Auxiliary battery problem with Hymotion

[ibcs]

The cost for replacement from the dealer was $223 installed.

[chogan2]

Dave,

Thank you for this post and posting you referenced at the start of the thread.

We have the Hymotion pack installed. Following your lead, I've just installed an automatic-cutoff trickle charger on the auxiliary battery on my wife's 2005 Prius.

Once the temperatures dropped here (Virginia), we had several instances where we had to reboot the car several times to get it to start. Finally, we got the red triangle, and were unable either to start or to turn off the car. At that point, I read your post, then measured the auxiliary battery voltage. It was under 9 volts.

Is there a definitive answer on whether you do or do not have to move the Hymotion pack in order to change the auxiliary battery? Your dealer said so, but maybe that was more a matter of convenience than necessity? Has anybody else with an L5 put in a new auxiliary battery without moving the L5 pack?

I'm in no hurry to pay Toyota $250 to replace my battery. The current one appears to be holding a charge OK, and if I have to replace it, the consensus seems to be that the "yellow top" battery is more durable. So I'd probably put one of those in when the current one dies. But I really don't feel like monkeying with the L5 pack at all. If I have to move it to replace the auxiliary battery, I'm taking it back to the dealer who installed the L5. But if I can get it in without moving the L5 pack, I'll put in a "yellow top" myself when the current one dies.

[ibcs]

Originally Posted by chogan2

Dave,

Thank you for this post and posting you referenced at the start of the thread.

We have the Hymotion pack installed. Following your lead, I've just installed an automatic-cutoff trickle charger on the auxiliary battery on my wife's 2005 Prius.

Once the temperatures dropped here (Virginia), we had several instances where we had to reboot the car several times to get it to start. Finally, we got the red triangle, and were unable either to start or to turn off the car. At that point, I read your post, then measured the auxiliary battery voltage. It was under 9 volts.

Is there a definitive answer on whether you do or do not have to move the Hymotion pack in order to change the auxiliary battery? Your dealer said so, but maybe that was more a matter of convenience than necessity? Has anybody else with an L5 put in a new auxiliary battery without moving the L5 pack?

I'm in no hurry to pay Toyota $250 to replace my battery. The current one appears to be holding a charge OK, and if I have to replace it, the consensus seems to be that the "yellow top" battery is more durable. So I'd probably put one of those in when the current one dies. But I really don't feel like monkeying with the L5 pack at all. If I have to move it to replace the auxiliary battery, I'm taking it back to the dealer who installed the L5. But if I can get it in without moving the L5 pack, I'll put in a "yellow top" myself when the current one dies.

Had a great conversation with the senior tech at Hymotion, Mr. Strong, concerning the battery voltage and red triangle problem. The Hymotion BMS system requires a higher voltage than the Prius to start. They are sending me a voltage regulator circuit to put between the Hymotion harness. With the modification you will be able to start the Prius with a low voltage situation without showing the red triangle caused by the Hymotion BMS. The best part is they are shipping it to me free of charge. I will report back on how the installation proceeds with pictures and feedback.

---Kent

[TheForce]

Originally Posted by chogan2

Dave,

Has anybody else with an L5 put in a new auxiliary battery without moving the L5 pack?

I installed an Optima yellow top battery a few months ago with no real problem. Its a tight space with the L5 in there but its still doable.

[drees]

Originally Posted by ibcs

They are sending me a voltage regulator circuit to put between the Hymotion harness.

Sounds like the proper solution to the problem untli they can fix their system to run on lower voltages. They should probably start fitting this as standard.

[chogan2]

Just want to say thank you both (IBCS and The Force). I suspect that Hymotion didn't quite count on a bunch of old, marginally-performing auxiliary batteries. One could solve the problem either with a voltage-stabilization circuit or by keeping the aux battery voltage up. I already have the trickle-charger installed, so I'm just going with keeping the aux battery voltage up. I'm going to replace the OEM battery at my leisure and keep on with the trickle-charging during the Hymotion charge.

[ibcs]

Originally Posted by chogan2

Just want to say thank you both (IBCS and The Force). I suspect that Hymotion didn't quite count on a bunch of old, marginally-performing auxiliary batteries. One could solve the problem either with a voltage-stabilization circuit or by keeping the aux battery voltage up. I already have the trickle-charger installed, so I'm just going with keeping the aux battery voltage up. I'm going to replace the OEM battery at my leisure and keep on with the trickle-charging during the Hymotion charge.

Just to let you know, I replaced the battery on Oct. 27th so it is hardly marginally-performing. The reality is that the draw in extremely cold weather causes the voltage to drop below the Hymotion threshold. I will post pictures once I get the fix from Hymotion.

---Kent

[chogan2]

Originally Posted by ibcs

Just to let you know, I replaced the battery on Oct. 27th so it is hardly marginally-performing. The reality is that the draw in extremely cold weather causes the voltage to drop below the Hymotion threshold. I will post pictures once I get the fix from Hymotion.

---Kent

Kent, thank you for the clarification.

I am surprised at how many issues there have been with the Hymotion conversions, given that they road-tested a bunch of them prior to sale. For example, the Fairfax County VA government got one back around January 2007. I'd have thought they'd have thoroughly debugged the product by this point. Off the top of my head, I count:

1) Several people could not get a full charge in hot weather. (I was one, and Hymotion replaced my pack. My impression is that the fan did not run during charge on my first pack).

2) I and at least one other Priuschatter broke off the ground prong from the Guest socket in the bumper. (And for the time being, both of us are charging the car with this slightly unsafe condition.)

3) The auxiliary battery drains as the Hymotion battery charges, causing problems for those with marginal auxiliary batteries. (Trickle charger fixed that for me.)

4) The Hymotion pack draws enough current so that, in very cold weather, it drops the aux battery voltage below what is required for proper startup, even for a fresh auxiliary battery. (Requires voltage regulator fix from Hymotion.)

5) Some people have sporadic failure-to-communicate errors between pack and car (13 flashes of the switch LED), which again seems related to auxiliary battery voltage drop at Hymotion startup. (Workaround is to start the car with the Hymotion battery off.)

Nothing fatal, but cumulatively kind of annoying.

[ibcs]

Hymotion sent the L5 Booster to me about two weeks ago. The device plugs between the existing harness and can be installed a few minutes. Of course, I spent about 15 minutes making sure I was following each step. The hardest point was determining the pin to press down to unplug the existing harness. So far, everything has been working great. I have not had really cold weather since the installation which is when I would get the red triangle. I have attached pictures for everyone to see.

[drees]

Nice to see that it's an easy fix!