Hybrid battery - any impact on electronics?

Not that I'm aware of. A few weeks ago the husband and I went on a trip up to Mammoth Lakes from Orange County-it was about 6-7 hours driving up, about 5-6 hours driving back, and he kept his laptop on the floor behind the passenger seat. We used it while we were up there with no problems whatsoever, I'm sure it would have been fine with an even longer drive. He also had his Blackberry and several cell phones (all were powered on) stored in the same vicinity (in a backpack) that weren't the least bit affected by the hybrid battery.

The only warning about the hybrid battery that I have is this: on a roadtrip, make sure you don't pack so much into the backseat area that you cover or partially cover up the hybrid battery vent (on the passenger side of the rear seat). That would be very BAD!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ Apr 24 2006, 01:21 PM) [snapback]244323[/snapback]</div>

Really? Can it really do damage? My understanding was that it would only lead to a loss of efficiency. . .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenGene @ Apr 24 2006, 09:57 AM) [snapback]244302[/snapback]</div>

No. The hybrid battery is really just a whole bunch of 1.2-volt NiMH rechargeable batteries, like the ones you could buy in any variety store, wired together. They don't produce any significant electromagnetic (or other) radiation. The hybrid battery does produce heat, but you're not going to be placing your computer close enough to the hybrid battery for that to be an issue. The only issues that I would consider are the risks of theft and of being damaged in a collision.

 

I'd be more worried about fields from the speaker magnets in the
doors than I would about EM emissions from the battery wiring.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Apr 24 2006, 10:33 AM) [snapback]244333[/snapback]</div>

It could cause the hybrid battery to overheat. Not good. The vent is there to keep the area around it ventilated, and if you were to block that ventilation while driving, especially long distances, bad things could result. I'm not an engineer and am not a Prius expert so I can't give you specifics, but that is a warning I've seen posted about here on more than on occasion during my searches.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Apr 24 2006, 01:33 PM) [snapback]244333[/snapback]</div>

The ECU for the battery should keep it from over heating, but will have to limit its use to do so. That's where the loss of efficiency comes from. Still, you don't want to force the ECU to take special measures, so keep the vent clear. The seatbelt on that side can block the vent if it gets out of its keeper, so that's another thing to watch for.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ Apr 24 2006, 04:18 PM) [snapback]244432[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Apr 24 2006, 08:28 PM) [snapback]244587[/snapback]</div>

Yes. Right. I'm certainly not advocating blocking the vent, but the warning I thought I recalled reading in the manual just warned about a loss of efficiency. Usually the manufacturers are overly paranoid about stuff like this, so I thought we were probably safe. Although, I guess I could imagine some extreme situation where it might damage the battery pack.

It's silly for me to argue about this, since we all agree that we shouldn't block the vents.

But, just so I don't have a completely useless post, I'll just add that the power that comes out of the cigarette lighter is all channeled through the 12V AUX battery (i.e. not the hybrid-system battery), so there should be no difference in powering electronics in the Prius vs. a normal car.