Big Day: Ordered New Prius Battery Kit (GEN2, 2004-2009)

congrats, all the best!

 

Congrats on the new pack. I ordered the same thing for my Gen2 last week and received them this week. So as of last week the batteries are in stock. Since it's 110F here this week I'll be waiting for a bit cooler weather next week to do the install. I'm anxious, but not that anxious and my OEM pack is still doing OK. I've never had a code, so it's not critical to change immediately, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the new pack compares to my 129K OEM pack that is working, but when sitting in stop and go traffic in SoCal (lots of that) in high temps the pack will eventually go to 2 bars if the A/C is on high, although the ICE starts just fine and there is no issue with the car.

I purchased the car last Dec and got a good enough deal to factor in a new pack I thought I would need sooner or later, and this seemed like a good time even though the Dr Prius app lists the pack at 58% fair condition. The worst block deltaV I've seen is 0.23 so not terrible and still quite serviceable. I think I will be able to sell the original cells to offset some of the cost. Still excited to get it installed, but not in 110F weather...lol.

Good luck in your install and I'll be following your thread.

 

I may be about to buy this as well. I really hope to hear more about your installation process and how it works for you!

 

FYI, any HV pack will eventually go down to 2 bars in stop and go with a load (A/C) on. The only real difference will be in how quickly it gets there and how much it tales to charge up.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Actually I have only ever been able to get my HV battery down to two bars twice since it was installed.

That is in dead traffic each time on the
15 North in about the same temps.
They are 110F right now.
So yes the A/C was on too.

This however is the NEW Lithium upgrade from Dr. Prius you can find at the
ProjectLithium.com link below.

Half the weight of OEM or any other pack.
Charges back up very fast also.

 

I agree I will see 2 bars in some instances with any battery, but my specific use case doesn't make me very confident going into a long hot summer. When I'm stop and go for miles (about 20 miles) on a moderate incline Sierra Ave to Hwy 138 on the 15, immediately followed by a steep incline (Cajon Pass) for 9 miles and I'm 2 bars most of the way I can't help thinking a new battery might be a better bet. If I run the A/C at medium or lower it's not as bad, but I still have to do the Cajon pass at no more than 3 bars, which quickly turns to 2... and it's still 110F outside. I do this an average of 3x/week.

The recent hot streak kind of made mind up for me since this was never a problem through the winter and spring.

At least it will be interesting to see the difference with a new pack, if there is any. If there's no difference I'll ask more for the old modules...lol

I was really interested in the Lithium pack, but the delays made it unfortunate timing since I doubt I could even get a pack before fall and I would definitely wait until non-beta tester data started coming in. I'm sure Jack did a great job, but I really need to see reviews from the unwashed masses before I'd purchase. I just didn't want to go through the summer without confidence in the one area I question about my prius. A/C on max all the time or drive my other car.

 

I'm in Hesperia, so howdy neighbor. So you know the exact stretch of road I'm talking about, it's pretty brutal in the summer months... and I avoid going down the hill at all costs on Fridays. Just not worth the drive home.

 

Indeed I do and the Lithium pack will not let you down.

Far better solution than any other pack.

 

Did they move? I though they are in Colorado???

 

Cool! I am glad you were able to make a contact with him. I will need a new battery soon or later so his battery is a difiniterly one of the options I am thinking of. Good luck to you and hopefully you will be able to hit the road soon!

 

My 2 year old NPB system works perfect. Wife drives it every day but short distance and doesn’t seem to bother these battery’s.

I love it. Glad I bought it, mama’s happy that’s all that matters lol.

 

Lots of NPB installs get confused by the battery lineup. The write is confusing.

All you need to know is the first new battery module you install should be on the electronics side of the box with the positive terminal right next to the relay side. So the short wire goes from the battery side of the relay to that positive terminal.
From there every battery flops polarity Pos. Neg. Pos. Neg.
As they are all in series. So last module in the box the neg terminal is on the relay side and gets the long cable.

First thing you do is as you remove the old cells is gently remove the thermal sensors and remove the entire thermal sensor harness from the ecu as you remove the old cells.
Then instead of one sensor on the bottom on the new system there all on the top side now.install those last.

Take the ecu out of the chassis and remove its metal covers and closely inspect its pcb board and all its connectors and plugs and look for any discoloring or corrosion. Use a magnifying glass. I was lucky mine was mint but so many have corrosion on this site. I suspect those may be from whack a moles where old cells have been kept alive way past there life or the battery has sat for a long time and corrosion moved in.

The only finesse part is installing the 2 cables to the safety interlock switch. I was able to bend those cable connectors to make there install very nice and flat to the pack and able to get the plastic covers back on them.

The only assy part that messed me up is the passenger side of the metal battery box where the black plastic fan vent goes into the battery box. I did not pay attention to that upon disasembly and struggled with its reassembly.
It was so fricken hot in the car that day. No patience at all….

Lastly while in there unplug the power plug to the battery fan and check the connector and plug for corrosion as a g2 cabin leak tends to drip right on that plug.

I put high quality synthetic grease on every connection and plug to prevent any future corrosion.

2 years in and the pack is excellent. She always mentions it. It’s stuck at 3 or 4 bars blue bars which is Perfect.

Take iPhone pictures of everything. Before and after assembly.

 

I have to agree with you here. Nick has said that is his preferred method of contact for questions about NewPriusBatteries, so that is no longer a personal number by definition. It's good information to post that number here since I never received a response from email when I used the website contact form... twice over a 2 month period. Being the most reliable way of contact, the contact Nick prefers, and clearly listed on a public website then yeah... this is public information and not a private number that falls under private protected status.

The mods here need to restore the deleted information since that was clearly a mistake on their part and detrimental to people wanting information or have install questions about Nick's batteries.

BTW, my NPB are doing great and I'm very happy with the purchase. The install was pretty easy and the results are worth every penny I spent. The difference in drivability and confidence in the car is very big and having a 2 year warranty period is peace of mind. I would recommend his batteries to anyone looking for a low cost DIY replacement for an older Prius. I'd rather whack all the moles at one time than one by one as their nasty little heads pop up.

 

Maybe re-post the phone number?

 

Maybe it was Nick who requested the number be removed. It is one thing to publish a number on your own site (and I do believe it is buried somewhere and hard to find) and another to have it openly published on a forum.

Bye.

 

I ordered my battery almost a month ago. Delivery was set for july 30. Tracking number given. Delivery date came, went no update no email. Not Impressed.