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Noise when force charging, also Overcharging battery? GEN 4

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Brandon Kennedy, Feb 22, 2019.

  1. Brandon Kennedy

    Brandon Kennedy Junior Member

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    I always set my insight at 40 to 45 psi, got several mpg higher, thought bout doing it with the prius just havnt yet. Cant be any worse than the ride quality I had before. Plan on getting a lifetime alignment for it, thatll probably help some, its steering wheel is alittle off when driving straight
     
  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Have you seen this - interesting viewing?
     
  3. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    Somebody has to live there I suppose. :p
     
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  4. Brandon Kennedy

    Brandon Kennedy Junior Member

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    I have, I've watched a lot of his videos. Very informative for sure!

    New update on the noise. I was driving home last night and realized the car is making the noise while driving also, but only when I get into the power band (in eco mode).

    Even though I dont want to hold the brake and gas at the same time, I'm thinking of having someone do it while I'm under the hood to see if theres anything out of place or if its internal. Maybe not full throttle, but enough until the rattle starts. Either way I'd end up having to show it to the dealership to diagnose. It does sound like it's coming from the driver side which would be where the transaxle is. Scary situation indeed. :(
     
  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I wouldn't be telling them that you used accelerator and brake together - though it's probably recorded in the Event Data Recorder and the Vehicle Data recorder.
     
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  6. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Yeah, you might've shot yourself in the foot when you did that. However, when hard on the throttle, the engine does have VVT, so it might just be that kicking in. VVT does make the ICE louder.
     
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  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Not sure what to tell you on the rattle. Having a listen while you're under the hood isn't a bad idea though. You might find something obvious.

    On the battery life, the jury's still out on lithium longevity. Almost none have died, so we don't have much history to go on yet. But what's the worst that could happen? By the time you'd have to replace that battery, prices will hopefully have gone down like the NiMH ones recently did. Even so, they last so long, I don't think that it's all that much per mile, although I've not yet seen any lithium battery prices.
     
    #27 jerrymildred, Feb 25, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2019
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    They maybe checked/set the tire pressures when the car first came in, hot, then rotated the tires front to back lol.

    Don't go there; it'll aggravate any rattles, and I really think it can accelerate wheel bearing and suspension failures. My logic, go just a pound or three above spec, can't do much harm, and gives you a little buffer, when pressures gradually drop. I'm more inclined to go over with our 15" snow tires, than the 17" (low profile) OEM tires. The latter ride rough even at their (lower) spec pressures.

    Professor Kelly does a deep-dive inspection of Prime battery, which is essentially more packs (five vs two?) of the 4th gen Lithium type battery, and found once the pack was "unbound" (and it was not easy, required drilling out of permanent rivets) the loose cells expanded in length close to two inches, and it was very difficult to get back together. Pipe clamps were used to compress it and he was barely able to get it back into one piece. The implication being that it's not easily rebuilt.
     
    #28 Mendel Leisk, Feb 25, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2019
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  9. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Doesn't sound much different from many other Auto repair processes, requiring pullers and special tools - I'm sure the battery rebuilders have already worked out how to do it.
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Second and third gen batteries have some sort of nuts/bolts at the end of the pack, and when you take it apart it just sits there. Fourth gen batteries are very new, have permanent rivets, and the pack expands about 2" when the rivets are drilled through. I think few if any rebuilders have gotten into this as yet.
     
  11. kevin.c

    kevin.c Member

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    I know this sounds dumb but just try poking around under the hood with a flashlight. Sometimes the dealer forgets to clip something, leaves tools lying around, etc.