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Rebuilt Dorman HV Battery in 2005

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by TMR-JWAP, Dec 1, 2018.

  1. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Ok, I feel obligated to put this out there. In April of 2017, I installed an HV battery (2015 model modules) in the vehicle of a fellow member. They had a Dorman battery that had failed. (The warranty was not available). A few weeks later I was interested in doing some experiments and decided to test/cycle/replace failed modules/etc and rebuild the Dorman with a bit of TLC. I think I replaced one module. I then installed it into our blue 2005 Base Prius that my son was using. (my long term testing guinea pig) Let's say that happened in May 2017. I may even have some posts on the forum about that battery.

    Fast forward to August of 2018. I purchased another 2005 Prius for my son, mostly because the blue one now had 290k miles on it and I had previously told him I'd keep an eye out for a good deal. I found a black 2005, pretty much max optioned and only a few miles from the house. Had a bad HV battery. $950 Couldn't pass it up. We installed a Gen 2 HV battery with 2015 modules. Even with 195k miles, the car was in such great shape, I wanted to ensure he'd have it for many years if needed.

    We changed the registration plates over and the blue 2005 has been parked since the middle of August. That's over 3 months. I did charge the 12v battery every couple weeks, but never even opened the driver door since the day it was parked. Until last week, when I decided I wanted to connect Techstream and see how the HV battery was holding up.

    Check out these voltages. Techstream was connected after pressing power button twice with foot OFF the brake. The engine never ran, inverter never powered up. Who would have thought....a Dorman ....and after 3+ months of sitting. Look at that min and max block voltage. Maybe they CAN be worth a dang if a bit of care is put into them. Although this gives no indication of battery capacity, it does show a total lack of any significant self discharge issues. And yes, an hour later I fired it up and took it for a drive through the neighborhood with no problems.

    Dorman.JPG
     
    #1 TMR-JWAP, Dec 1, 2018
    strawbrad, brdmb, Raytheeagle and 1 other person like this.
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    What was the tlc you used:
    • just swap a module and balance the pack with the new module?
    • Do all the module balancing separately then assemble the pack?
    • I know you have a lot of modules to goose from compared to the rest of us, so did you check the date codes of the modules there and put one that was similar?
    • Was the Dorman a witches brew of years for the modules?
    But good to see a rebuild of a rebuilt pack can last :).

    I recondition our 2010’s with the Prolong equipment and have thought that if (and big if) a module failed, I’d swap a module in and recondition the pack and it would be fine.

    Thanks for sharing (y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Dec 1, 2018
  3. NortTexSalv04Prius

    NortTexSalv04Prius Active Member

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    IMHO FYI
    Okay just putting this out there.....I purchased and was the owner of a Dorman reman traction battery . The purchase was a mistake because the time and labor to swap out battery and still getting red triangle with codes and resolve nothing Secondly upon going with a second warranty replacement of original purchase only last barely four days and came back to same red triangle and battery cells popping like firecrackers with drive test. I am sure that Dorman, A1 Cardone, and others claim quality and poor install. However my personal experience with Dorman and the hassle.....I have found quality and reliable battery elsewhere......I have trust issues with rebalance and cell swap battery packs that are sold by Ebay, Oreilly AP, and some others
     
    #3 NortTexSalv04Prius, Dec 1, 2018
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've read the original dormans (reinvolt?) were good, until dorman bought them.
     
    #4 bisco, Dec 1, 2018
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  5. NortTexSalv04Prius

    NortTexSalv04Prius Active Member

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    Yes Dorman acquired Reinvolt

    Dorman in the USA is known for selling quality new and reman OEM parts however the recent past years Dorman has allowed offshore mfg via China to derail any quality control and reliability

    Dorman does do some recondition of Gen2 modules and swap out copper buss bar for nickel plate buss bar

    Reinvolt recondition Gen 1 and Gen 2 and Honda Insight hybrid battery.....the owner of the business did post on forums at one time.

    I rather spend my purchase on a known good new complete battery and or module….I have tried the path and method of module replace and rebalance and that definitely does not work for me personally
     
    #5 NortTexSalv04Prius, Dec 1, 2018
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