Getting some old Gen 1s back on the road

Thanks, definitely not claiming victory yet, lol, but making progress. I didn't realize TIS gave me that info. I had posted looking for a recommended source for a "cheap" TIS solution. I see a lot of them for sale online, but hoped someone could point me to a vendor with a proven product. Guess I will roll the dice on a vendor with a lot of good reviews. Thanks, I'll update when I get that info.

 

You lost track because I moved the battery, lol. Took the one that was working - with a 3030 - out of Car 1 to see what Car 2 would do. Car 2's battery was also only giving me a 3030, but it wouldn't start the car. When I put Car 1's battery in it, the car started right up. Today I got the new injectors in, and now both cars run smoothly.

I programmed my ScanGuage and now can read Charge Status and Voltage. Only read the working battery, since it's in the car now, and watched the Status increase over 75% and 324V as I sat in Drive with the brake engaged. Funny thing, the car's battery meter went all the way to the top, above the +/- signs, even though it wasn't at 100%. Never had one do that. However, my red battery light came on at that point, so I shut it down and installed the new 12v I bought for it (I had been using jumper cables to my Optima battery). When I started it back up, thinking I'd run it up to 100%, it had dropped back down to 61% from 75% in just the 20 minutes or so that it took for the 12v install. Is that normal? Are these supposed to charge up to 100%? Combined with the meter topping out, I'm wondering if I was overcharging it.

Also, watching the coolant temp, the first time I ran it, it got up to about 180. The second time, it rose all the way to 204, then went back to 182 and stayed there. Do these thermostats not open until over 200? I hadn't noticed Car 1 ever going that high, and I drove it around 20 miles or so. It went up to 182 and just stayed there. Of course, this car hasn't run in two years, so maybe the thermostat stuck for a bit.

I want to go into this working battery and look at those buss bars, but I'm afraid of getting shocked. Don't have gloves and the supply house wants over $100 for a pair??!! Also thought I needed to get my TIS software to check the module voltages while it's in the car. But, maybe I can just check them individually with a volt meter? Or, maybe those numbers above indicate the modules are in good health (BTW, this is not the original battery, previous owner had replaced it, but I don't know how long ago).

As for the battery that came out of Car 2, (3030, non-start), I wonder whether it's not an OEM replacement. That car has 200k miles but I've never seen a cleaner 200k car in my life (I've owned more than 80 cars). That would be a lot of miles on an original battery, but maybe it is and that's why the lady sold the car - so many miles, high price quote from Toyota to replace = sell the car. Still, again, it's only giving me a 3030 - wouldn't I get other codes if the modules were bad? Or, maybe it actually needs to run with that battery installed to throw more codes?

I had a shop in Dallas/Garland replace the battery on my original Gen 1 4-5 years ago. He got me a Dorman. Great guy, Chris Murphy, Chris' Auto Repair. I've seen him on here in some old posts. Was thinking about asking him to diagnose/repair these for me. A hybrid shop I found here in Houston won't mess with Gen 1s.