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Can you charge the traction battery without the engine?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by MikeSF, Jun 16, 2020.

  1. MikeSF

    MikeSF Member

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    Since shelter-in-place, my cat was stolen, and San Francisco finally decided to start ticketing for street cleaning again, moved my car the day before then when I moved it back dead... everything. That's what you get when you move your car like once in 3 months I guess.

    So I pull the 12v battery and stick it in a charger so I can move my car for the next round of city funding (aka tickets), and that got me thinking about the traction battery. I would love to let my car idle to charge it back up if it is low, but I'm not particular fond of my prius sounding like an untuned Harley just idling outside my house for however many minutes it takes to charge up.

    So long story too long... is there way to charge it back up without the engine? Don't think the car battery charger will touch it (IIRC it's somewhere around 200V).

    FYI, if you're wondering why I don't put in a new cat and just drive the car, I'm currently searching for one somewhat cheaper.
     
    #1 MikeSF, Jun 16, 2020
  2. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Yes it is possible......but not without a "special" charger.
    The traction battery usually doesn't suffer near as much by being unused for long periods.
    Of course, it if it 14 years old.......all bets are off.
     
    #2 sam spade 2, Jun 16, 2020
  3. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    My 2010 Prius sat for a year in 2013-2014 while we lived abroad. A friend had agreed to drive it once in a while but hardly ever did. When we returned the 12v battery was, of course, dead but, after replacing the 12v, the hybrid battery worked fine and still is healthy according to Dr. Prius.
     
    #3 royrose, Jun 16, 2020
  4. MikeSF

    MikeSF Member

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    Of course with a 14 year old anything all bets are off :D


    good to know. Swapped out the battery car started up, rumble rumble rumble, 2 purple bars was tempted to just drive around the block or better yet coast down hill lightly braking to charge it up, but I'll get to that some other time.

    Dr Prius app eh? how much does that cost? It says free but in-app purchases, so I'm guessing to do anything of merit you need to pay for the in-app options?
     
    #4 MikeSF, Jun 16, 2020
  5. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    It is something like $6 for a license for one vehicle (I don't remember exactly). The license is permanent for that vehicle, can be used as many times and for as long as you choose.

    The Hybrid Assistant app also can test your hybrid battery and is free. I find it to be a little more complicated to do that test. It is Android only.
     
    #5 royrose, Jun 16, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2020
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The quick and dirty way to charge pack is put the car in drive, foot on brake, emergency brake on, floor the gas pedal... That's called a force charge of the battery pack. But a more professional way is with a high voltage trickle charger which not only charges but also balance all modules to exact same voltage. You can get those here: Prolong Battery Systems | Hybrid Automotive California, USA
     
    #6 PriusCamper, Jun 17, 2020
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