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Revived my Second first Gen Prius!!

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by aswresm, Jun 7, 2015.

  1. aswresm

    aswresm Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I just got my second 2001 Toyota Prius back on the road...Thanks to the amazing skilled friend of mine @Delemi
    He had the HV battery reconditioned in 6 hours. He swapped 5 cell modules with new healthy ones, went over every single cell with his smart chargers....Total process of 10 hours and my second Prius is running like a humming bird with no engine or battery lights whatsoever. My first Prius went through the same exact process by the same amazing person @Delemi and it's still running like a champ with average 43 MPG.....
    He is the only skilled person that I got that had the knowledge and experience to put these two cars back on the road and resides in the great state of Michigan. Very polite and and very passionate about what he does...He helped me with every issue I had ,didn't charge me much and he drove like two hours to put these two Prius back on the road...I just feel so grateful to this guy and I feel like everyone that has a Hybrid vehicle should have this Guy's number on his VIP phone list...Attached are some pics of the work that has been performed on my Prius....I a a very happy camper.:D

     

    Attached Files:

    Brian in Tucson likes this.
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Your picture #6 shows that a module lost part of it's top, while your picture #9 shows the hybrid vehicle warning icon is on. The battery must have been abused extensively for a module to blow its top.

    Hopefully both of those photos reflect the "before" state of your car, and do not reflect what the car looks like "after" repairs.
     
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I am surprised to see the 'exploded' modules. Not the first but it always makes me wonder how.

    It looks like four smart chargers are used. I take it after removing the dead modules, he wired up three groups in parallel of 10 modules and one of 8.

    Did he share his voltage and current profile to recharge the modules?

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. Delemi

    Delemi Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2014
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    Location:
    Lyons
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    One
    @bwilson4web there all wired in pairs and those are all before pictures. On this last trip I brought out a mini VCI and tried to get deeper into his issues. This car was sitting for a long time and had voltage fluctuations from 4v to 7.23v this battery pack actually scared me to even work on. Between the module that had exploded (which had 7.2v surprisingly and a moderate amount of KOH gel inside) and we did not get it right the first attempt, I came out a second time at no cost to him and pulled the battery again. Modules 19 and 20 were testing good however the HV system charged the one module past 8.5v and it set off the triangle of death and warning lights after I left. I also had two modules that exploded on the chargers - not shown.

    I drove it after I put it in the first time and it drove flawless, it then started to give a failure to start code.
    It was mechanical, I did help him go over the basics. The car had about 5 or more quarts of oil, plugs were fowled and the air cleaner plugged. Oil everywhere.

    Once he resolved the failure to start it gave us a #10 weak code. Since it shows us the battery modules in pairs of two that tells me its 19 and 20. We find that one is hovering at 6.9 and the other at 8.5 both out of spec. All other modules had between 7 and 7.18v. The battery was not balanced. We swapped out a total of 8 modules (6 the first time and 2 the second time). Two of the modules that he gave me the second time have an aluminum/plastic casing I've never encountered these until now,

    Charger settings: Manual: Battery Type: NiMH: 2.5amp charge. It will take the modules a while to charge based on voltage state and resistance.

    In the end the cars dash lights are clear and the Inverter/charging system is charging with out issue. We listened to the radio for about an hour as I packed up and listened to car kick on and off as it maintained the HV battery. AC doesn't work but that's to be expected on a car of this ones age.
     
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  5. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Thank you!

    The silvery sided modules are Gen II or later. It is non-conductive so I suspect it is a mold-release coating.

    Well done! This is what we hope more NHW11 owners learn to handle.

    Bob Wilson
     
    depriusoto and aswresm like this.