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Reconditioning Experience with Hybrid Automotive's Prolong System

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by biglew8, May 16, 2017.

  1. timmyjane

    timmyjane Junior Member

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    Anyone know if there is a rental program for the charger?
     
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  2. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    I think you'll either have to find a mechanic who has invested in one to do it for you as part of his business or find an individual with one who will let you borrow or rent it.
     
  3. biglew8

    biglew8 Active Member

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    Even if you find someone to borrow the charger, you will still need the wire harness installed.
     
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  4. isano.chan

    isano.chan Junior Member

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    Where to but prolong system device and how much does it cost?

    SM-N9208 ?
     
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  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Start a conversation with @jeff652 and He'll be able to assist.
     
  6. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    I saw similar behaviour when I first used my Intelligent Discharger, but I checked with @jeff652 who assured me what I was seeing was normal, and was nothing to worry about!
     
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  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I have the same thing happen (voltage bounces back up) when I change out bulbs on my "unintelligent" discharger. :)
     
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  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I use an unintelligent discharger as well but I've never checked the voltage after I discharge. I just hook up the charger and charge it back up. So this extreme bounce is new to me. I'll check on the pack I'm reconditioning now to see if I see the voltage bounce.

    I was thinking with a 25w bulb, the current is so low that the voltage wouldn't bounce so much. But I'll check. So much great info here.
     
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  9. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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  10. biglew8

    biglew8 Active Member

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    Your post on your reconditioning experience inspired me to do the same. Thank you for that!
     
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  11. biglew8

    biglew8 Active Member

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    I drove some more today and got some highway driving in. Average mpg is around 41.5. My gas tank is still full according to the gas guage. Plenty of driving left for this tank of gas! I hope I can surpass my best of 44 mpg. The 44 mpg average was achieved without hypermiling and before hybrid battery reconditioning.
     
  12. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Nah, both of those situations are totally normal. You need to read up on the different stages of hybrid operation. http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

    Regarding the pack voltage bouncing back after the discharge load is removed, again totally normal. From my experience with Nickel chemistry packs in general (power tools etc), a healthy cell (both NiCd and NiMH) will normally bounce back to somewhere roughly about about 1 volt per cell (0.9 to 1.1 typ) within a few minutes after the load is removed. This corresponds to about 160 to 170 volts for a complete Prius pack (28x6 = 168 equiv cells).

    In fact, not bouncing back properly is a good sign of a faulty cell. Cells that "underbounce" (say for example stay below 0.5 volts) tend to have higher than normal leakage, and cells that "overbounce" (say that bounce all the way back to 1.2+ volts) tend to be high impedance.
     
    #32 uart, May 21, 2017
    Last edited: May 21, 2017
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  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    All the packs I've reconditioned, I've rarely ever gone below 134v on discharge. The packs were never degraded that badly where such extreme discharges were needed. 134v is basically empty already. This also reduces the chance of cell damage due to reverse charge
     
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  14. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Being the novice that I am at all of this, should I only do the first discharge cycle instead of all three since my battery hasn't thrown any codes yet?
     
  15. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    My opinion is to do 3 cycles all down to 134v. No need to go below that as the pack is a good functioning pack.
     
  16. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Well, to my way of thinking, that sounds like not bothering with the insurance which covers no-deductable-loss windshield damage since the car has never suffered windscreen damage before, and the car is new enough not to have a badly scarred windscreen. C'mon it's a type of insurance and just as essential as doing any other preventative maintenance on the car! The latter part of the lower voltage discharges and the low current at those points are necessary for the discharges to be most effective! (well, that's how I understand it!) - hope this helps - Wil
     
  17. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    Thank you. Fortunately I'll have enough time between conditioning and our long trip to take a weekend run to visit other family. That will give me a chance to check out if things are looking good regarding performance (is it still quick up and down on the screen, has mpg changed over a familiar drive, etc.) . If things still look funky be ready for more questions! :D
     
  18. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The battery is technically empty at 134v. The only reason to go lower is if discharging to 134v still does not improve the battery capacity. Going below .8v per cell gets into the danger zone. I personally have not had a reason to go that low, all the reconditioning down to 134v has yielded positive results without the added danger of going below that threshold.

    Using a grid charger does wonders when discharging to 134v, charge and balancing afterwards. Results may be different with hobby chargers doing individual modules, but when using a grid charger at the pack level, 134v is a sufficient level of discharge before you charge and balance.

    If you have a battery that has 300k miles and is really weak, you may want to go lower. I don't feel a good battery needs that danger, especially if you're just doing a reconditioning charge and balance
     
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  19. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    Very nice write up and photos. I just wanted to mention that while waiting for traffic, trains , lights you can force charge it to the desired level.
     
  20. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Remember the prius battery is suppose to be maintenance free, if you're spending time needing to constantly maintain it, then you're probably doing something it wasn't designed to have.

    Force charging? That won't save you any gas and that's the whole purpose of the prius