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Battery smelling bad

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Jayw13702, Feb 2, 2016.

  1. Jayw13702

    Jayw13702 Active Member

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    My Gen 3 battery has started to smell badly when it is worked a little.

    55,000 miles, it's not exposed to a lot of big hills but does work all day and does about 200 miles a day.
    Outside temp is about 48/50 degrees currently. I can hear the cooling fan working and I've noticed that that boot area is getting a little hot around the battery area.
    No loss in performance or battery life.

    Am I being paranoid? Is this a normal thing that happens with them?

    I've had a couple of higher mileage gen 2 and never noticed.


    iPhone ?
     
    #1 Jayw13702, Feb 2, 2016
  2. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Your signature shows a generation II Prius.......
     
    #2 mrbigh, Feb 2, 2016
  3. Kramah313

    Kramah313 Active Member

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    Check the battery vent to the right of the rear seat. Is it clogged? Do you have anything in the back seat blocking it? If there is pet hair or anything in there your battery can overheat and cause that smell. I don't think you are being paranoid in this case. The battery might be good now but extreme heat will reduce its lifespan over time.
     
    #3 Kramah313, Feb 2, 2016
    sprtent likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe the battery fan has dust build-up on the fins? Have a look.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Feb 2, 2016
  5. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Please define "smelling bad". Sulfur smell? Something else?

    The traction battery will not emit a sulfur smell, as there is no sulfuric acid in it.
    So it could be your 12V battery, or it could be what you suspect.
     
    #5 David Beale, Feb 2, 2016
  6. Jayw13702

    Jayw13702 Active Member

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    It's certainly not a sulphur smell, that's quite noticeable.
    It was a difficult smell to define, it wasn't burning but it appears to be more noticeable in the trunk of the car.

    I've cleaned the fan and all the pipe work when I got the car about 4 months ago, the fan wasn't that dirty, the vent doesn't appear to be blocked however I'm wondering if someone was sat in such a way that they were obstructing the vent and so caused it to heat up a little.

    I've been checking it today, the smell is not as noticeable and the heat emitted from the battery isn't as much either.

    I wonder if it's a touch of paranoia, even though I've had a few of these cars now I find that each one has different quirks and it takes time to get to know them


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    #6 Jayw13702, Feb 2, 2016
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is it a musty, animal type smell? there are rubber vent tubes in the battery that can break down and stink, particularly in the uk.
     
    #7 bisco, Feb 2, 2016
  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    All it takes is one minor spill in the hatch or cabin on the carpet. They clean the surface so you can't see something was spilled there. But the stuff lurks under the surface in the carpet, to haunt you for years. For example, milk!

    You can quite easily clean the hatch floor carpet, as it can be removed and hosed down outside the car.
     
    #8 David Beale, Feb 3, 2016
  9. bejczyp

    bejczyp Junior Member

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    I have that, typical prius smell. Is there a topic or video somewhere, for how to clean that pipe? Is there a way, without removing the main battery?


    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #9 bejczyp, Sep 2, 2016
  10. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    There is a sticky and video for cleaning the HV fan. Easy to do and takes about an hour:).
     
    #10 Raytheeagle, Sep 2, 2016
  11. bejczyp

    bejczyp Junior Member

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    Can you please post me the url. I could not find it

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #11 bejczyp, Sep 2, 2016
  12. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    #12 Raytheeagle, Sep 2, 2016
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You don't need to pull the back seat out, as shown in the video. Just push open a gap between the base and back of the seat, shine a light, reach in to the (12 mm socket size) bolt with a ratchet wrench with extension. Also, I forget exactly what it says in the video (this morning navigating the site is a gong show, not moving around any more than needed, lol), but you don't need to completely pull the fan out to clean it. And run a duster wand through all of the ductwork you encounter, blow out the whole area with some compressed air too.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Sep 2, 2016
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