Can I borrow your battery charger/balancer/reconditioner?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by JamesG123, Jun 3, 2020.

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  1. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    I have a generation II Prius with a hybrid battery that’s been giving me problems lately. I’ve taken it apart and replaced one of the modules with a used one which made my check engine light and triangle of death go away, but now my internal resistances are all out of whack and my gas mileage is worse than when it was broken!

    I think all I need to do is balance the batteries, but I don’t necessarily want to spend money on that. It’s $300 for a Maxx Volts on ebay Maxx Volts 2004-2009 Toyota Prius EL-1 Traction Battery Grid Charger Balancer | eBay
    and $600-$700 for a Prolong not to mention I’ll need a way to discharge the batteries no matter which one I get.

    I know it’s a longshot, but do you know of anybody who lives near Ventura, CA/Los Angeles who has one that I can borrow?

    Thanks,
    James
     
    #1 JamesG123, Jun 3, 2020
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    @JC91006 might have something available:).

    He'll be along eventually(y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Jun 3, 2020
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  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    How long has it been since you did the module replacement? I think bad MPG during the summer months can be attributed to AC use.
     
    #3 JC91006, Jun 3, 2020
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    You know you will need to install a harness? What does that run?
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Jun 4, 2020
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  5. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    And I think that will be mostly a waste of time.
    It might buy you a few weeks but will actually SOLVE.....nothing.
     
    #5 sam spade 2, Jun 4, 2020
  6. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    Why do you say that?
     
    #6 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  7. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    I just checked both Prolong and Maxx Volts and I didn’t see any of those harnesses for sale individually. I guess I could call them, but maybe somebody has a harness that they can let me borrow as well?
     
    #7 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  8. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    I just replaced the module about 1.5 weeks ago. It seems like my gas mileage is gradually getting better. It was about 28 miles per gallon now it’s 36. I have not been using the AC. Never do really. Just checked my internal resistances again through the Dr. Prius app and they seem even worse now!
     
    #8 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  9. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    Here’s a screenshot of my internal resistances on the Dr. Prius app. Voltage differential seems pretty good.

    Before replacing the bad module all of my internal resistance as were 10. I thought maybe that wasn’t accurate because it was too perfect and I had a bad module in there, but who knows.

    As you can see my internal resistances are pretty bad now. They’ve gradually gotten worse since I replaced the module. Gas mileage seems to be getting better though. Engine codes are also staying away since replacing the module.

    Also, I shuffled the modules when I had the battery apart, putting the inner ones on the outside, because I read that the inner ones get hot and wear out sooner. The theory is that by shuffling them you can get more life out of the modules. It seems like now my outer ones have a high internal resistances though, so hopefully it wasn’t stupid for me to shuffle them.
     

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    #9 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2020
  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    #10 Prodigyplace, Jun 5, 2020
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  11. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Sorry. Mine's currently loaned out in San Diego. I now have a new OEM pack and couldn't use it here even if I wanted to right now (way too hot). I told the borrower to just hang on to it until at least fall so she can do multiple balancing sessions without having to drive all the way out here to get it.
     
    #11 srellim234, Jun 5, 2020
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  12. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Because.......
    When one or more cells goes bad, they are worn out from use and others are likely not far behind.
    You can NOT "rejuvenate" a battery cell that is worn out. When it's gone, it's gone.

    The theory is that if you start trying to "rejuvenate" early enough in the battery's life, that the cells will last longer.
    I don't believe that but there really is no easy way to prove it either way.
     
    #12 sam spade 2, Jun 5, 2020
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  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I probably would not worry about any issues on your battery now, if the car is running, just leave it until the next time you have to take it apart again.
     
    #13 JC91006, Jun 5, 2020
  14. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Actually, quite a bit of it has been proven and quantified. Some (not all) battery storage CAN be restored. There are definite advantages to balancing and it does, in fact, prolong the life of a battery pack to do so. There's a lot of information located at The Battery University.

    Battery Information Table of Contents, Basic to Advanced

    Duracell put out a technical bulletin all the way back in 2009 talking about the issue with actual test results and recommending it. Because it was that old they removed it from their website sometime in the last two years. It came up in multiple threads here on Priuschat.
     
    #14 srellim234, Jun 5, 2020
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  15. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    #15 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
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  16. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    That’s cool you got a new battery pack! How much did that set you back? Have you had good luck with the balancers in the past? Maybe I’ll just plop down $300 on a volt Max and be done with it.
     
    #16 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  17. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    OK I gotcha! It looks like some of my modules have been replaced in the past and I’ve had the car for about three years, so it’s lasted a long time! I’m guessing you recommend replacing all the modules at once? If so, do you know where I can find a bunch of cheap modules to replace whole thing?

    It’s kind of a crappy car though… Terrible paint job all rusted and transactional/transmission makes noise. The transaxle/transmission noise hasn’t gotten worse in the three years that I’ve owned it, so I think it’ll continue to last a long time, but it has about 190,000 miles on it. Would be nice just to get a few more years out of it.
     
    #17 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  18. JamesG123

    JamesG123 Junior Member

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    Just to be clear, are you recommending that I do not bother connecting a battery balancer? Just keep on driving it and see if the gas mileage continues to improve? My internal resistances seem to be getting more out of whack though. What do you think is best?
     
    #18 JamesG123, Jun 5, 2020
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I remember when these things first came out, the Harnesses were fairly affordable. Now to discourage "sharing" of chargers/dischargers, they hike the price of the harness.

    Of course you can just bypass the entire thing if you are doing it once. The harness is there for convenience if you choose to do it again
     
    #19 JC91006, Jun 5, 2020
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  20. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I don't know if it'll improve or not. It may not even improve after you balance the battery pack. But there's a lot of work to disassemble the interior and battery (for a novice) and you may want to wait until you NEED TO take it apart again. I have several of these cars and they all have different MPG. I don't know how to explain it, it comes down to many factors.

    If it works now, just go with it. You can probably spend time to source everything you need for the next repair/balance. It probably isn't going to last very long so use this time to start sourcing everything you need.
     
    #20 JC91006, Jun 5, 2020
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