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Fears of replacing hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by yota93, Feb 23, 2012.

  1. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    For those that just want to replace the bad battery modules don't be afraid of doing it yourself. I spent many hours on this site researching hybrid battery repair. To be honest it scared the crap out of me the first 10 or so times i looking it up on here. Reading all the technical talk. I was going to have xviper.com rebuild my battery since I live close by but after several weeks of phone tag and just plane being ignored I decided i couldn't wait any longer. I order the two replacement modules i needed. They got in last night. I already had the battery out of the car. The battery is heavy but I was able to carry it to my garage by myself. I didn't have any lineman gloves so i just used the gloves i had. Used my multi meter to check all conections. Not seeing any real descriptions of how to remove the individule modules it did take me a couple of minutes to find the screws under the battery that help hold the modules in place lol. Being the first time i have done this it took me 2 hours to get the bad battery modules out and new ones in. I took about 30 min to put battery back in car to get it started. The bad thing is my main battery was dead because of the 3 months it sat in my drive way. It starts and runs. I drove it 45 min to work today and yes brought my jumper cables because the main battery won't hold a charge now. I will be looking at upgrading it after i get off here. If anyone has any questions just pm me or post your question here. I will answer it the best i can. I am just a shade tree mechanic that does't like to pay shop prices to fix my cars. I also have very limited experience in electricity but hay I replace to battery modules without getting a toe tag. Thanks for everybody's posts and knowledge on this forum. You guys are great.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks, and congrats on your install. all the best!
     
  3. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Way to take on the hard job Yota. I am the same way. If I think I can save a dime, I will try (but sometimes I waste a quarter trying). I'm really glad you were able to fix it DIY.

    Just out of curiosity, how bad were the terminals/connections on your battery corroded? I've been thinking about taking mine out to clean off the corrosion but don't know if its necessary.
     
  4. abomb555

    abomb555 New Member

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    :confused::confused: i have 4 bad modules i need to replace and for the life of me i cant find any used or new for gen1.....where did you find replacement modules??
     
  5. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    I bought mine on ebay.
     
  6. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    I think about 10 of the terminals had the sticky nasty goo on them. I don't think i would go threw the trouble of taking the battery out just to clean the terminals. Im sure you will have to take it out eventually and I would clean them then. :)
     
  7. abomb555

    abomb555 New Member

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    ahhh okay the ones i saw on ebay said not for repairs so i was a little worried about buying them.........7.2 volts right?
     
  8. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Wow. My hat's off to anyone who chooses to take on an endeavor such as battery repair. Even when you make it out to be easier than anticipated.

    Way to go.
     
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  9. abomb555

    abomb555 New Member

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    ordered up *fingers crossed* lol thanks
     
  10. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Good luck and let us know how it goes.
     
  11. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    In Sept of 2011 I replaced one bad module. Five months and 6000 miles later my Prius is still running fine. The car now has over 211,000 miles on it.

    Brad in MN
     
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  12. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Great Job ! Keep us posted on how itis running from time to time. There was a post not very long ago about a guy getting rid of a Prius because of HV Modules bad ( 1-2 ) The astounding thing was, he came to the guys garage, they put the HV Battery on the floor, changed out the bad modules and droveaway. And that was that. So it is possible that once the bad modules are replaced, the HSD system brings the whole pack into balance after 1/2 tanks. :eek:
     
  13. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    Will do and thanks. All but the two bad modules 6.4 volts were 7.6-7.8 volts and the two new/used modules were 7.8. So I ordered the optimum 12 volt battery upgrade yesterday. After 3 months of sitting the old one wont recharge. The weird thing is that if I jump it, it runs fine. No warring lights or anything but when I turn it off the dome light wont even come on when I open the door. Go figure. I bought the car for $3,000 a year ago because the inverter water pump was going out of it and the lady didn't want to pay Toyota to replace it so she decided to sell it. Well I replaced it and it ran fine till one day I was running late for work and decided to drive it to work with the pedal on the floor. It read 99 mph for most of the 45 min drive. When I got off work and started the car up all the bells and whistles lit up like the fourth of July. Took buy AutoZone and read the codes. Then researched hv battery rebuild and found out that these batteries don't like high speeds because of the heat lol go figure. That’s all water under the bridge and I learned quit a bit along the journey. Thanks everyone for your help and posts. :D
     
  14. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    I have made it a practice to disconnect all the courtesy bulbs, doors, hatch aand never use dome,, I have been doing this since 2005. Also a battery disconnect is easy to install and will save the 12V. Makes it easy to reboot

    You got a nice deal seeing as the inverter pump cost $65.00 and is a snap to put in. Did you bleed the air out? :D
     
  15. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    Thanks and yes i did. I would like more info on the battery disconnect please.
     
  16. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    I purchased a battery quick disconnect at harbor freight, this particular type has a large red key. One just turns key and then hide or put in pocket. I installed mine just above the battery on the plastic cover for accessing the right rear tail lights. I think on my PIP I will attempt to install it up front, under the hood for easier access (rear hatch will not open w/o 12 V). Switch is also available at hardware stores, different types. I short filled my gas tank yesterday and the guage would only show 3 pips. Since I had to drive about 45 miles outside of town this bothered me since I could not see what the tank really had in it. So, when I got there I rebooted, and the gas guage came right up to its actual level. :cheer2:
     
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  17. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    Well the Prius is running again!!! Now hopefully it will run for awhile with no other problems.
     
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  18. walleye seeker

    walleye seeker Junior Member

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    I have been doing alot of reading on this subject.

    so there is 6 cells in a module and 28 modules in a gen 2 correct.

    when rebalancing you balance the 6 cells in each module so they work in harmony with there sister cell in that module.your goal is to not have an individual cell go dead in a module during use because that ruins the whole cell throwing off voltage for the whole module

    Then your goal would be to charge all modules to a full state before reassembly . so you have a fully balanced and fully charged battery.

    or im totally confused but i think im on the right track.

    I use aa nimh batteries alot and i understand the whole charge discharge thing my charger for the aa batteries has that ability to recondition the batteries and you can see a huge difference in them when done.
     
  19. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Yes, you seem to have everything right. I would add that letting each module sit for a few days after the rebalancing allows a further check on their status. The voltage will start out above 8 volts and quickly discharge to about 8v. The self discharge rate should then be very slow (I saw about 0.1 volts per month in my modules) in a good module. The modules don't need to be fully charged when you reassemble, just all at the same voltage for overall balance. Your Prius can take it from there.

    JeffD
     
  20. DustinLangston

    DustinLangston Junior Member

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    Hello, I'm considering doing this to my 01 as well. Just out of curiosity have you had any problems yet? Thanks.