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Reconditioning batteries; Do these numbers look right?

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by foxtrotactinium, Aug 12, 2024.

  1. foxtrotactinium

    foxtrotactinium New Member

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    Hi all, I've recently picked up a 1st Gen prius that had been left in a paddock for what I'm told was about 10 years. I pulled the battery and the entire thing was cactus. All batteries had shorted and all of them had been leaking from the positive terminal. Before getting a new battery I decided to have a go at reconditioning one. So I bought a battery for a 2013 Camry from FB marketplace (only 34 cells instead of 38, I found a guy selling individual cells to complete the pack) and a Tenergy T180 charger. After a few weeks I have cycled every cell and the results have been pretty dissapointing. Very little improvement with some cells seeming to get worse with successive cycles. Tenergy T180 Settings:
    Capacity 6500 mAh
    Charge 5A
    Discharge 5A
    End Volt 6.3V
    CHG>DCHG
    Cycle 3T
    Delay Timer 5 min

    Module No Module Start Voltage First Discharge Second Discharge Third Discharge
    1 1 7.886 4923 5168 5485
    2 2 7.810 2453 2500 2447
    3 3 7.842 3236 3138 3108
    4 4 7.832 3485 3408 3625
    5 5 7.820 3288 3087 3354
    6 6 7.826 3147 2976 3000
    7 7 7.814 3244 3298 3245
    8 8 7.812 3100 3216 3309
    9 9 7.812 3180 2850 2820
    10 10 7.816 8584 3239
    11 11 7.792 3498 3420 3706
    12 12 7.780 3570 3685 3803
    13 13 7.792 3593 3566 3783
    14 14 7.786 3279 3364 3753
    15 15 7.792 3486 3448 3729
    16 16 7.792 3744 3627 3884
    17 17 7.840 3468 3742 3475
    18 18 2838 2691 3022
    19 19 7.834 3725 3495 3618
    20 20 7.822 3629 3281 3323
    21 21 7.824 3752 3616 3521
    22 22 7.822 3535 3568 3335
    23 23 7.720 1796 1732 1679
    24 24 7.766 1951 2023 1956
    25 25 7.772 2059 2059 2015
    26 26 7.742 2448 2276 2437
    27 27 7.744 1861 1939 1933
    28 28 7.768 3201 3575 3812
    29 29 7.756 2308 2309 2294
    30 30 7.758 1701 1621 1598
    31 31 7.710 785 784 793
    32 32 7.806 2866 3007 3091
    33 33 7.842 5588 6273 6533
    34 34 7.844 5384 6405 6554



    As Battery 31 was the worst. As an experiment I tried drilling into and rehydrating with 60ml of boiled distilled water syringed into it. I then Charged at 6,5A and discharged down to 3V at 600mA (~0.1C) before cycling it again like all the others, Charging at 1C and then discharging to 6V at 1C. The final result was 928mAh which I realise as I'm writing this isn't too bad (17% increase in capacity) but is still unusable. I also tried discharging Battery 30 to 3V and then cycling it like I had with all the others with results showing more or less the same. All the videos and tutorials I have watched online seem to show remarkable recoveries and increases in capacity. Has anyone else had the same or similar experience? Is there anything else I can try on the 'better' modules to improve their capacity (maybe a few cycles of slow discharge to 3V @ 0.1C)

    A couple of extra notes:
    These have been charged Night and day 1 at a time and temperatures ahve been between about 4Deg C and 18Deg C.
    dV/dt I believe is set to 5mv. This can be changed on an individual charge. But I cant 'determine if changing it in that menu also changes it for the cycle setting menu.
     
    #1 foxtrotactinium, Aug 12, 2024
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 14, 2024
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I don't know how you might implement this on your charger but what you need to try to achieve is to charge without the dV/dt tripping (I think you set it to the highest (20 mV??) setting) so the charge can continue. Just keep charging until the voltage no longer increases for 4 hours. Charging above 8 V (per module) at no more than 325 mA. Charge at 7.2 to 8 V at 5 A should not be a problem. If discharging from 7.2 V or lower don't discharge at higher than 325 mA.

    When you've charged a module, measure the voltage (it could go as high as 8.4 V) and then let it sit for 24 hours and measure again. A good module should settle around 8 V and lose very little via self-discharge after that point. If it continues to self-discharge at a significant rate and down past 7.2 V put that module aside and find another.

    There is probably something I've missed out, but ask any questions that might have come up in your mind from the info above.

    I'm hopeful you can get the bulk of your Camry module in service in your Prius.

    Cheers.


    [EDIT]
    I've looked over your data and all the voltages look okay to me. The variance between all modules is 0.176 volts. If it were me I'd just do one top balance then assemble the battery assuming the voltages settle at around the 8 V mark.

    The trick will be trying to find 4 more modules to match these 34 to make up to 38.
     
    #2 dolj, Aug 13, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2024
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

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    Fixed the table in the OP. Thanks @dolj for the table format.