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Please help a newb with charger settings, I swear I searched

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by dieseltohybrid, Nov 21, 2019.

  1. dieseltohybrid

    dieseltohybrid Junior Member

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    Good morning, all. I purchased a 2005 with 170k on the clock about 6 months ago knowing the red triangle would come. I've been monitoring with Torque Pro, guessing who the culprit would be. Of course it's not either I guessed when it happened last week. Knowing there were a couple other iffy modules I armed myself with a few eBay replacements and two HTRC C240 duos and got the battery on the workbench and started cycling.

    Here's where you guys come in. Everything has been so easy thanks to PC and YouTube. So thanks to all of you who have contributed so much, you know who you are and much respect to you.

    Back on topic:
    My chargers work well so far, but the charge quits on capacity limit when capacity gets better after a cycle. (is that clear as mud?) I don't mind that, but when that happens there is no data to tell me what each cycle did, it doesn't record so I think I need to adjust settings but am lost. Here are the settings I've used:

    1st tries:
    Capacity cutoff: 7000 mAh
    Safety timer: off
    NiMH sensitivity: 20 mV
    NiMH discharge TVC: 1000mV
    Charge: 5A
    Discharge: 2A 6V
    Cycle: D-C 3 times

    2nd attempt:
    Capacity cutoff: 7500 mAh
    Safety timer: off
    NiMH sensitivity: 15 mV
    NiMH discharge TVC: 1000mV
    Charge: 5A
    Discharge: 2A 6V
    Cycle: D-C 3 times

    I don't want to keep guessing and can't find any definitive settings for this charger. From what I can tell I may need to lower sensitivity? I'm assuming this is how it senses the charge is as full as it gets? Or raise the cap cutoff so it keeps going? (that seems like it could harm the cells) So, I'd appreciate some help please. I really love this car, even better than my Jetta TDI. It's been easy to work on, I've replaced the front end parts and done some scheduled maintenance all with your help. This part is new for me so again I'd appreciate a little more. Sorry if this stuff is obvious and I just didn't look hard enough. If so, shame at will.
     

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  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    How hot do the cells get during this test?
     
  3. dieseltohybrid

    dieseltohybrid Junior Member

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    I've been busy cycling my cells over the past week. I had the delta way too high. Ended up going with 4mV and setting capacity max at 8500. These modules are very robust and I will be replacing 3 with the ones I got that are 2009 from ebayer 55dima55. They seem good, although I will cycle them to be sure.

    To answer your question Ed, they don't get very hot at all with my settings. I never cycle consecutive cells, only every other and always clamped in the pack.

    I'll report back again once they're all balanced and the car is running again.
     
  4. dieseltohybrid

    dieseltohybrid Junior Member

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    Got everything back together. No lights after a couple hundred miles of mixed driving. Definitely an improvement as far as the battery meter goes. It stays put pretty much right at the top blue bar and hits the green here and there.

    I ended up with capacities (drained from fully charged) from 5500 to 7000 mAh. I drained them all to 7.6V then paired them up starting with the highest cap with the lowest cap for block 1, the next highest with the next lowest for block 2, and so on. I see blocks at a wider range than before, sometimes up to half a volt difference, but hope that evens out over time. Performance is improved and I'm happy that it's even running with less than $200 invested. I can save that in a month in fuel, so it's definitely worth the shot. I will probably go with Green Bean Battery if it doesn't last long. Not sure if it's something I'd want to do more than once a year. ;)
     
    drash likes this.
  5. dieseltohybrid

    dieseltohybrid Junior Member

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    500 miles and counting. Battery meter is stable. Cells stay within .3v for the most part. Under heavy load within .5 to .6v. Got 44 mpg highway first tank which is a little lower than usual, but that may be from colder temps and winter gas. My commute is 120 miles daily 95% highway at 70-75 mph. I'll report back after awhile.
     
  6. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I wouldn't, for not much more you can buy a replacement kit for $1,600 from newpriusbatteries.com. Then you'll never have to do it again for as long as you have the car.
     
    George W likes this.
  7. dieseltohybrid

    dieseltohybrid Junior Member

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    Another 1000 miles and no trouble. I notice block 1 always higher voltage than the rest in Touque and has higher internal resistance in Dr Prius. I'll monitor and might order another module to have ready. When I have time I'll switch out the module with the higher resistance. That block has one new and one old and since it's easy to get to may as well switch it to even out the pack a little . Everything else seems good for now.

    I've been looking at the newpriusbatteries. Seem well thought out and tested and you might be right about it being the best option. The only reason I'd consider Green Bean is the convenience factor and lifetime warranty that is transferable. I've made a couple calls to confirm that they usually have same day install and replacement and the warranty would transfer. If there's anything left of this car when I'm done with it that warranty would be a better selling point I would think.
     
  8. Gino Veltri

    Gino Veltri Member

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    Hey so what was your final settings at? Delta=4mv/cell,dischage at 2 amps to 6 volts and charge at 5 amps, capacity cutoff at 8500 maH?