Recharge needed -- suggestions?

Sorry, I guess I am half asleep from time change.

Returned from 10 day vacation to find that my wife's '07 is dead. The dealer recommends we try an overnight trickle charge and I was hoping for any suggestioins.

FYI, the '07 had not been driven for about 12 days and we did leave the remote sensing unit on. On the other hand, the car we left at the airport, my '05 Prius, did fine after 10 days or so and the remote sensing unit was left on on that car as well. Lesson learned.

Thanks for any help.

Ted

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tedb @ Jul 2 2007, 03:17 PM) [snapback]471664[/snapback]</div>

Jump it or put a small charger on the jumper terminals. You should be able to start almost immediately, since the 12V system only needs to boot the computers and close the HV relay. Leave it on for a bit after that, or go for a drive, and all should be good.

Tom

 

It takes a short 35 Amp pulse to get to "Ready". Once there the HV "traction battery" will recharge the 12V one as well as start the engine. I recommend jumping from a car without its' engine running. No sense having the two charging systems argue. Even better is one of those portable jumping units, if you can find one quickly. They cost around $40.

Jump terminals are under the hood in the fuse box (close to windshield on left side of engine compartment). The positive terminal is under the swing-away red plastic cover. Use the bolt just above it on the firewall for the negative.

I'm surprised the battery drained so quickly. Perhaps there was a light left on? New car not driven very far? It takes about 2-4 hours to fully recharge a discharged battery, due to the low current the system uses (to protect the battery). If you have a low current good quality charger you can do it yourself from the jump terminals. Don't leave it discharged for a long period of time. It will quickly deteriorate in that condition, and you will need a new battery (and they are not cheap!).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 2 2007, 11:05 AM) [snapback]471608[/snapback]</div>

I don't mean to be dissagreeable, but the bunny has TWO pancakes on his head!

 

Thanks for the info. A lot better than digging out the back to get to the battery. In any event the slow charge worked. I assume the slow charge is necessary because the battery is a 3.8 amp battery.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Jul 2 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]471772[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Jul 3 2007, 02:56 PM) [snapback]472453[/snapback]</div>

Not only is he the mascot, but FHOP is named for him. I grew curious about why the heck they'd call it FHOP in my early days here and started a post about it:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=15552

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tedb @ Jul 3 2007, 02:52 PM) [snapback]472483[/snapback]</div>

Well, it's a 38 AHr battery actually. The slow charge is not necessary, but a good idea. It ensures you will not overcharge the battery - at least not easily. If you overcharge it or even just rapid charge it you will loose electrolyte, which you cannot add back, so you will have damaged the battery. And as I said earlier, it's expensive. Under slow charge conditions the H2 and O2 are recombined inside the battery. Under rapid charge conditions this cannot be done fast enough, so the pressure builds, and the vent opens. In effect you loose water.

 

Another case of 2 + 2 = 5 on my part. In any event, the slow charge was fine and working through the engine compartment was a whole lot easier than digging to the battery. Actually, I got to the battery but was not quite sure how to get the terminal cover off and I did not want to yank and pull where I was not sure I was doing it right. What's the drill on that?

Ted

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Jul 3 2007, 09:01 PM) [snapback]472748[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tedb @ Jul 4 2007, 03:01 PM) [snapback]473108[/snapback]</div>

Funny. When I was wiring my Amateur radio into the car I had to remove that cover. I went to the dealer and asked the service adviser how to take it off, as my eyes aren't good enough to see down there any more. I didn't want to break it so soon (my car is new). There are three locking tabs, one on top and one on each side. Press them in, then you pull the red part towards the front of the car. It comes out. The other part is two fuses, one 150 A and one 5 A as I recall.

 

Thanks. I held off doing it for the same reason as you.

Ted

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Jul 4 2007, 09:09 PM) [snapback]473303[/snapback]</div>