Battery help in detail, please

Is this a serious post? Your 12V battery shouldn't go dead in a week, not on a new Prius. Was there some sort of drain? If your battery is dead, how did you tear the trunk apart? You can't open the hatch without the battery. Did you crawl through from the inside?

Okay, I'll assume this is legit. To charge or jump the 12V battery, you use the post inside the fuse box. Open the box (which you now know how to do) and attach the red (+) side to the post. The black (-) attaches to any bare metal ground point. You don't need to get to the battery.

The 12V battery only needs to supply enough power to boot the computers, so you should be able to start right away with a boost.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Sep 9 2006, 04:01 PM) [snapback]317085[/snapback]</div>

Question:
1) They tell me that the 12 volt battery is a sealed battery and that I should not worry about any gases that are produced. However, I have see posts where the high voltage battery terminals would corrode. Nornally the HS gases from the "standard" lead acid batteries corrode the terminals. Were we miss led?

2) So if the 12 volt batter is used for the computer, what cranks the engine? The high voltage battery?

3) What supplies the accessories like radio, wipers, lights. I am assuming that the fan, heat and a/c are bing supplied by the high voltage battery.

Newbie, so please be gentle. BTW, this chat group ROCKS!

I am getting my Silver 2006 Prius this week. No later than Sept 17, 2006.

Thanks!!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hard_working_student @ Sep 9 2006, 08:53 PM) [snapback]317158[/snapback]</div>

Yes, the 12V battery is a sealed lead-acid type. It's a small battery, about the size used for a motorcycle. The traction battery is NiMh, much like you find in cell phones and other cordless devices, only a LOT bigger. Any corrosion would be incidental, not from fumes.

The high voltage traction battery cranks the engine. There is no normal stater, just MG1 and MG2, which are used to crank the engine, provide motor drive, generate electricity, and regen braking.

Accessories like radio, wipers, and lights run from the 12V system, as well as the computers. All high-draw items, such as a/c, run from the high voltage system. Once the Prius boots, 12V is supplied from a step-down converter from the high voltage system. This also charges the 12V battery.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hard_working_student @ Sep 9 2006, 05:53 PM) [snapback]317158[/snapback]</div>

I just wanted to point out that if you're talking about the 12V Aux battery, it is NOT considered "High Voltage." Most folks talk of the traction battery as "HV" but ceratinly not the Aux!.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hard_working_student @ Sep 9 2006, 05:53 PM) [snapback]317158[/snapback]</div>

A few of the previous generation Prius (which looks like a sedan) had problems with cells of the HV battery having corrosion problems. No reported problems in the current model.

 

To the original poster, once you boost the 12 volt system enough to get the Prius into 'ready mode', you need only leave it there to accomplish battery recharging. You do not have to drive anywhere.

For your battery to discharge in 1 week suggests that some light was left on, or that there is too much 'parasitic drain' in your car, or that the 12 volt battery was previously abused. Possibly before you took possession of the car. At your convenience take it to a Toyota shop and have them load test that battery. If it is below specifications, they are supposed to replace it under warranty. If they are clever enough to measure the parasitic drain, they could eliminate that possibility as well. It is supposed to be on the order of 30 or 40 milliamps.