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Dr. Prius Question

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by veggiecar, Feb 18, 2024.

  1. veggiecar

    veggiecar Junior Member

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    I have gone through the process of reconditioning my HV battery. A very lengthy process with results yet to be determined. I was wondering how good the battery was and I had read much about the Dr. Prius app … so I installed it. Block number 1 is frequently shown as very short column in light green while the other blocks are bouncing around in brighter or darker green. This happens when I first start the car. After the battery warms up Block 1 will change to other shades of green and bounces around with the others although maybe not as much. It might be that this happens when the battery is cold but as it warms up the problem goes diminishes or goes away. I did a road test of about 15 minutes where the regenerative braking (through acceleration/deceleration) charged the battery up to over 75%. I drove the last 1.6 miles on battery only and still had over 50% remaining. Last night I went to drive the car and my HV warning light came on. I think the voltage of Block 1 was 1 volt less than the others. I disconnected the battery for 5 minutes and the warning disappeared. My question are: What do the different colors mean? What does the height of the column mean? What does it mean that block one is a short light green column while the others are bouncing around with darker shades of green?
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  2. veggiecar

    veggiecar Junior Member

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    I think I may have found the problem. Corrosion is frequently mentioned as a problem regarding HV battery failure. Viewing the pins of the voltage sensor and the cable that connects to it is rather difficult. It appears as if there is some blue/green in the female pins of the connector at the end of the cable and a male pin of the voltage sensor seems to have severe discoloration. Not blue/green but more of a brown. Specifically the red wire that is associated with Block 1 connects to this pin. Is there any chance that this can be salvaged through a chemical application. The only way that I have seen to purchase the parts is on eBay. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Sorry that I did not get the full connector in the picture …. Thanks in advance for the help. 219C01FD-4DF0-43F2-B075-FBC841E9D014.jpeg
     
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Yeah... Open that ECU and make sure it's clean inside! Emery board or sandpaper wrapped over an awl or small screwdriver is a good way to clean those pins.

    As for Dr. Prius numbers, just pay attention to "voltage difference" right in the center. The higher that number goes, the closer you get to a failed cell. Looks like great numbers for the moment.

    As for telling the difference from reconditioning, your MPG should improve and the charge displace on the screen in the car should change way less often.
     
  4. veggiecar

    veggiecar Junior Member

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    Thank you for the response. I have read that the corrosion creeps through the wires. Do you have any suggestions on the fluid one might use to help clean the ECU? Is there any way to clean the female sockets that are at the end of the wire sensor harness? Are there any other precautions one might use to address the sensor wires? And lastly if I had to replace the ECU and the sensor wires, where would I shop for those?
     
  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Until you switch to a LIthium upgrade your NiMH battery pack will continue to have miniscule micro-leaks at the seals that feeds the slow growth of corrosion in humid regions. Clean bus bars and brand new voltage sensor harness is what I do as a standard practice. Also @fach suggested using dollar store hair spray to coat the pins inside the ECU, because it's basically a low grade lacquer that easy to use.

    I don't reccomend di-electric grease because not only does even a large coat of it it not seem to prevent corrosion from coming back, but it's a huge mess to deal with next time you work on the pack and there's even some instances of it weaking overall conducting of the circuit if you use it in the wrong way, especially after servicing a pack that was previously greased up.
     
  6. veggiecar

    veggiecar Junior Member

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    Do you know of a video or some instructions or a brief explanation on accessing the ECU? It looks like the battery modules must be removed and (from the back of the car looking forward) the black relay holding unit has three nuts that must be removed and then there are 4 screws that allow the ECU to be taken apart. Part of the case of the ECU seems to be permanently attached to the metal frame.
     
  7. veggiecar

    veggiecar Junior Member

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    To get to the voltage sensor you must remove the black block between the fan and the voltage sensor. That requires removing 3 nuts . The voltage sensor is held on buy two nuts, The voltage sensor comes apart with 4 screws. I cleaned the discolored pin and the car seems to be doing much better. The problem remains in that there is a slight bit of corrosion on the computer board and the metal leading from the socket holding the pins to the computer board. Even if the problem is gone, I think it will be temporary. D0A1AD8F-5655-4F0A-90AB-5D3F3E625FE6.jpeg CF15465A-C363-4995-BA69-2B9272C4B035.jpeg
     
  8. Seymour1

    Seymour1 Junior Member

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    I spent 2 or 3 weeks reconditioning my Prius batteries with 2 CQ3s. I finally was able to get a reading above 5000mah on each module. Then, the car sat for 2 weeks and was started several times without driving it. But now, I get the YELLOW triangle of death. Not red. Does yellow indicate that the battery is half charged or half good? Will driving the car help the battery?
    I wanted to use Dr Prius to check my battery modules. I use an iphone. I have an ELM327 that only works with Wi-fi and Dr Prius reports low bluetooth signal strenth. Will Dr Prius only work with bluetooth and not Wi-fi? Will Torque work with Wi-fi?