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Hybrid battery No. 2 Frame wire voltage sensor HACK

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Aegean, Dec 21, 2021.

  1. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    I see frequent hybrid battery failures due to P3011-P3024 voltage difference between modules. Is it possible to HACK the system by adding some type of voltage regulator/balancer between the No. 2 frame wire and the battery CPU? This way the CPU will get a similar voltage from all 14 modules using the average voltage value and will not throw codes. Is it going to work?
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That seems likely backwards: you see frequent P3011-P3024 voltage difference between modules due to hybrid battery failures.
     
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    It's easier to just use Dr. Prius app as you drive to clear codes as they come up... That way you can also monitor battery temp to make sure you don't overheat your pack.
     
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  4. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    Temperature control should be covered with the HACK as originally designed with the three thermistors sampling just 3 modules out of 28 and adjusting fan speed. This sampling gave me the following idea for the HACK.

    HACK: We can connect the 14 voltage sensors from the No. 2 frame wire to just 2 blocks instead of 14 blocks. This way the battery CPU will receive identical voltage from 7 blocks at each connection. Even if a cell in a module fails it would not be measured as it will not be connected to a voltage sensor wire. Actually several modules can have voltage difference but as long as they are not in the 2 blocks that are monitored there will be no P3011-P3024 codes.

    For example we can connect wire leads #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 and #8 together at block 4. Similarly, we can connect wire leads #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14 and #15 together at block 9. The #1 wire stays as is.

    What do you think of this idea?

    F2D79BB3-4B50-4071-8661-779BBBD4B824.jpeg
     
    #4 Aegean, Dec 22, 2021
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2021
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  5. 2010moneypit?

    2010moneypit? Active Member

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    Seems unsafe to bypass the safety system. If you have a cell that is very low how do you keep trying to charge it it could overheat.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    This seems like another solution to the problem "how do I keep driving on my failed battery until the tops blow off?"

    [​IMG]

    It just seems like one of the more needlessly elaborate solutions to that problem. I think most people who want to do that just keep resetting the codes and driving until the tops blow off.
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Dec 22, 2021
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2021
  7. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Why not just fix the actual problem with the car?

    Also, I wouldn't expect it to work as the ecu measures voltage between each of the pairs of wires. 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, etc. Start tying any of the sense wires together and you don't have any voltage difference across them and the ecu will be sad.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  8. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    You are correct! I just realized the battery CPU does not measure voltage from a single negative post on Block 1 but as you said it measure voltage drop between successive blocks. Maybe there is another way to trick the CPU.

    As far as the need for the hack, I think that the system is very sensitive and throws codes a little early as a warning. I am sure the battery modules could last a few thousand miles more before repair except when there is a burnt cell in one of the modules.
     
  9. Travis Decker

    Travis Decker Active Member

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    Toyota engineers have no idea what they are doing? Just replace the battery if it fails. Not even worth thinking you are smarter than Toyota and “hacking” imho
     
  10. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    Toyota engineers are doing a great job but still many car enthusiasts modifying and improving their cars. If there is the slightest opportunity to optimize battery management why not trying?
     
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Kind of comes down to, what are the odds that corrupting the information the battery ECU relies on to manage the battery ends up optimizing it?
     
  12. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    There is an opportunity to optimize battery management. You hire a software prodigy, reverse engineer the code in your gen2 and ideally gen3 and gen4, cherry pick the incremental improvements, apply them to reengineered code for your gen2, test and iteratively develop the new code and finally, you have successfully hacked the battery management system.

    Might as well cut to the chase and buy a Rav4 Prime with 300 hp, 42 miles ev and decent mpg. But if you do reverse engineer and improve the Toyota code, a major business opportunity to market the results will appear.
     
  13. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Toyota engineers were a little "conservative" in their design as they wanted owners to bring a failing battery in to be replaced instead of throwing codes after it had already completely failed.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  14. James Analytic

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    As a sanity check working on used gen 2 battery packs, to extend the life of the pack safely where performing a sense wire connector to plug continuity check, am wondering why the above connector is labelled B12 Battery ECU and incorrectly labelled on the pins in regards to the block sense wires? Guessing the pin numbers on the B12 Battery ECU connector are referenced on a table, schematic, wiring diagram or something elsewhere?

    My findings are with the connector-plug facing you and where the wires interface the B12 Battery ECU pins, pins 1 - 7 and 12 - 19 are only used and as found:

    Terminal Ring 1 - Pin 12
    Terminal Ring 2 - Pin 1
    Terminal Ring 3 - Pin 13
    Terminal Ring 4 - Pin 2
    Terminal Ring 5 - Pin 14
    Terminal Ring 6 - Pin 3
    Terminal Ring 7 - Pin 15
    Terminal Ring 8 - Pin 4
    Terminal Ring 9 - Pin 16
    Terminal Ring 10 - Pin 5
    Terminal Ring 11 - Pin 17
    Terminal Ring 12 - Pin 6
    Terminal Ring 13 - Pin 18
    Terminal Ring 14 - Pin 7
    Terminal Ring 15 - Pin 19

    Took me a minute or two to think about how the blocks are sensed as well as I was wanting to associate the Terminal Ring ends of the sense wires with blocks directly without thinking the computing for the electrical characteristics calculations. Then only took a second or two walking the signal path. Of course, my multimeter 9V rechargeable battery went dead throughout the continuity testing and oddly my continuity check setting on the multimeter decided many of the LCD segment bars are not going to function with no load on the test leads.

    Fun fun, starting the day off with no 8mm socket where I am at. Felt like one of those earlier on mechanic experiences of not finding a 10mm socket. :)

    On a hack note, the only thoughts I've had regarding are:
    1. Adding additional NiMH HV packs in parallel that are sensory dumb with a relay for the fan that triggers via the temperature probes. Possibly adding additional sensory and or balancing computers with displays to monitor and control optimizing performance.
    2. Maybe do something with a better quality lithium battery added in parallel that is only grid charged and with a similar fan controller though with a diode to assure no power is going to the battery from the HV battery and MG's.
    3. How one would add an additional 14 or 28 charge controllers with balancing to balance I guess when the vehicle is not operating since would be way more hacking effort to do during operation. Seems a grid charger like the Prolong or DYI LED PSU designs acting as a trickle charger topper is way easier and similarly a trickle charger topper for the 12V battery where both can have like a cable wire rope installed on the power cords so if you drive away, the cable wire rope assures the connection and cord stay OK.
     
  15. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yeah, the Electrical Wiring Diagram shows the pin assignments there, as described further in this post, except for gen 1, where that info was missing from the EWD.

    For gen 1, I even made a post like yours by inspecting an actual frame wire (though it turns out if you look in the gen 1 Repair Manual instead of the EWD, you do find the pin assignments on the page for the P3030 code, could've saved me the trouble).

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat

    2006 (gen 2):

    [​IMG]

    Note: there may be some aftermarket sources for no. 2 frame wires. Naturally, they have to match the pin assignments, but they might differ on the insulation colors.
     
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  16. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Any further word on the type of insulation that guy uses on those wires?

    There was some past discussion where the insulation type was said to be FLRY-B, which seemed odd given its nominal 60-volt rating, for a harness that can be exposed to Uₒ and U of around 270 V.
     
  18. VZvrtny

    VZvrtny Junior Member

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    Thank you for your comment regarding the nominal 60V rating, but I would respectfully like to point out that both OEM wires and the wires we use are rated for 60-volt DC circuits. Please consider that in this wire harness, each voltage sensor measures only the electrical potential of a module pair, or block, which has a nominal voltage of 14.4V. Therefore, the wires are exposed to less than one-third of their rated voltage capacity.
    OEM wires are great, they were engineered for the application, we just wanted to raise the bar a little higher so our customers would have confidence in the quality of the materials and workmanship. Here are some examples:
    1. The OEM wires consist of 7 strands, while our wires have 16 strands, increasing the conductor's cross-sectional area. This results in a lower internal resistance of 37.1 mΩ/m compared to 50.2 mΩ/m—a 25% reduction—which improves signal quality to the ECU.
    2. The current carrying capacity is 10A for OEM wires vs 13A for the wires we use.
    3. The temperature rating is also better, -40°C to +105°C compared to the OEM -40°C to 80°C, even though 80°C is probably sufficient for the application, we wanted to go a little further.
    4. Because the conductor cross-sectional area is larger, the grip is also better at the crimping point, which sometimes is the failure point on the OEM wire harness.
    FLRY-B wires are used by BMW, Ford, FIAT, and others in their automotive wiring.
     
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  19. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    He just replied... It sure would be great if you could one day find something nice to say about individuals producing products to benefit our community rather than putting all your effort into telling them that they're flawed, or questioning if they're flawed. Are you capable of that?
     
  20. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    Lets see what he has to say now.

    Chapman always has something to nitpick about.