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Refurbished battery issue

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by RV Rooster, Oct 22, 2023.

  1. RV Rooster

    RV Rooster New Member

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    I have purchased a refurbished battery for my Gen 3. It’s not throwing any fault codes but is demonstrating low capacity. Battery gauge goes to the top with one long braking pulse. Dr Prius says ~10% capacity. When ON and in park the ICE runs for 10 seconds then stops for 30seconds and repeat. Blade balance and resistance looks fine, only strange reading is Delta SOC= 58%. I’ve had it a few days, it came with a warranty, should I return it?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    definitely. all refurbished batteries are not created equal, and some are worse than others
     
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    So your saying refurbished batteries are like humans? But the current administration said we are all equal?!!
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we were created equal, but who knows what our parents did to us...
     
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  5. RV Rooster

    RV Rooster New Member

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    The battery performance has actually improved greatly. After 250km of use the Delta SOC has fallen to 47% and charging and discharging like normal. Maybe the battery just needed to ‘wake up’ ‍♂️.
     
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  6. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    The Delta SOC should be 0% for a good HV battery. Have you talked to the company that you bought it from? If not, you should request a replacement. That is why you have a warranty.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  7. james wang 20

    james wang 20 Junior Member

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    Congratulations, your battery is looking good. It is recommended to avoid long inclines when starting out. The current used to recover braking energy is very large. High-current charging is harmful to batteries that have not yet awakened. In the EV state, try not to exceed one-third of the throttle lever. Discharge a small current until the engine starts charging to increase the battery charge and discharge percentage range. I'm curious how battery refurbishers refurbish old batteries.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    “delta state of charge” means “variation in voltage”?
     
  9. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    They are all like that for used/refurbished battery. Those came from all dying battery cells unfortunately. It is the same with my 06 Prius few years ago. They last barely as long as their warranty, 1-2 years. I only paid $800 and sold it right away. I feel how much less the power on EV mode on refurbished battery.

    For $2300, we get all new packs from Toyota and pay the installation depends on which Dealership.
     
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  10. Kermit80526

    Kermit80526 Junior Member

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    It's impossible to have a delta SOC of 0%. That would mean it's never charging or discharging. The only way to achieve this is for it to be stationary with engine not running. I think that you're confusing this with differences between block voltages, which in a perfect world would be zero.
     
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  11. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    The Toyota pack is the only trouble free solution that will last 8-20 years instead of 0.8 to 2 years.

    Batteries don’t magically awaken and the nightmares associated with them are the ones a buyer has as he struggles with poor performance and reliability.
     
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  12. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    First you need to understand what the Delta SOC is in the HV battery. The screen shot below is from the Dr. Prius app:
    View attachment 252755

    The Delta SOC is the difference between the battery block with the highest SOC and the battery block with the lowest SOC. So a healthy battery pack will have all 14 of the battery blocks charge and discharge at the same rate with each other and the Delta SOC will be 0%. A unhealthy battery pack will have a weak battery block that will charge and discharge faster then the other battery blocks and there will be a Delta SOC of greater then 0%. I hope I explained this so that most people will understand.
     
    #12 Brian1954, Jun 21, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2024
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Instead of Delta SOC it could just be called difference in voltage.
     
  14. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    Voltage difference (#7 in the screenshot) and Delta SOC (#8 in the screenshot) are different things.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Not seeing screenshot, but looks like you’re right; guess I’m out of my depth.
     

    Attached Files:

  16. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    There is a link to the screenshot in post #12. It is hard to see. I will try posting it a little differently below:
    Dr. Prius screenshot link
     
    #16 Brian1954, Jun 21, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2024
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