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Noise under hood; now HV battery not charging

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mikepaul, Dec 3, 2007.

  1. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    OK, so I have been ignoring the 'water pump' issue until my next vacation in two weeks since only the Pope-Davis guy said it was the water pump (and associated belt) making the noise, but now the HV battery has been refusing to take a charge.

    It was pink most of the 7 mile drive to work, and only at the last moment did it turn to 5 blue lines. I'm not assuming that it's going to be OK when I leave work but at least it did something good. The transmission didn't shift properly, kind of over-revving trying to get up to 50MPH, but otherwise nothing seems wrong that would be placed on the transmission. I'm assuming that the hybrid system doesn't like driving fast with a pink battery.

    SO, I'm wondering what the water pump belt has to do with recharging the HV battery? If that's not what does the job, what does?...
     
    #1 mikepaul, Dec 3, 2007
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    The Prius doesn't have a transmission in the ordinary sense, and it never shifts. The transmission is really a power splitting device much like a differential; it is always engaged and always in the same gear.

    The over-revving that you are experiencing comes from the engine having to work harder to charge the HV battery. With a low SOC (State Of Charge) the engine has to power the car and charge the battery, so it is working pretty hard.

    Tom
     
    #2 qbee42, Dec 3, 2007
  3. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    Well, I had never before experienced a 'shift' feel like I did this morning in the 4 years I've been driving the car. It sure acted like some changeover was supposed to happen but was delayed, like the electric motor had never kicked in despite the display showing that battery power was being sent to the wheels.

    I've got stuff to do at lunch and I hope the car makes it there and back...
     
    #3 mikepaul, Dec 3, 2007
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Don't try to take this thing on vacation with you. Take it to a dealer to get it diagnosed and fixed.
     
    #4 richard schumacher, Dec 3, 2007
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    The water pump belt has nothing to do with charging the battery. The battery is charged in several ways, but the most important are:

    1. Any time the engine is running, 40% of the torque goes to MG1. How much power this translates to depends on numerous factors, principally the speed of the car. (The faster the car goes, the faster MG2 is turning, and the more its share of the torque becomes power.) MG1 turns its share of the engine's power into electricity, which the car can use to charge the battery, or can send directly to MG2 to help propel the car, e.g. during acceleration.

    2. When you step on the brake, MG2 acts as a generator and that energy is used to charge the battery unless the battery's SOC is already too high, in which case the car will use friction braking instead.

    If the car is behaving radically differently than it's done over the past 4 years, you should definitely take it to the dealership to be checked out. Good luck.
     
    #5 daniel, Dec 3, 2007
  6. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Therere's a lot that could be going on here. The Prius does get sluggish when the battery is low (since it takes power rather than supplies it) and the engine will rev a bit faster. Second, there are circumstances under which the battery does get low without anything being wrong. Extreme stop & go driving will do it. The car also conditions the battery periodically, which would involve a wide swing in SoC (state of charge).

    Fault conditions under which the system might not work properly include an overheated or dying invertor. Those things NEED to be cooled properly! The car will protect it to the best of its ability but a dying coolant pump (if that's what you have) would be pushing the limits IMO. Take it to the dealer and get the existing problem fixed ASAP, and have them scan for stored codes. If they do find codes, get them and post them here.
     
    #6 brick, Dec 3, 2007
  7. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    So why isn't there an idiot light indicating some sort of overheating going on? Right now I just have a noise that seems to be coming from the water pump or the belt driving it or both.

    I'll take it into the shop tomorrow...
     
    #7 mikepaul, Dec 3, 2007
  8. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    The battery went green during the drive to the dealer this morning, making me happy.

    It was the water pump, but when I was told it was not just noisy but it had been leaking, I was surprised since no sign of coolant has ever been in my driveway.

    $334 later, including a system check that showed no charging system problems, I swear the car is quieter now than it's been in over a year. It's almost like the 'noisy lifters' I thought I had were really early pump noises. I'll be listening for a few days then just go back to driving until the next expensive part failure...
     
    #8 mikepaul, Dec 4, 2007
  9. freek

    freek Junior Member

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    I had at 210k km / 130k miles exactly the same problem with noise of my waterpump and bad charging, that's how I found this link. And although Daniel is right in theory saying "The water pump belt has nothing to do with charging the battery", the reality was also with my car, that due to lack of cooling liquid it did not charge well. My car actually drove quite a bit with it, maybe 50-100 mile with cooling liquid for hybrid system below lowest level and hence bad charging, but no damage at all. Apparently the system prevents overheating by simply not charging with unsufficient cooling.

    I also had small leakage with radiator and replaced it. For the do it yourselves: make sure you buy exactly right cooling liquid and make sure you not only fill-up radiator and pressure tank, but also the tank located next to hybrid system - same liquid, but my model has 'separated circuit', with it's own electric pump. And check a few times later for air - you can't apply standard procedure to let aitr leave circuit with open circuit engine warming up - only garage with computer link can force engine run.
     
    #9 freek, Jun 17, 2010
  10. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    ignition coils... check them.. i had the same thing before my car started to shudder while the ICE was on.

    it tends to not throw codes
     
    #10 V8Cobrakid, Jun 17, 2010
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