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Enginer: High Voltage of 64.4, Low of 3.24. Is this normal?

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by SRQ, Nov 1, 2015.

  1. SRQ

    SRQ Member

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    2008 Prius
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    I purchased a used Enginer from someone off Craigslist, and I've been learning how to use this thing. It says that one of my cells (cell 14) is at 64.4 volts, which does not sound normal at all, given that the voltage on the website says 3.8. The battery packs themselves show some swelling. The red light on the battery system monitor is flashing with a steady green one, and its also beeping.

    Here are the total voltages for each cell:

    1 = 8.23
    2 = 53.2
    3 = 20.5
    4 = 6.35
    5 = 3.24
    6 = 15.6
    7 = 16.9
    8 = 13.7
    9 = 37.5
    10 = 41.6
    11 = 11.1
    12 = 34.9
    13 = 37.0
    14 = 64.4
    15 = 30.6
    16 = 4.11

    Also, on the main page, the battery percentage currently reads 32%, and seems to only display multiples of 8 (i.e. 8%, 16%, 32%, and 128%, 64% has not bee displayed yet).

    So what's going on? I do not have the system plugged in to the wall at this time due to fears of overcharging.
     
    #1 SRQ, Nov 1, 2015
  2. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    Is everything plugged in correctly? What's the output voltage for the whole pack? 5 and 16 are the only ones that could be correct for a single cell. Seems like the wires for the cells got switched up.
     
    #2 vskid3, Nov 1, 2015
  3. SRQ

    SRQ Member

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    Everything is plugged in correctly; the left/right battery connections are plugged into their respective slots in the BMS, and the batteries themselves are plugged in essentially the only way they can be; if I reverse the way the plugs are connected, the BMS doesn't even turn on.
     
    #3 SRQ, Nov 1, 2015
  4. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    Is it possible for you to check the voltages of each cell using a multimeter? I would try it with the cells plugged into the BMS and not. That might help you pinpoint where the issue lies.
     
    #4 vskid3, Nov 1, 2015
  5. glyndwr

    glyndwr Member

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    Those readings are not right at all. If the cell cases are showing signs of swelling, they will need to be opened and identify which cells have gone and try to find replacements for them, which won't be easy.

    Firstly though, get a multimeter, and read each cell voltage individually,ie, on the l/h battery 9 pin jst connector that connects to the bms unit, insert the meter probes into pin 1 pin and the other into pin 2 on the connector, this will read the 1st cell voltage, should be somewhere between 2v and 3.8v. Now read voltages from pin 2 and pin 3, this is cell 2 voltage, then pin 3 and pin 4 this is cell 3 voltage and so on till all 8 cells are read individually on the l/h battery, now do the same on them r/h battery.
    Any cell lower than 2 v or higher than 4.2v max is probably duff.

    Make a start and report back with the individual cell voltages of each pack.

    Anthony.
     
    #5 glyndwr, Nov 2, 2015
  6. Joe R

    Joe R Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Another vote for testing with a multimeter. Sears has a decent multimeter on sale for $10 (Craftsman Digital Multimeter for $10 + pickup at Sears - 31937511). I was using a multimeter from Harbor Freight to work on my Enginer kit but it freaked out at high voltages when adjusting the converter (even though it was rated to 1000 volts), so I'm using the Innova 3320 auto-ranging meter available on Amazon for $22. I tried to link to it but it's not working.

    I'm not familiar with the plug they used on your battery since my Enginer kit came with bare cells, but you can measure the voltages by sticking the meter's probe into the back side of most connectors.
     
    #6 Joe R, Nov 2, 2015
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