Is there a way to get the attention of a mod for post approval?

HI... I live an hour north of you and rebuild/recondition battery pack and enjoy hybrid diagnostic challenges. Wasn't on here yesterday so catching up. Hit me up in a private message if you haven't figured it out yet?

 

If you don't know who the mods are, I don't know of a quick way beyond posting in this section. You could report your post here if they haven't spotted it in a reasonable time.

 

I just "reported" this post for you to try and get somebody's attention.

Alas, it might be normal here.
The owner is mostly absent and I think there are only one or two other moderators.

The good news is: After you get a few more posts, "approval" should not be needed anymore.

 

If you enjoy diagnostic challenges... are you interested in this challenge while I await approval on my post? See below...

First post! 2006 Prius, 128K miles. Recently ran P0A80 and P3016 codes, battery showed signs of failure (running up and down charge while driving) and we decided to temporarily "band-aid" with a module replacement. The reason for band-aiding is because I don't live in this area, and most replacement packs here only cover a regional radius. I was hoping to drive home, and then replace if necessary.

One module was obviously out of whack, which we replaced. First test drive after replacement went great... for 10 miles. Then all error codes from before popped up: red triangle, check engine, ((!)), VSC. Back to limp mode. But the battery charge was displaying no change onscreen: it stayed at about 3/4 full, in the blue.

When we got home, we reopened and tested voltages. Everything was perfectly in line—range of 8.14-8.16V for all 28 modules. Took out 12V battery to do this; when we put it back in to drive to Autozone for diagnostic codes, we drove for 10 minutes beautifully again—no vacillation in battery charge—and then the same warning lights kicked on. Autozone's diagnostic equipment pulled up no codes at all. We began to think that, beyond the HV battery, there is likely a problem either with the computer, or the 12V battery, or both. Previously when my 12V started to fail, I had a blank dashboard issue (known issue for gen 2 prii, but it resolved after the 12V was replaced).

Today I took it to the dealership which pulled up codes P3000 and P3023. They also ran voltages & resistances on the 14 blocks. Voltages ranged 16.32-16.41V. Resistance range was 0.023-0.026 ohm, with exception of block 13, which showed 0.035. I'm assuming that's why P3023 came up.

My question: Does this variation in resistance seem confirmation enough that I should replace the whole hybrid battery pack (granting that the first codes were confirmation enough, but that I was hoping for a short-term fix, for reasons above)? Would it be wise to continue trying to test computer and/or 12V systems, to rule out those as possible causes of the P3000 code? And if so... how?

 

I think your situation is primarily the fact that just replacing the bad module isn't always enough. Because the pack is old it also needs to be reconditioned and all the corrosive parts (bus bars, nuts, voltage sensing wires) need to be thoroughly cleaned or replaced. Through the reconditioning process (deep cycling) you'll likely be able to find other suspect modules in need of replacing. If you want to keep doing DIY I can walk you through the work and the gear you'll need.

Or someone like myself could do this work... If you went the brand new pack route you're looking at $1700 or so if you find the best price. If you repair the pack and try to maximize it's lifespan, you're looking at less than $200 in parts and lots of hours of labor, which will be good for months to a few years. Or if you lived near me I could likely do it all for under $500.

 

@TMR-JWAP is great with this stuff

 

@hbrubi

Where are you in NC? Are you using Techstream or do you have it available?

Did you assemble the HV battery with the modules in the same exact positions as they were originally? Or are they all mixed up now? What position was the replacement module? If they are still in original order, and you had no problems with block 13 previously, it would be odd to just suddenly have a high (35) internal resistance reading. I would be curious if all the fasteners are completely torqued. A bad/dirty connection at a terminal will also cause a high resistance reading. The 23-26 mohm readings are not abnormal, but the 35 is way out the normal band. The question is "is it an accurate measurement of the module" or is it something external to the module. One common issue is micro cracks that can be formed in the voltage sensor harness tabs. These tabs have a very small area where the tab is crimped to the wire. It is VERY susceptible to cracking, especially once it develops corrosion.

Position 1 is the passenger side module. Position 28 is the driver side module.
Block 1 is Position 1 + Position 2
Block 14 is Position 27 + position 28

Your original problem (P3016) was Block 6. This would be the modules in position 11 and 12. This is a fairly common position of block failures. One or both of them has a capacity problem. Do you recall which one you replaced?

Your current problem (P3023) lies in one of the Block 13 modules (or connections), which is the modules in position 25 and 26. This is also a fairly common failure position.

 

Thanks so much for thinking about this with me. I was in Raleigh, but have since driven to NYC on the $$$ replacement pack. To feed my curiosity (and growing regret over coughing up the $$$ for the replacement, since I really think the original was in pretty good shape!), I'd love to hear anything more on the correct torquing of the fasteners. To be honest, I think this might have been the issue. There was no visible corrosion on the bus bars, etc., but I cleaned them all before reinstalling, just in case. We did put in the modules in the same positions as previously, with the exception of the module we replaced (obviously).

The second time we replaced the battery pack, however, some of the bolts had been threaded due to the force of the first replacement. We rethreaded them (four of them), and we think the nuts went on tightly. But it is possible that one of them, very possibly in block 13, didn't quite get on correctly. If so, I'm guessing that is consistent with your theory—yes?

Most of the posts I read before replacement count the modules beginning from the ECU/driver side, to the other side (where modules are slid off / loaded). But your scheme is consistent with the module (in your block 6) that we actually replaced, and it would be consistent with one of the threaded module bolts, too...

 

@TMR-JWAP Thanks again for the ideas. Not sure if my post a few days ago came through to you. I'm curious if you can clarify re: the numbering of the modules & blocks.