Gen II Prius Battery Solution? (140,000)

That video is for the 12v battery, it sounds like you're having issues with your high voltage/traction/hybrid battery which is over 200v.

Its probably just the battery that needs replaced/repaired, not the ECUs. Here's another option that might work for you: Traction Battery Preventative Maintenance - Hybrid Automotive Chargers | PriusChat

 

If you buy new chat folks say get a new Gen III since the Gen II's have sat too long.

 

If this is in regards to the battery, be aware that the modules have to be put in the older case.

 

I am just guessing that maybe your defective 12v battery caused all of the lights and codes and somehow they need to be reset, especially if everything seems now to be operating okay since you replaced the 12v battery. Surely somebody here with more Prius smarts can come up with a good answer or tell me that I am guessing wrong.

 

DTC P0AFA is not a valid Prius DTC.

DTC P3000 means the battery control system has a malfunction and is reported by the hybrid vehicle ECU. This is probably why the dealer mechanic recommended the traction battery ECU should be replaced. However this DTC might be induced by a battery module failure, so I would start by figuring out a solution for the failed module.

DTC C1259 and C1310 are posted by the skid control ECU because it recognizes that the hybrid vehicle drivetrain has a problem. So that doesn't add much to the troubleshooting process.

Assuming that a battery module has indeed failed (which you can verify by opening up the battery case and measuring individual voltages of each of the 28 modules) then you could try replacing it. However your success will depend upon how closely the replacement module matches the other 27. The battery voltage under load has to be within around 0.2V across the 28 modules or else the traction battery ECU will log a fault. That is not so easy to achieve considering the peak current draw can exceed 80A. There are many posts about various techniques that owners have tried to balance modules. Obviously you need to become aware of the safety practices required when dealing with a high voltage, high current situation. One mistake and you could easily kill yourself.

I would not replace the ECUs yet until you find that a problem persists after the traction battery has been replaced or repaired - or if you find damage to the traction battery ECU due to corrosion. Since the module next to the ECU failed, maybe it has leaked electrolyte which damaged the ECU. Look for used ECUs on eBay.

If you plan to DIY my suggestion is that you obtain Mini VCI (on Amazon.com) so you can be self-sufficient with regards to obtaining DTC and being able to monitor battery module pair voltages without having to open the battery case - these capabilities will be very useful as you test how successful your repair is. The typical battery module pair voltage will be around 16V as your dealer service writer mentioned. (Each module has a nominal voltage of 7.2V but the actual voltage is typically ~10% greater.)

My personal plan to deal with this issue if it happens to me (my 2004 has 181K miles now) is to buy a 3G used traction battery and move the 28 modules to the 2G battery case. Good luck with your service decision.

 

balancedms,
I've remanufactured several dozen second gen batteries and this is what I would do. Don't replace your ECU or battery control module, that doesn't seem likely to help to me. You can verify what the dealership told you by testing the cells in your battery with a multi meter. Check Dorman Batteries website they have some good videos that will show you how to disassemble the cargo area of the car and get to the battery. REMOVE the service disconnect before doing anything with battery. Just leave the battery in the car and take the main cover off of it. With cover off you can pop the black plastic covers off of the battery terminals. Get your multi meter and test the DC voltage across each module. You don't need to remove any of the bus bars or the main connections from the car to do this. Again, make sure that disconnect is removed. Each module should have a voltage of 7.2 give or take a little. When a module fails it drops by 1.2 volts. So if what the dealership told you was true you should find one of the first modules with a voltage around 6. If you find the bad module I can guarantee you that's what is causing the problem, not any of the computer modules. Reconditioning batteries (or integrating a replacement module) is a tricky process that requires being able to discharge the modules individually and measure their capacity. They should all be capacity AND voltage balanced before you can reassemble them. There is a lot of detailed information in other forum threads on battery building. I normally find the failed modules somewhere near the center of the packs, it gets hotter there and those cells age quicker. Check your cooling fan and make sure it's clean as well. If you do all of that and it looks good then I might consider replacing the battery computer, if you need one let me know, I have a pile of them and I'd be happy to sell one if you want.
The last piece of advice I have is be very careful buying a used battery at a salvage yard. I buy quite a few that way for parts and a small percentage of them would have worked if installed. They normally won't give any warranty or written guarantee because it's "electronic equipment". The problem is that by the time the salvage guys get the battery and have it ready to sell it has been sitting for several months since the car got wrecked. In that time the weakest modules normally self discharge enough that they go bad. It doesn't matter to me because I'm only getting them for the good modules though.
Hope any of this helps you and good luck getting your car going again.

Matt Sauer
Owner Operator
Texas Hybrid Batteries, LLC

 

• Is there a guide to how to rebuild the battery pack? How many cells does it need? | PriusChat
• Prius Battery Rebuild | PriusChat
• http://priuschat.com/threads/introduction-to-traction-battery-rebuilding-refurbishment.112868
• http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/104535-replaced-1-bad-cell-9-a.html

These all have good information. If it were me I would stay away from salvage batteries unless they are willing to give you a warranty. I'm not going to tell you not to rebuild your battery but I will warn you that it's a frustrating process with a steep learning curve. I should clarify, reconditioning is a pain, swapping parts like from a gen 3 to yours is easy as long as you take the precautions.
Try to find a remanufactured battery with a warranty if it were me. Get Falcon to ship one to you, it should be cheaper than a salvage and they fix them right. To bad your not in my area, I'll put a new battery in a car just to see if it fixes it. If not we put the old one back in and customers pays $150 for the mobile install. Diagnostics at a shop would normally be that much.
If your mechanically inclined install it yourself, it's easy. Having said all of this, test your battery to make sure you have a failed module(s) before you spend the money on a battery. Let me know how you like your VCI when you get it. I've read good things about them but haven't used them. I went with EngineLink on my iPad and it's worked good so far.

 

From what I know about rebuilding batteries and what I've read on falcons website it looks like they know what they are doing. I have one co worker that bought from greentech (the cheap battery, not the gen 2 w/ gen 3 cells). That battery has 6 months use and it's working great. Both of those companies give a 6 month warrantee on their work. Greentech extends the warrantee to 18 months if you pay them the $300 for installation. I would expect both of those to be good options.

 

Long time member of Prius Chat but never posted anything, until the latest problem and muddling through to the solution. Long post.

Story of a hybrid battery change, just sharing my experience -

About a month ago, I get the dreaded Red Triangle, (!), VSC light up on my 2005 Prius, 167K miles. Located near Providence, RI.
Went to the dealer to get it evaluated and they indicated the hybrid battery change codes - Cost $110. Battery replacement quote from dealer - OUCH - $3600, all inclusive. Based on the age and mileage of the car, started looking for other options.

Went to the best resource for any Prius issues - Prius Chat and found out about reconditioned batteries. Surprisingly, nobody doing any such work in the New England area, considering this is a good base market for the Prius. Found about 3 suppliers who could work (thru' PriusChat) -
1. Dorman Hybrid - don't sell direct, found their distributor from online search based in Seekonk, MA, waysideauto-biz
2. Prius Rebuilders (aka Falcon Hybrid), falconhybrid-com
3. High Voltage Solutionz, hybridparts2go-webs-com

Dorman’s distributor in Seekonk, MA gave me a quote for approx. $2400 for a reconditioned battery (still a shock !)

Prius Rebuilders based out of NY gave a quote of $1400 including installation at my location, 6-mth warranty.

HVS based out of Florida gave a quote of $1200 including installation at my location, 18-mth warranty.

Didn’t believe HVS quote (how are they making money?), so went with Prius Rebuilders. Paid via credit card. BAD MOVE – never got a straight answer on when they could do the work, always “within the next 2 days”. Took a month, finally got mad and cancelled the order, got a full refund.

Finally went with HVS – they told me 1 wk from order. Payment upon completion of work, no advance. Right ON TIME, I get a call from their Tech 24 hours prior to install. He came and did the job in 20 minutes. The codes got reset and took the car for a drive with the tech. So far working fine (has only been a few days). Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a reconditioned hybrid battery.

Talked to the tech from HVS and learned a little bit about their business – they cover the country. Have techs located in various geo regions, he covered the East Coast. Basically he drives up and down the coast and installs batteries as needed. The drop-off for reconditioning is somewhere in VA. The company has figured out the logistics of this process – basically having a network of techs, reconditioning locations and online sales.

Moral (for me): Just because it is the lowest cost, does not mean something is wrong. I could be proven otherwise, but so far it’s been good.

 

Nice story, thanks. Pls keep us updated how the battery works out for the next few years.
Personally, I avoid any company that cannot spell their own name unless it is a clever word play.

As for the warranty, note that YOU pay $250 shipping per episode.