Cleaning sealant off battery bus bars

Great job! Most people take on stuff like that in the garage, you do it in the kitchen

 

Now what's for dinner? lol.

 

Should have know this two weeks ago.Had to clean mine but used a very long process of soaking the corroded copper plates in coke over night then using scouring pad to bring back the shine.

 

Now I should have seen this one sooner!! I spent 1/2 hour on the bench grinder wire wheel getting that stuff off fro just one side of the battery, then soaking in Lemon juice overnight. Well, they turned out nice and shiny. At least I can do this for the 2nd side!!?!!

 

OK, I'll ask then. Why, was there a problem or did you just want to clean them and play with the HV battery?
TomK

 

Hi Tom,
Being a journeyman low voltage electrician, when I see corrosion like this, it tells me that voltage transfer in and out of the cells could be drastically improved by removing the resistance between the connections and to prevent further damage to the bus. That's why I removed the battery. Also, to check the cells for any weaker ones that might be going out sooner than later. Preventative maintenance.
Thanks for asking!!

 

Oh yah sorry, I started a thread on my '02 "Prius not starting, P3125 code" error with a 345 sub code-Inverter problem. Figured what the heck, since the battery is such an integral part to the whole shebang, might as well check it out. Inverter is supposedly good as when I was replacing it, found the Mg1 motor connector wasnt bolted in place and the connector was loose. Whoever had this before me screwed it up-

 

Yes you are right, high resistance joints could cause local heating and voltage drop. After I cleaned my plates I silver plated them with a plating kit to allow an even better electrical contact. you found the problem in the inverter connection, as you have found out the codes do not give you an exact answer to the problem but lead you in a direction. Did the car

The poor MG1 connections would have given unbalanced load currents in the stator during starting and maybe overheating of the connection. The unbalanced currents gave the 3125 code but the sub code was misleading indicating a replacement of the inverter when it was only a connection. Oh well another mystery solved. I am sure this will help others in the future. Glad you stayed with it, it was a tough problem.

Roy from Canada

 

I found a tip online that worked like magic. Literally, I was freaking out. My bus bar copper terminals were VERY corroded and tarnished. I popped them all out and put them in 3 cups of water, 1 cup of white vinegar, and 1 tbsp of table salt, boiled it for only about 10 minutes, gently shined them up with a brass brush (after rinsing and cooling them with tap water), and they look just like new. Seriously awesome I would highly recommend giving it a try.

-Bob

 

Oh Geez Brother Keith. much easier than the darn wire wheel on a drill thing I did. Wow we live and learn

 

I wasn't talking about the grime on the gen1 because that was covered nicely in this post already.

If you have too keep it submerged for 2 hours the 10 minute boil and scrub is definitely a faster process. Plus most people will have vinegar, salt, and water in their house. Not many will already have that acid readily available in their house lol. Anyway it's cool to see the different ways to get those suckers clean!

 

I am interested in the reason for the water and salt?
is it to make it safe to boil?
Would straight vinegar not be better?
I have tried soaking overnight in regular vinegar, washing with water and then light wipe with emery cloth.
top - original
middle - overnight soak in vinegar and wash in morning
bottom - light cleaning with emery cloth

 

Just curious, which vancouver? In British Columbia, Canada, or Oregon, USA?

Thanks for the photo and description!

 

British Columbia, actually Burnaby

 

Vancouver is in Washington State, not Oregon.

 

Yes it is in washington state, he was close though, just one river away.

 

Like Kansas City, Missouri?

Had to ship a jump pack there once, had me confused.

 

I'm curious are you guys just cleaning the bus bars from the bottom or from both sides of the pack? I noticed the ones from the top of the battery back (towards the front side of car) have wires connected to them.. what do you do with those? Do they disassemble as well?