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Replaced 2004 HV battery with a 2010 salvage one

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by northwichita, Mar 18, 2013.

  1. northwichita

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Updating HV Battery ; I installed a 2010 salvage HV battery in my well used 293k mail route 04 Prius. See pic's in profile of my dirt covered battery I have to clean yearly, I drive with the window down delivering mail , no a/c cooling until the end of the day for my battery.

    High mileage 04 battery at 9 years , still functions, lower capacity showed by the '6 bar drop ' test at 3:15 & 3:44 min/sec (Others had up to 10 minutes)* . MPG still around 40 with maybe a slight hesitation when the gas engine engages, no real drivability problems felt , driving moderately in fairly flat Kansas.

    I had read that the newer 2010 HV battery has increased power rating, that plus the age and mileage of my battery motivated me to buy a salvage battery on Ebay for $750 with free shipping from a low mileage donor car. I received the entire battery assembly, which of course does not match the second gen prius, I removed the HV modules (28) which did matched my modules in size and mounting. Installation is more work with a 2010 since the modules have to be switched out, but I do have a well running pack, the '6bar drop' test got time results of 13:44 and 12:25 (second at higher temperature, rear fan was running).

    Driving.... I surprisingly really do not feel a difference, perhaps a bit smoother, but since I don't run it hard and have no long inclines, I really don't push the battery to the extremes. MPG still around 40, includes delivering mail . The battery indicator screen does stay more in the 6 bar range than vary like the older one did, also the measured scangauge temperature seems around 5 degrees lower on the 2010 HV battery pack when driving all day. I did test the old battery for amperage, flooring the pedal I got a scangauge high of 144 amps (BTa) for both the older and the 2010 pack. I did buy some peace of mind, changed the pack when it was convenient on my terms, not due the battery quitting.

    Old modules are still holding voltage fairly well and evenly dropping from 7.9 to 7.8 volts over several weeks. I had a 2004 module tested, the Battery guy said it had 3 amps.

    * Hybrid (HV) battery test proposed | PriusChat
     
    alekska, cwerdna and uart like this.
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Did you have any problems with the 2010 battery communicating with the 2004 computers? Any warning lights or anything?
     
  3. northwichita

    Joined:
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    I had warning lights at first because I didn't click in a wiring harness in the 2004 HV ECU unit that I had disconnected, that was just my oversight, a few start up /shut down cycles then cleared the lights, driving it works well.
     
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  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    So in your opinion a Gen3 battery is entirely compatible with a Gen2 car as long as you hand swap each individual module into the existing Gen2 rack that holds 'em?

    That's great news!

    Anything else we need to know to have the same success as you?
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if mpg's are the same, what was the point of changing the battery?
     
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Because having a 2010 Gen3 battery in a 2004 Gen2 Prius is awesome... :D
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would think it's the better mpg's that would make it awesome? or are there other benefits? i suppose it will ast longer than the old one.