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2001 Prius Battery Fire

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by Mr Camouflage, Sep 12, 2011.

  1. Mr Camouflage

    Mr Camouflage New Member

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    2001 Prius Battery Fire *Updated* Looking for some parts

    Hello everybody.

    Recently I bought a 2001 Prius with the intention of bringing it back to life. There was evidence of a fire in the boot, with melted bits of plastic on the battery. Car would still start, then display dash warnings. Understandably I didn't let it run very long, due to the battery issue.

    The vent tube on the right side of the battery had melted, and so had some of the plastic boot trim, and the back of the rear seat is charred.

    I finally had some time to open up the battery on the weekend and found that the fire was on the left side of the battery near the ECU. Looks like the last cell closest to the ECU has caught fire, and the heat caused the vent pipe on the right to melt.

    Here's a photo of the damage. I see that there are a couple of posts of this happening before with 2001 prius's.

    I still want to fix it, so am considering replacement options. I'm in Australia, so replacement a replacement battery would probably have to be a new one from Toyota, or try to replace the damaged cells from this one. Though I'm not too sure of the salvageability of the other internal parts that would need to be swapped into the new battery.

    Since the car would still start, I assume that means the battery ECU is still good?
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Mr Camouflage, Sep 12, 2011
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I would say that is a bad assumption. It is possible that a fault in the traction battery ECU caused the battery fire.

    Even if that were not the case, being in close proximity to a module on fire would not promote the reliability of that very important component.

    If you are serious about restoring the car, I suggest that you plan to replace the traction battery ECU along with all other components within the battery case.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Sep 12, 2011
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  3. Mr Camouflage

    Mr Camouflage New Member

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    Finally had a chance to take a closer look at the battery. Cell number 1 appears to have arced to the case, melting half the post nut - welding it to the battery post, melting a hole in the case, and leaving lots of black soot over the wiring. Somehow this also melted the vent tube at the other end of the battery.

    Cell 1 was reading about 1 volt lower than cell 2, the rest of the battery cells were all about the same as cell 2. I have some replacement cells already, but now need a few bits to put it back together.

    If anyone can help me out with the parts I need, send me a PM.

    I require:
    * The large wire that joins cell one to the System Main Relay.
    * The thin gauge wire loom that has connectors to every other cell and plugs into the battery computer.
    * The temp sensor loom.
    * The white vent pipe from the end of battery.

    Also it would be nice to have another Battery computer, just in case mine is faulty.
     
    #3 Mr Camouflage, Jan 1, 2012
  4. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    a batery cell caused a fire? and you can still start the car?
    then i dont think the HV battery is the cause of the fire because its stil working
    there was A fire what damages part of the battery case and plastic parts
     
    #4 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 1, 2012
  5. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Maybe the battery shorted out because of debris left, ( A WRENCH, Aluminum foil) and then the casing put back on?? It looks like much of the damage was carbon and not a full raging fire. With one shorted, low voltage cell this would make sense. I say go ahead and tackle the job. Bob Wilsons posts are a very good source for cell replacement. Google: cell replacement and all kinds of posts will pop up. Good Luck.
    :cheer2:
     
    #5 andyprius, Jan 20, 2012
  6. Mr Camouflage

    Mr Camouflage New Member

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    Thanks, I already have replacement cells. I just need the wiring that was damaged by the short and the brief fire. I have an ad up in the private sales section for the parts I require.
     
    #6 Mr Camouflage, Jan 21, 2012
  7. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    This same Tech, Bob Wilson often has sensing wires etc. He collects cells and experiments with the HV cells, send him a personal post.
     
    #7 andyprius, Jan 21, 2012
  8. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    you already replaced cells? maybe that's Wy it happend. did you balance the cells? if one would discharge to low it could reverse polarity is what I hear
     
    #8 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 22, 2012
  9. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Is this a NHW10 or NHW 11 Prius? Big difference in whether you want to bother or are able to source the parts to repair it.

    The NHW10 was the Japan only version built 1997-2001. The NHW11 was the similar looking, but different version sold officially in most of the rest of the World from 2001-2003/4.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_(XW10)
     
    #9 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 22, 2012
  10. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    looking at the pic its a 11
     
    #10 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 22, 2012
  11. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    the 10 got cylindrical cells
     
    #11 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 22, 2012
  12. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    That's true BUT a fire in the HV pack is so rare as to be almost unheard of. I was wondering if he'd try to install an 11 pack in a 10 - hence the fire.
     
    #12 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 22, 2012
  13. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Unfortunately With a DC HV supply once an electrical arc has started it will not stop, with an AC supply the voltage goes down to zero twice in every cycle witch will tend self exstingwish the arc.
     
    #13 Britprius, Jan 22, 2012
  14. Mr Camouflage

    Mr Camouflage New Member

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    It's all stock standard NHW11. The short happened before I got the car.
     
    #14 Mr Camouflage, Jan 22, 2012
  15. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    Last year I helped a customer near Berkeley replace a pack in an 02 Prius that had a similar battery fire....the pack was never touched by anyone other than the dealer, but at around 120k miles the battery caught fire, melted rear seat etc.

    After fire distinguished car still drove fine, but smelled "smokey".

    We replaced pack with a rebuilt pack, replaced/cleaned upholstery and car has been running fine for over 6 months. I think it was a factory defect that caused high resistance and high heat buildup in the battery box.
     
    #15 3prongpaul, Jan 25, 2012
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