time for a traction battery rebuild

well after driving my daughters car today it is clear that a rebuild is in order. from what i can see my torque app shows block 11 suspect with voltage at time 1.5-2 volts less than the rest. Also noticed the battery charge meter is all over the place fully charged to near dead in 1/2 mile of driving. So here is my plan purchase 4 supermate dc6 chargers and do a balance charge 2 times on each of the 28 cells and then replace the bad ones.

how long do you guys think the mighty prius will be down useing 4 chargers i will be leaving the pack in the car and outside here in michigan with temps in the mid 30s im thinking this will help with heat.


any advice for a first time rebuilder and yes i know how to work with high voltage linesman gloves will be worn until the pack is rendered safe

 

well i got the battery tore down today and had 8.4 volts on 27 batteries and 7.1 on 1 i think i have found my problem child now to remedy . i purchased 2 cells off ebay and purchased 4 supermatd dc6 chargers . hopefully will have this stuff by 3/13/13 so i can start my marathon battery balance

 

well i ordered all my parts yesterday here is a list

1. ebay 2 cells $80
2.Hobby Partz $138.49 4 supermate dc6 chargers
3. ebay 12volt 5 amp power cord F1703 qty 4 $38.00 The f1703 is a compaq laptop computer part # this will make sure you get the right end on the cord to plug into the supermate dc6


for those that dont know this the supermate dc6 does not come with a power source since they are designed for rc batteries guys hook the charger to there car battery with alligator clips for charging power in the field




Hobby partz they were suppose to be free shipping on orders over a $100 but it charged me $18.94 in shipping so i made a claim ticket on there website and am waiting for a reply.

Hopefully i dont need anything else and this only cost $260 bucks will see

 

The car is a 2006 140000 miles i also have a 2005 with 225000 miles i have no idea if either one are original traction batterys but i beleive the 2006 is i saw no sign that it had ever been apart before

 

well i received all 4 of my chargers and there all hooked up im charging batteries 1-3 and 15-17 with the 4 supermate dc6 chargers here is what i set the specs to.

1. discharge / charge 2 times
2.discharge amps .07 and low voltage cut off at 6 volts
3. charge at 5 amps with a full charge at 7500 mah
4. charging sequence of battery 1-3 and 15-17 then 2-4 and 16-18 and so forth

useing this method im charging 2 packs with 1 between them and then always keeping half the pack in between the other 2 chargers

let the marathon begin official start time 1:30 pm eastern time .

hopefully everything is as it should be

please chime in if anything looks wrong with my plan.

 

ok the numbers are starting to roll in 1 by 1 here is where we are

CELL#15
DCHG #1 2769
CHG #1 5607
DCHG #2 4474
CHG #2 6352

CELL#17
DCHG #1 2967
CHG #1 5472
DCHG #2 4431
CHG #2 5963

MORE TO COME

 

and the next 2

CELL#1
DCHG #1 4004
CHG #1 7212
DCHG #2 5820
CHG #2 7500

CELL#3
DCHG #1 3867
CHG #1 6835
DCHG #2 5491
CHG #2 7436

allready i can tell by the numbers that the outer most cells are in the best condition

 

and the next 2

CELL #18
DCHG #1 2839
CHG #1 5229
DCHG #2 4025
CHG #2 6097

CELL #16
DCHG #1 2897
CHG #1 4995
DCHG #2 4092
CHG #2 5992

MORE TO COME SOON

 

and the next 2

CELL #2
DCHG #1 3995
CHG #1 7222
DCHG #2 5650
CHG #2 7500

CELL#4
DCHG #1 3876
CHG #1 6997
DCHG #2 5850
CHG #2 7443

LOOKING GOOD SO FAR

 

well houston we have a problem with this cell

CELL # 19
DCHG #1 0374 HUH
CHG #1 2714
DCHG #2 1971
CHG #2 3574

I decided to run this cell again 2 more times on the dc6

Cell#19 round 2
DCHG #3 2412
CHG #3 4311
DCHG #4 3593
CHG #4 5414

The numbers are getting better each time but after 4 cycles have i reached my max . I am going to move on and come back to this cell later and run 1 more time on the dc6 im trying to get 6ooo or more on every cell. Before reassembly

 

and some more

Cell #18
DCHG #1 2839
CHG #1 5229
DCHG #2 4025
CHG #2 6097

Cell #6
DCHG #1 4594
CHG #1 7010
DCHG #2 5833
CHG #2 7500

Cell #8 EBAY replacement cell
DCHG #1 2564
CHG #1 7500
DCHG #2 5418
CHG #2 7500


Should i run the cells that are around 6000 1 more time to try and get them closer to that 7500 mark???

 

ok i managed to get all the individual cells charged and i beleive its time to balance out the voltage between the individual cells before reconnection.

my plan is to use the supermate and discharge to 7.2 volts per pack and reconnect the bus bars when done. Does anyone have any input on the final voltage balance maybe a better way to do it.

Thanks Kevin D