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Cause for concern?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by rtotheichard, Apr 18, 2015.

  1. rtotheichard

    rtotheichard Junior Member

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    Heyooooo.

    I've a 2012 Prius 2, has about 29k miles on it. Bought used about a month ago.

    My wife and I did some errand running today and the battery fan was on the entire time. Considering the following tidbits of pertinent information:

    - We have no garage so the car is exposed to the sun
    - Humid day, outside temperature ranged from 72-77 degrees during our errands
    - However, car's outside temperature gauge (in dash) read 77-81, respectively, during the same time
    - Had the air conditioning going the entire time, at the coldest setting, medium power, non-circulating
    - Was mostly city driving, so lots of battery-only power
    - Audio system was off
    - Wife couldn't hear it until she got into the back seat after we picked up my father for one of the errands
    - Made 4 stops during our trip

    Do you think I have cause for concern regarding the fan coming on?

    Thanks for any input!
     
    #1 rtotheichard, Apr 18, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2015
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I wouldn't worry much. The car's pretty young to be concerned about the battery ... and the fan is there to run whenever it would be helpful to keep the battery cooler.

    You could look at a ScanGauge II, Torque, etc., if monitoring the battery performance interests you ... nothing wrong with being interested, but I wouldn't guess you'd need to be concerned.

    -Chap
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Apr 18, 2015
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've never heard my cooling fan in 10 years, you may want to look further into it. first thing, since you bought it used would be to check the fan for fur.
     
    #3 bisco, Apr 18, 2015
  4. alekska

    alekska Active Member

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    Maybe a hearing test is in order ? (Please take no offence, just joking :))

    Alex
     
    #4 alekska, Apr 18, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what?
     
    #5 bisco, Apr 18, 2015
    Mendel Leisk and alekska like this.
  6. alekska

    alekska Active Member

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    I have never heard a battery fan in my wife's 2010. Even in 90- degree weather. But we always run AC set at about 75, so cool air is entering the battery

    Alex
     
    #6 alekska, Apr 18, 2015
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    certainly 77-81 is not hot for the car. and considering the type of driving, no undue stress.
     
    #7 bisco, Apr 18, 2015
  8. rtotheichard

    rtotheichard Junior Member

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    Thanks for all of the replies. I meant to also say the air conditioning was running, max cool, medium power, non-circulating.

    I've inspected the fan and filter and there's no hair or debris. I guess the next step would be something like a ScanGuage to see what's what.

    Thanks for all of the replies! And I appreciate any additional ones.
     
    #8 rtotheichard, Apr 18, 2015
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Scangauge is good, with XGauges programmed in you can monitor both battery temp and fan speed. It's great for lots of other stuff too.

    Bisco's not alone: I've seen fan speed at 4 (out of 6 I think) coupled with battery temp around 44C, and still couldn't hear it.

    If you're hearing it, that could be significant.

    XGauge entry is nicely explained here:



    XGauge programs can be found on Scangauge site, and all over.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Apr 18, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2015
  10. rtotheichard

    rtotheichard Junior Member

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    A buddy of mine has an SG2 so I'll see about borrowing it.

    Also worth noting (which I've added to the original post) is the audio system was off, which would make it easier to hear the fan. And my wife couldn't hear it until she got in the back seat once we picked up my father for part of the errands.
     
    #10 rtotheichard, Apr 18, 2015
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe normal then. you might have sensitive hearing.
     
    #11 bisco, Apr 18, 2015
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What?
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Apr 18, 2015
  13. rtotheichard

    rtotheichard Junior Member

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    I actually do. It's annoying sometimes. I can't tell you how many nights it's kept me up, and sleeping with earplugs isn't comfortable at all.
     
    #13 rtotheichard, Apr 18, 2015
  14. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    it doesn't take much to overheat the battery. all you need to do is to drive in hilly terrain at city speeds in a loaded car, accelerating hard uphill and braking hard downhill, fill the battery up to the max and park in 90+ sun for a few hrs. my wife did it once and i started it later i thought she broke the car: there was very loud fan noise non-stop and no battery assist whatsoever with ICE on 100%.
     
    #14 Former Member 68813, Apr 18, 2015
  15. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    My concern would be that your air conditioning system does not seem to be operating very efficiently. If the ambient air temp was 72 - 77 degrees you should not have to set the air conditioner temperature at MAX COOL to reach an interior temperature of 77 - 81 degrees.

    I suggest you have the system checked, it could be leaking refrigerant.

    If the air conditioning system is operating efficiently, the compressor will turn on less which means less drain on the traction battery, resulting in less heating of the battery modules. As a result the traction battery fan should remain at a slow speed.
     
    #15 Patrick Wong, Apr 19, 2015
  16. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    Sounds like it's time to replace cabin filter
     
    #16 cyclopathic, Apr 19, 2015
  17. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Any chance a child, friend, coat, pet or similar was blocking the battery vent?

    And did you physically check rather than take child or friends word for it?
     
    #17 GrumpyCabbie, Apr 19, 2015
  18. rtotheichard

    rtotheichard Junior Member

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    We were the only ones in the car for most of the traveling and nothing was blocking the vent.

    Sorry, I should have been more clear. The car's outdoor temperature gauge located in the dash was telling us the temperature was 77 to 81. I mentioned it since it was reading a few degrees higher than our phones' weather apps, and weather.com.
     
    #18 rtotheichard, Apr 19, 2015
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