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Replaced 12v battery with Optima

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by F8L, May 2, 2009.

  1. Sandy

    Sandy Hippi Chick

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    That will be next for me:)
     
  2. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    I heard that they've fixed the positive terminal design to be
    somewhat lower profile, since I did mine and wound up mounting
    the fuse assembly on the lower side of the terminal piece to
    restore something vaguely like the stock height and so the hatch
    panel wouldn't be pushing it down. Any more recent installers
    get pictures?
    .
    _H*
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I could go take a few. What specifically do you want to see? I'm missing my hatch panel so I'm not sure if the terminal junction would hit or not but I don't believe it would.
     
  4. tom1l21

    tom1l21 Member

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    Just installed mine which went well except for I had to spread the clamps on the terminals before I could fit them on flush. Upon starting up and driving around, the voltage is around 13.7 while driving. Is this the normal voltage for a fully charged D51 or will it go higher in time. Definitely an improvement over my OEM which would read below 10 in accessory mode.
     
  5. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Or a drill. :) I didn't have a vice but it was getting late and I did have one of those.
     
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  6. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    You state that twice in this thread, and I ask if the car isn't starting on the twelve volt system, what's it starting on?
     
  7. alanh

    alanh Active Member

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    The 12v battery is used to boot the computers. Once they're up and running, the computer closes the high voltage relays and uses the high voltage battery to crank the gasoline engine. The 12v battery never cranks the engine.
     
  8. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    That sounds pretty right to me. The term "float voltage" is the voltage required to hold a battery at full or near full charge. The exact value of the best float voltage depends on the battery design (electrolyte concentration) and temperature, but typical values for this type of battery are around 13.5 to 13.8 volts.
     
  9. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

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    is this battery much better than the stock? is it better in providing power or holding power?
     
  10. brick

    brick Active Member

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    The main reason some of us have gone to yellow-top Optima (or at least my reason) is that it is designed to stand up to relatively deep discharges at moderate discharge rates. This is a benefit to a car that is prone to running the battery flat.

    The other reason is that the kit from elearnaid costs $160 vs. something like $230 for a stock Toyota battery. It takes effort to swap the clamps but you only have to do that once. I will also mention that the battery elearnaid sent me was brand-spanking new (july '09 manufacture) which is something you should look for.
     
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Please note that the voltage reading of 13.7 when the car is READY is due to the DC to DC converter being in operation. This has nothing to do with the Optima battery.

    The correct comparison would be to have the car ACC-ON when measuring Optima battery voltage, and comparing that reading to your <10V reading for the original battery. A new battery should register a voltage in the low 12V range. In any event, the original battery clearly needed to be replaced.

    When making a price comparison, owners should be careful to compare like to like. Usually the cost of the correct battery from the Toyota dealer's parts dept should be around $130 to $160. Of course, if you ask for the battery to be installed a labor charge will usually be assessed, which results in pricing reaching the mid-$200s or more.
     
  12. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    It's sealed so no toxic fumes are floating about, like the stock battery discharges, it's designed to be drained dead and then fully recharged repeatedly,unlike the stock battery
    it's a shiny Bright color :cheer2:
     
  13. tom1l21

    tom1l21 Member

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    I have noticed two abnormalities so far with this battery. One is that when installing the vent tube, it didn't seem like there was any kind of puncture in the battery. So I wasn't really sure how the vent was going to vent anything.

    Another thing is that I went out to my car this morning and when I put the car into acc mode, all of the lights were kind of dimming and getting brighter at maybe 1hz and the alarm was going off as if I pressed the alarm button on the FOB. I simply turned the car off and put it into ready mode and it went away. Is there some kind of break in period for a new battery?
     
  14. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    The battery interior is not normally open to the air. If the battery outgasses the pressure breaks the seal, and then any H2, acid, etc. exits safely through the tube.

    There's no break in period, assuming that eLearnaid properly charged it just before shipping it to you. Disconnecting and reconnecting computer power can have weird effects, which probably explains that 1 Hz warble. If it went away then all's well.
     
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    The OEM battery doesn't normally emit any toxic fumes either, and if either of them do vent the stuff is supposed to go out the vent tube. Completely draining any lead-acid battery will shorten its life or kill it. An Optima is not license to leave the lights or accessories on indefinitely :_>
     
  16. tom1l21

    tom1l21 Member

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    This morning it happened again. As soon as I walk up to the car and put my had on the door handle (SKS) the lights would dim and get brighter along with the horn doing quiet chirps which got louder and turned into the "panic button alarm". Once I put the car into ready mode, it all goes away. It seems to only happen if the car has been sitting overnight. Any ideas what this could be? I hope it goes away ASAP.
     
  17. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I suspect your 12V battery is not charged. A new battery should be fully charged before you put it into the car. In the case of a Prius, it takes a lot of time before the car can charge up a new battery. Either put a charger on it, or put in some hours on the road.

    Tom
     
  18. tom1l21

    tom1l21 Member

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    I bought it off amazon so I know they won't charge it like eLearn Aid. Hopefully my morning commute will charge it up. Its an hour long.

    What does replacing the battery reset? So far I noticed auto window, reverse beep, radio stations, and navigation settings. Am I missing anything else?
     
  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Sounds like your new battery is fairly discharged. If you drive one hour to work and one hour back home, then I would say that after two business days (amounting to four hours of driving time) the battery should be charged up.

    Your list of items seems complete regarding items that you have to reset. In addition, by disconnecting the battery and then reconnecting, you have given all of the ECUs a chance to power down and then power back up, which is good.
     
  20. tom1l21

    tom1l21 Member

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    I decided to listen to the radio for maybe 30-40 mins (not a good idea) in acc mode and upon trying to go into ready mode, the battery was totally dead. It took a few tries to get it going with flashing lights, the "last pip flashing", etc, for me to finally get it started. The exclaimation point came on while driving which I was sure was from the low battery voltage. I drove 40 mins on the highway at around 72mph and let the car sit while I walked around the mall for an hour. Got back to my Prius and the exclaimation point was gone. Drove again for 40 mins at 72mph on highway while monitoring the voltage through the display easteregg on the MFD. Said 13.9-14.0 the whole trip. I'll get back to my Prius later tonight and see if I get any weird quirks. Hopefully the highway trip charged it up. If I continue to have these issues for the next week, I will most certainly return the battery and order one from eLearn Aid.