2005 Toyota Prius-Rebuilding hybrid battery having issues

There should be no sparks when you are rebuilding that battery. Where are the sparks coming from?

 

My question would be "sparks? What sparks?" Any sparks would be molto serioso (IMNSHO) - but you've come to the best place for information and help (much needed, by the looks of it!)

Edit: BTW, Welcome to PriusChat, and you might find a search for "Prolong Grid Balance Charging" to be useful...

 

The prudent thing to do would have been to replace ALL the cells with new ones.
And that is STILL the prudent thing to do.

Actually at this point, I think you need a qualified shop finish the job.......just incase the sparks indicate that you fired something ELSE besides just battery cells. That means having them install a completely rebuilt battery and write off what you spent already to experience.

 

If there are sparks, there could be a fire. If you're not willing to pay a mechanic fee and you don't know how to sort this out yourself, then you are just asking for trouble.

 

sparks flew = single arc?

Make sure you tighten the connections to 47in pounds. If you have loose connections, you could possibly get sparks (I think)

 

Loose nuts will cause unstable voltage readings and will heat up the modules. This can cause them to heat up and explode/leak. You would need to do a complete rebuild of the battery pack, what you are doing with a multi meter and ebay is just buying you a little time.

At a minimum, you would need to do the following::

1. Load test all the modules to make sure they are good, OCV with a multi meter doesn't tell you anything.
2. Charge/Discharge and balance all the modules
3. Clean the corrosion of all the copper bus bars
4. Tighten and clean all connections.

 

Additionally check the cell orientations.
Any chance they got mixed up?
Make sure you have it alternating positive, negative, positive, negative,....

There should never be any sparks.

Buy a torque wrench and properly torque the fasteners.

 

I also suggest proceeding very carefully. You not only have a shock hazard, there are flash hazards and chemical hazards as well. There is considerable chemical energy in the battery. Don proper PPE for these hazards, considering eyes and exposed skin, and flammability of clothing. Cotton is your friend here.

You have a few very experienced people issuing warnings here. Sparking should never happen, certainly not repeatedly, and it does sound like a very bad sign.

 

welcome!
this is the first i recall of anyone having sparks. please be careful, these batteries can be deadly!
all the best.

 

Is the hybrid battery secured to the car with at least one mounting bolt that is tightened down all the way?

 

NO. And just asking that question is further indication that you should NOT be doing this yourself.

So.....it appears that your only options at this point are:
Continue to replace the bad cells one at a time.......and keep doing that for months on end until they all are replaced........OR one of them shorts out once it is back in the car and causes a fire.
OR
Replace ALL of the cells that you haven't done already and be done with it.

In the end, either of those options probably won't be that much more expensive than buying a completely rebuilt battery assembly that actually has some warranty.

 

The battery pack MUST BE FIRMLY BOLTED IN PLACE. ALWAYS!

I have seen plenty of problems pop up when the battery is not securely grounded.

Bolt it down and report back here.

 

I apologize ahead of time if I sound rude. There are no circumstances that I can think of that a correctly assembled and installed HV battery would be arcing. An arc occurs and then another failed module? Can you post photos of the battery with the case cover removed? Terminal shields removed? Don't 't forget to remove safety disconnect first.

 

http://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/repair%20manual/04pruisr/05/21bpm/0a94554.pdf

Paste this into your browser. Its a pdf for your DTC. Mentions loose connections in the HV Battery a few times as possible causes. Coincidence?