Reconditioning Experience with Hybrid Automotive's Prolong System

Sound advice that makes sense thank you!

 

I reconditioned my red one and now I'm doing my white one.

Charge time according to my records is about 36ish hours each time. I'm discharging to 134v, 84v and 84v again. I had previously used the lowest setting on the discharger but apparently new information states that's too low and can cause damage in delicate cells.

 

Wow 36 hours at each level not just the first time? What is your final voltage reading? What about the discharge time? How many days 4 or 5 for process?

 

I used the Prolong system for over three years on my old battery pack. It never threw a code but it did show signs of weakness on a regular basis. I decided to replace the pack before it threw a code only because we moved to a very hot desert climate and the heat is really rough on batteries.

I always did three cycles. Charges varied anywhere from 12 hours to 40 hours over those three years. It NEVER reached 245v; I'm not sure who gave you that number as a target. The number is different for each battery since they are all in varying stages of wear. As Raytheeagle points out, the important thing is that your number levels out for 4-6 hours, the same time period listed in the Prolong directions. Subjecting the pack to potential cell damage by leaving it on a charge for too long is a very real possibility..

 

Thanks for the info, it was holding steady at 242 for few hours, now it’s at 243 for about 2 hours. Does 1 voltage increase matter, or does that mean I should now wait another 4-6 hours? I put it on at 6pm yesterday.

 

One volt over the entire pack is not significant .

Falls within Hybrid Automotive's guidelines too.

Start discharging.

 

You should be safe to go ahead and discharge at that number and time. The very first charge you want to get it all the way up and balanced so you don't run a weak cell all the way to zero during a discharge phase. Likewise, the very last charge you'll want the battery filled and balanced to keep it operating in good shape as long as possible before another Prolong session becomes necessary. Now that HA changed the last charge to a higher number than it used to be, topping off those intermediate charges aren't as critical.

 

Darn well I was excited until I started the discharge. The “fault” light is blinking and I can’t get it to discharge. Thought maybe the fuse blew, took everything apart replaced it and still the fault code. I plugged the charge back in and it works fine. Maybe I got sold a bad used unit or it somehow went bad. Will have to get in touch with the company, the guy I bought it from gave me the receipt and it should still be under warranty.

 

Did you try pressing the stop / reset button?

 

Yes multiple times held the button and pressed it, shut it off and on. Also tried different extension cords and same result. I have receipt from the seller that says he bought it in February of this year so hopefully Prolong can help me out. I’ll report back!

 

Here's my data so far. It should be finished tomorrow morning. The data isn't collected at any specific times, just when I happen to walk past the car.


White Prius battery reconditioning starting 04.03.2020
1st charge hrs V
04.03.2020 14.01 215
04.03.2020 17.45 237
04.04.2020 12.01 242
04.04.2020 15.01 240
04.04.2020 16.15 240
04.04.2020 21.15 243
04.05.2020 9.15 244

1st Discharge, to 134v
04.05.2020 9.15 244
04.05.2020 18.05 184 on the bounce

2nd charge
04.05.2020 18.05 184
04.05.2020 22.35 225
04.06.2020 10.45 236
04.06.2020 17.44 242
04.06.2020 21.45 244
04.07.2020 10.25 247

2nd discharge, to 84v
04.07.2020 10.25 247
04.07.2020 21.21 182 on the bounce

3rd charge
04.07.2020 21.21 182
04.08.2020 8.25 231
04.08.2020 10.15 233
04.08.2020 16.15 236
04.08.2020 22.35 244
04.09.2020 8.31 247

3rd discharge, to 84v
04.09.2020 8.31 247
04.09.2020 17.25 180 on the bounce

Final charge
04.09.2020 17.25 180
04.10.2020 11.45 237
04.10.2020 15.15 240

 

…if all else fails, contact @jeff652 (he's the boss-fellah at Hybrid Automotive). HA's customer service is very good, and Jeff will make sure you're all set. He pops his head in here occasionally despite his very busy life! Good luck!
There's so much useful info hereabouts not just about Prolong gear, but just about all you'll ever need to know about the amazing Prius!

 

Called Hybrid Automotive today. Went through some trouble shooting and the discharger is indeed malfunctioning. I must say great customer service. Even though I did not buy directly from them, they will honor the warranty since the unit is only a couple months old. I will have to wait awhile due to COVID-19, but that is understandable. Good customer service is hard to come by, and the gentleman on the phone was very helpful.

I will say my results from just the charging process are impressive. My MPG went up by 3. I can definitely tell the car stays charged longer. I was skeptical, but so far I definitely recommend the product. Looking forward to discharge data.

 

Dumb question, but the time limit of 48 hours applies to just one session of filling, balancing and discharging right?

If I do three cycles I can obviously go over that time frame right?

 

The 48 hours is for a single charging session.

@WilDavis would constantly push toward that.

I watched the charge and if it was stable (within one to two volts), I called it good.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

A full session of four charges and three discharges can take as long as a week depending on conditions (battery, weather, etc.).

 

Another factor is how long you want to pound on the pack .

That adds a day or so to the process.

But still within the guidelines.

 

Recently just did my second discharge with the original Prolong system.

My bought new 07 started having issues about 3 years ago at 110000 miles so did my first discharge to 84 volts using the lightbulbs.
That worked great with a 40 hour charge and now 2 years and many remedial charges later it really started to tank again to purple so few weeks ago did another 84 volt discharge. It’s running better than the first discharge
Haven’t seen a purplebar since in fact it’s so good I know this can’t last long Went on a 50 mile drive today and it was solid 5 blue bars i cant be
Believe it lol so I ordered a new 2Ktoaster kit just in case. Awaiting shipping update.

I’ll keep driving on this 2 discharge battery till it fails then 2K it. See how long this battery lasts. Probably interconnect corrosion will get me before the battery fails.

Amazing tough little car.

 

I've been an avid user of HybridAutomotive.com's Prolong product line. What I've found is that an individual module that is weak can be charged down to zero while the whole pack is still discharging, ie, has not reached its discharge termination voltage. This could further damage or worse destory the weak cell completely, perhaps one way of weeding out the weak ones? Anyway, I have modified my procedure. Firstly, I use the Prolong charger to charge the pack until the pack voltage no longer changes, plus 4 hours. Then I rest the pack for at least 30min. Rather than discharging, I use the Prolong discharger to do a load test for the whole pack by discharging the whole pack down to only 200v. (Since Prolong does not give a customizable termination voltage, I'd have to stare at the readout until 200v is reached). I then remove the orange plug, open the battery cover, and measure individual voltages of each module. Any module that is equal to or more than 0.5v lower than the average voltage of a module, is marked for replacement. If none is marked, replace cover and resume 3-cycle pack regeneration per Prolong standard procedure. If bad modules were found, replace marked ones, reassemble and test drive. Always succeeds. I feel taking voltage differences after load test produces long-lasting results, and Prolong discharger provides a faster way of doing this than individual module load test manually. Has anyone tried a similar method of determining what modules need to be replaced? I'd appreciate to hear how you're using your Prolong charge/discharger. Thanks in advance.
Val [Prius 2004, 2005]

 

I sold my prolong equipment and bought a newpriusbatteries.