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Need a second opinion (P0A80 but still Ready)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by blankity, Jun 30, 2018.

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  1. blankity

    blankity Junior Member

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    Location:
    Panama City, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Back story, scroll down for problem
    Almost 1 year later, and I have replaced a total of 9 modules in this car. God I wish I could just buy a reconditioned pack and be over with it for a few more years. But it seems this car only wants to give me trouble at the worst possible times. Story time over.

    So recently I had a voltage leak from a module. Nothing new, to me. I replaced the faulty module and done. During reassembly however, a nut was on the terminal wrong and I didnt realize it in enough time and tightened it. Terminal broke off. So me being the brainless blonde I am, decided to try and put the nut back on the stub of a post after managing to find a replacement nut. Car started fine and there were no error codes so I put it in D and presed the gas pedal and that's when I heard a loud buzzing noise then a small pop. The module with a busted up terminal was the one on the end away from the ECU, number 28. The sense wire for it exploded. After another module terminal busted, I replaced all faulty modules and soldered the sense wire back onto the plate to the best of my ability (which was not best but it did the job, I think). I replaced the stripped nuts with stainless steel ones of equal size.

    Problem begins here
    So now my problem is this. The car wil go into Ready mode, but P0A80 is pending for about mile driving, then the triangle of death comes on and tells me that Battery Block 11/12/14 (it varies) becomes weak. I keep a close eye on the voltages using the Torque app and I notice that, even sitting idle with no lights on and the AC off, the battery drains fast. It charges just fine though. But what is really peculiar to me is that the voltages for each block will jump from 18v to 16v suddenly, then slowly creep back up. All of the blocks are relatvely the same volts however. Also, as I was replacing the modules I continuously checked their volts to make sure they all stayed the same (7.97v). None of the modules never dropped. I am guessing here that the sense wire is at fault here and that I did a shoddy soldering job on it but I do not know. Even with the Triangle of Death on, the car will STILL go into Ready mode. I have never seen this before since I always thought P0A80 was the death code that prevented startup but no, my car goes into Ready mode even with it on. However, with the code on the car does not charge the battery and does not run very well, but clearing the code the car returns to normal. I know this is not safe so I'm not treating that as a solution.
    Any help is appreciated. Also, a link to a reliable bus bar replacement that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg would also help, as I have come up empty handed with out of stock or bad reputation.


    Screenshots of my blocks below
    Screenshot_20180629-181312.png Screenshot_20180627-163522.png Screenshot_20180627-163505.png Screenshot_20180627-162951.png
     

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  2. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    There are definitely times when the car can start up with P0A80 present.

    You can purchase a new High voltage wire frame. It includes the buss bars and voltage sensing wires.
    Off the top of my head I'm guessing it is $100 or so?
    Go to your local dealer parts department. They can look it up for you and you can confirm it by looking at the parts diagram.


    Also you could purchase an inch-pound torque wrench to be 100% certain that you are properly tightening the fasteners. As you found, arcing can occur if things are not done correctly, resulting in damage including fires.
     
  3. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Two
    Forgot to mention, you should check the orange plig that goes into the computer that is in the battery pack. Look for any corrosion on the pins of the computer.
    If there is corrosion, replace the computer. A used one is fine as long as it it does not have corrosion.
     
  4. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    II
    1. You didn't follow the protocol. You just did what PC members over here, called, "whack a mole approach".

    You should have discharged and recharged the replacement modules you got, instead of stacking it into your existing pack.

    2. The voltages on the indicated blocks does not necessarily tell you the modules are OK.
    Its the capacities you got to be concerned about.

    I had similar issues some weeks back.
    I had to go through the rigours of discharging and balancing the replacement ones I got from my Camry hybrid pack, and the pack of the Prius I was working on.

    3. Have a look at the voltage sense wires, and the connections at the battery ECU for corroded ends.
    Corrosion builds up high resistance on those terminals with time. They'd tend to limit the current/voltage comparisons the ecu is making amongst the module banks.


    PS: Nobmatter what you do, as long as there is a pending code for replace hybrid pack, your symptoms will keep coming up, until the pack issue has being replaced.



    Dxta