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Questions on a totally discharged HV BATTERY

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by vaughnstark777, Nov 15, 2014.

  1. vaughnstark777

    vaughnstark777 Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Roy, WA
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Chap mentioned on a previous post of mine:
    "A normal module is around 7.2 volts nominally, can be up around 8 or a bit more right after a full charge, and had better not get below about 5.5 or 6 volts, which is the point where it's officially totally discharged."
    I swapped a battery from a prius that had been sitting and moved only occasionally and probably only ran for a few seconds or perhaps minutes in order to be moved during the time it was sitting. It would not start the car when I got it and the trouble code that it showed was 3191 which after checking this forum I surmised that it very well could be a MG problem because it wouldn't even turn the engine over.
    I finished the battery swap into my other gen 1 and went to start it. It started but died very shortly thereafter. After about 2 subsequent attempts it wouldn't even start it anymore.
    After pulling and tearing the HVb down and testing the modules they all read between 5.5 and 6.5 volts.
    What is the minimum voltage each module needs to be to start the ICE?
    How long, generally, can a HVb sit idle IN a vehicle before it is likely to be dead?
    How long, generally, can a HVb sit idle OUT of a vehicle before it is likely to be dead?
     
    #1 vaughnstark777, Nov 15, 2014
  2. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    2005 Prius
    Should be the same amount of time in or out of the car. The HV battery is electrically separate from the rest of the car until you turn it on. Don't know low long that would be or the minimum voltage.
     
    #2 vskid3, Nov 15, 2014
  3. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2013
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    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    What are you trying to get at here?
    If you only want to know the minimum Voltage each module has to be to start the car, you already know what is too low ( in most cases ).
    What did the cars SOC gauge show after you got the car started the one time? Empty?
    And did you let the car try to charge the pack at all before shutting the car off? And if you did let the car try to charge the pack before removing the pack again
    after the car wouldn't start the second and third time you tried, what was the SOC showing for the pack before you shut the car off.
    depends on the conditions the car is exposed to and the condition of the pack before the car was left sitting.
    depends on the condition of the modules.
     
    #3 vvillovv, Nov 15, 2014
  4. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    Kingston Ontario Canada
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
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    N/A
    Hi this is Roy from Canada --- I will try to help as I have three 2001 prius cars that I have had battery issues with. I have had the same problem you are having when buying my used prius cars.

    1) With battery readings that low the high voltage battery requires charging.
    2) Charge it in the car with a high voltage battery charger (quick a few hours )or remove and charge individual cells ( a long process).
    3) Most owners do not want to do either of the above and continue to run the battery down by multiple starts. The car appears to run but is actually turning over at up to 800 RPM trying to start, when the gas engine does not start the computer shuts it down (after about the time you can count 1 to 10). After 3 tries the car will not try to start.
    4) You can disconnect the 12 volt battery for about 6 seconds and reconnect - this will reset the codes and allow you to try to start again.
    5) If you are going to own these cars for a long time you should:

    a) Learn how to refurbish the hv battery
    b) Buy a minivic techstream cable and software plus old xt computer to run it - this will allow you to see the battery condition running in the car plus give codes for troubleshooting.
    c) Buy high or low voltage charging equipment or find someone who and can help you.
     
    #4 royfrontenac, Nov 17, 2014
    fotomoto and Britprius like this.
  5. in-surrey

    in-surrey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2014
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    Location:
    Surrey
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Error code 3191 is the generic code for car did not start. The symptoms were the same for my 2001 tbat sat for 4 months and is mostly likely a dirty mass airflow sensor. I went to my local autoparts got MAF cleaner removed the sensor and sprayed it down reinstalled and it again failed to start the first time after clearing codes. It started up fine the second time and ran and charged the battery. While you are at it you may as well clean the throttle plate with throttle body cleaner. Hope that helps.
     
    #5 in-surrey, Nov 21, 2014
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