Orange bus bar harness melted?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by PriusofA, Feb 8, 2022.

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  1. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    Looks like parts of my bus bar harness melted onto my battery nodes (is that what you'd call them?). Anyone else ever have this problem?
     
    #1 PriusofA, Feb 8, 2022
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Do you have a picture or two that you can post? (copy and paste works)
     
    #2 SFO, Feb 9, 2022
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Probably has a battery ground fault and nag was cleared and car driven probably many times. Hilarity ensues.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Feb 9, 2022
  4. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Probably has a battery ground fault and nag was cleared and car driven probably many times. Hilarity ensues.
    This is too ridiculous to even consider.

    What about the possibility this is not an ORIGINAL battery and it has the Gen 1 modules installed with the leak sealer gunk all over the terminals. It would be hard to melt a lot of the orange "framework" of the harness and not have significant other damage.
     
    #4 TMR-JWAP, Feb 9, 2022
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  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I agree... Pretty sure modules would blow their tops before they'd melt orange plastic. Unless maybe the bus bar was where it was shorting out, and that seems improbable, but need pictures to be sure.
     
    #5 PriusCamper, Feb 9, 2022
  6. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    I tried a whole bunch of times to upload the photos, but it kept failing after ostensibly getting to a hundred percent. Copy paste didn't seem to work either for whatever reason. In the end, I decided to dust off an old twitter account I never ended up using and just post them as tweets

    The melting appears to have occurred on block 5, node of the tenth module on the trunk-facing side, and on the section between/straddling blocks 3 and 4, so the nodes of the sixth and seventh module on the cab-facing side (counting from the opposite side of the computer)

    Cab-facing:
    Trunk-facing:
     
    #6 PriusofA, Feb 9, 2022
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Now that you've posted 5 times and may no longer be moderated, try the copy and paste again.
     
    #7 SFO, Feb 9, 2022
  8. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    The tweeted photos aren't visible?
     
    #8 PriusofA, Feb 9, 2022
  9. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Yup, looks like those terminals got hot, because the gray plastic on the terminals look like they're a bit melted also. May be from bad contact at that joint or ?? It looks like the orange plastic may have been pinched between the busbar and the battery terminal. This usually only happens if the busbar is installed incorrectly in that section of the orange housing. When installed correctly, they are very 'self-centering', but not perfect. If an assembler isn't paying attention while torquing the nuts, I can see it happening. Has this battery ever been disassembled previously?
     
    #9 TMR-JWAP, Feb 9, 2022
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  10. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    Couple times. This is the first time I've ever had the issue. However, it may be of note that last time I did the job, I cleaned the corrosion off the bus bars by soaking them in white vinegar, drying them, and then polishing them with a Dremel, so they were removed and reinserted; I'm surprised if that's what did it. I actually just bought a six-pack of modules from you and was planning on just doing a swap-out, but this harness-melt thing came as something of a shock.
     
    #10 PriusofA, Feb 9, 2022
  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    When you remove them from the battery, could you take photos of the side of the "orange" that was facing the modules? I'd be interested in seeing that. It could provide clues as to what happened.
     
    #11 TMR-JWAP, Feb 9, 2022
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  12. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    It happens to the best of us... There's over 100 electrical connections that have to be done perfectly for a pack to not to have any issues. I try to triple check everything I do and most often my problems come if I'm distracted while working.
     
    #12 PriusCamper, Feb 9, 2022
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  13. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    And I'm certainly not the best of us. But I appreciate the solidarity, my friend. Sincerely.
     
    #13 PriusofA, Feb 10, 2022
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  14. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    I did the trunk-facing side this morning. The side facing the cab is scarier looking, and I'm wary of outright breaking the harness, so I'm going to be a little more circumspect about it, although as you'll see, even the less beat up side looks done for. Anyone know from where I'd order a new one?

    Notable about the picture I'm showing is that though it looks like it must have been the worst install job in the world, you'll have to take my word for it that there's no way I would have installed it with the bus bar actually protruding through the harness to the other side. All that had to have happened during the interim. And I can't blame the weather; it's been cold as all-get-out in MO. Any melting has to be due to the battery. I'm also including an image of the node so you can see the orange melted onto it.



     
    #14 PriusofA, Feb 10, 2022
  15. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    Ok, and this is what we're seeing on the inside of the harness on the side of the battery that faces the cab. Ugly as hell:

     
    #15 PriusofA, Feb 10, 2022
  16. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Experience- what you have AFTER you get to fix the mistakes you made.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #16 mr_guy_mann, Feb 11, 2022
  17. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Not for me, but then I use 'noscript' to block social, etc.

    Copy and paste should work, or does for many. Even "drag and drop" works here, if that is easier.
     
    #17 SFO, Feb 11, 2022
  18. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    #18 PriusofA, Feb 11, 2022
  19. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #19 PriusofA, Feb 11, 2022
  20. PriusofA

    PriusofA New Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #20 PriusofA, Feb 11, 2022
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