battery display how on your display

[duanerw]

I purchased my Prius in jan this yr and in the battery display, i believe full would show 8 bars.Most of the time i get 6 bars and have seen 7 only a few times.
Yesterday while at the gas pump another 2005 prius drove in and we talked a bit.we both have over 10,000 miles on our car and when she started it up i seen 7 bars.She said it has 7 bars on hers most of the time.
I was wondering what to expect on the battery display as far as how many bars show up most of the time on other cars.
also at one time you could view your posts but it dont seem to be there anymore or im blind in one eye and cant see out of the other...........

[LaughingMan]

The battery level shown on your Prius's display reflects the charge left in the car's high voltage battery.

What you usually see of about 6 or 7 bars is what's considered the sweet spot for the battery. The car's computer usually likes to maintain 6 bars worth of charge in the battery. If the charge gets high, to 8 bars, the computer will allow more use of electric-only mode to bring the charge down. If the charge gets low, to say 2 or 3 bars, the computer will use the gas engine more to recharge the battery back up.

But of course, it depends on how you drive the car, and the conditions. If you're using a lot of power by running the A/C, the headlights, etc, all while using electric-only mode a lot, the battery level will drop. I've seen it as low as 1 or 2 bars.

On the other hand, suppose you're going down a very long steep downhill. The car will use regenerative braking to slow you down, and will capture as much of that energy into the battery. Then you might see the magical 8 bars.

The Prius is very smart... you can think of it's own battery management as a kind of homeostasis. It does it's best to keep enough charge in case you need the power, but not too much or too little that it would damage the battery.

[mmtt]

Originally posted by LaughingMan@Oct 16 2005, 03:53 PM
The battery level shown on your Prius's display reflects the charge left in the car's high voltage battery.

What you usually see of about 6 or 7 bars is what's considered the sweet spot for the battery. The car's computer usually likes to maintain 6 bars worth of charge in the battery. If the charge gets high, to 8 bars, the computer will allow more use of electric-only mode to bring the charge down. If the charge gets low, to say 2 or 3 bars, the computer will use the gas engine more to recharge the battery back up.

But of course, it depends on how you drive the car, and the conditions. If you're using a lot of power by running the A/C, the headlights, etc, all while using electric-only mode a lot, the battery level will drop. I've seen it as low as 1 or 2 bars.

On the other hand, suppose you're going down a very long steep downhill. The car will use regenerative braking to slow you down, and will capture as much of that energy into the battery. Then you might see the magical 8 bars.

The Prius is very smart... you can think of it's own battery management as a kind of homeostasis. It does it's best to keep enough charge in case you need the power, but not too much or too little that it would damage the battery.

[snapback]141843[/snapback]

hello everybody.
I was talking with a friend (owner's Prius as me) when I discovered that:
driving normal (on highway, i.e.), his battery level is almost always 6 bars load, the traditional engine keeps battery pack load with 6bars.

My battery (I've buyed a used one) level instead is almost always 4/5 bars....

so my question is: could by battery back suffers any trouble? Maybe previous drivers have ill-treat my car?

How can I discover if my pack needs to be changed?

Thanks in advance for your answers (and sorry for worst english )
Matteo

[CraigCSJ]

[quote]
hello everybody.
I was talking with a friend (owner's Prius as me) when I discovered that:
driving normal (on highway, i.e.), his battery level is almost always 6 bars load, the traditional engine keeps battery pack load with 6bars.

My battery (I've buyed a used one) level instead is almost always 4/5 bars....

so my question is: could by battery back suffers any trouble? Maybe previous drivers have ill-treat my car?


I don't think 4/5 bars is bad - my 2004 does that a lot. I would wait and see what happens after you get the recall for the stalling fixed. That may affect how the battery charges. (I am assuming you have a 2004 or newer; I know nothing of an older Prius.)
CraigCSJ 04 Driftwood #9BC 29000 miles; lifetime mpg 48.3

[LaughingMan]

Originally posted by mmtt@Nov 7 2005, 10:39 AM
hello everybody.
I was talking with a friend (owner's Prius as me) when I discovered that:
driving normal (on highway, i.e.), his battery level is almost always 6 bars load, the traditional engine keeps  battery pack load with 6bars.

My battery (I've buyed a used one) level instead is almost always 4/5 bars....

so my question is: could by battery back suffers any trouble? Maybe previous drivers have ill-treat my car?

How can I discover if my pack needs to be changed?

Thanks in advance for your answers (and sorry for worst english )
Matteo

[snapback]151896[/snapback]

Some variation may be due to how you drive the car too, or the terrain that you cover on a day to day basis.

You probably don't take the same path as your friend to work everyday, so the battery state is not exactly going to exhibit the same behavior. Also, variation of 1 or 2 bars may just attribute to how you drive the car, or what accessories you have running normally.

[rogerSC]

I've noticed that sometimes when I would expect my car to be running at 99.5 mpg (running on battery), it will still be charging the battery. I'll switch over to the energy screen and it will show a green battery, but also an arrow into the battery. These are occasions when I'm going slow, about 25mph, and the battery seems charged enough that the engine shouldn't be running to charge it. And it should be able to be running on the battery since I'm not asking for the amount of acceleration that would normally turn on the ICE.

Guess I need the EV switch, maybe that would give me finer control in the few occasions when I want it.

Thanks.

-Roger

[aaf709]

I get 8 bars from time to time, mainly when I'm going down a long hill. It doesn' t stay that way long.

[LaughingMan]

Originally posted by rogerSC@Nov 7 2005, 03:16 PM
I've noticed that sometimes when I would expect my car to be running at 99.5 mpg (running on battery), it will still be charging the battery.  I'll switch over to the energy screen and it will show a green battery, but also an arrow into the battery.  These are occasions when I'm going slow, about 25mph, and the battery seems charged enough that the engine shouldn't be running to charge it.  And it should be able to be running on the battery since I'm not asking for the amount of acceleration that would normally turn on the ICE.

Guess I need the EV switch, maybe that would give me finer control in the few occasions when I want it.

Thanks.

-Roger

[snapback]152040[/snapback]

I usually get that when the car is not warmed up yet. It happens less and less frequently the longer I drive it during one trip.

[coloradospringsprius]

Originally posted by duanerw@Oct 16 2005, 02:33 PM
She said it has 7 bars on hers most of the time.

[snapback]141840[/snapback]

That sounds unusual. When our Prius gets to seven bars, it really wants to discharge the battery. It seems to prefer the four-to-six bar area.

On a semi-related note, we visited Rocky Mountain National Park last week. It's the first time I'd ever seen the battery go from two bars, to eight bars, to two, and back to eight in just a few minutes' driving.

Oh, and we saw some great scenery OUTSIDE the car, too!