The Battery Clinic

Options in repairing the Prius Battery Bank

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:56:43 +0000

I read with interest all the efforts in reviving the Gen 1 battery bank and

I think that more people should attempt it. We need to keep these excellent

cars going. Not what the manufacturers want us to do.

Some points that may help.

1) Replacing bad tubes.

This is of course the first step but the question is how do you know you are replacing

bad cells with better ones?

A hit and miss affair, after which you have to equalise the bank. You can’t use new

cells either as this will throw up the triangle. Excess delta SOC.

2) Bank still fails

Some of these packs are now 16 years old and have been repaired several times. Problem

is due to lack of electrolyte ( drying up ). This will happen to the tubes one after the other

so change a few and month later another lot fails.

Solution here is to cut and reweld. You select the cells that are still at 1.3volt after charging

and then make up a new tube by cutting and rewelding. This will give the best result.

3) The Power Jockey

Repairing an old battery bank is like fixing broken bones. It is still weak and will rebreak

under pressure. You need splints to help. That is what the power jockey does.

We are still in the process of optimising the unit for all models. Will have units available

for sale in the near future. You will still have to repair your bank if it is dead.

4) Using Gen 2 modules

This works but is expensive. Cost $2500 and only available if we have the modules to

make up the pack. To date we have made up 5 banks and they work very well. Much

more power and also with the Power Jockey installed.

Means that if you want to spend the money, the NHW10 can be kept working for as long

as the engine is alive. That could be in excess of 600,000 kms.

5) Last but not least is that the engine and the HV system must work together. Many problems

with the battery originate in the engine. So you have to ensure that the engine is performing at peak,

which is as easy as checking that spark plugs, MAF sensors, Oxygen sensors, Coils, and throttle body

are well maintained and working.

6) Lasting solution.

The vehicle needs voltage to be maintained more than capacity. So we can use a smaller bank that

can provide the voltage. The question is what chemistry can provide this? Lithium ion is not the

answer as the charging regime is more demanding and there is always the risk of fire. We are

looking into a lead acid capacitor system but may be a couple of years away.

Honda Hybrid Class Action

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:21:04 +0000

I was aware that Honda hybrid owners in the US were taking a class action against Honda. Below is a video another owner who took Honda to the small claims court instead and won was awarded $9867.19 in damages.

The case here revolves around Honda misleading the public in their advertising.
Also of note is that it was revealed that Honda change the programming to use the battery less and the ICE more to extend battery life.

We do not have the Power Jockey configured for the Honda yet. The Power Jockey reduces the depth of discharge when the battery is used so should make the battery last longer if installed.

We are keeping 15 year old Toyota Prii running perfectly with battery reconditioning and installation of the Power Jockey. System will work with the Honda Hybrid as well.

Will an older Prius save you money

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:30:37 +0000

Absolutely! But surely this is too good to be true!
Let’s crank the numbers.
Your current vehicle is a medium size family vehicle about 2000 to 2500 cc and you travel on average 60 Kms a day. With petrol at $2.20 a litre you could be spending on average $100 a week on petrol.

If you purchase a Generation 1 Prius at say $5000, You can save about $50 a week on your petrol bill. This amounts to $200 a month or $2600 a year.

From our example on Finance Cost a $5000 loan over 36 months would cost you $174 a month. If you save yourself $200 a week as calculated above you will be able to pay the finance cost from fuel savings alone.

Factor in the savings in vehicle maintenance and the savings are even greater.

This example is to highlight the fact that you can own a low cost Prius without and get the benefits of fuel economy without compromising size, space and power. This vehicle is a mid size saloon. You have a full boot space and good leg room in the back sea

This icon of the hybrid revolution will keep on keeping on. If you have a Power Jockey installed HEV battery repair cost $300 only and it comes with 3 months warranty.

CO2, the Greenhouse effect and Environmental Management

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:45:47 +0000

I was watching a documentary by the BBC where scientist measured the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere and compared it to millions of years ago when the earth was an inhospitable hothouse. The CO2 in the atmosphere was 4 times what it is today. Then there were no ice caps at the poles and our seas were stagnant and devoid of oxygen.

These cycles of CO2 increase and decrease are a natural phenomenon and the process takes millions of years. What we are doing is accelerating the process by our burning of fossil fuel and releasing carbon atoms locked away so many million years ago.

Is it all doom and gloom? I believe that there is hope and as human being inhabiting this planet we will learn to manage this carbon cycle. Left to it’s own device the climate will go to extremes however if we are able to manage the release and absorption of carbon in the atmosphere we can in effect manage our own long term climate patterns.

History have shown us that when pushed with our backs to the wall we can and we will find a solution. My generation to our shame have plundered and pillage our environment but the hope is that our children and grandchildren have a different mindset and approach to life. They will be able to manage the environment much better than we could.

Environmental management will be the new frontier from sustainable living to developing technologies in carbon sequestration.

Toyota Prius Triangle Error Code and 288 Volt Display.

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:42:14 +0000

Prius Gen 1

Prius Gen 2

Prius Gen 3

What can go wrong with a Prius?

If you get the triangle error code on your display, a scan will be needed to determine the problem, as the triangle is a general fault code which will clear after the fault is fixed and the error code cleared.

1) The most common problem.

The 12 volt battery is the most common problem. If the 12 volt battery fails in a standard vehicle the car just won’t start and you know to change the battery. In a hybrid even at 12.2 volt the vehicle will also start, as long as there is enough charge to switch the relays in the hybrid battery. The problem arises because the on board computers (there are several) do not have enough power to work correctly and so throw up fault codes that have nothing to do with how the vehicle is performing.

So if you get a problem with your hybrid the first place to look is the 12 volt battery. Knowing this will save you a great deal of money, especially when the “experts” diagnose something else and charge you a fortune for “fixing it”.

2) Second biggest problem.

The hybrid battery will be the second biggest problem. If the 288volt error code appears ( in NHW10 only) then the hybrid battery is low on charge. If you have a NHW10 you can turn off the vehicle connect a second 12 volt battery in parallel to your 12 volt battery and charge the hybrid battery with the on board inverter charger. This is the little unit on top of the main hybrid battery.

On other Prius models you will have the hybrid battery repaired or replaced.

3) Other problems.

Other than the above 2 problems areas that can fail are

a) The MAF sensors

b) The Oxygen sensors

c) The throttle body

d) The transmission

These are items that can make you think your vehicle is damaged beyond repair when in fact are really minor problems.

We have never seen a “blown engine’.

These vehicles can continue to run well over 20 years and over 600,000 Kms. This is good for our environment and also good to dispel the perception that these vehicles are expensive to maintain.

How Long Can A Hybrid Battery Last After Reconditioning

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:41:40 +0000

Prius Gen 1

Prius Gen 2

Prius Gen 3

Up to 2012 the Toyota Prius hybrid uses a Nimh battery pack as it’s energy storage and traction battery. The first generation Prius uses tubular steel encased Nimh cells strung in a series to make up 288 volts. These batteries started having problems after 5 years and were breaking down completely after 8 years.

To answer the question of how long can the hybrid battery last we have to look at our experience with the batteries in the Generation 1 Prius. We started reconditioning these batteries back in 2007 and had some success. Over the years we improved our techniques and in October 2010 we introduced our patented invention The Power Jockey.

By October 2011 we have advanced the Power Jockey to the point where a Generation 1 Prius will perform even better than new with this version of the Power Jockey installed. It is still running on the same original battery pack which is now at least 14 years old and going by it’s performance we can expect it to last another 5 years without ant problems.

At this point we are quite confident in predicting that the original Prius Hybrid battery can last at least 20 years.

Prius Estima Hybrid lost transponder key

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:07:47 +0000

Modern car these days have transponder keys to increase security. However it also contributes to a major problem if the transponder key is misplaced, lost or stolen. Getting a replacement is a major headache. For the Prius and Estima Hybrid even Toyota dealerships are unable to help.

The Estima hybrid Key security system needs all three parts to the system.

1) The Transponder Key

Get a spare transponder cloned and put away in a safe place as without the transponder located inside the plastic casing of the key it is quite impossible to get a key made that will work with the transponder computer unit and the HV control computer.

Situated on the key barrel unit is the transmitter unit that recognises the key. This unit is not specific to any vehicle and will work with any key.

2) The Transponder Computer

The transponder computer is the size of a cigarette pack and is situated under the dash just behind the radio/tapedeck unit. It may be a little difficult to access.

3) The HV Control Computer

This unit is situated on the passenger side under the dash. It is the larger unit and is labelled HV control system.

If the transponder key is lost you will need to replace all three unit which means that it has to be obtained from a wreck vehicle.

Estima Hybrid with Power Jockey

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:32:32 +0000

The Estima Hybrid released 2001 has the same prismatic Nimh cells as used in the Gen 2 Prius. The number of cells used was reduced from 38 in the Gen 2 to 30 in the Estima Hybrid. The reason for reducing the number of cells used is to reduce cost but the electric motor voltage was doubled to increase the operating voltage. The downside is that the inverter/converter is more vulnerable to battery pack voltage. Like the Gen 2 these battery packs have started failing but replacements was quoted at $8000 mainly because they are not as common as the Gen 2 battery packs.

Reconditioning at $600 and installing the Power Jockey is therefore the more sensible option. More important the Estima Hybrid needs the Power Jockey to protect the transmission and the inverter/converter system. These are the most vulnerable part of the vehicle system and damage can occur when battery pack voltage drops too low. The Power Jockey prevents the voltage from dropping below this threshold.

The Estima hybrid is a popular vehicle because it is a people mover. At 12 Kms/Liter It has twice the fuel economy of the standard Estima. With a Power Jockey installed this vehicle will be mechanically just as reliable as the Prius.

One disadvantage these prismatic cells is that if the vehicle is left unused for 6 months or more the cells fail probably due to crystallisation of electrolyte. We have not found a way to reverse this process yet. So if you are going away for any length of time it is a good idea to get someone to start the vehicle every so often.

A trickle charge system could solve this problem and as the Power Jockey works like a battery in parallel, we could adapted it to perform this function.

Checkout comments from Gen 2 Power Jockey owners below.

The next development for the Estima hybrid will be a low cost plug in system so that the vehicle will become a Plug-In-Electric hybrid vehicle. We say Plug-In-Electric because the system will be 12 volt base to take advantage of on board charging so as to maximise electric mode. Hopefully this will push the fuel economy above 20 Kms/Litre without grid charging.

Space is not a problem in the Estima hybrid giving us the option of carrying more storage batteries. We use reconditioned lead acid batteries as these are cheaper than lithium ion. We are currently running test with this system.

Prius Gen 3 with Power Jockey

admin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:00:01 +0000

The Gen 3 Prius released mid 2003 has the same prismatic Nimh cells as used in the Gen 2 Prius. However the Nimh cells used in the Gen3 Prius are longer and have a more capacity than the Gen 2 cells. The number of cells used was reduced from 38 in the Gen 2 to 28 in Gen 3. They also seem to last longer than the Gen 2 cells.

To date 8 years later we have not recondition any Generation 3 battery packs. These cells will deteriorate possibly closer to year 10.

Because the number of cells used is reduced battery pack replacement is cheaper at $4500. Reconditioning at $600 is still more economic.

With the Power Jockey the vehicle will perform better. Fuel economy is better and the vehicle appears to be more powerful. It is for this reason that owners of hybrid vehicles will choose to install the Power Jockey, even before the battery fails.

The first sign that the battery pack is starting to weaken is when the fuel economy deteriorates. As the electric motor’s contribution to power at speeds above EV mode, additional power required to maintain the speed asked for is provided by the petrol engine. Therefore fuel consumption increases.

A trickle charge system could solve this problem and as the Power Jockey works like a battery in parallel, we could adapted it to perform this function.

Checkout comments from Gen 2 Power Jockey owners below.

The Power Jockey for the Gen 3 Prius (NHW20) will be released in 2012. One test we conducted on the Gen 3 Prius with the Power Jockey returned 36.5 Kms/Litre at speeds under 50 KPH.

Reconditioning and installation of the Power Jockey in the Gen 3 Prius should start in 2012 on the basis that it improves the performance of the vehicle. In addition it protects and allow the vehicle to work with a weaker battery. One weakness that the Gen 3 has is the inverter/converter which can be damaged if the battery is weak. We have replaced 1 such unit so far at a cost of $1500. A new inverter/converter was quoted at $5000. This potential expensive failure can be prevented if the Power Jockey was installed.

We would like to point out that even though the prime purpose of the Power Jockey is to augment and protect the hybrid battery, it will improve the fuel economy of the vehicle as well.

The next development for the Gen 3 Prius will be a low cost plug in system so that the vehicle will become a Plug-In-Electric hybrid vehicle. We say Plug-In-Electric because the system will be 12 volt base to take advantage of on board charging so as to maximise electric mode. Hopefully this will push the fuel economy above 30 Kms/Litre without grid charging.

Prius Gen 2 with Power Jockey

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:54:55 +0000

Learning from the Generation 1 Prius, Toyota changed to prismatic Nimh cells. These cells were encased in plastic instead of steel. They are cheaper to manufacture more leak resistant and reliable. With age these battery packs still fail, and although cheaper to replaced, still cost around $6000. We charge $600 for reconditioning. Since we are using battery packs with lower charge capacity we need to augment it with the Power Jockey. This combination extends the useful life of the hybrid battery. As these prismatic cells are still used today, keeping these batteries alive is not a problem.

One disadvantage these prismatic cells have over the Gen 1 steel encased cells is that if the vehicle is left unused for 6 months or more the cells fail probably due to crystallisation of electrolyte. We have not found a way to reverse this process yet. So if you are going away for any length of time it is a good idea to get someone to start the vehicle every so often.

A trickle charge system could solve this problem and as the Power Jockey works like a battery in parallel, we could adapted it to perform this function.

Checkout comments from Gen 2 Power Jockey owners below.

The Power Jockey for the Gen 2 Prius (NHW11) was released and installed in vehicles not long after the Generation 1 in November 2011. Reconditioning and installation of the Power Jockey in the Gen 2 Prius picked up in mid 2011. Prior to this most of these battery packs were replaced. As the value of the Gen 2 Prius fell below $10,000 reconditioning and installation of the Power Jockey made more economic sense.

Equipped with a Power Jockey and after hybrid battery reconditioning the Prius Gen 2 is powerful and drives very smoothly even after 200,000 Kms on the odometer. In this post we invite owners of the Prius Gen 1 with the Power Jockey installed to comment.

We would like to point out that even though the prime purpose of the Power Jockey is to augment and protect the hybrid battery, it will improve the fuel economy of the vehicle as well.

The next development for the Gen 2 Prius will be a low cost plug in system so that the vehicle will become a Plug-In-Electric hybrid vehicle. We say Plug-In-Electric because the system will be 12 volt base to take advantage of on board charging so as to maximise electric mode. Hopefully this will push the fuel economy above 30 Kms/Litre without grid charging.