2006 prius battery connected backwards

1. The fusible links located in the 5" long white and clear plastic box located in the main relay/fuse box near the inverter needs to be replaced. The DC/DC fusible link is guaranteed to have popped. Here's a helpful post regarding how to replace the fusible links:
http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...96616-how-change-fusible-link-under-hood.html

2. Other fuses may have popped, like DOME. Also check the 120A MAIN fuse in the positive terminal block attached to the 12V battery.

3. Note that there is another fuse box under the instrument panel on the driver's side.

4. The DC/DC converter within the inverter may have been destroyed but you will probably need to replace the fusible links and any blown fuses, to see if the car can be made READY.

5. A potential way to test the DC/DC converter prior to replacing the blown fusible links and fuses would be to find the DC/DC converter output, labeled AMD on the wiring diagram (for example, p. 92 of the 2006 Electrical Wiring Diagram Manual.) Disconnect the cabling to that output. Use a digital multimeter with the testing diodes function, and measure from the AMD output to ground. If you see that some small positive voltage will allow current flow (the probes connected one way should allow current to flow, and connected the other way should not allow current to flow), then there is a reasonable chance that the DC/DC converter will function.

If you don't already have access to the Prius wiring diagram, you can obtain access at techinfo.toyota.com

6. Yes, there is a reasonable chance that the traction battery may have discharged below the point where it has sufficient power to spin MG1 to start the gasoline engine. That along with the inverter constitute the two significant unknowns at this point.

 

Thank you very much for that information.

I have a few response questions to that. I have the EWD and its shows AMD as a white wire that goes to the T-Lp relay.

1. Is this the wire you are talking about?

You mentioned the following.

2. Can the AMD wire be tested with the fuse link installed, or must it be done prior to installing the blown fuse.

3. Can the DC/DC converter be repalced separately from the complete assembly?

4. How can I get the trunk hatch open with no battery power?


Thank you very much for your help.

 

1. Yes, the wire connected to AMD is white, and the diagram I referred to shows it connecting to that relay but more important, to the 100A DC/DC fusible link.

2. Actually, if you can find that wire and disconnect the wiring harness connector from the inverter, it won't matter whether the fuse link is replaced or not - since the idea is to test the inverter at the connector socket.

3. I do not think so. The usual repair is to replace the inverter, either with a salvage unit or new.

4. This is an easy one. Crawl into the rear hatch area after lowering a rear seat back. Remove the folding hatch floor. Look at the black plastic tray over the spare tire, near where the hatch latch is. You will find a rectangular "door" in the plastic.

Open that little door and look for the mechanical hatch release, a shiny metal lever. Move that lever and while holding it, push up on the hatch to open it.

 

Where is the DC/DC fusible link located? The diagram shows it to be in the abck of the inverter assembly.

 

It is within the 5" white/clear box that I mentioned in post #2 above.

 

Patrick:
FYI. I bought an extra battery pack over 2 years ago, and it was at 212 volts when I bought it. I had originally planned on modifying the computer and stretching the operating range to get more EV mode range. Anyway, last weekend I decided that I better check the voltage and charge the batteries before the batteries fail. The voltage was still 212 volts. I built a really simple quicky charger and charged it to 227 volts. The battery started getting warm, so I figured it was enough.
Do you have any direct knowledge of the self discharge rate of the traction battery?

Howard

 

I found some more information on the car. It was wrecked and a body shop was working on it. It was working ok until the polarity reversal. I was told tonight that it may have been sitting for three years now.

I am interested to hear how you built a battery charger for the HV battery as I may have to do this.

 

Hi Howard,

That is very interesting, good to hear that your spare battery has maintained its charge. I agree that 227V (8.1V per module) sounds good for a 28 module battery.

I know that Toyota suggests charging the traction battery every two months or so, for a 30 minute period by making the vehicle READY.

Was your charger composed of a Variac connected to a bridge rectifier and filter capacitor, or what? What charging current and time duration did you use?

 

I love that you guys are so involved with this.

I was wondering if this could be built using a recifier bridge from an old alternator. I have a lot of gm alternators with the 6 diode rectifier bridge. The stator from these have three outputs. I would think it could handle the amperage, but I'm not sure.

 

No. The issue is not current handling, it is voltage. The diodes in an alternator might be able to handle 30V or so. You need four diodes in a bridge that will be producing up to 240V. I would use 1 KV diodes that can handle 1A current.

The current requirement is small. You want <1A because you want to charge the traction battery very slowly, keeping an eye out for any signs of distress like module overheating. The capacity of an individual module is only 6.5 Ah.

 

Actually you need to select a diode with a low forward voltage drop. Standard rectifiers drop about 0.7 volts (more at high current). Schottky diodes can be found that can handle high currents with a significantly lower voltage drop.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schottky_diode"]Schottky diode - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

But I would mount one as a charging terminal for jumping your Prius so that it only needs to handle the lower current requirement (20-30 amp short surge and then just a few amps) to get to "READY". Someone installing a new 12v battery just needs to be careful, if it is installed backwards, the installer needs to take responsibility for the most likely expensive repair.

JeffD

 

Hi Jeff. You've wrongly assumed (from the thread title) that the OP was looking for a way of protecting against connecting the 12V battery reverse polarity.

Actually it's a much longer story, you'll have to read the whole thing.

 

It is easier, and perhaps safer, to daisy chain a few constant voltage power supplies with a single constant current one. Hypermilers in the Honda Insight community have been doing this for years. Or find a lab DC power supply that will do 250V, 500 mA.

An alternative is to get a 48V nominal (1A at 56V actual output) NiMH pack charger and charge the battery in groups of 7 modules.

http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Universal-Charger-40-cell-Battery/dp/B003R5PSVQ

 

Hi djb, as previously mentioned those diodes will probably be of too lower voltage rating. Tell me what AC voltage you have available in your locality and (if you promise not to electrocute yourself) I'll give you a circuit for an ultra low cost makeshift charger to suit.

 

In the US, 110VAC - 120VAC, 60 Hz is the normal household voltage available. Double that for electric oven, electric clothes dryer, and AC wiring.

 

Patrick:
I built a voltage doubler and used a 10 ohm 50 W series resistor. The current was about 2.1 amps. I'm not too sure on how long I charged it for. The reason is the circuit breaker popped after a while, and I wasn't there at the time. I guess about 2 hours.

Howard

 

The prius is alive!

The 100 amp DC/DC was open. It appeared to be making goo contact until I moved it a little. There are a few other fuses blown as well.

I bypassed the 100 amp fuse with a jumper wire, connected a good a battery and it started. This car had been sitting for three years and MG1 had no problems cranking the engine over.

I need to buy a fusible link block. Does anyone know the Toyota part number?

Thank you all for your assistance with this.

 

How long did you run the gasoline engine?

Pls don't confuse MG1 spinning the engine, with the engine actually starting.

 

I drove it around for 20 minutes.