hybrid system not regulating properly

Hi All, I've been a lurker for the most part, but I appreciate any help...

So I have a 2008 Toyota Prius with 233K miles that I have maintained well. I have a Hybrid Automotive charger and 'intelligent' discharger, which I use twice a year, only during wintertime--usually during a cold snap (down to 40 degrees--what we call that here in Tejas!

Anyway, on my most recent charge and discharge, I did a three cycle charge: Charge till it levels off and then keep it connected for 4-6 hours after after each progressive discharge: first 134v, then to 101v, then 84v. On my most recent charge cycle, it responded very well, but didn't get down as far as it should (which I feel is the charger's fault--it's flaky). Final charge went all the way to 246v and held there. So I disconnected it, reconnected 12v and let the car sit for 12 hours.

Drove car and electronics are acting wacky. Idle sometimes over-rev's, dash lights inop, I am driving with Dr Prius to monitor the hybrid cell cycling. The information monitor (it works, though dash lights won't) shows that the hybrid system in car is allowing voltage to go down to one bar before charging all the way full while driving on the highway, but Dr Prius app shows correct voltage. When car overcharges, Dr Prius shows it's overcharging the hybrid battery--up to 253v? Information monitor shows it's low and so car is trying to charge. There seems to be a disparity.

It seems like I should reset the car--any ideas?

 

Thank you for the thread! That was a Gen1 was it? Sounds like a wacky charge and discharge, and based on the Amps (did you say 8-12A???) that would be hard on the battery but it would get the job done. I'm not sure my Gen2 does the same thing on its own, unless I am mistaken...

I'm honestly not sure if this is normal for a Gen2--never seen it behave this way. I read some threads that seemed to indicate that the HV battery is failing, which scared me... except that the Dr Prius doesn't seem to agree... hence my confusion

Thank you for the head's up on the capacitor change. I'd really love to have my display back. I think I'll look up that thread later, but for right now, I just want to reset teh car's electronics!

 

I sure hope not... the car has been driving normally prior to the rebalancing treatment... Dr Prius informs me that one of the two cells in Block 6 seem to perform a little lower than the others, but has never tripped a code.

Today, I got in the car and the dreaded red triangle came on the display (remember my combination meter is out, so no dash lights), I read the code P3000, which seems an error with the HV ECU... it certainly doesn't seem to be regulating the charge very well--hence the disparity on what I see on Dr Prius and what I see on my message center (above the radio).

 

I tried to do a Dr Prius life expectancy test, but couldn't remember my Apple password, so I could not upgrade. I'll work on that password today, so I can run a Life Expectancy test. It does, however, show the triangle of death on the car's display above the radio, and reads the code: P3000, or Hybrid ECA assembly (which is in-line with what I'm seeing, charging improperly).

On the other hand, if the traction battery is in fact bad, I guess I've "Loved it to death" by charging it. Would y'all purchase a remanned battery pack, or try rebuilding mine? I''m pretty tech savvy, but I've heard other say this is a bear, and it ends up never being a permanent fix. Rebuilding it, however, would be in line with what's in my head: the traction battery MUST have corrosion issues, AND I've never cleaned the hybrid fan either... those items could be done--replacing a few cells wouldn't be terribly more work if I'm already going to tear the battery down anyway...

 

Bisco said:
"someimes, a connected obd device can cause havoc"

I was wondering if you couldn't be right about that--the introduced Prolong cable may cause problems with the battery pack sensing, but I believe Bisco's angle may have been the OBD2 dongle I have under the dash...

 

ChapmanF said:
"I don't think they do it very often early in life. Your 2008 is about the age now that my 2001 was when I first noticed it doing that."

So, is it somewhat safe to drive in this condition? I want to drive it home (I'm at my boyfriend's house right now), which is 15 miles away--plus the Stealership is uber close to his location, but closed today... might be helpful to see what Techstream will pull up: I read a post about a P3000 code having sub-codes, and I don't have the VCI Techstream software

 

I disconnected the 12v battery, pulled my dongle from the dash, and checked fuses 14, 22, and 33--they look okay. Did NOT check 50 bc it's the 120 amp behemoth and the hybrid system comes on, just doesn't operate "right". Reconnected 12v battery after a half-hour.

Powered on car, and the message center doesn't show the triangle, let it run for a minute, but things don't look good. It started out with a halfway full battery that quickly went empty, shows engine running and charging battery, but little improvement. Since dongle is not in, IDK what Dr Prius would indicate, voltage wise.

Tomorrow I'd really like to check wires going to hybrid battery--I'm pretty sure they're terribly corroded (cover is corroded), and if so, it's possible they could be burned too due to insufficient wire capacity due to corrosion.