo battery but pretty sure you know the downside is maintaining the voltage per cell is a must + it heats up so fast unless you have a higher rate C.
Anyways what is this battery pack is it like an add on or upgrade to a higher mah?

 

The pack is an add-on and syphons into the traction battery as required to hold it between roughly 60% SOC and 70% SOC, but I'm not sure if it is SOC controlled or pack voltage controlled. On a steep hill climb or hard acceleration in electric only mode you can feel the pack kick in and generally hold in until the high load stops and the traction battery reaches 235v or so. The system always leaves some head room in the traction battery for regen but the Prius computer limits total SOC to around 80% as a safety margin so a long down hill run will fill the traction battery to the point where the regen stops and the ICE motor kicks in to act as the braking part.
We use LiFeP04 chemistry cells because they are much safer, even the Tesla cells can go off if any of the safety protocols or ignored https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdDi1haA71Q&feature=youtu.be I sure wouldn't want that going off in the boot of my Prius or on my house wall
The new kid on the block is the Westart NCM 3.7V Cells, a few members are trialling them at the local electric vehicle association branch, I'll wait to see how they fair with them before I commit to changing to that chemistry. The biggest danger with any of the other lithium chemistry cells beside the LiFeP04 and LTO is they can make their own oxygen and therefore explode rather than bust the plastic case and simply vent the electrolyte, smells rather than blows up.

T1 Terry

 

Interesting. So how many do you need to parallel connect to your battery.. around 56 / 2= 28 ? They mentioned the Ah in their different models and they did mention the cell has to be well-balanced to prevent overcharge and over-discharge. It means this Lithium cell based battery is very close to the polymer counter part. Every time I use this battery on anything, portable stereo, rc planes, even on ... AV as of todays technology you need to adopt an on board or in circuit voltage balancer for each cell to avoid those 2 things otherwise you'll gonna end up with a big surprise. Better to have a reliable fire extinguisher next to you or Probably not even gonna do the job at all. I'm gonna show this battery to my co-worker. He's a chemical freak and real smart guy. Anyways he owes me a lunch this time. He's gonna love this. I will also email that guy that I met not too long ago. He does all kinds of conversions including EV cars he lives in Scotland. I'll send you a link of some of his racing days with the Toyota Starlet on V8 mode. Its gonna blow your mind. Right now that car is retired and in the Portland exhibit convention. I appreciate the info and thank you.
PS. was wondering if you ever change or add-on upgrade the sound system in your car. I want to add a sub-woofer very minimal power no more than 300 watts. That's it. Its one of those stock jbl system on the prius. all I want is to interface though the output (if there is no sub-output) on the radio. Maybe there is a threading for this one and I should look for it. Au revoir

 

There is a whole audio section on this forum dedicated to the Gen 2 Prius so that would be the place to look.
As far as the LiFeP04 cell battery, each cell is 3.2v nom. and the plug in battery pack has 76 cells, here is a link to a blog sort thing where one is being installed in a gen 2 Prius Conversion blog of a 2008 Gen2 Prius to make it plug-in. Mine is in an aluminium box with a right angle flange around the top that fits in the space where the black insert goes above the spare tyre well and has a plexiglass lid that is screwed on top, no metal studs or steel rails in it, just all packed in and the lid holds the box in shape.
A piece of rubber mat goes over the bit of plastic on top on the traction battery so the piece of plexiglass goes all the way from the back seats to the boot lid. The carpet goes on top with a few bits of Velcro and you wouldn't really know the battery was in there at all.
You mention before about some of the great cars we had over here. In a past life I built sleeper street registered drag race cars as well as being the owner operator of a dyno tune, carburettor and fuel injection repair business. My passion was turbo charging street registered cars so they could be driven to the track, a few adjustments made, the exhaust dropped, slicks fitted and raced for the evening or week end, then driven home.
We also specialised in building the stock Celica 18R motor into 2.2ltr twin cam engines yet retaining the original engine number for rego purposes. I also built a few Sierra twin cam 2ltr turbo motors and shoehorned them back into the 2ltr escorts they originally came out of, a whole lot of fun, but they still didn't go as hard as the 2.2ltr twin cam Celica's did with only twin Webber carbies.
The turbo charged crossflow aluminium head 6 cyl 4.1ltr engine in the Cortina's and Ford Falcons was a whole different story. Flat 10sec across 1/4 mile street registered complete with the baby seat in the back, incredible performance unlocked from a rather docile workhorse.
One of my dreams is to build an electric street registered sleeper that can take on the V8 muscle cars at the drags ... but I might be getting a bit old for that now.

T1 Terry

 

Hi Terry,
You're definitely an Ace of electric cars. That's the way of the future. Love the EV Plus link! I'm gonna read it more tonight when I get home from work. "I was planning to use the spare tire compartment for the little subwoofers" Lol...
Talk about the hay days. I love the 18RG's and 2TG's. They came out with the engine model 18-RGR. The stock ones are already bad-nice person. They also came out with the stock 13T (was very rare engine) single OVHC, transfer the 2tg head in it with "some" modifications.... Hmm. But I'm still gonna go for the Australian/UK dodge colts or RS 2000. I'm being mesmerized by the sound of the 4g32 engine with the side drafts and "S" headers. Same as the old escort engines. If I ever do get my hands on one, besides the intake and exhaust mods, I'll just leave it stock for sound only. "Signs of times" See you in a bit friend.
Joe

 

Here ya go Joe, this is just one of the sites, there is also carsales, E Bay Auto and another one that only deals in rare vehicles, can't remember the name at the moment
ford escort rs2000 | Gumtree Australia Free Local Classifieds
The V6 Capri was another rare breed

T1 Terry

 

A lot of nice cars! I love the early capris. Very nice slick car. on the escort there's a white one now but its got a price tag in it. I even saw an old Torana which one of my neighbor use to own one in my youth days. we use to beat the c..ap out of that car and I didn't know its gonna be collectible. The way how the vintage car market is going now I might just end-up getting a kakadu plum instead. Not too long ago I saw a 77 rallye orange escort in the original box flares almost mint condition and I think it was also in you neck of the woods. Didn't last that long. Guy from UK bought it.
In regards to the Prius battery I didn't had the chance to meet my buddy at work today. The moment I sat in the computer as far it went bye it was already 3:30 and everyone's going home. How's your prius? Oh.. was gonna ask you after you have the extra modifications on the back did you change anything on the back suspension even tire pressure? Since my car is all stock I have the tires on 35psi. It feels a little bumpy for me or maybe I never had an experience driving these newer japanese cars? But he ride controls is good for a cruiser..
Joe

 

This is thread Jason started when he was modifying the Prius 2006 iTech, let the mods / upgrading commence | PriusChat Lots of very nice body stiffeners and suspension upgrades to handle the added weight of the battery pack. It is now my Prius and has Michelin tyres on it and they have rather soft side walls, so I run 40psi in the tyres.
It handles like it's glued to the road and this does require some relearning to avoid the "twitchy" nervous steering feeling that very slight steering adjustments creates. After driving a '74 VW Kombi that requires half a turn of the wheel to get a response, this rather direct response steering had me looking like a "stoner" weaving all over the road for the first few hundred kms through the Sydney out skirts driving it back home to South Australia :lol:

T1 Terry

 

Hi Terry,

I got the rest of the pumps, (mechanical water pump, and all the remaining electric pumps that I ordered last week) Last few daysd ago I installed the new inverter pump. Its working fine. I'm a bit worried because I did not buy it in the dealer and it may just give me a surprise along the way. Just looking at the part previously it doesn't feel right at all even it has an original Toyota box in it. My question is this. Lets say this is an aftermarket. how long do you think it will last? Maybe a dumb question. I don't really mind putting aftermarket parts as long as its a non critical part like motor mounts, I can use GMB cross joints, some aftermarket brake parts, But when it comes to TPS sensors, rod bearings, in tank electric fuel pumps, ECU, water pumps. I always use the original ones especially on an everyday car like this. Ill just give you a short story. Back in 2012 I installed a water pump on my wife's Honda CRV. She badly needed the car right away and couldn't drive mine for their all stick shift and her personal reasons. There was no parts in the local dealer and plus their charging very close to $700.00 USD. So I went ahead and changed it for her using a bit reputable substitute. (I wont say the name). No wonder they're charging her a lot, you have to tile the engine on 2 areas to get into it. all is said and done, I replaced the pump, serpentine belt, idler bearing, thermostat, flush the coolant the whole nine yards. running fine. after 2 years just on a regular city driving here car had a check engine light on the way home. I told her to just park the car and Ill get AAA road service to pick it up. Anyways the next day when I saw the car, the water pump was shot. So I went ahead and bought a water pump in the dealer and a new serpentine belt, popped it in and I double checked if I have a "semi" on the harmonic balancer or any other part. none at all!
Bro I been working on cars for a long time basically like yourself. I've never seen a water pump "shaft" cut in half. Since then its purring since.
To cut the story short, like anyone else prefer not to happen is getting a surprise overheat. Its seems like this inverter pump is the main heart of the inverter cooling system. But then again original or not, the housing is made of plastic and reading some of the articles around here, even the original tends to fail at some point depending on the weather condition and some random phenomena.
Do you think I should just go to the dealer and get a genuine one or should I just play it by ear. Then use the other one as a backup?
Going back to the previous conversation...
"After driving a '74 VW Kombi that requires half a turn of the wheel to get a response, this rather direct response steering had me looking like a "stoner" weaving all over the road for the first few hundred kms through the Sydney out skirts driving it back home to South Australia...
Okay got it. It really does feel like driving an AMC with a toed in wheel alignment. "in a good way" But with the Prius I can slalom on curves easily and better traction that my PU.
Joe


Thanks,
Joe

 

Hi Joe, if you install the Scan Gauge II you can keep an eye on the inverter temp and stop as soon as there is a hint of a problem, so not really a serious risk involved even if the part is aftermarket. Maybe keep the original as a back up spare, but if the aftermarket product wasn't too expensive you'd probably be just as well to simply replace it with a new after market unit if it did fail.

T1 Terry

 

Hi Terry,
Thanks for the info. Sorry I didn't had the chance to get back. I got hit by a flu the past few days. In regards to the inverted pump I installed it last week. Besides the scangauge II on the way, I was just playing it by feel. I primed the coolant it just like topping a brake master cylinder. Little by little the air was evacuating. I ran it a few minutes and let it circulate. The only thing I can do from that point go by the point of heat circulation from hose to as many points as I can and bleed the air out. I didn't really lose a lot of coolant. and the car seems to be running fine.
You know what's the bad part? I haven't flush the coolant yet for I was waiting for the rest of the other pumps. Now I got it, Im just waiting for the scangauge II to come in so I can do the whole deal and do it like what you said. The right way.
I'm gonna get the idler bearing too. its should be a press in easy. I was looking for those Timken bearings, I guess they don't make it in England anymore. There' should be a lot of good substitute bearing. with this one Im not worried about getting the original.
Joe