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12v battery voltage?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by rosencrantz, Nov 9, 2018.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    could be, but i doubt they know any more about batteries than their machine tells them
     
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Quite a difference between your voltage reading and theirs. The one reason I can see: a freshly driven car has a bit of "surface charge": it reads high, and with an overnight sit that reading'll drop.

    Still, if the Pep Boys measured "health" (cranking amps measured vs rated) is good, maybe all it needs is a good charge session. CTEK Multi US 4.3 is my current charger, can't fault it. I've wired in the quick connect, since I'm a frequent flyer, lol.

    The Solar BA5 has one verdict which is "good but needs recharge".
     
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  3. rosencrantz

    rosencrantz Member

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    Interestingly, I think the 12v on my current Prius is physically larger than what was in my 2013. My memory could be off a bit though.
     
  4. bisco

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    i think it may be as well. that should help, i would think
     
  5. rosencrantz

    rosencrantz Member

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    I had a similar thought regarding a freshly driven car. Wouldn’t a properly functioning charging system normally charge the 12v up to full given some time and miles?
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The car's charging system is good for a battery in good health. But for one that's been partially depleted, either by protracted sitting, or something like a door left open overnight, then a charger is likely needed.

    You gotta have all this stuff, lol. Unless you're bisco... :cool:
     
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  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Checked ours this morning, just the voltage. It's a bit of a pain using the Solar: it needs to be connected right at the posts, which means around back, take the hatch floor and tray out, and so on. So, just the voltage, the car had a good drive yesterday, sat overnight, ambient temp is 4C. This is an Optima Yellow Top, a bit over 3 years post install. They tend to read a bit higher voltage than conventional, so for what it's worth:

    IMG_9597.JPG
    (Connecting at the CTEK quick-connect adapter.)
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    prius charging is very slow. iirc, about 8 hours to charge the 12v. not sure what level that is from though.
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Full disclosure: I do keep that sucker on life support, every day the car's not driven (which is often), it's hooked up to my automatic charger. Interesting longevity experiment, I get the sense it's protracted non-running time, multiple days, that ages batteries, what with the constant "background" drain.

    And again, topped-up AGM's tend to have a bit higher voltage than conventional.
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    do you have a second vehicle, or rarely go anywhere?
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    #2. Dear wife drives more'n me. :oops:
     
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't either. but we do drive 8 miles every morning to go for a walk. after that, she takes the pip for anything within ev range, or else the hycam
     
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  13. rosencrantz

    rosencrantz Member

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    Thanks for taking the time to measure your Optima. I had an optima in my 2013 and, as you mentioned, I think they tend to read a bit higher than normal. I have an automatic 1.5 amp battery maintainer/charger that I normally use for the jet ski batteries. I clipped that charger onto the Prius battery this morning....I’ll give it the day and see how it looks. As I’m writing this, I took a look and the charger says “charged”. This after two hours on the trickle charge. Maybe I’m good to go?
     
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  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Recheck the voltage in a day or two, after it's sat overnight, that should scrub off any "surface" charge. Hopefully you're out of the woods.
     
  15. rosencrantz

    rosencrantz Member

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    Hopefully you're out of the woods.

    One can hope! Thanks again for your advice. I’ve certainly learned a lot reading through Priuschat.
     
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  16. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    THANK YOU, This video on Utube is extremely good. We now have a simple way of checking 12 Volt health and the converter outputs . In addition I found out that the 12 Battery is a lead acid battery capable of putting out 100 amperes of current. He also mentioned that the 12 Volt battery was responsible for MOST of the Primes operation. We always suspected this was the case, BUT, now we have proof. Thank You Professor John Kelly!
    I urge everybody to watch this video!
     
    #56 Andyprius1, Jan 13, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2019
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  17. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    This not only indicates the health of your 12 Volt, but proves that the converter is also doing its job.
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The implication being that activation of the brake pressurizing system is going to alter the voltage? I would do an A/B test of that, suspect it doesn't make much difference.
     
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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks, please let us know the results!:p
     
    #59 bisco, Jan 13, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2019
  20. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    Professor Kelly demos that any and all loads can be monitored and estimated by doing this simple Voltage and converter check. No more guesswork, no more theories based on thin air. For example: Since 2005 we have been discussing what the 12V battery should read ? Many said, if its only 12V its bad. Others said if its only 12.2 its going bad, better buy a new one. All conjecture, nothing ever factual in any opinion. Nobody ever bought up maintaining proper voltage levels and current draws Or the converter and its role. Well now that's all over. Prof Kelly backed all information up with the Toyota Manual Procedures.
     
    #60 Andyprius1, Jan 13, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2019