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odd battery problem.

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by mehrshadvr4, Dec 9, 2012.

  1. mehrshadvr4

    mehrshadvr4 Junior Member

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    2006 Prius
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    Hi. I am new here, but I am experiencing something odd about my prius I bough. i bought a high mileage 193k miles prius with rebuilt battery and low mileage engine (they had about ~1000 miles on them since). i am going to use the car as a taxi. I drove the car from ny to st.louis ( 800 miles) with no problem. i drop the car at the shop to get it painted and everything. I then go pick up the car, but the car out of nowhere got HV battery code with the try angle and such. i searched around and I found out out that i can just replace the bad cells. i found two batteries below 7v. so i called the place where the battery was rebuilt to send me two cells. tonight i put the two good cells on and i drove the car for 5 miles then bam same thing. i was like WTH. i take cover off and i find out one battery that was good now is low voltage. how on earth car this happen? is there any way to test these battery one by one to find out which one is really bad? i don't know if it's possible to test one by one with battery tested from auto parts.
     
    #1 mehrshadvr4, Dec 9, 2012
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Some of the links at Failed traction (HV) battery, what to do? - Prius Wiki may help.

    From what I can gather and what I've read in the past, it sounds like what you're doing is NOWHERE near sufficient to properly rebuild/repair your battery.

    Also, since you mentioned painted... if the HV battery wasn't removed before it went into a hot paint booth to dry it, I'm fairly sure it's damaged now and you'll likely need to replace the entire pack. Google for
    Code:
    site:priuschat.com remove battery paint
    .
     
    #2 cwerdna, Dec 9, 2012
  3. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    First thing is scan the car for error codes with Techstream (Toyota diagnostic system that dealers and some other shops use). That may help determine the true problem. Testing voltages at rest won't help you much. You need to measure battery performance and internal resistance while under load.

    Who "rebuilt" the battery? Some less than reputable sellers just take junkyard batteries and resell them. A good rebuilder will provide a warranty. Sending you replacement cells won't help unless they are matched capacity and performance wise to the ones in your pack.

    You may be in "whack a mole" territory....ie. you replace a cell or two then another cell or two pop up as failures after a short while. It becomes a major PITA.
     
    #3 3prongpaul, Dec 12, 2012
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  4. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Junk yard batteries on cars that have been wrecked are a good gamble because the battery was working fine usually beforehand. They cost between 4 and 500 dollars usually and another 400 to put them in by the dealer.
    If you really want to go crazy and put a brand new battery in they actually don't cost too much now because you get such a whopping core charge return when you give them your old 1. Call your dealer and talk with the Prius service manager and see what the final cost will be.

    Alan...
    Sent with Tapatalk 2
     
    #4 windstrings, Dec 15, 2012
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    And if the service manager asks "What's a core return?", get another dealer, or call Toyota and ask them to explain it to that dealer.

    If the problem is the hybrid battery another replacement option is Re-Involt: Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs
     
    #5 richard schumacher, Dec 16, 2012
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