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Battery about exploded

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by SLPTWP, Dec 11, 2018.

  1. SLPTWP

    SLPTWP Junior Member

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    Step by step of what happened
    1. Lights came on after having transmission filled by a car place

    2. Battery seamed to be getting weak

    3. Had codes checked multiple times and earased all do with hybrid battery a week or so of this

    4 batteries came in drove 115 miles to be able to get my new batteries put in at my parents place.. had to stop 5 ot so times to unplug 12v to erase lights and get out of limp mode

    5 got right after it when we took the battery out and the cover off and the bolts out the batteries didn't have all the bolts in the bottom I left half or so out cause I didn't have them and it wasn't lining up the batteries started to buldge up like in a rainbow and the cells were very expanded ..one even leaked some fluid ...

    6 aafter that scare we waited for things to cool down I figured I ran it to hard
    I checked all the batteries which seamed super charged around 8.04- 8.10

    7 I had 4 new batteries replaced the one I thought was leaking and three lower ones

    8 I took all the batteries out and they didn't get put back in an order not sure if this is where I messed up but could be multiple things

    9 my cable had some issues after being stretched so I replaced it

    10 had issues lining up my wires cause I never took all of the batteries off before and sparked my batteries a couple times because my wires weren't in the right area not sure if this could of caused issues

    11 after finally getting things correct and together I started the vehicle white it started but all the lights came on and it only goes to Neutral so now I'm stuck with no code reader and 30 miles to nearest place to check it

    NEED HELP ANY IDEAS?
     
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Glad to hear you survived the close call, please be more careful in the future.

    If you included a location in your profile it might be easier to offer help.

    First, you should start with a hybrid compatible code reader like a mini-vci ($15), or at least an OBD2 adapter ($1) with an app :whistle:

    Without knowing which obd2 codes are currently being thrown its difficult to offer much help, but lets try the guessing game:

    Did you properly replace the orange safety plug?
    How is the 12v battery holding up, might it need charging?
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    1. ok
    2. ok
    3. ok..at least you know what you have going on
    4. ok. Would have been better to not use your car for that trip.
    5. yikes....never disassemble a battery immediately after being removed from a running car. Those modules have been charging like crazy since you were driving it with a fault code. Sounds like it was reassembled HAed.
    6. you didn't run it too hard, you just ran it and then tried to disassemble it while it was hot and overcharged from being driven while faulted. You've most likely damaged a bunch of those modules by unclamping them while they were hot like that, allowing them to bulge (probably significantly)
    7. You're going to need more than 4.........
    8. In this case, correct order probably isn't as important as correct polarity...and it sure could be.
    9. got stretched? replaced? which cable was that? you had an extra sitting around?
    10....
    11. Are you sure things are correct? I'm curious how you got the modules reclamped and mounted properly after the bulging? Maybe I'm just imaging it to be worse than it really was. Sounds like the safety disconnect may not be installed completely with the third step of pushing the handle downward to satisfy the interlock, but........

    you couldn't pay me enough to stand within 10 feet of this battery when/if it goes live....................
    your battery scares the hell out of me....
    you just don't know enough for it to scare the hell out of you..which makes it dangerous
    I wish you the best of luck...be careful.
     
    Raytheeagle, Skibob and strawbrad like this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    diy deadly batteries can be hazardous to your health...
     
  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    My initial concern is about the "transmission" fill by a car place. It's not a transmission, it's an eCVT, and there should never be a reason to fill it unless you're replacing the fluid. Not knowing exactly what codes you started with, I'm suspicious of what that "transmission fill" may have damaged.

    I'm afraid you probably have done so much damage taking the traction battery apart hot like that that you're better off getting a full set of cells. A new harness might be in order, too. They get pretty corroded and the old one will give you troubles down the road assuming it still works at all.

    But before you invest anything in a battery, make sure that the car shop hasn't screwed up your CVT by putting in too much or the wrong fluid.
     
  6. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    +1
     
  7. SLPTWP

    SLPTWP Junior Member

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    Ok Thanks for the replies

    1 had new fluid placed in transmission cause replaced my dad and I replaced the CV axles and never had new fluid with almial 300k so it was time and we lost some with the replacement.. probably doesn't have anything to do with this issue at hand

    2. Yes I thought about the orange plug so the next day I went out and took it out and put it back in and same thing only goes into Neutral

    3. Yeah I'm usually pretty careful this was only the 6th time over 9 years of having my car i've taken cells out and replaced just always let it sit lesson learned

    4 the extra wire harness I had bought had come in a few days after this mishap so I was just lucky I ordered it..a few of the silver connectors had come off the old one and I had to solder them back..
    The copper connecters I'm.not to worried about my dad has a bench grinder with a wire wheel and I buffed them up real nice ..so coppers are clean

    5 batteries went back to original shape hince I was able to get them viced back into the battery pack but after the excessive heat not sure if the damage is why I can only go into Neutral

    6 I'll look into a code reader just didn't think a cheap one would do me any good

    7 my car has been sitting now for a couple weeks I have a loaner but really need to get it back up
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    good job jamming in the swollen batteries(y)
     
  9. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Try to find the lowest priced Toyota new battery pack you can find and replace the whole thing. Your life is more important than a few dollars.
     
  10. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Check to see if you connected the sensing wire to the safety disconnect. There are three wires that plug into the HV battery from the car harness. The big one goes to the ecu. The medium one is power for the relays, etc and the small one goes to the safety disconnect. It plugs in at the top of the battery, but the wire leaving that plug goes down the back of the safety disconnect and plugs into a receptacle at the bottom. This gets forgotten about quite often. Leaving it unplugged at the bottom or not fully plugged in is exactly the same as not performing step 3 of the disconnect installation procedure.
     
  11. Borninblue

    Borninblue Active Member

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    Please don’t chance it with those batteries. The damage is done. Get a new or refurbished entire unit.
     
  12. SLPTWP

    SLPTWP Junior Member

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    Thanks everyone for your input..if I can get there this week to look it over again I'll post with an update I appreciate everyone's time
     
  13. SLPTWP

    SLPTWP Junior Member

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    Haha I let them calm down but it was a task since I took all of them off good thing for clamps
     
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  14. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    This sounds like another a high voltage leak. Have you tried disconnecting the 12 volt battery to clear the codes?