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Hybrid HV Clean Battery Fan Service

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by L. Anders, Jan 2, 2017.

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  1. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

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    Hi everyone!

    I couldn't find a post in the PiP part of the forum regarding the HV battery fan service so I thought I'd ask here...

    My dealership is asking for $280 to clean the HV battery fan which is ridiculous so I checked Youtube and found a great video describing how to do it on the normal Prius. I tried to follow as much as I could to see if it applied to my PiP buy I basically got stuck because it's pretty different.

    The vent from the air intake on the passenger side goes behind the metal battery shield which is held in by a special orange clip, so I stopped there thinking I may have to take it in after all.

    Does anyone have any experience with doing this service themselves or with the dealership? FYI I do have a dog that comes in my car maybe 2-3 times a month but I don't know how dirty my fan really is. Is there anything I can do instead like monitor my temperatures to see if it's really bad or not? Any other thoughts?

    Thanks!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!
    there is no such thing as battery fan service. dealer wants your money, good for you. look at your intake grilles in the back seat. if they are clean, there is no need to go any further.
    i have 50,000 miles, but do not transport any pets. that being said, i am pretty hairy myself.
    how many miles on your pip?
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 2, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2017
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  3. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

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    52,000 miles. The intake looked fine to me, but I suspect the dealership may have saw the dog hair and tried to take advantage of my wife not knowing much about cars.
     
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  4. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    Well, yes, there is a multi-function digital meter called the ScanGuage which some people use on their PiP and which can be programmed to monitor battery temperature among other functions. No installation, it plugs into the OBDII port near your feet.
     
  5. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

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    Thanks Pluggo. I contemplated borrowing a friend's OBDII device.
     
  6. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    If you are concerned about future dog hair, you can add a piece of window screen or furnace filter just behind the intake grill. Keeps any dirt out where you can get at it. There's a post about this around here somewhere.
     
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  7. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

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    I actually have some bulk carbon filter I got on Amazon that I plan to do this with. Thanks for the suggestion.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I would do both: the filter and occasional foray down to the fan itself.
     
  9. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    It is incredibly easy to do this on a Plug-in Prius.

    Send me a PM to remind me and I'll snap a few pictures or shoot a quick video to show you. It is vastly easier than the process on a regular Prius.
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The fans in the plug-in are much more out-in-the-open I think?

    Even on regular Prius, while not as easy as (say) getting at the cabin filter, it's not that difficult. Even without instruction, if you just go logically/methodically, you'll get to it. And that's all you have to do, complete removal is not needed to assess and/or clean it.
     
  11. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Yes, the fans are VERY easy to access. (Plug-in has two fans)
     
  12. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    I made a video of the procedure:
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Says "This video is private." for me. :(
     
  14. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    I fixed that. Sorry, I'm not much of a YouTuber.
     
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  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  16. Pasaman

    Pasaman Active Member

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    Awesome video. Thanks!
     
  17. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

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    Thanks Rebound! I actual found those fans too but thought they were just exhaust fans. I thought the design would be similar to the normal prius which has the fan adjacent to the battery on the rear passenger side.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  19. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Your video is AWESOME!!! Thank you very much!!!
     
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  20. John in LB

    John in LB Life is good

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    The video is very good. The only thing is that these fans suck the air through the battery and discharge it into what is normally the spare tire chamber. So, if there is lint or hair, it would be stuck on the two passenger seat grills, tubes or possibly within the battery compartment itself... (the air, after passing through all of that, goes into the suction of the fans.)

    From the seat grills to the battery, are there any filters for us to clean?

    Does anyone know how to dissamble the two intakes to inspect and clean?