So I'm getting the P0A80 CEL every now and then. Sometimes twice a day, sometimes not for a few days. I have typical bad HV battery symptoms.....except when it's cooler outside. On a hot 90 degree day with the AC blasting and driving around, all the symptoms show their ugly head. But last night it had rained and it was around 55 or 60 degrees and it almost seemed like my car was normal again. My battery temps were back down to the 110-118 degree range (usually they're 125ish), my mpg's were going back up, my pedal response was a lot better. What do you think? Bad batteries causing excessive heat and cooler weather helps cool them off better? Or a bad fan that isn't flowing enough air to keep batteries cool, and the cooler weather just assisted in cooling them off?
Is the fan clean? A dirty fan can cause the battery pack to run hot. I assume you are running your Air Conditioning at a comfortable temperature when it is hot outside.
Yes, fan is clean. I just checked it a few days ago. Bit of dust build up but nothing that would impede it's performance. Hell, I see dirtier fans than mine being sold on ebay. I run the AC on auto mode and keep it at about 70 degrees most of the time.
Yes heat stresses a battery more but there are additional codes for heat related issues. How are you reading the codes? Some apps allow fan testing and/or monitoring of fan speeds. The P0A80 code is for a failed/weak battery.
I do think PA080 in rare cases sometimes is due to clogged cooling fan causing overheat. But you are saying fan is clean, so probabilities are going down further.
can you hear the fan speed increase when you are driving and the light comes on? maybe it isn't operating properly. certainly worth testing before replacing the battery.
Yeah, 2005 Prius with 190k miles. I know the batteries are probably at the end of their life, 13 years is quite a long time. I'm monitoring temperatures and scanning codes with torque pro and a bluetooth adapter I haven't noticed a correlation with fan speed and the CEL but I do hear the fan blowing at full blast sometimes and other times it's quiet and not blowing.
If you are DIY you may want ot consider a kit of new cells from @2k1Toaster here for $1600 shipped. The website link is in my signature,
If the fan is causing cooling issues, it would have a code of its own. What you have is a battery code, need replacement
Yeah, I've seen those replacement batteries by that guy. I'll consider it. I looked into it a few months ago and he never seemed to have any in stock. Yeah, that's what I figured, a bad fan would throw a fan code. I'll go ahead and look into a replacement battery pack
I would caveat my own advice by saying obviously I'm guessing. But since the thread asked in a binary fashion, Bad Battery or Bad Fan, I'm placing my bet on "Bad Battery". But it is only a guess.
That's what I was thinking too, just wanted to get a few more ideas going or confirmation of my suspicions
Install the free apps Hybrid Assistant and Hybrid Reporter. You already have the bluetooth adapter needed to run the apps. These apps will show exactly what is going on inside your battery. Brad
