A/C runs much colder with new NexCell Battery

Probably not the battery.

 

i wonder if the computers protect a weak battery by diffusing a/c

 

You are letting your imagination run away with you. Ten to one the average ambient temps are lower.

 

If you're old battery was so worn out that it was siphoning off voltage away from other components like the air conditioner to try and keep you driving that is possible I think my car did some sort of this nonsense but it was cold and it was hard for me to tell but my car was driving on the ice engine almost full time trying to defrost the windows in February with the AC compressor or what have you did not seem to work too well and it would seem to make my display change from green to blue to magenta much faster I mean it was cycling back and forth in 2 mi I would go from green to blue to magenta and back again the whole week or so while I waited for the battery it was quite a ride

 

I actually wouldn't think so matter of fact any of the Gen 2's I've had in strips so far I've never seen a really dirty battery fan like some pictures on here people that have them caked up the complete impeller is clogged won't move anything spins and makes a funny noise I've never personally seen that but I guess if yours was that clogged possibly. But I seriously doubt it but anyway chalk it up to who knows. But like I say I would think the car's computers are smart enough to know that the end game for the Prius is to keep the car moving it needs all its power engine power and battery power predominantly to run an engine into electric motors everything else is kind of auxiliary or ancillary componentry just like when you're inverter pump goes out and your heat starts to climb it turns your air conditioner off it's the smart thing to do.

 

not unless it was really dirty

 

My guess from a distance (In space & time) is the LiFePo4 does not generate as much heat in normal operation.

The OEM NiMH batteries can easily run at 110 degrees F. That is the temperature you sense warm air blowing out of a household furnace vent - nowhere near as much, of course.

I know this because of using the OBDII adapter and Dr. Prius or even Hybrid Assist.
That accessory could help you figure it out. I don't have a Lithium traction battery to test with.

With what I know about how that hot battery exhaust air is ducted, I intend to add a couple of 12v muffin fans at the vent flaps at the rear of the car, to the right side of the Aux battery, and connect them to the 'cigarette lighter' wiring to run when the DC/DC converter is providing power.

The original design has that exhaust air mainly recirculate and mix with cabin air, exhausted only if the cabin is pressurized.

YMMV

 

When you're going down the road the Toyota flow through ventilation system flaps in the back are open by natural air flow. I always drive in the heat with the air conditioning on and the windows up and when that fan comes on it's taking that cold air that's in the cabin forcing it through the battery and out of the output slots right there at the back of the car where the duct work sits and if I pull over and jump out of the car leave it running what have you and run back there to that vent the air coming out of that vent is cooler than the air is outside I do know this I haven't shot it with a temp gun or done any of that stuff and I think I've said it in text stream so my fan comes on only on high. The HV battery fan that is.

 

wow

 

So, what happens when the A/C system is in recirculate mode?

 

Just to add another data point. One of the very first things I noticed the next day after putting new NexCell components into my HD Battery was a very noticeable drop in the AC outlet vent temps. Could not attribute it to anything other than the new modules. No other changes were done at that time. Outside highs were very hot here in Phoenix, around 110° to 115° depending on the day. My guess is the temps that day while I was driving was around 102° sometime around noon.
So along with my gains in mpg, from about 30 to 44.9, I was just glad for the bonus of better AC performance.

 

"Data point" is a term that is more at home in the kinds of venues that insist an author's methodology is covered in detail and that people other than the author can replicate the observations. PriusChat is a great place, just not that kind of a place, so we're kind of used to reading a post like that and thinking "hmm, maybe".

You can probably find enough "data points" posted on PriusChat to both prove and disprove any claim you want about a Prius, if all taken at face value.

 

Akin to performance product stickers adding anywhere from 5 to 30 HP…

 

This is a pulley and clutch AC system?

 

Toyota uses electrical driven compressors which run from the HV battery.