need help hv battery

from what i can gather online... p3012 is saying the 12v is weak
c1310 is a general malfunction in hybrid system
p3000 DSL Solenoid circuit low

i'm thinking it's semi the battery problem... just as a random guess. maybe the system was finally balancing out with the 12v and realized there was a problem so a code was flagged.

 

according to them the p3012 is specific to hv battery cell 2.

this matches info in this web page for battery codes.

http://www.hybrids.ru/PriusNHW20/rm/rm1076e/m_05_0665.pdf
from same page, trouble areas for p3012 (Battery block 2 becomes weak ) are HV battery assembly, Battery ECU.

Question for the experts, would a check for corrosion on the relevant terminals be a good idea?

 

according to this page Here, they were right. other pages point back to low 12v. i figured the japanese one is the most accurate?

 

isn't this what the tech guides from toyota (forget the link) is for? pay a few bucks to get all the info you want in a 24 hour period...

 

It does sound like the traction battery has a problem in battery block #2. As previously suggested, you can access repair manual info at techinfo.toyota.com so that you can obtain the process to remove the traction battery including the safety precautions.

Once you have removed the battery, then you can measure the voltage of each of the 28 modules, and will probably find that module 3 or 4 has a lower voltage compared to the other 27 modules.

In that case, you can buy a used replacement module via eBay, charge it to a similar voltage as exists on the other modules, and replace the failed module.

If you decide to do this, you must exert compression pressure on the sides of the module (which has a plastic body) so that it does not expand and blow up while subject to charging voltage.

 

I have some fully charged and rebalanced Gen2 modules that I am selling for $30 each (plus shipping). All of them measure at better than their 6.5 amp-hour rating. He can slowly discharge one to the same voltage as the others with a digital voltmeter and a 10 ohm, 10 watt power resistor. As an electrician, he should know to be careful around the high voltages of a Prius battery. Once the front bus bars are removed, all voltages are below 16v and are safe.

JeffD

 

You aren't the only electrician to have repaired their hybrid battery. There was a guy in SoCal that did it last year on a Gen I, just replacing a bad module. The repair is akin to replacing a bad circuit breaker in a large panel.

The bad module will be obvious -- it will be over 1.2V less than every other module. Buy two modules from JeffD -- always replace the block pair, rather than the individual module. The non-failed module in the bad block has probably been overcharged several times, due to the car trying to maintain balance in the string, and is probably weaker than the rest of the string.

There are some threads here on rebuilding 2001-2003 batteries, which are similar to 2004-2009, just larger. http://priuschat.com/forums/generation-1-prius-discussion/84017-nhw11-traction-battery-autopsy.html

If you buy the Bentley manual for Prius on Amazon, you should be all set, as far as general safety information, codes, etc.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Torque spec is 48 in-lb. A good approximation to that very low level of torque is a good twist with a nut driver.

 

Pay very, very close attention to all of the sense wire connectors. Sometimes, those break or have high resistance, which shows up as a bad block. I have to wonder how many of the battery bad block DTCs that result in battery replacement are just broken/bad sense wires.

 

Hi no trust. Is there any chance you could snap some photos of the dog hair in the battery or have you already cleaned it?

I've had to clean a lot of dog hair out of the battery cooling fan on my Prius and I've long been a bit suspicious that my HV battery might be similarly clogged. The fan itself is much easier to access than the battery box, but it looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and disassemble the whole battery box for cleaning come summer.

 

Thanks notrust. Yeah I haven't had the back seat out yet so I've got to figure that out first. When I cleaned the blower fan I did initially try to get into the battery box, took out a whole bunch of bolts etc, but I still couldn't get it opened and I eventually gave up. Next time I'll get the back seat out first and try again.

 

After you are done cleaning up the battery module terminals, I suggest that if possible, you attach a load to the battery to draw a moderate current, like six 100W light bulbs connected so that they can withstand ~220VDC without burning up. For example, three parallel strings of two bulbs in series will draw ~3A.

While the battery is under load, measure the voltages at each module and see if they are still closely synchronized, or if you can find a module whose voltage is below the others. It would be easier to find the faulty module now, rather than wait until you've put everything back together only to find that you are getting the same warning lights.