Some HV battery questions

There is no such thing as a dumb question from an enquiring mind.
Yes it does.

John (Britprius)

 

Yep it does that. Open the door and sometimes it'll go off. Press your foot on the brake and it'll pump away. It's perfectly normal.

The Prius does make some weird noises (ever heard that belching like noise about 5 mins after parking?) but a petrol/diesel car makes a right bl**dy noise all the time. Ever sat next to an old Mondeo diesel at the lights and wondered why you ever drove something like that; you're sat in silence and they're clatter, clatter, knock, clatter.

What other strange foilbles does the Prius have? Probably a few others but I've got used to them now.

As Britprius said, don't worry asking dumb questions - that's how we all learn. Ask away.

 

Hi Jay,
I did a semester of school in Cambridge. A heat wave in the UK . . . I have to admit, my 1st thought was, "wow ... that must mean it's nearly 29 or 30c (or 86f for us yanks)
Trust me - hot weather in the UK is not what's really meant, when folks talk about traction packs dealing with hot weather. Here in So. Cal and Arizona - we get hot. Hot, for purposes of the prius, is when it't above 40c.
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But isn't it relative? Your buildings are all set up for heat and thus all high highly efficient air conditioning, car lots may have shades and such like. Now imagine turning off all the air conditioners as they don't exist in many places as why use them for 7 days every 5 years? No need to have heat proof tarmac if it rarely ever gets hot enough to melt and also because it breaks down quicker in ice and snow.

So whilst 30c is not hot for you, I imagine your buildings would have trouble coping with a UK winter or rain storms.

Horses for courses.

And my a/c has broken in my Prius and it IS hot inside, even at 30c.

 

Britprius (John) and Grumpy Cabby; Thank you for all the valuable information you've shared regarding weird noises coming from the Prius II often before you've driven off or the engine has started. It's quite comforting to know that those sounds, albeit somewhat peculiar to the uninitiated, are perfectly normal and directly related to the different modes of operation of our Prii.

I find the noises it makes "after touchdown" rather fascinating and somewhat reminiscent of the Star Wars scene where the Millenium Falcon had just landed on the Floating Cloud City of Bespin, and as they disembarked and were walking away from it, the MF made a series of dramatic gas discharges from hidden overflow valves and the like. Like some highly advances Hybrid Car /Spacecraft, the Pruis II's computer systems continue to run through a preprogammed shutdown checklist and execute its commands accordingly, even as you collect your items from the vehicle and walk away.

I also tend to hear the Brake Pressure Pump kicking in even while I'm driving - I'm assuming that's entirely normal too. Occasionally but not always, I also get to hear the so called "Dog Bark" sound, but only when the A/C is turned on an a cold morning. As the engine warms up and I get underway, the noise seems to completely disappear. I never hear it on the way home during the hot summer afternoons in London. When running in EV mode (throttle controlled, not via EV button, never use it), I can just about barely make out the slightly high pitched whine of the Electric Traction Motors as they quietly propel the car along. I have very sensitive hearing - often picking up noisy Wi-Fi AP Transmitter units at work - which to me verge on the truly uncomfortable! Slowing down, the Prius sounds a bit like a very quiet Tube pulling into a Tube Station. Very, very Sci-Fi if I may say so! Lastly, the sound I find most exhilarating is the one that follows when you power up the Prius systems by pressing the power button. That sophisticated sound of a bevy of electronic control units coming on line and the Digital Dashboard running through its "POST" just feels so.........22nd century!

 

...... After driving lots of EV's - plugins and hybrids since the 1990's - the relatively quiet noises I hear are rather comforting. Nowadays when I have to rent a gas burner it's kind of bothersome to hear the vibrating whining noise of an ice - and aggravating to hear the sound of blum blum blum blum blum as I wait for the light to turn green.

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And if they take the p*ss about the Prius, show them this;

 

A lot of people who actually take a ride in a Prius and are truly intelligent enough to understand what an astounding piece of technology it is, naturally become quite fascinated by it. Literally anyone who gets a ride in my "Spaceship" gets a rolling commentary as we cruise along silently. I explain to them in simple enough language (for the non-geeks that is) what the Prius is REALLY all about.

They become enamoured by its remarkable silence, the CVT Transmission that doesn't jerk as it propels us along. The seamless switching between the ICE and Electric Traction Motors, it's retro-space age dash, THAT MFD which I always demonstrate to great effect, the fact that I got 605 miles out of 43 litres of regular unleaded driving in the city, and of course my £10 road tax bill, where similar sized cars are paying between between £215 and £400+...!!!

They get blown away by the Electronic Climate Control (a.k.a. Life Support Systems), the SATNAV which though appearing complicated DOES have a specific logic to it and IS very useful. They almost pass out with delight when the SATNAV announces that there's traffic congestion 4 miles down our route. And the icing on the cake? Controlling the SATNAV and the entirely more than adequate JBL Stereo with my voice....!!! And hearing the car talk back to us - the stuff of dreams!!

By the end of the ride, the truly savvy amongst most passengers quickly realise that the Prius is no gimmick. They come to understand that they have just experienced the future today; That the Prius is in fact an "Evolutionary Step" in the right direction for vehicles on this increasingly oil starved terrestrial ball we inhabit.

They wake up and realise suddenly that getting from A to B doesn't have to be done according to the "School of Jeremy Clarkson - Motto: Powerrrrrr...!!!". Nope! You don't have to subscribe to Bentley, Bavarian Motor Works or Mercedes Benz to experience a luxurious ride. The Prius will give you all of that at a fraction of the cost, yet the genius of the over engineered Hybrid Synergy Drive can never be understated. This is a new evolution of the Automobile. Like it or not, it's pretty much here to stay!

 

I have a 2005 Prius. Discovered today block 5 of the HV pack is bad. The first hint was the massive illumination of the dummy lights. After the warning lights came on the battery pack charge display was fluctuating wildly from 8 bars to 1 and back up again. Then for the first time EVER I hear what sounds like the back passenger door is open. Of course it turned out to be the HV battery fan. Stays on from start up to power down. Does this fan coming on for the first time ever indicate dangerous heat? Or just heating above the prior normal of the past 10 years?
Now the big question; I am not competent enough to contemplate replacing on the pack on my own. Is there any negotiation room with the dealers or options to buy direct? My quote is $3250; backing out tax and labor of $233 leaves a price of $2800 for the battery.
Oh, and the codes: P080,P010a. c2310, c2311, c2318, P3000, c1310, c1313

 

The battery fan is always running at low speed, mostly silent, but the pack failure causes excess heating so it switches to full speed in such cases. The fan does get dirty and needs to be cleaned. That will be easy once the battery is getting replaced anyway.

Some here try to get a junk yard battery pack. Any competent mechanic can swap the battery, using videos posted here or youtube. Another source is to look into battery rebuilders in your area. There must be someone locally who is doing that. The dealer is the most expensive option by far.

 

The battery fan does not run even on the slowest speed while in ready mode constantly. Techstream shows admittedly at fairly low temperature (9.6 C) no voltage at the cooling fan. This was after a 20 mile run. Data sheet below shows fan mode at zero, and fan voltage at zero.
In a warmer climate the fan may be on at slow speed at ambient temperature, but if the battery is cool enough it does turn off.



John (Britprius)

 

I think it's a climate thing. I've had my HV battery cooking many a time, yet have only heard the fan on full flow a couple of times. It sounds like an old hairdryer. Saying that, I think it's harder to hear it in a RHD country as it's directly behind us.

 

Quite possibly due to this less stressful life that my gen2 gets "private use only" I have never heard the battery fan running apart from when I tested the speed function in Techstream.
The car is now at over 100,000 miles and the battery balance looks good.
It is going in for a service next week, and the hybrid system check that should lead to an extension of the HV battery guarantee. I will let the forum know how things work out.

John (Britprius)

 

I see approx 21C as the lowest battery temp at start up, and I have not looked at the fan voltage right while at rest. But the fan runs at about 6-8 volts soon after getting under way.

 

I don't have any software or apps to monitor mine directly, but sometimes when I stop after a drive I leave the Prius in ready mode and walk around to the rear seat where I can place my ear next to the vent to listen. In summer if I take even a short drive then I can hear the fan whispering away on low speed. In winter after a short drive it is usually dead quiet, I assume stopped. After longer drives with hills and plenty of regen however, then I can usually hear the fan (when listening with ear next to the duct) whether it's summer or winter.

As for hearing the fan on high speed, it happened to me a few times in the first summer after I got the Prius (2009). I soon found the cause being a heavily clogged fan and after cleaning it out I never had the fan running really loudly again *except* for one occasion.

That one exceptional occasion was on a really hot day after stopping at the bottom of a large hill with all 8 green bars of SOC showing, and then parking the car in the hot sun for about 1 hour. Apparently the fully charged battery was still giving out heat, so when I parked the car and the fan could no longer run I think the battery overheated. As soon as I got back in the car (1 hour later) and made it ready I heard the battery fan come on full blast and it actually had mild driveabilty issues for 15 to 20 minutes or so. I try to avoid doing that (parking in hot sun with full SOC) now.

 

This summer when we get into the 20's C range in the UK I will check to see what is happening with the fan, and battery temperatures.

John (Britprius)

 

Notice the engine coolant temp is only 53 degrees C - pretty cold after driving 20 miles. But I guess that is to be expected if the ambient temp is 8 degrees C.

How much cabin heat are you getting under those conditions?