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main battery rebuild

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by FKZ, Jul 13, 2011.

  1. josh2008

    josh2008 Active Member

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    Have charger set for nimh 6 cell @ 5a, was charging at 8.6v roughly. Have I damaged these cells? What are your suggestions? 2nd gen cells BTW.
     
  2. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    My charger (Supermate DC6) also works at 5a charging and 5 watt discharge but it knows to automatically cut the charging rate as the module approaches full charge and then shuts down at the limit. It is told that the battery is a NiMh unit (also supports NiCAD, Pb Acid, and Lithium), self determines the number of cells in a module and the limits are set automatically. Overheating a module does tend to ruin it.

    JeffD
     
  3. josh2008

    josh2008 Active Member

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    Appears I caught the overheating in time, swelling has gone down and modules seems to be fine. I'm using a supernova 250s charger as well as a electrifly triton Jr. Are these suitable or should I just pick up a supermate? The supernova is currently charging at 8.89v and 2.6a, is this acceptable? Is it ok to discharge at greater then .7a?
     
  4. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    I didn't see voltages much above 8.5 v when I charged my modules. There is a drop in the wires so it is more accurate to check the voltage at the module being charged with a digital voltmeter.

    The 0.7 amp limit is the 5 watt heat dissipation limit in these units. Our modules can source/sink 100 amps (130 amps in Gen3) for short periods and 6.5 amps for an hour (the capacity limit) as long as they don't overheat.

    JeffD
     
  5. tym2brn

    tym2brn Junior Member

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    I am starting the charge/discharge on my first battery...Do I set my discharge to 1 volt?
     
  6. tym2brn

    tym2brn Junior Member

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    Doing this on a 02 prius
     
  7. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    My discharge limit was 1 volt per cell (6 v for 6 cells).

    JeffD
     
  8. tym2brn

    tym2brn Junior Member

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    I am new at this..So i need to set my discharge limit to 6volts correct? I did my first discharge down to 1 volt, hope I didn't screw the battery up..
     
  9. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    My Supermate DC6 wants you to set the discharge limit per cell so that would be 1 volt for a NiMh module.

    JeffD
     
  10. MandiRocker

    MandiRocker Junior Member

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    Jeff, I ordered two supermate dc6's that will be here next week. Have abandoned the chargers I was using until the supermates get here, didn't like how they were behaving.

    P.s. crap! This is josh2008, forgot that the wife's account was logged in.
     
  11. hyvong

    hyvong New Member

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    I called him a few times but no one answer the phone. I don't know what happened to him or his business. Is there any different way that I can contact him? Thanks
     
  12. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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  13. hyvong

    hyvong New Member

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    Thanks Bob but the price is almost like the new battery from dealer. I have no job now so I try to get something cheaper.
     
  14. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Where are you located?

    Bob Wilson
     
  15. hyvong

    hyvong New Member

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    I am in Virginia near Washington DC
     
  16. hyvong

    hyvong New Member

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    Jdenenberg, Please check your inbox.
     
  17. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Owch, you're 14 hours, 730 miles away. I don't know if anyone locally might be able to help.

    Bob Wilson
     
  18. nimblemotors

    nimblemotors Re Member

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    I rebuilt a battery pack, but imho it is at best a short-term fix. the battery starts at 6.5ah, and it can get as bad as 1.5ah before it fails, so once any cell fails, the rest are pretty much close to bad already.
    Brand new batteries have become inexpensive compared to years ago, so my suggestion is just by a new one,
    forget the "rebuilt" ones or trying to do it yourself, Champion Toyota sells them new for $1800, and they
    should last another 100k miles.

    2001 TOYOTA PRIUS Parts - Champion ToyotaWorld
     
    bwilson4web likes this.
  19. DaveGoodrich

    DaveGoodrich Member

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    This seems like an attractive option, vs. a ReinVolt etc. It is actually cheaper, at $1,724.25 (+ core) according to the linked web site. A new battery pack does involve more work to transfer components from the existing battery to the new one, correct? I am a fairly competent shadetree mechanic (clutches, brakes, R&R transmissions, rebuilt a couple of engines, etc.). I am assuming the work to transfer my existing components would be within my ability, but can someone point me to a thread, or document that would give me a better idea what would be involved?
     
  20. brandon L

    brandon L New Member

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    hey Jeff,
    i need a little clarification for discharging gen 1 modules with the supermate charger.
    i know i'm a little late on this but when you talk about "3 cycles" are you talking about charging each module 3 times, or programming the supermate to discharge 3 times during the charging/balancing sequence? i never noticed the supermate discharging at any time when i programed it to do it 3x with a load of 0.7 ah, min. cutoff of: 6 volts. pretty much all the modules took 30-50 minutes. with two supermates set at 2.5 ah (to stick around 8.4 max charging voltage) it took me a day and half or so to do all 38. why did it take you 5 weeks? thanks.

    brandon