Help with cylindrical HV pack that has 1 bad module

Best way is to contact newpriusbatteries for a replacement module. The owner is a member of this forum, maybe you can message him there. Maybe someone will chime in with his user name.

This battery was never suppose to be as good as the original batteries from Toyota, but initially when they were new, very few problems came up. But with all batteries, as they age, you’ll know the good stuff from the bad. Part of the reason why I encourage people to buy original tested reliable OEM batteries vs aftermarket options, you’ll always get a good 10 years from an original battery

 

@2k1Toaster to the rescue!

 

Sometimes the corrosion on the voltage sensing harness where it plugs into the battery ECU leads to weird sensor readings. So you could take apart the ECU and clean it and make sure the wires are corrosion free too. But beyond that you're at the mercy of New Prius Batteries selling you a replacement stick. Alternatively you could buy a knock off stick from China, but probably won't work for very long as it won't be an exact match.

 

I wouldn't even try this approach.

Unless the stick is the same model, from the same factory, that pack will be out of balance in no time. Even if it is the exact same type of battery it still may not work well. Places like Bumblebee batteries build these sorts of packs for Honda Civics (and others) and they go to great lengths to match the electrical properties for a set of sticks before assembling the pack. This is with brand new sticks.

 

May want to call NPB
New Prius Batteries LLC.
1915 Hunters Point Lane
Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Call us at +1-801-477-7487

 

Luck would have it, I am in possession of a few of these newpriusbatteries.com used modules. A member generously donated a pack to me but some were lost (package broke open) during shipping. So if you are needing a single module, I have it for you. Just send me a message.

 

could the triangle be triggered by the permanent obd connection?

 

I briefly checked the donated modules (member said they were working fine when he swapped them out for Lithium pack), I checked the voltages of 3 modules, all were really low. 5.94v - 8.09v. I thought these were suppose to be 2 modules in 1, so the readings should be well above 14v for proper working modules. Am I missing something here or these modules have serious quality issues? I have yet to check the other ones.....

 

Self discharge? NiMH batteries lose voltage pretty rapidly if they are not kept charged. If these have been out of the car for a couple of months you might see voltages that low. Try charging them up (if you have the equipment to do so) to see if they will still hold a charge.

Note - assuming the person who gave these to you was correct and they were all "working" at that point, and assuming the pack was balanced (presumably enough to not throw a code), then the voltage difference you see now is the result of the differing rates of self discharge. This, and internal resistance variation, is why stick based packs must be built with carefully matched sticks.

 

Yes this is a case of self discharge and IR variations. I don't know how long these have been sitting but it's been less than 3 years. The person that gave these to me also gave me his OEM set of modules which had been sitting for 3 years (when he switched over to the China stuff). The OEM modules are are still at 7.5v after 3 years. This China made stuff has issues.

 

do you still need the OEM modules? i currently have an original 06 battery and would love some backup

 

Yes I will use these modules. I will recondition them and keep the good ones. Whenever you need one, I'm sure I'll have spares available. Just send me a message