Hybrid Battery Fan Speeds

Hello, Chatters,

I'm new to PriusChat, but now I have a question:

A brief background: My original Gen2 (2007) hybrid battery started failing (DTC P0A80 and P3015), so I ordered a rebuilt battery (with Gen3 modules) from Falcon Hybrid. It arrived today, and I installed it myself, but I decided not to put in the rear seats, side panels, or cargo covers on until after a series of test drives. (Note: All vents and ducts have been re-attached for safety.)

The test drives exhibited the same rapid charging and draining as the original battery, plus the P0A80 error. But the new battery is showing P3016 rather than P3015, so different module pairs are producing different errors on the two different battery packs. I've sent an after-hours message to Falcon for direction on how to handle situations like this.

But here's my real question: Does anyone know if the normal operation of the battery fan is related to the vehicle speed? Since all the side panels are still off, I think I can hear the hybrid cooling fan running, and it seems to speed up and slow down in relation to the vehicle speed. (When the P0A80 error occurs, the fan constantly runs at high-speed until I reset the code with my ScanGaugeII.) I can't tell if it's the battery fan or just road noise I'm hearing. (Ambient air temperatures were 40 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the test drives.) I thought the fan is off until the battery needs cooling, so I'm wondering if the MPH-based behavior of the fan is indicative of the battery failure I'm experiencing. Rather than put the old battery back in, I thought I'd ask the question here first.

Thanks in advance,

MattLTH

 

Thanks, TMR-JWAP. I'm beginning to believe this battery is a POS, indeed. Falcon will send a new battery AFTER I send the POS back, which means I'll probably put the old battery in for the time being. (Ugh.) I'll try and score a serial number off one of the modules and let you know what I find. I don't want to take the whole thing apart; that high voltage scares the crap out of me.

I'll be in South Carolina next, but not with my car. There are no battery rebuilders here in my state, which is why I had to order from out of town. I hope Falcon can get me a working battery, and really wish you did live closer.

Thanks for the info and advice,

MattLTH

 

I pulled the Falcon battery and will ship it back to them tomorrow. The item I ordered was a Gen 2 Battery with Gen 3 Cells, and I peaked under the cover and looked for a module serial number. The only one I could read was:

22ZN6N14685T
MB2

I hope that is the S/N. I'd be curious to learn if it's actually a Gen 3 module, though the nomenclature Falcon uses is Gen 3 'cells' instead of 'modules.' I don't know if different generation cells can go in different modules, so that's something I will ask when I chat with them tomorrow.

Thanks!

MattLTH

 

That's great news! Thanks for that.

Now I'm wondering: Is there something else that might be causing P0A80 and P3015 (original battery) / P3016 (Falcon battery) errors? I replaced the 12v battery with an AMG spiral battery last October, and I also charged it with a Noco battery before test driving with each battery, but still got the same errors.

Would you recommend I take the car to a service center and ask for a diagnostic analysis before I install another traction battery? I have a ScanGaugeII (purchased summer of 2017) that has provided me with the DTC codes. But since I'll be waiting a week or so for the replacement battery, is there a more comprehensive user diagnostic tool that isn't terribly expensive? I'm not sure if my Prius is capable of damaging the traction battery due to some non-symptomatic malfunction. It just seems strange to have both batteries exhibit nearly identical errors.

MattLTH

 

Thanks, ericbecky. That’s what I’d assumed, but it’s nice to have confirmation.

And thanks for the checklist of what Falcon may have overlooked. I may send it their way to have them verify the quality of the next battery before they ship it to me.

MattLTH