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New to me 04 with issues!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by drateR, Feb 4, 2020.

  1. drateR

    drateR New Member

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    An 04 Prius was just given to me in non-running condition. It has a 2 month old 12v battery, but the drive battery has issues. I've been reading around the forum a LOT and know I will have to either delve into the main battery or replace it. I can get a used one for around $850.00 with a 6 month warranty. I'm very mechanically inclined and am comfortable working with high voltages. I've attached a screenshot showing the current voltages of the cells in the main battery. Would it be worth my time to try to get this battery back into shape by rebuilding it or would I be better off just buying a battery that may have issues of its own and having to dig into it anyway? The car currently has a little over 50k miles on it, but has been sitting up for the last 2 years. Thanks in advance for any input!
     

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  2. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Your screenshots has very bad resolution. It's basically unreadable.

    But you can't really tell much from just static voltages anyways. Low mileage but old and sitting for long might be possible to fix it if it wasn't getting hot.

    Just replacing the battery is pretty easy. So what does the warranty in the used battery mean? Price seems pretty high compared to new one.
     
  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Welcome!
    They gave it to you? And it only has 50k miles on it? Shoot, I'd just buy a new battery from Toyota and be done with it if that's all that's wrong. You'll still have an amazing bargain that'll go at least another 10 years.

    Then again, it might just need rebalancing. If it's not throwing codes and lighting the big red triangle, chances are that it just needs some TLC. But I'd do some more investigating before spending money that might not need to be spent. For one thing, the sensor wires could be corroding and throwing off the voltage readings. Lots of threads here dealing with battery maintenance.
     
  4. drateR

    drateR New Member

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    Some background on the car: My brother purchased it late 2019 for $500.00 from a good friend of his that had the car since new. His friend was a judge and used it exclusively to drive from his house to the courthouse each day. He passed it along to his son in 2018 and he allowed dogs in the car. The interior is covered with dog hair and mold currently. Water is getting into the trunk area from somewhere. I plan to figure out where it's getting in, stop it, and then remove the battery before giving the car a thorough cleaning. When my brother purchased the car, he found some melted wiring going to the battery ecu. He purchased a used battery ecu and the harness that was melted, replaced them, and wasn't able to get the car to start after that. Prior to his repair, he was able to start it twice. I've been reading the thread on rehydrating and balancing the battery modules. I believe I'm up to page 12 right now. It looks like something I will probably delve into, if necessary. Looking at the main battery, it appears that some of the contacts are wet on the side of the battery facing the rear of the car. No doubt it needs to be pulled, cleaned, and dried at least, along with the lower case repaint. The liquid appears to have a blue tint to it in places. I still have the original battery ECU and harness, I believe, in the trunk.

    Battery readings are currently as follows:
    block 1: -0.16v
    block 2: 0.65v
    block 3: -0.29v
    block 4: 13.84v
    block 5: 13.14v
    block 6: 6.75v
    block 7: 7.35v
    block 8: 11.68v
    block 9: 11.65v
    block 10: 0.19v
    block 11: 0.25v
    block 12: -24.86v
    block 13: 24.84v
    block 14: 13.86v
    HV battery charge: 64kW
    HV battery discharge: 64kW

    I'm under no illusions that this car will ever be a family trip car. I am just a very curious, and frugal person. I think it will be fun to see what I can get done and how far along I can get this car from the state it is in right now! If I ever get it running, it will only be a maybe twice a week commuter for me.
     
    #4 drateR, Feb 5, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2020
  5. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Almost all the voltages are wrong. That means the modules are bad or wiring inside the battery is bad. Just balancing wont help. If it's not wiring you would probably need more than half of the modules and that's not worth it. Getting wet can also ruin the parts of the battery sou you might have to replace stuff like relays and clean corrosion of the other parts.

    Water most likely gets in from cracks in the roof seams under the trim: Water leak...into spare tire area etc | Page 3 | PriusChat Just use sealer to seal them from outside.

    Why couldn't it be a family trip car?
     
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  6. drateR

    drateR New Member

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    So, I'm guessing I'll just start looking for some Gen 4 nimh packs from a wreck to swap out all of the cells with. The battery itself is far enough away from the leak, so I don't believe it has gotten wet from rain. Hopefully the electronics are alright. The leaks are closer to the rear of the car. I had read a few posts about the roof seams leaking where it transitions, so I'll try to get those cleaned up and re-sealed. Just haven't had a dry day to get to it just yet.

    Will the used ECU that my brother bought for this car work or does it have to have the original?

    Just the general condition of the car is the reason I am currently thinking it will never be a family car. It is extremely dirty on the inside. However, I know that it can be cleaned and reconditioned to look much better. The front bumper, hood, and rear bumpers all need to be replaced as well, so it really needs a lot of work. My first order of business is to get it sealed up so it can dry out. Clean up the interior. Then get the battery sorted. Lastly, the bumpers and hood.
     
  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I bought a 10 year old 2006 with only 42k miles on it with a dying HV battery. Messed with rebuilding it with used modules for a year (2 more failures) before throwing in the towel and getting all new modules (AKA a new battery); zero issues since. You can source new modules from Toyota or aftermarket from about $1600 on up.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
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  8. drateR

    drateR New Member

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    Yeah, I'm fairly certain I'll try some Gen 4 modules before I buy a new pack. This vehicle is strictly a project at this stage. Now, if I get the car back into good enough shape to where I won't be embarrassed to get it out of my driveway, I might look into that option in the future.
     
  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I agree with @valde3 and @fotomoto. Those voltages are nuts. I suggest opening up the battery case and checking the wiring harness. It might be all rotted. Otherwise, you have a mess of bad cells.
     
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