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Reconditioning HVB on Prius C - results and questions

Discussion in 'Prius c Technical Discussion' started by NickP, Oct 11, 2023.

  1. NickP

    NickP New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Hi! I did reconditioning on my HVB from PriusC 2012 (213k miles on it) in 8 channels with RC chargers (BGUAD CQ3, HTRC T240, Haisito HB6 x 2). Dr Prius showed 34% of life expectancy and I saw error P0A80.

    I did it with next settings:
    Program select - NiMh BATT
    NiMh Charge cur limit - MAN 5.0A
    NiMh Discharge - 1.0A 6.0V
    NiMh Cycle - DCHG/CHG 3
    Capacity Cut-Off - ON 7500mAh
    Wait time - 5 MIN
    NiMh Sensitivity - D. Peak Default
    Temp cut-off - 80C 176F
    Safety timer - 720 MIN

    Here my results (some modules pass 12 cycles, some just 2):
    upload_2023-10-11_15-5-15.png

    After this results I did balancing - I connected all "-" together and all "+" together. After it all modules was 8.01V

    I combined them to blocks (lowest mAh with the highest mAh). Maybe it was the mistake. I didn't know how exactly I need to combine modules.
    upload_2023-10-11_15-13-52.png

    I need a car for commute, so I put all together before I will receive new modules. And after it the lights on the dashboard start to switch on every 10-15 miles.
    Dr Prius says that there is 42% of Delta SOC (and it is red).
    Maybe after replacing the bad modules it will be OK, but now I'm not sure.

    Help please, am I doing something wrong?
    I plan to buy 13 refurbished modules on ebay (Gen 3 modules with 4500-5000 guaranteed mAh each), but I don't want to waste money if it won't help.

    Thanks for all suggestions and comments!
     
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Buying "used" modules is a waste of time.
    You would probably have a better chance with a whole pack from a junk yard.
    Best is to purchase new modules.

    How many times are you going to go through all that work to find more bad modules?
    How much time will you waste waiting for more used iffy modules to arrive, then go through
    all that work, again.
     
    NickP and Brian1954 like this.
  3. NickP

    NickP New Member

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    Model:
    Four
    Thanks for the advise! I wish I could buy a new battery or even a new Prius. But the circumstances are such that I have to solve this problem with minimal costs. My car doesn't cost so much as a new battery.


    I need advise about combination modules:
    Do I need to combine the best ones with the mostly same ones, or best ones with worst ones?
     
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    You'll want as close of a match between all as you can get. Outliers trigger errors.

    Also check the battery cooling fan and ductwork.
     
  5. NickP

    NickP New Member

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    Mayb

    Thanks! I already cleaned up dirty fan and all ductwork. Now they are like new. The same with electricity connections - bus bars and nuts are new.

    I'm trying to understand what is more important for balancing: voltage (V), resistance (Ω) or capacity (mAh)? And is it important to balance the block of two modules or each separate module? Maybe it depends directly or inversely. How should the modules be combined and in which order? (For example - do I need to combine 4500 with 4500 and 5000 with 5000 or 4500 with 5000?)