Battery dead after returning from long trip

Yes Sir. The price includes installation.

 

Hummm, I thought your winter temp is much lower than where I live. So, say even at -20C or lower, your car will not start ICE?

Wow, are they free? Can you plug your EVSE?

 

The parking lot outlets maybe cycle on/off, alternating at 1/2 hour interval. That's to accommodate block heater usage.

 

Yep. When following my usage pattern, the ICE will not start even at temps lower than -20C

That is why leaving a low power space heater on inside the car, while plugged into a 110V outlet at the office works so well. The cabin is warm and so is the battery pack.

However, when the ambient temps are that cold the ICE will turn on if I turn on the usual suspects:
- Activate the front window defroster
- Turn on climate control AND set the cabin temps above the "LO" setting.
- Put it vehicle in HV or Power modes.

As Mendel indicated, a large number of the 110V outlets in public parking lots are usually power governed via one or more of the following:
- Cycled ON and OFF on a timer.
- Half waved with a diode.
- Power limited to no more than 400-800 watts per outlet.

Because of this, EV charging on these outlets is neither safe nor practical.

 

I see. That must be the decisive difference between your car and mine during winter. My car is parked outside and has no heat source inside. I could easily experiment this using a space heater in the cabin this winter, but I have a feeling doing so will only prevent the initial ICE kick-off with a much higher electric bill for the heater and charging. As long as the gas price stays at the current level, there is no saving for me in using EV only.

 

Yes, it works well for me too.
I may be busting up a bit here so I'll try to keep this down as low as I can.
I got my block heater for our 2014 PIP leased, from 2012-2015 Toyota Prius Plug-in Exterior Accessories - Free Shipping, Discounted Prices and the pictures look the same as what I have still in the box. Part # PU140-00913 ( the old school 400 watt one) recalled?
I see the replacement part #PU140-00913-2 here *PRE-SEASON SPECIAL!* Pyroil - Engine Block Heater

I wasn't shocked when I saw the dealer price, I'd got a deal form the dealer on the smallest front paint protection film. so I no stranger to dealer accessory prices.

The condensation on the windows is a pain, literally. I've gotten used to opening the window(s) to clear it. It takes time and I'm already feeling my feet chill at 50 F. I bundle up really tight when it gets down near zero.

 

@Salamander_King
Yes. the electric bill goes up a bit. depending on how much heat you want to use.
300 watts is almost a wash though. I've had my heater on full some really cold nights 1500 watts for 6 hours.
But it is really really nice to get in a summer time warm car in the middle of winter.
The heat doesn't last too long and every little draft is noticeable. but it also protects the pack from the deep freezing temps, if that anything that might interest you.

And don't forget the condensation on the windows. That is what usually get the ice on for those not hardy enough or smart enough (me) to figure out how to clear that without opening the window(s).

 

Of course, my problem is the outside plugs on only 15A circuit. There is no way I can share it with both 1500 watts heater and charger at the same time.

 

Yes, I use two different circuits to run them both at the same time. I had to jury rig that in the basement and have yet to fix the outside outlet for even one of them. But when I do get around to fixing the outside outlet I want 240 out there. Call me a dreamer.

And while we're on the subject of winter behavior, I think I've found the on off limit for the heat pump. It's some kind of mechanical noise that switches on at 10 mph and back off at 7 mph in the dead of winter. It's a very quiet noise that you have to be listening for when there is no other noise to drown it out.

 

Note that you have a plugin model......which handles ICE usage differently.
And I'm pretty sure that is NOT possible with conventional hybrid models.

 

You answered your own question. @MSantos is driving Vehicle: 2018 Prius Prime, Model: Technology. I was asking about his PRIME, and this is PRIME thread.

 

Some of you guys need to find something else to do, rather than continuously monitoring for new posts here.

I edited that about a minute after I posted it.
The text that you quoted does not exist anymore.
Sorry for the confusion.

 

Where do you purchase a "smart" automatic tender type charger? Is one brand better than another? Since the pandemic, we haven't driven our car in 3 weeks. We tried to take it for a short ride yesterday and no power. We had to call for service and was given a hot shot just using the battery terminals not like stated in book. Thought it would be wise to get a portable charger since this is the second time this has happened. The first time was with our Prius V. Both cars were parked in the garage. After the hot shot we took it for a ride for about 45 minutes but now we'll take it for a spin every couple of days so this doesn't happen again.

 

I've got CTEK 4.3, works good. They are lots of choices though.

Ours pretty much lives on the charger. Any day the car is not going to be driven I connect it, let it cycle, and leave it on till next use.

 

Nobody really knows which major brand is "better". They all probably are more than adequate.

You look at what it says on the box. Words like automatic, smart or continuous.
Any auto parts store or big box retail......like WalMart.
Also motorcycle or boat shops.
A capacity of 3-4 amps is more versatile than a smaller one.
Cost usually is from $25 to $35 or a bit more.

 

Short spins will not to put much charge on it. Long spins, long enough to really do the job, will greatly exceed the general 'stay at home except for essential business' guidelines.

So a battery tender or maintainer is really a better choice for this likely long shutdown. Mendel was already in the habit because his always stays home a lot, even before this pandemic. I've previously been needing to put a tender on whichever of my two cars is not being used much for the season. Now, that means both cars get put on a tender overnight every week or so.

When these restrictions arrived, my first Round Tuit was spent installing the quick-plug-in charging harnesses that had been sitting for years in the battery tender box. These plugs make for faster and easier connections.



Plenty more 'round tuit' tasks have been finished since, though the remaining list isn't getting short yet.

 

My Prius Prime is stored in my garage for three to four months while I'm doing the snowbird thing in Florida.
I been using a Battery Tender Junior (Amazon $25) and have always had a fully charged battery when I needed to start the car.
I just clip it on the battery terminals and go on my way. It appears that the 750 mA capacity is enough to keep the battery charged.

 

As long as you're just using it as a maintainer I think yeah. If you had an accidental deep discharge, and needed to pull it back, then it might be overwhelmed.

 

From a deep discharge, it would take about 3 days for that little one to do the charge, provided the battery doesn't have excessive self-discharge to overcome. But for a multi-month absence, anything over ~100mA should be able to hold it just fine.

 

@MSantos how are you securing that charger to the fuse box lid? Just gravity and the stiffness of the wires? Or maybe some sort of velcro and double-sided tape?