Thanks for the info I swapped the battery out but found the reason why it went bad. My headlights won't shut off

 

These are 'deep cycle' type batteries. They're designed to survive deep discharges like this. you may be able to resurrect the battery with a trickle charger and a couple of days of time.

Of course the bit about the lights not turning off should be looked into. Sometimes the switch stalk gets twisted into the wrong position by being bumped. I've had that happen a couple of times. Only mine was to turn the lights so they DIDN'T come on.

Good luck.

 

Just to put all the driving-not driving issue to an end:

Questions about the Prius Battery
Plugging the Prius in

The Prius is never plugged in to recharge the battery. Battery charge is maintained by normal driving. (but this is the traction battery!)

The Prius is a "charge sustaining" hybrid vehicle. This means that it manages the battery charge itself and keeps it topped up using power from the gasoline engine and/or power recovered during coasting and braking. In practice, you can ignore the fact that the car has a second power source and drive it like a conventional car.
Does the battery discharge if the car is not driven?
How long can I leave my Prius without driving it?

No longer than four weeks. Leaving any car undriven for a length of time requires caution. The battery will be discharged by electrical systems such as vehicle security and the fuel will become gummy and clog the engine. Hybrid vehicles have small 12 volt batteries and the tiny power drain of the security system will exhaust them in weeks instead of months for a conventional car. This is the limiting factor for a Prius. The 12 volt battery, if healthy and fully charged at the beginning, will be completely discharged in about four weeks. Since it is not a good idea to fully discharge a lead-acid battery, it is inadvisable to leave the car for this length of time on a regular basis. Toyota have recommended that the car be turned on at least every two weeks and be left on for half an hour. The engine does not need to run for this time nor the car be actually driven.

You can prevent the 12 volt battery from discharging by disconnecting it or arranging for it to be charged by a solar array or battery tender. A cheap trickle charger can be used, but these tend to overcharge the battery, which will eventually damage it. Disconnecting the battery will clear the radio presets, clock and trip odometers, but not the values displayed on the consumption screen.

With the 12 volt battery taken care of, you next need to be concerned with the traction battery and the fuel. If you are leaving any car for three months or more, it would be a good idea to have a mechanic prepare it, including draining off the fuel. There is less information available about discharge of the traction battery. People have left a Prius for a month and had it start right up, but again Toyota stick to their recommendation of running it every two weeks. Personally, I would feel safe at a month, but I would make sure the traction battery is well charged before I left the car. This means taking the car for a run of at least 15 minutes and preventing it from using the battery-only mode in which the engine shuts off. Road conditions permitting, you can "pump up" the battery a bit by getting up to high speed with moderate acceleration and then slowing back down by coasting or gentle braking ending at the place you'll leave the car.

 

Not likely, if it's like the one I have. It specifically excludes batteries and other stuff. The power pack is covered by a federally mandated warranty.

 

Thanks for the very helpful information. One part puzzles me. My 2007 Camry Hybrid died in the garage after running OK. The temperature sensor wire on mine travels along the positive cable and connects with a modular snap electrical clip connection to another plastic part that is snapped into the top back corner of the batter behind the positive post. That corner is cut at a 45-degree angle in the corner of the top part of the battery. Mine was not glued down. My question is what did you connect the sensor wire to on the new battery? The batteries I saw at Batteries+ did not have a place to connect the sensor wire.

Thanks again.

 

Dear all,

Happy New year!

Following is information from an e-mail reply by an Optima CS Rep:

At this time we do not have a fitment for the hybrid models.

You can measure the dimensions of your existing stock battery to see if there’s an Optima that will work for your vehicle. Below is a link to the product specification page where you can down load the brochure and find exact dimensions for all Optima batteries:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en/technology/

Alternately, you can check the internet enthusiast forums for your vehicle to see how others have done custom applications with Optima batteries.

Red Top: Use this for normal engine starting where an alternator immediately monitors the state of charge and provides energy to the battery whenever it is needed. This would describe most stock vehicles that are daily driven.
• Automotive & RV under-hood starting
• Heavy equipment where starting is primary function
• Diesel powered vehicles with no aftermarket electronics

Yellow Top: Use this when electrical loads are higher than average, or when the discharge cycle is more than typical engine starting, such as vehicles without alternators. This also includes vehicles with significant electrical loads that may exceed the average alternator output (for example aftermarket audio system, GPS, chargers, winch, snowplow, inverters, drag cars). This can also include vehicles that have a lot of electronics from the factory, such as a mini-van with power sliding doors and a DVD player, especially if the DVD player is used when the engine isn’t running. If the vehicle is not daily driven and is in storage for periods of time a Yellow Top would be suggested for this type of application.• Racing vehicles without a charging system (alternator or generator)
• Dedicated drag racing vehicles
• Diesel powered vehicles with aftermarket electronics
• Car audio/video applications exceeding 250 watts over the OE system
• Vehicles or heavy equipment with inverters, hydraulics, winches or other accessories
• Electric vehicles

If you are using an Optima battery in a custom application, it is important to consider the following: You will need to meet or exceed the CCA requirements of your vehicle.
· Hood Clearance – There should be at least Ύ” clearance between the top of the battery terminals and the underside of the hood.
· Trunk/Interior Mounting – If your battery is mounted inside the passenger compartment or trunk (common in many European makes) the battery must be vented to the outside of the vehicle. Optima group 27, 51, 78, 34C, and 31 batteries all have ports for connecting a vent hose.
· Side Terminals – Optima 34/78, D34/78, 75/25 and D75/25 batteries have both top and side terminals. If you are using one of these batteries in a vehicle that uses the top terminals, it is important to ensure that the side terminals cannot come into contact with anything metallic (for example, the firewall or fender well), thereby causing a short. We suggest keeping the post protectors on the terminals you are not using. Do not connect a winch to the side terminals.
· Battery Modifications – Cutting, drilling, trimming or otherwise modifying your Optima battery may present a safety hazard and will void the warranty.
· Mounting – Your Optima battery must be securely mounted. The terminals are not intended to be used to secure the battery. Using the terminals in this way will damage the battery and void your warranty.
· Heat – Protect your battery from high heat, such as turbochargers or exhaust manifolds.

Thank you,
Optima Customer Service

Hope is useful. Enjoy!

 

To captain jim:

I just change my old panasonic batt with a new optima yellow top and have connected the heat sensor just like your picture and i have "power cycled" the car over 3 times and more and yet still the "check hybrid system" warning light is still showing on the dashboard! ???

 

Will the hybrid system start at all or does it start and you have a warning light? If it will not start at all, make sure the shift lever is in park, open and close any door and then try to restart again. That should clear the system for a restart.

If you just have the light, it will take a code reader to reset the ECU and turn off the MIL light.

 

Have you driven it at all or have you just power cycled the system? Mine did the same thing when I put my yellowtop in there. However, it started fine and other than having the message on the display the car seemed to be fine. I drive it for a couple of miles, cycled the system again and the message went away.

 

Thank you for the advice... it work! the Check Hybrid System Light turn off! You see all the Colorful Arrows on the dashboard charging from the Traction Battery! Yay... Happy I have the New Optima Yellow Batt installed and it works!!!