How to reset Hymotion battery properly

I am trying to reset my Hymotion circuit breaker. In the manual, it shows a picture with the reset position showing the button protruding quite a ways outward....then if in the "on" position, it is pushed in.

Do you have to use quite a bit of force to get it to go to the "reset" position? When I touch this button, it seems like it really doesn't do anything. I don't want to force it in too much. Maybe their picture is a little deceiving in the manual? It sure looks like to me when it's reset that the button is supposed to stick out quite a ways. Is this correct?

 

The reason I am trying to reset it is due to a problem I started having about a week ago. I had been using the Hymotion system for about 7,000 miles and had not run across any issues (other than the known issue where the 12v battery can be discharge especially in cold weather). I would drive the car everyday and get home and plug it in. Most nights it would sit for about 11 hours plugged in until the next morning. About a week ago, I unplugged it in the morning and hit the power button. It would not start. The headlights worked as well as the interior lights. The light on the dashboard indicating it recognized the key was light up. The taillights would go on if stepping on the brake. However, it would not start. After more research (done on priuschat.com), I found I could disable the Hymotion system completely by plugging it into the bridge plug in the back of my trunk. I did this and the car operated normally and would turn on just fine (of course minus the Hymotion system).

To me, it almost looked as though the Hymotion system was doing the thing it does where it deactivates the power button when it is plugged in as a safety feature to prevent driving it off while plugged in.....except now it was NOT plugged in.

I am guess it's just confused thinking it's probably still plugged in, even though it's not. I tried plugging it in again thinking maybe it might reset something...didn't have any luck there. I tried leaving it plugged in and then tried to start (thinking maybe it might be doing things in reserve)...didn't have any luck there.

In looking at the L5 manual, it shows that you can reset the circuit breaker by pressing a white button. The manual shows that it looks like it is supposed to protrude out quite a bit after pressing it. When I press it, it doesn't seem to protrude at all. I just thought that maybe if I could reset it this way, it might go back to normal.

I've been trying to contact A123/Hymotion for the past three days...I've left voice mails daily and e-mails and haven't heard a word back from them. Are they usually this poor at returning calls to customers? I'm getting a little frustrated!

 

I finally got a hold of somebody at Hymotion. It sounds like I will probably have to take it in to get repaired. My closest "Green Chip" center is about 350 miles away, but that one is in Canada so if I went to that one I'd have to wait several weeks for a passport. I think the next closest is in Wisconsin about 700 miles away. Sounds like I'm going to have to have a road trip! I'm just thankful I was able to contact someone. The only thing he had me try was to check that orange service plug thing on the battery to make sure it was pushed down all the way. He said that sometimes that can get jarred lose....but I checked it and it turned out that was okay.

He also said that normally that reset button should be depressed all the way.

Maybe I'll get a fresh battery out of the whole deal.

 

Yep, it looks like it just changed on June 1st of this year (unless this info. is inaccurate).....

Passport Requirements Driving to Canada - Canada Passport Requirements by Land or Sea

Too bad this issue didn't happen last month and I wouldn't have needed a passport!

 

Just an update.....after taking the car to Winnipeg in June 2009, they replaced the Hymotion battery. For the first few days the Hymotion system worked fine. Then it was back to a similar situation where the car wouldn't always start when the Hymotion system was activated....sometimes it would; sometimes it wouldn't. If I used the bridge plug in back to bypass the Hymotion, it would always start fine as a standard hybrid.

Sometimes in cold weather I also had additional issues with the Hymotion system seeming to drain the regular 12v battery. I understand there is a new firmware upgrade which might help with this. One of the notes in the new upgrade states....
-Reduced sensitivity to low 12v auxiliary battery conditions

The location in Winnipeg, from what I understand isn't really a full service Hymotion repair place.....so sometimes they may not be able to diagnose everything as well as the other Hymotion repair locations.

I have another appointment in Denver in a couple weeks. I love the Hymotion system when it works....but for me living 750 or 800 miles or so from the closest Hymotion repair place is a little frustrating! I wish they still had the Minneapolis location open.

 

That is really good to hear concerning the low battery issue. Is there any known issues of the Hymotion system permanently decreasing the life of the 12v battery permanently...or is it just cases normally where the 12v battery discharges but can be fully recovered after charging?

Also, does anyone know if the Hymotion system requires a "better" battery to start vs. a regular Prius? The reason I ask is when I was having issues with the car not starting with the Hymotion system, it always started in regular mode. Perhaps some of this might have been due to a lower than normal 12v battery that might not always fully charge.

Anywa, I am anxious for the firmware upgrade and hope it helps with some of the issues I've experienced.

 

That is definitely good to hear....I appreciate your reply!