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Charging the HV battery. Start the day with full battery

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by IamPrius, Sep 15, 2020.

  1. IamPrius

    IamPrius Member

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    2016 Prius 2. I use up the HV battery pretty quickly with all the EV driving I do. Usually when I get home the HV battery has only 2 bars remaining. This means when I start the car in the morning the ICE has to come on to charge the batter up. This helps to kill the MPG's. Is there a way to charge the HV battery overnight?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you shouldn't be doing ev driving. just stay in hv and let the car do it's thing. you'll get better mpg's, and your battery will last longer
     
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  3. IamPrius

    IamPrius Member

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    3 years and 231XXX miles of EV, coasting, coasting in neutral and car still drives fine. Hmm, just so you know, I'm not saying I put the car in EV mode and drive it that way.
     
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  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Yes, buy a plug-in vehicle. ;) :) Seriously, lots of expense to mod a regular prius to plug-in IF there were any companies left in businees that still provided such solutions.

    Remember on a regular hybrid all energy comes from gas so if you're depleting the bat with EV on the way home, you'll have to burn more gas to recharge it on the next drive. Are you driving up hill on the last parts of the drive home?

    I'm not suggesting this but one possible VERY roundabout solution: use a grid charger each night! (ducks and runs)
     
  5. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    charging the pack can be done. How much are you willing to spend to do it?

    grid charging a hybrid pack is usually reserved for pack that have thrown codes and need to be refurbished and/or people that are experienced with grid charging an old pack and continue to grid charge their new packs.

    How well grid charging works on a daily, weekly, monthly basis is an unknow variable as far as I understand it.

    Yes you can, but how effective it will be in any one situation is not guaranteed.
     
    #5 vvillovv, Sep 15, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2020
  6. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I think you're over-thinking it. Depending on where I've come from, if from the SOUTH, I've got 6 bars of battery, if from the SOUTH - about 2 or 3. Consequently, I either start the day with - or without ICE. Yes, on a short commute to the shop and back (a kilometre away), huge difference in l/100km. But on the normal commute of 20kms - almost no difference.

    There was some way I read about doing a "plug-in" charger on an older model - maybe do a GOOGLE search - but it cost about $500 to buy - without installation or cables from memory. That's an awful lot of fuel.
     
    #6 alanclarkeau, Sep 15, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2020
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yeah, no
     
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  8. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    does not charge the traction battery, hybrid drive is disconnected...
    With that many miles, it looks like your traction battery is at end of life. You have the NiMH battery in your Prius Two, yes? This is how a high-mileage NiMH battery degrades. Doesn't hold a charge, rapid swings from full when coasting in Drive to near empty when using the battery. Maybe you can rehab individual battery cells, or replace the traction battery.

    Here's a thread on telling which battery you have (NiMH or Li-Ion)...How to know if the 2017 prius battery is ion lithium or nickel? | PriusChat
     
    #8 FuelMiser, Sep 16, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2020
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  9. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    The Hybrid batteries will last a lot longer than that. In Australia, they (NiMH mostly here) have a 10 year, Unlimited kilometre warranty - so TOYOTA's expectation is that they'll go a lot longer than that - and there are records of them going 1 million kilometres.

    I think you hit on it with the "NEUTRAL". Which won't charge at all. And, forcing EV, will drop the charge - 2 bars is fine under those circumstances.
     
  10. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Try to coasts as much as possible, do some EV driving, but keep the battery at about mid range on the indicator when parking it. That way you get the best overall fuel economy.

    unlike getting crazy good mpg before you park it, just to start up the next day and wreck your numbers because the engine is cold, and the battery is low. Compromise!
     
  11. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    The engine will come on anyway, to warm it up. It just might not run quite as long.
    Not only is there no easy way to do what you want, it really is not necessary.
    The benefit, if any, would be minimal.

    Overthinking.....yes.
    It's a malady common with hybrid owners and it manifests itself in many different ways. :)
     
  12. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    As the ICE has to start up anyhow first thing to warm it up, I wouldn't think it charging the battery at the same time is wasting any fuel.
     
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  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Depends on where you are - as the days are warmer now here, unless the morning is cool and it thinks I might want the heater, the ICE won't necessarily start till:
    1) I get to 38km/hr;
    2) press the accelerator beyond "gentle"; or
    3) when it gets down to 2 bars battery.

    So - yes, within a minute or 2, the ICE WILL come on anyway - and stay on long enough to warm up.