Reconditioning Experience with Hybrid Automotive's Prolong System

Might be worth calling their help desk tomorrow. They’ll get you sorted out.

 

Are you sure the idle light is not on in addition to the discharging light? It can be easy to miss at times when you're looking at everything else. There is a rebound affect at the end of the discharge phase where the voltage goes up. Mine finished discharging to 134v while I was at the market and rebounded back up to 187v. The discharge light should be flashing and the system idle light stays solid if it's done discharging. I'm also surprised at the .0002. Mine goes at .002 and I didn't think another digit fit on the screen.

 

it's 0.002a, I may have fat fingered. Only 3 digits show, I just want to be clear is was 0.something i.e. way too low.

I don't think it's a rebound as when I turn it off, unplug everything and reconnect, power on, set it, it shows the same.
Idle light is defo not on.

I've left an email with HA, hopefully they can shed some light on the matter.

 

So after 8.5hrs on the discharger and going from 238v to 227v, I bailed. I stuck it back on the charger until I can get the discharger issue resolved. This should at least balance them, right?

 

You’ve top end balanced the battery.

That’s worth something.

Jeff and Hybrid Automotive will get it sorted.

Sounds like your weekend just freed up .

 

Something is definitely not right but Jeff will figure it out and take care of it.

The .002 reading is correct and not too low. The system doesn't go faster because when it reaches the target voltage they don't take the chance that a weaker cell might discharge too quickly and reverse polarity, killing it and requiring replacement. The discharge segment of the conditioning process is somewhere around 4 to 6 hours if memory serves me right.

 

I think the unit will need to come back for inspection & repair. Can you message me the purchase date, name, and transaction number if possible. Then I can setup an RMA and record the details for my team to make things go smoother when you call in on Monday.

 

I think (quoting from memory) my discharges are around 6½ hours, and so with the long soakers (40 hours) we're talking about 2 days per charge/discharge, for around a week or so of down-time! (…just sayin'! )

 

I went back and looked at my December records.

1. Charge to 240v - 26 hours
2. Discharge to 134v - 4.5 hours
3. Charge to 242v - 26 hours
4. Discharge to 84v - 5.5 hours
5. Charge to 242v - 40 hours
6. Discharge to 17v - 6 hours
7. Charge to 242v - 36 hours

Total elapsed time = 144 hours (6 days)

It stands to reason that your discharge sessions must be a little longer because your starting point is a higher voltage than what I can get my battery to.

 

OK, readers! Here's what you've all no doubt been waiting for! (…screams of "Oh no we haven't!")
I've just started the six-monthly full recondition, and I plan to do only long soakers, and try and time the discharges (based on my previous 3 years of data so that the "dead-cat bounce" is minimalized. (…both cell-mates winced and gave me the evil-eye as I typed that!)

Started 2½ hours ago at just past noon here on the Right Coast with the SoC ~48% (well it's 102ºF outside with humidity of GodKnowsWhat):

12:19 219V 363mA
14:47 230V 362mA

(watch this space for the next thrilling episode!)

 

A bit warm over there, eh?

Good luck with your reconditioning .

Since your last round, have you seen any mpg jump by pounding on the pack longer for each charge cycle?

I’ll be doing a top end balance in August then the annual 2 cycle reconditioning over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Always looking for more data.

 

I've notice the overall MPG on the MFD has been creeping up to 43.3, my fuelly records have been homing in on around the same, and on a couple of recent trips the AVG (for current journey) on my ScanGauge II crept up to 101MPG - I have a pic somewhere (although I think I may have deleted it! ) The SoC has been spending far more time in the high 60 to mid 70%, although this past couple of days with the heatwave it been going up and down (just like the whore's drawers) as low as 45%

 

So have you seen any measurable benefit by pounding on the pack longer ?

I’m the “too much of a good thing doesn’t make it better” type, so I’m curious for my next round.

If nothing measurable, I’ll stick to the 4-6 hours and call it good.

Keep the knickers up.

 

…biggest improvement was consistently reaching 250V on the long soakers! Patience is a virtue? I can't really compare with shorties since I've tried to get at least to 240V, and the first time was in a 31+ hour long soaker:
Here's my original log from last December:

Date 20171226: Prius Hybrid Traction Battery long recondition 128,500 miles
Chrg1: 31 hours 248V 356mA
Dschrg to 134 V - 6:45 hours
Chrg2: 32 hours 247V 356mA
Dschrg to 84 V - 6:45 hours ("dead-cat-bounce" had taken the V back up to 190V when I checked!)
Chrg3: 33½ hours 249V 356mA
Dschrg to 17V ~ 7 hours (I started checking around 6:45, and the meter was at 60V, and dropped at 10V every 6 mins or so, and I was able to hit the 17V on the nail)
Chrg4: 40½ hours 250V 354mA (…yippee!) now leave for 2 hrs to recover!
Total elapsed time - 159½ hours (6½ days)

I've budgeted 6 days for this one, and have rented a Nissan Sentra for the duration so I still have wheels…

…and so it goes!

 

So to summarize:

• No mpg improvement
• No SOC improvement between last reconditioning and previous reconditioning cycle

How many miles have you put on since December?

I bet the Sentra is a fantastic fill in.

 

7,183 miles since the last full recon (last December). I did a shortie back at the end of March, and there's been a slight improvement (from what I remember, but without going and mining for the fuelly info. and my logs, I'm not sure, but I remember being astounded by the 101 MPG reading on a local (~50 mile) journey back in the spring.

The Sentra is a nice ride, although I think I prefer the feel and the controls of the Prius. I have a part time job with a local courier/messaging service, and they have lots of Toyotas (Prii, Corollas and Yarises), and a couple of the Nissan RV200 small vans (which are nearly as nice to drive as the sedans) but I like the way my Gen II drives. The Corollas will cruise at 80 or 90 and handle like they're on rails, but you can't really beat the silence of a Prius as you glide up to a red-light!

 

Thanks for the info.

I know we’re on a pitch count for the number of times we can recondition, so just trying to make it as far as possible .

Part time gig sounds like a decent way to pass the time.

Keep the data flowing .

 

I've driven 12,500 miles since I started working (part-time) back at the end of last March, and have driven all over New England. I had forgotten just how beautiful the North East is, and the weather recently has made the driving conditions just about perfect (during the day), however at night it can be very boring with nothing to see and rain makes it ten time worse. The most striking thing I've noticed since I began is just how terrible the standard of driving has become. Everything from folk busy texting (while they're weaving across lanes of traffic doing 70 or 80mph! ) …and my particular hate is how close drivers will follow each other!!! When I learned to drive (back in Blighty in the late 1960s) the recommended following distance was "one car's length for each 10mph, and DOUBLE that when it's raining"), but I've had cars pass me doing at least 90mph with only about a foot between them! - so close that it looked like the second car was being towed by the first! (pause for old joke here: "Our dog is so smart that yesterday he saw two fellows riding a tandem down the street, so he ran inside, grabbed a bucket of water which he then threw over them!" I am reminded of that old joke every time I see a couple of cars "in tandem"!

 

You think the standard of driving is bad out there, you should matriculate over to the best coast sometime.

Here in the great state of California, they allow motorcycles to “lane split” with you.

Had one yesterday do that while a semi was on the right.

Better than the one time I was getting off the exit of the freeway heading to work and was passed on the shoulder while turning into the on ramp.

But they wear helmets so they are protected.

 

Here (in NH) they say "Only wear a helmet if you have anything worth protecting!"

My EMT friends refer to motorcyclists as fresh organ storage containers!