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Bus Bars question

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by swoll001, Jun 2, 2020.

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  1. swoll001

    swoll001 Junior Member

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    I am currently rebuilding the battery on my 2008 prius.
    I soaked the busbars and the bolts in vinegar and game them a cleaning as best i could. while there is no longer any corrosion some bolts look darker. i used a tool to clean them up a bit where they make contact.
    do i need to replace the bus bars and bolts with new ones or can i just throw these back on?
    I learned i was not supposed to wash the bolts after already soaking them so i used a steel wool pad to clean them all as best as possible on the bottom where they make contact. i also tried cleaning both sides of the busbars?
    should i use the ones i have cleaned or just order new ones?
    [​IMG]
     
  2. MickyMatter

    MickyMatter Active Member

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    Years ago I forgot a copper coin in my pocket and found it later in the washing machine. It was shining bright.
    Maybe you want to try the same. Put all the parts into a fabric bag (or a sock, closed with a knot) with the laundry and let the washing soda do the trick.

    After reassembly I would seal the contacts by covering them with some contact spray/-oil/-grease.
    Some weeks later I would check, that the nuts still are tightened correctly.

    SM-G950F ?
     
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    If you want to get really crazy, go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a container of Muriatic Acid. Dip the bars in it and they'll be down to bare copper very quickly. Muriatic Acid will leave the copper practically untouched, but will eat away everything else. (MA is typically used to etch concrete prior to painting/coating.

    Another thing to keep in mind is the corrosion on the voltage sensing tabs. Those are the tabs you had to move out of the way to get the busbars out of the orange plastic frame. Those wires and the 'crimps' are very fine and very fragile. All it takes is the wrong bend to put a micro crack in the crimped area and you'll end up with totally whacked voltage readings going to the ecu.

    You also want to take a careful look at the plug on the end of that wiring harness and the socket in the ecu. They are very frequently corroded.
     
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