2001 prius hv battery help

If you don't have an RC charger, a variable power-supply would be the best.

 

Understand this is a collaborative effort and it is common for folks to add details.

1. Number modules 1-38 with 1 by the controller. Measure voltages and post here.
2. With one hand, remove one side buss bar. ONE HAND.
3. Remove other buss bars.
4. Inspect buss bars and terminals for corrosion. Post photos of worse.
5. Inspect connectors looking for damage or corrosion.
6. Remove modules and inspect terminal seals looking black smear, melted "O" rings.
7. Take the lowest voltage modules and put a 5-10 minute, 8V charge and monitor voltage when charge is taken off. Those that drop below 5.5 V are put in the junk box.
8. Rig up two compression plates and clamps.
9. Configure cycle discharge / charge for NiMH. Limit charge voltage to 8V. One cycle and put aside to rest.
10. Second pass, for the numbers after rest. One discharge / charge: RECORD DISCHARGE AMP-HOURS and module numbers.
11. Those above 2.5 Ahr are marginally serviceable. But post the numbers to decide how many to replace.

Be sure and clamp the modules because charging heats the modules and generates a small amount of gas. These combine to increase the internal pressure and you don't want to damage the modules by not having them clamped. Actually a pair of clamps works best so the modules taken off the charger can rest in the clamps.

Bob Wilson

 

See if you can post the pictures in a picture web site so you can insert the URL. That is the technique I use.

Bob Wilson

 

I've generally not had such problems ... the last line looks like maybe your file name contained a space? Have you tried renaming so it doesn't? It sounds goofy, I know, but trust me, I've seen goofier.

-Chap

 

Good deal! The controller is on the right side of the photo.

You'll want to take photos during the disassembly as these will provide a road-map when you reassemble the pack. Start with a close-up of the controller side module so you won't forget the polarity (grins). Also, the temperature sensors.

I recommend doing a close inspection of the buss bar, terminals before disassembly looking for evidence of corrosion. Speed is less important than accuracy and photos are better than human memory.

As for the compression boards, you'll find these 6-cell modules have three mechanical 'dimples' on each side. I recommend recess-drilling, shallow holes to avoid stress concentrating the dimples. As for the number of clamps, two is a good number. You'll see when the first ones start to swell.

Bob Wilson

 

There is a learning curve. Start small and the most likely bad modules first. Then go up as it becomes more familiar.

Bob Wilson

 

I don't know that particular charger, but the usual drill is to fully charge the module (setting the charger to turn off based on the right criteria for "fully charged"), and then set it to do a controlled discharge down to either 1.0 or 0.9 volts/cell (so, 6 or 5.4 volts for the module). If the charger is good it should have an amp-hour counter that measures the energy taken out of the module, and when it reaches the discharge cutoff, you look at that counter and that's the module's capacity.

-Chap