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Hymotion battery. New Vs. Refurbished

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by TheForce, Jul 27, 2011.

  1. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I had my Hymotion battery replaced after about 3 years of service due to a DC to DC converter failure. This topic is here to compare my old battery with the new refurbished battery.

    Here is my first charge with the first ( new ) battery.
    EV miles - ~33
    Wh used - 5295.7Wh

    Here is my first charge with the second ( refurbished ) battery.
    EV miles - 29.5
    Wh used - ~5400.0Wh

    So it looks like my refurbished battery has the same capacity as a new battery. :rockon: This means I can compare the two over the next three years.
     
    #1 TheForce, Jul 27, 2011
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    The refurb took a little more charge than the brand new one. Perhaps it needs a break-in.
     
    #2 usbseawolf2000, Jul 27, 2011
  3. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well there is a maigin of error in my refurbished full charge kWh. For the past few days my WattsUp? .net meter has not been able to send data to the wattsup website. Normally I could give you the exact amount with a line graph over the charge time but since I could not get access to the website I dont have that information. So I had to read the information off the LCD of the meter which is only XX.XX kWh in accuracy.

    I forgot to mention that this refurbished pack is only taking in about 9 amps instead of 10 amps like the old one. So charging is taking slightly longer. How much longer I have no idea as I dont have that information right now because of the website downtime.

    I'm actually looking for a replacement for the WattsUp? .net meter so I wont have to rely on an external website for data. I need to find a device that can log data to a computer over the network and or has an internal web server in the device I can access for data. If the data is gathered on a PC the software must work with Linux. So far I have not found one that will do what I want except for a whole house meter which I may end up getting anyway.
     
    #3 TheForce, Jul 27, 2011
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  4. ibcs

    ibcs New Member

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    Well Looks like I'm in the same situation. DC-DC converter failure on mine as well. Installed on 10/08/08. They are replacing the pack on August 2nd under warranty. I have not tracked my original pack as detailed as The Force, but I will be able to provide some feedback after the installation.

    I have to say thus far, the technical support has been outstanding. I sent an email detailing the problem and the service manager responded within hours to schedule the pack swap. Great company!

    ---Kent
     
    #4 ibcs, Jul 27, 2011
  5. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I wonder if this is going to be an issue for packs coming up on 3 years of service? :( Hope they changed something in the refurbs to make them last longer.
     
    #5 TheForce, Jul 27, 2011
  6. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Was the pack the issue or was it some other electronics issue?
     
    #6 ericbecky, Jul 27, 2011
  7. tf4624

    tf4624 Active Member

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    Batteries were fine the dc/dc converter actually needed replacing
     
    #7 tf4624, Jul 27, 2011
  8. tf4624

    tf4624 Active Member

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    Your battery was fine at 700 cycles as the dc/dc converter was your issue

    1 they need to actually fix the components
    2 they need to increase the charge cycle = to a warranty of 150,000 miles 8-10 year warranty
     
    #8 tf4624, Jul 27, 2011
  9. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    I know this thread is about the battery so I'd like to know more about it with your updates.

    I am more interested in the DC-DC converter since it appears to be the weakest link in the chain. Did they improve it? I believe it is air cooled with a fan. Did the fan die?
     
    #9 usbseawolf2000, Jul 27, 2011
  10. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    All I know is that it was the DC to DC converter that failed. Why I have no clue. Did they improve it? I dont know. I'll see if I can contact someone at A123/Hymotion to see if they can give me some more information.
     
    #10 TheForce, Jul 27, 2011
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  11. ibcs

    ibcs New Member

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    I will ask on Tuesday when I'm with the Service Manager. He has been extremely honest and helpful in the past, so I will try to obtain more information as well. Especially in the regards to improvements made and when they were implemented.

    ---Kent
     
    #11 ibcs, Jul 28, 2011
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  12. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Was the equipment replaced at a dealership?
     
    #12 mrbigh, Jul 28, 2011
  13. ibcs

    ibcs New Member

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    Hymotion pack was replaced today. I talked to the installer and the DC-DC converter was upgraded by Hymotion some time ago. I was an early adopter so mine did not appear to be updated. This is great news for everyone else as they should have already had the update and not experience this problem. Excellent service is my thought of the day. Looking forward to doing some driving to test out the new pack.

    ---Kent
     
    #13 ibcs, Aug 2, 2011
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  14. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I was finally able to get a charge graph of the new refurbished battery. What is interesting is that the refurbished battery is charging about 1A lower than the original which makes the charge time a little longer by about ~30 minutes.



    Please note the time scale is different for each picture.

    Here is the original new battery charge amps.
    [​IMG]


    Here is the refurbished battery charge amps.
    [​IMG]
     
    #14 TheForce, Aug 3, 2011
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