I Replaced My Prius Battery Once Would It Die Again
Things don't always become as planned. You head out to your Prius and touch the door handle, only information technology doesn't unlock. Effort pressing the unlock button on the smart primal, yet nothing. Once y'all've opened the door using the emergency cardinal insert, the machine won't Set up. Aarrgh! A expressionless Prius battery! Why does it keep dying?
If you've landed hither looking for instructions to jump first your Prius, click the link. This article is for those whose Prius 12V batteries keep going dead and want to know why information technology'south happening.
In that location are 4 possible reasons your Prius battery might keep dying:
- The bombardment has very depression capacity
- Something is draining the battery while the car is sitting
- The battery isn't being charged while you're driving
- The bombardment terminals are loose
How to bank check your Prius battery
Unless you take some specialized test equipment, you won't be able to exam your battery, at least not very accurately. Many DIY'ers bank check their battery voltage using a multimeter, but unfortunately using a voltage reading won't tell you much about the status of the battery, other than its land of charge (maybe).
The best plan is to bring the auto or the bombardment to a shop or parts store with a battery tester. The best type of tester is called a "load tester". A load tester measures battery voltage while drawing electric current from the bombardment. In that location are rules to using a load tester properly, and often people test improperly and come upwards with an incorrect event. This is the reason that nigh all manufacturers recommend using a different type of tester.
The other type of tester is an internal resistance tester. It'south so easy to use that anybody can use information technology properly. In that location's no danger of user error. All the same, the tool itself isn't all that accurate. An internal resistance tester will get the correct results almost of the time, but I'd guess that it's completely wrong somewhere around 5% of the time. If you're a professional shop, misdiagnosing one out of 20 cars isn't keen for your reputation, so most shops employ load testers. One the other hand most tow drivers, auto parts stores, and dealerships use resistance testers.
If you want authentic results, utilize a load tester and follow these rules:
Only test a charged battery
Testing a discharged battery will make information technology wait bad fifty-fifty if information technology'due south good. A battery MUST be at least 3/4 charged to load exam. How do yous mensurate the state of charge? Ideally you lot'd utilize a battery hydrometer, but the Prius 12V battery is sealed and uses gel electrolyte, so that won't exist an option. Bank check the static voltage. Information technology should be 12.45V – 12.7V; that's 75% to 100% charged. However, if you lot've just had the battery on a charger, you'll need to allow time for the surface accuse to settle before using voltage as a indicator of state of charge.
Exam at the proper current
Loading the bombardment at 1/2 the cold cranking amp (CCA) rating is the proper fashion to load test a battery. If you test at too depression an amperage, a bad bombardment may look good. If you lot test at too high an amperage, a proficient bombardment may look bad. Prius batteries are usually rated betwixt 300 and 450 CCA. Check your rating before testing.
Exam for the full fifteen seconds
Don't be in a hurry. Running a short examination will brand a bad battery wait like it's skillful. A load test is a 15 2nd test. The merely voltage reading that counts is the one measured afterward the battery has been loaded for 15 seconds.
Don't Test right afterwards charging
More often than not, you'll need to charge the battery before you can examination information technology, but if yous examination information technology right after charging, a bad battery may seem similar it'due south OK. Also, the bombardment produces hydrogen gas while charging and a bad load tester clamp connection can cause a spark and explosion. Either let the bombardment rest for a few hours or test information technology 3 times, waiting effectually 5 minutes betwixt each test. The first two tests will burn off any surface charge.
Key off drain
A bad battery isn't the but reason your Prius battery might proceed dying. If something is pulling current while your machine is sitting parked, your bombardment may go expressionless if information technology sits for long plenty. All modernistic cars pull some electric current when the central is off. That's normal. Yet, the battery should last at to the lowest degree a week while sitting.
It's piece of cake to check for key off drain if yous take a multi-meter. Set the meter to measure amperage, which usually requires moving the positive pb to the "amps" port on the meter. Connect i lead to the negative battery cable and the other to the battery concluding. Disconnect the negative battery cablevision from the negative battery concluding and then all of the current flows through the meter. If yous disconnected the cable before the meter was in place, it will take a while for the electric current draw to settle down as torso command functions will "wake" and take a while to go back to sleep. Yous may also demand to close the rear hatch to prevent the BCM from staying awake.
How much key off current describe is normal? Well for a Prius effectually 25mA is normal, but up to 60mA might be adequate for any vehicle. Most people teach that 80mA is the limit, but I've never seen any car pulling that much current without a problem or some sort of aftermarket accessory sucking power.
Charging system problems
Yous've checked your battery condition and central off drain but your Prius battery still keeps dying? Peradventure it's not charging while you lot're driving. Ane the Prius, and all Toyota hybrids, the DC-DC converter charges the bombardment and powers the 12V systems once the machine is Fix. The DC-DC converter on the Prius has two levels of output: thirteen.5V and 14V.
Testing is easy. Use your multi-meter in voltage mode (don't forget to switch the positive atomic number 82 back if you were only testing amperage) and measure out the voltage across the battery terminals when the auto is Prepare. If you lot take 13.5V or 14V, go alee and check with a agglomeration of electrical load on too. But turn on the high beams, radio, defroster, seat heaters, etc. The voltage should remain at 13.5V or 14V.
Loose battery terminals or B+ connector
Maybe your Prius battery isn't dying. Maybe it'south just not well connected to the car. Loose bombardment terminals are a very common problem, and aren't as immediately obvious on a Toyota hybrid since the 12V bombardment isn't used to kickoff the gas engine.
The best manner to cheque is to grab the final and twist. It shouldn't movement at all. If you lot tin can twist the final clench, the terminal is too loose. Besides, many generations of the Prius have a B+ cablevision connector that snaps into place. Sometimes I find that they're not "snapped" and gravity is belongings the connector in place (well-nigh of the time).
Source: https://artsautomotive.com/home/art-icles/articles-for-the-curious/prius-battery-keeps-dying/
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