Gen II Prius Individual Battery Module Replacement

Hi. My 2005 Prius decided to give me the red triangle of death at 179,000 miles. The dealer wanted mucho dollars to fix with "new battery" and I said, "thank you, no."

So we are looking to fix it. My son's meter told us that module one was bad. I've ordered a couple of cells on ebay. Need to know about chargers. Is there a link somewhere giving the names of acceptable charge/balancers? I've got a couple of marine batteries in the basement, and will plan to charge them up to use as power source.

What are current recommended units... especially cheap ones that are solid enough to do the job!

Thanks!

 

-
Hi John - The techstream software (minivic) has a battery ECU calibration process that can be used when a new or reconditioned battery is installed. I use it when I charge the hv battery in one of my 2001 prius cars. It tends to stop the computer from rejecting the new battery.

However the computer seems to eventually get used to the new battery without the calibration but may give the triangle of death a few times before it settles in.

 

All I have done so far is test the voltage:

1.= 7.58
2.= 7.23
3.= 6.32
4.= 7.57
5.= 7.58
6.= 7.59
7.= 7.58
8.= 7.58
9.= 7.58
10.= 7.57
11.= 6.35
12.= 7.56
13.= 7.57
14.= 7.58
15.= 7.58
16.= 7.57
17.= 7.58
18.= 7.55
19.= 7.58
20.= 7.58
21.= 7.58
22.= 7.58
23.= 6.43
24.= 7.58
25.= 7.59
26.= 7.59
27.= 7.59
28.= 7.57

It looks like 3,11 and 23. How about #2.

 

# 2 Ok - others bad for sure

 

If you wanted to do more testing you could quick load test them and see how they do.

 

If you want to do the whole pack at once while still in the car, you might give our systems a look

 

Will the Hitec 4x AC Plus work for the balancing process?

 

It will but the discharge capacity is very low and it will take hours to discharge the modules thus making a process that takes days to do 3 cycles per module.

Roy from Canada

 

So which charger is recommended?

 

Quickest is to use a high voltage charge. Do whole pack at one. Less than a day's time.

If you have weeks worth of time you could use a hobby charger.
Buy a good one like CellPro Powerlab8

 

One can't be sure about others in the list, just by looking at voltages.
Only load test will tell.
Try to use higher loads - suggest something around 5-6 amps.
My High Voltage [240V] load draws more than 5A. I am building two new - about 10A to speed up the process and make higher load for Camry/Lexus packs. When there is a need to test just one module - I use 6A constant current electronic load - easy to make.

 

Ultimately, most consumers will not have the appropriate tools to do the job 100% effectively.
You can only work with what limited tools you've got.

Good luck.

 

My battery has liquid and dried battery acid leaking out of it what should I do now?

I am afraid!

 

Which battery are you talking about. The 12 volt battery is the only one with acid in it, and even then it does not normally leak even if the battery case is broken. If there is water in the compartment it is sitting in this is coming from elsewhere, and it is just rain water.

John

 

High Eric - I have a high voltage charger/discharger I made, however it does not have the ability to calculate the capacity of charge or discharge. Does your equipment have that ability?

Roy from Canada

Hi John - it must be the 12 volt battery because he would have to removed the top off the high voltage battery which is very unlikely. If he has removed the top of the hv battery without removing the orange plug he should feel afraid.

Roy

 

Its the HV battery and it looks like acid corrosion to me along with a wet spot, but ok.

Anyway one of the cells (number 17) is melted along with my busbar which is blackened as well at that cell block.

Would I be ok trying to clean the 2 blackened bus connectors, or should I try and find a used piece/section somewhere?

BTW, these were my readings:

1. = 7.73
2. = 7.80
3. = 7.77
4. = 7.79
5. = 7.74
6. = 7.78
7. = 7.78
8. = 7.77
9. = 7.76
10.= 7.76
11.= 7.76
12.= 7.77
13.= 7.78
14.= 7.77
15.= 7.78
16.= 7.77
17.= 2.92 <melted
18.= 7.76
19.= 7.79
20.= 7.76
21.= 7.78
22.= 7.77
23.= 7.77
24.= 7.75
25.= 7.80
26.= 7.79
27.= 7.79
28.= 7.77

 

It looks like there was a poor connection at the interconnect copper bar for cell 17. Is there a small wire coming up to that terminal if so check that wire with an ohm meter back to the ECU connector. The heat may have broken this thin wire, and this is what reports back to the ECU the module pair voltage.
I would replace the copper connecting bar along with the module that has melted repairing the small wire if it is open circuit. It normally breaks where it joins the eye terminal, and is very difficult to spot. The module either side of the melted modules will need to be cleaned to remove all traces of leakage ( use white vinegar) or you will start getting HV leakage problems.

John

 

No, it was melted on the opposite side of the wires bar. I don't know how to do the ohm meter thing, but nothing looks melted small wire wise...that is if I understood you correctly.

I googled around and I can't find any busbar replacements or copper connecting bars anywhere. I scraped off the black on the sidewalk until was there was very little dark stuff but it even melted the copper so had to file that down flat as I could as well. Can I still use it without the orange plastic there? It will not hold the copper piece inside any longer.

Another thing is, it looks like the module next to it is slightly heat damaged and corroded around the eye terminal, so should I order another one and replace it as well?

Where can I find new copper connectors and maybe a segment of melted orange bus.

This is quite depressing for me.

 

You can buy the copper connectors or Make your own out of flattened copper water pipe cut to length and drilled. Make sure it is clean before fitting and use the correct torque setting on the nuts (the studs snap off easily).To clean the one you have drop it in some vinegar over night.
It may be possible if you ask here that someone has some spare connecting bars (often called bus bars). It could well be prudent to replace any heat damaged modules.
Try sending a private message to "ericbecky" as in post #813 for parts.

John