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Gen 3 "Happy Battery" icon???

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Mudshark, Apr 10, 2012.

  1. Mudshark

    Mudshark Junior Member

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    Hi all:

    On our Gen 2 2009 we found that under the right circumstances the energy display would show the traction battery show all the energy bars full and the icon would turn bright green. This usually got us all excited and exclaim "Happy battery"!!! (OK, I know. We don't get out much....). It does this several times a month.

    So far I've never been able to get the 2012 Gen 3 to bump up the last energy reading bar to the full battery. I've been at "one to go", but never full. My questions are.... Now that the the energy display on the Gen 3 is completely different than the 2...

    1) Can you hit the full traction battery icon?
    2) And if so is there some cool visual reward on the new display like the Gen 2 turning bright green? Do little lightning bolts flash between the top terminals of the battery or anything cool like that?
    3) Yes I'm kind of joking, but not completely.

    ...Mudshark
     
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    You can but not often like on the gen 2. It really means nothing so don't be concerned about not hitting all full bars.

    The mid is not colorful like the mfd in the gen 2 so no colors for the battery like on the colorful mfd screen in your old gen 2.
     
  3. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Happened only once in almost 2 years in my car driven in city on a mostly flat terrain. I understand that is actually not healthy for the traction battery.
     
  4. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    What is not healthy, for the battery indicator to show all the bars full? That is not true. Full doesn't even represent a fully charged battery, this is for battery longevity.
     
  5. tach18k

    tach18k Member

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    Well its kind of like weighing yourself, you dont weigh yourself everyday, maybe once a week. so look at your display every week not every minute, it just doenst makes sense.
     
  6. ryano7700

    ryano7700 Junior Member

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    I have had mine for 7 months and 7000 miles. I have had full battery 3 times (for a short time).
     
  7. withspirit

    withspirit New Member

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    I have owned my 2012 Prius since March 23 and I have already hit full battery once for a short time. :cool: there is a long downhill into my neighborhood that requires braking and that is where it happened.
     
  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    If you search on this forum you will find all kinds of posts explaining the battery indicator.
    A synopsis -
    All bars lit - your battery is around the 80% charge level. The HSD will try to get it back down to about the 60% charge level, including by "wasting" power. So while having all bars lit may at first glance be "wow good", it really serves no purpose. It IS an indication the HSD is working.

    Less than all bars lit but more than no bars lit - normal operating level of charge. It will cycle up and down, and can do so in a matter of a few minutes (the battery doesn't really hold much energy compared to the energy it takes to move the car down the road).

    One or no bars lit - this is an indication you have "run out" of usable battery charge. You can get there climbing a very steep mountain pass, or by using A/C cooling while in "N" for example. You shouldn't tempt this level of charge too often, though if reached in normal operation (the use of "N" is NOT "normal" or recommended) it won't case any harm. The actual charge level with one or no bars is about 40%, so there is quite a large "buffer" built in.

    Keep in mind that the HSD historically has been very good at protecting the battery.
    Operation involving taking the charge level very high or very low is avoided by the HSD. The reason is -
    Taking the charge level too high will result in overcharging at least one cell (the cell with the lowest capacity) which can result in overheating it and the loss of electrolyte. This will reduce the capacity even more, and will eventually result in a dead cell if the cycling of charge level is allowed to continue.
    Taking the charge level too low will result in fully discharging the cell(s) with the lowest capacity and then -reverse charging- them. This will destroy those cells.

    So the HSD operates between a high of about 80-85% charge and a low of about 35-40% charge. This ensures a long battery life. The charge display is calibrated to show 100% -usable charge- or actual 80% charge with full bars and 0% -usable charge- or actual 40% charge with one or no bars. You might say the display is fooling the user, but it displays "usable charge", not total charge. So it's telling the truth! ;)

    So don't worry about the charge level, the HSD will keep it in the "right area". I'll step on Nissan's toes and say "Enjoy the ride". :)
     
  9. Brett.

    Brett. Junior Member

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    I use my brakes so infrequently that my ICE has to turn on to provide charge to the battery all the time. I've had a full battery icon about 5 or 6 times in the past month of owning it. I do live in hilly terrain though, and some of the hills require engine braking, or constant regeneration braking to get down safely.

    The reward? Going to the gas station once or twice a month instead of once or twice a week.