DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Hi all! Newb here, I'm a quite mechanically apt person who just acquired his first Hybrid and I've found the mpg to be extremely lacking (17.7 avg according to the touch screen display) from my expectations, and the traction battery appears to be not holding a charge very well, looking at the touch screen display where it shows the engine and two motors and their transfer of power, the battery indicator will fill up to 60-80% on a 15-20 minute drive under 40mph, and stop to do business, then about 2 hours later to return home, I will start the HiHy and the battery level indicator only shows about 20% capacity. Also it will lower while simply waiting at a long light, today, it was at about 60% then while sitting still at a long red light, it gradually dropped all the way to ~10% or so.
Being somewhat mechanically inclined, and having most of the necessary tools at my disposal (conventional mechanic tools, as well as OBD-2 diagnostic scan tool, and a very nice Fluke multimeter) I think I would like to actually dismantle the traction battery and test the individual cells and replace just the ones that are lacking in capacity. Is it just a matter of unbolting them and checking voltage or am I missing something? Has anyone else attempted tackling such a task themselves? Thanks for any input!

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Also, forgot to mention, I read about the recall on the 2006 HiHy power inverter and I called Toyota and gave them my VIN and they told me that my vehicle had been recalled for it already and that it was current on all recalls, so that is not a factor I believe.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Hi Davey, I know this thread is quite old but I’m curious if you ever were able to do this and what your outcome was please? I know there’s more info available online nowadays regarding this especially for Prius hybrid batteries. My HiHy seems fine as of today but I’m sure I’ll be needing to do this in future at some point as I plan on having my 2006 for awhile as it only has 114K miles and I’m environmentally conscious:) I’ve seen you’re other posts and don’t have answers but you seem very inquisitive and capable of doing many repairs as well as creating novel inventions/modifications for your hybrid. I acquired my car last year and am new to automotive mechanical electrical and battery systems etc etc but am working towards becoming proficient and knowledgeable in these areas so I can at least perform diy repairs on my car. Only recently I performed my first oil change with filter replacement lol

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

HiHy and Lexus RX4XX HV batteries are unique. They do not share components with any other hybrid vehicle. Replacing individual modules is very difficult in comparison to the simplicity of the Prius module. There are 3 subpacks within the HV battery. It is more common to replace the entire subpack for simplicity. The battery is large, heavy and requires a lot of workspace.

IMHO, your best bet is to bet a Prolong reconditioning system that will charge/discharge your battery, reclaim lost capacity and maximize remaining life.

https://hybridautomotive.com/product...oning-package/

I am an authorized installer. I receive no compensation or benefit from this recommendation. As an authorized installer, I am offered a small discount on their equipment. Hybrid Automotive has never paid me in any way for anything. I make this recommendation because it's a viable turnkey option for your stated goal. This kit includes fan controllers and power supplies needed to drive the battery cooling fans during battery charging. The discharger is an automated device that discharges the battery to preset voltage levels at progressively lower currents to minimize the potential for damage from cell polarity reversal.

Proper reconditioning using this equipment takes about 4-5 days. In most cases, a single charge/discharge cycle will restore the battery to about 80-90% of its potential (not 80-90% of new, but however good your particular battery can get). Your first time would involve the full 3 charge/discharge reconditioning cycles. After that you might only need to run 1 cycle every 6-24 months depending on your climate (hot = 6-12 months, mild = 12-24 months).

These kits WILL NOT FIX a Toyota hybrid battery that has failed; however, they are a good tool for maintaining battery health and subsequent longevity.

How much of a difference does it make? No one has the answer. The way these things typically fail is that pack capacity is reduced from age, use and heat. As the capacity is reduced, the cells are subjected to greater relative swings in their state of charge (SoC), i.e., they fill up faster and empty faster. This increased range of SoC use causes additional cycle wear on them. Eventually, a single cell drops out, and the pack is done for. The reconditioning process restores the lost capacity and returns the cells to a more normal operating range and reduced cycle wear thus delaying failure.

To illustrate the concept:

New cells have 100% capacity and operating in a typical 55-65% range of SoC.
Degraded cells have 50% capacity and operating in the typical 55-65% range of SoC is now more like operating in the 50-70% range of the degraded cells.

Using 10% of a cell's range of charge is much less stressful than using 20% of a cell's range of charge.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Thanks @S Keith for info and advice. Please see my post at

https://priuschat.com/threads/having....209459/page-3

I didn’t create thread but posted hoping to receive help with my initial Prolong experience. I also just had an unnerving experience with electrical burning and suspected the Prolong Harness cooling fan control circuit override green boxes as the culprit for electrical burning smell and ultimately causing a P3105 dtc and triangle of death with check hybrid battery and AWD systems warnings on my display! It caused my vehicle to sound terrible and roughly idle and cooling fans to maximum speed where I thought they were gonna spin out of their housings and also a forceful loud blowing of air from my engine bay kinda behind engine air filter housing unit! Now my vehicle is making this popping noise at startup kinda like the sound of a Prius at beginning stage of misfiring. I saw video on YouTube and mine sounded like at beginning of video but nowhere near as bad as the video progresses.

I just received response from HA and George said that he agrees that it sounds like the green box is bad (this only happened in the hybrid battery bank behind my driver’s seat and respective cooling fan.

I currently have removed the Prolong harness entirely and did just request a new one but I’m still kinda uncertain and nervous about this system being adequate for the size of a SUV hybrid but idk. The Prius folks seem to have great results. I had great results though short-lived since I’ve had to disconnect my 12V and everything reset. But I gained significant mpg improvement for a several days even with AC on at 70mph highway speeds during a 166 mile each way 2.5-3 hour drive with outside temps at and above 90F! I also have a cargo carrier on my roof that’s empty and another 45 pound item on roof rack!!!

Have you experience with the Prolong system and hybrid SUV’s? Are you in near central Monterey Bay Area California by chance lol?

I am looking for an independent hybrid vehicle mechanical expert because I’m disillusioned with Toyota dealerships or dealerships in general and never have been a big fan of them. It’s just with the hybrid I was worried that there’s only things that Toyota can do but now that I’ve done more research since owning my vehicle as of 11/2020 I know this to not be true and sometimes can be to detriment!

So I’m waiting to hear back from HA and hopefully they send me new harness because my car’s interior is still disassembled to behind front seats since Friday lol!

George said it would be fine to install harness and leave cooling fan green boxes disconnected. I don’t trust those now to allow for proper cooling fan operation majority of time when Prolong is not in use.

Do you think that harm was caused to my vehicle because of the noise I’m now hearing? I believe in some coincidences but the timing on this is just too close for comfort (not that it’s comforting to ever have weird and new car noises lol!)

Obviously I’m not asking this for any future legal implications bc that would probably cost way more trying to prove that this cooling fan box caused whatever is now making noise and I’m sure HA’s disclaimer has them fully protected to prevent that from ever occurring.

Do you have the HA Thunderbolt system? If so, how much does that service cost for hybrid battery health assessment? I saw a couple of their YouTube videos and I still know that overall their devices are beneficial to longevity of battery health.

I’m new to all of this automotive, electrical, battery, etc etc etc stuff and am still learning as I go and want to learn more and be proficient to test my hybrid battery or at least the Prolong devices to make sure all is good 👍🏽
And I’m very curious as to if you’ve had good interactions with regards to HA and hybrid SUV’s.

Also one last thing, when I was installing the harness (which took me about 2 8-hour days multiple checking every step especially the hybrid battery ones lol) I briefly skimmed some of the other installation manuals on their site and I think all of the others indicated to disconnect 12V battery beforehand. But the HiHy did not mention that. I did anyways because of how long it was taking me and all of my doors were open. I also learned from the Priuschat folks that the hybrid switch along with 12V battery disconnected should be removed prior to connecting charger/discharger to vehicle harness connector and then reinstall the hybrid switch before turning charger/discharger on. This sequence has prevented the mini arc flash from occurring inside my charger every time I connected it prior. Do you have any experience with this happening?
Thanks again S Keith!

Any additional help or advice is appreciated:)

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Hi @S Keith well I replied earlier but apparently I didn’t hit submit and it wasn’t saved.

I have a Prolong Deluxe Reconditioning System that I purchased in May, installed the harness in June, and performed my first and only full reconditioning in July. I’ve had some issues to say the least! And as you’re aware access to the harness is not so easy in a HiHy.

My other reply to you included links but if you’re interested in some of my experience with it so far I have the same screen name in Priuschat and ToyotaNation.

Are you in CA central Monterey Bay Area by chance lol? I am considering having an HV independent mechanic with Thunderbolt or similar system perform overall inspection on my vehicle and hybrid battery so I can have some baseline data to work with. And I’m also done with dealerships! I never went to them until I bought my HiHy and hadn’t researched too much about the mechanical and electrical specs so I incorrectly thought that only Toyota certified places would be able to maintenance and service it properly. But I’ve been to one dealership twice and the second time left me underwhelmed with an unsatisfactory experience.

Have you any experience with Prolong and HV SUV’s? If so, are the devices capable of handling that much more voltage than a car in your opinion and experience?

I’ve honestly had nothing but trouble with mine and currently my car interior remains disassembled since last Friday and the car harness completely uninstalled while I’m researching online and waiting for additional reply from HA.

The first problem was more frustrating in hindsight but this most recent problem posed a possible safety risk. Long story short, HA agreed with my assessment that one of the cooling fan controller override green boxes went bad due to the electrical burning smell I detected while driving 130 miles away from home! And I confirmed it by removing it and opening it up but didn’t see any visible burning but smelled it strongly upon opening.

The driver’s side battery bank was over temperature by several degrees and it was hot outside during my drive. I disconnected it but for some reason decided to reconnect it to see if the fan was actually working and verified all 3 fans were and after reinstalling the hybrid battery parts required for safety.

But then my car began idling roughly and loudly and the fans began spinning at maximum speed or higher as I thought they were gonna fly outta their housings lol! And there was this forceful air blowing from my engine bay from behind area near engine filter housing and the worst part was I received a “triangle of death” warning symbol and warning messages on my display to “check hybrid battery and AWD systems!”

I used Dr. Prius/Hybrid Assistant app again with my veepeak obd-II scanner and it indicated P3105 battery general dtc! I was freaking out at this point. So I disconnected everything including the harness and used app to clear codes and drove around awhile praying it wouldn’t come back up with the warning codes which it hasn’t so far!

But now my car is making this popping noise like an old water heater in area with very ‘hard’ high mineral content water from area where inverter pump is located but I don’t know if that’s where it’s coming from.

I did have my timing belt replaced, inverter coolant changed and cvt fluid changed in June along with oil change and other maintenance items by dealership. Not sure if any of these things could be cause of the noise or issue I experienced but I’m pretty sure it’s the harness. And I’m frustrated also with HA despite knowing their system is beneficial for battery health and longevity overall.

I appreciate your advice and help :)

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

I am in AZ

I have installed a prolong in an 07 HiHY. It performed as expected. I don't really understand your question concerning voltage. There are different Prolong systems for various car models to address the voltage differences. If you purchased the system for the HiHy, then there should be no issues.

P3105 can be triggered by an inop battery fan or it's not responding as expected. If one of the controllers failed and did not allow the fan to respond to HV commands, that would do it.

If your inverter coolant is low, the pump can cavitate making a similar sound. If it wasn't bled properly, it can cause that sound, but they will usually self-correct over time.

I suggest you take a step back from the computer and maintain the dialogue with HA. The Internet is always right, and it's always wrong. The one thing you can count on is FUD, which gets you no closer to your goal. If the controller is bad, they will replace it. They have consistently stood by their products for the better part of a decade.

Please confirm that you are NOT operating the vehicle without the battery cover in place and secured. If you do that, you've effectively disabled the cooling system.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

After looking into how big a pain in the rear it was to access the HyHi batteries, I decided to not even mess with ripping the whole car apart, and just drove it. Just completed a 2400 mile trip, moving across the continent, and pulling a tiny pop up camper with it, got 21mpg average. After about 6 months of daily use, the battery seemed to have slowly regenerated itself, and now when I drive it (wife uses it daily) I get 24-25mpg, wife consistently gets 21-22. Not terrible considering it’s a 15 year old vehicle that seats 5 comfortably or 7 uncomfortably lol it’s now at 235k miles, engine runs like a top, just had the timing belt, water pump, brakes, and transmission flush done a couple months ago. Body and interior is starting to show its age (teenage driver using occasionally over the last year certainly hasn’t helped) so will probably give it to the kid in the next few months and get the wife something a little newer (and probably sportier, since she has one less kid to drag around) but I certainly can’t complain, it’s been a good car.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Thanks @DaveyG for your reply and update:) that’s super helpful to know that your same year HiHy has that many miles without problems! I’ve seen the high mileage thread on ToyotaNation forum for HiHy and it’s equally as impressive and reassuring!

Thanks @S Keith for your experience and information. Here’s a link to Priuschat containing my experience with the Prolong Deluxe System since I initially installed it in June 2021 and purchased in May 2021.

My history with prolong deluxe system

I came across the MaxxVolt post regarding issues people were having with their cooling fans on this forum and I’ll look for it again and post link if I find it. I did take a screenshot lol of the post that intrigued me the most. This person worked with electrical engineers and they ultimately determined that the MaxxVolt system should be isolated from the BMS of the vehicle and the cooling fan controllers were the cause of the problems causing the cooling fans to malfunction. Since my last experience with the Prolong cooling fan controller, I’m inclined to suspect that this is also a problem for HA’s system.

Hence, why I indicated to HA that I don’t ‘trust’ the green box controllers at this point. I inquired in my last email to them if I can leave them disconnected ALL of the time or splice them out. But the only feedback I received was they can send me new controllers or I can connect while charging/discharging-which I replied isn’t obviously an option for me since the location requires completely disassembling the interior of my vehicle. So I’d rather just use an outside source for cooling and leave my doors and hatch open since I live in a mild climate and temps on average are 70’s F during day and 50’s at night. Hottest temps are 90’s and 60’s at night only handful of days per year climate change outta the equation ;)

@S Keith what is your expert advice with regards to my harness questions? I’d rather splice the green boxes out and be left with only the positive and negative cables for the charging/discharging processes. Do you think this will still allow the system to work for the necessary functions minus cooling fans obviously during use?

My cooling fans were cleaned by me during initial harness installation and in 2017 by Toyota dealership and previous owner and are all in good condition with no corrosion on wires visible.

Thanks again for all the advice and help here! I appreciate it very much as I still have much to learn about my first gen HiHy :)

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Here’s link that I referred to above regarding BMS (BCM*) charger hybrid cooling fan controller caused vehicle hybrid cooling fan failure

After reading the post again by @mwillenb I’m almost certain the HA Prolong System has the same defect. I definitely do NOT trust the Prolong harness hybrid cooling fan controller green boxes to maintain SAFE and proper function of my cooling fans after experiencing what I did.

I do not have an alternative solution at this time as I’m not going to disassemble and reassemble my entire car interior to just behind front seats every time I use the Hybrid Automotive System so I need to modify the harness to remove the cooling fan controllers if this is even an option and still be able to use the devices or I suppose to try to sell it though I doubt this will be successful given my version being non Prius. I have not received anymore responses from HA nor from the owner Jeff via Priuschat and am once again very disappointed and offended by the lack of support and technical service once you’ve purchased Hybrid Automotive’s expensive products.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Your conclusion is incorrect. The two systems are completely different. Just because two things do the same thing do not mean they are the same, e.g., how many Chevy parts will fit your Highlander?

The linked issue is a design flaw that when installed as directed caused permanent damage to the BCM. Your issue is a hardware flaw due to a defective component. They can't possibly be the same defect. That incident should in no way influence your opinion. It can't even see irrelevant from where it is... it's way beyond that.

If you use ANY charging system without fan control, you risk battery damage. Once or twice won't matter much, but repeated use will shorten the life of the battery. Your choices are:

1) to completely remove and never use the HA system, or

2) get a replacement controller, install and use it. You can easily verify fan operation at each of the 3 inlets.

I do not know what your expectations are. If you're a jerk, and you expect a$$-kissing and groveling and free sh!t for the inconvenience, you don't deserve any special treatment. If you are treating others the way you would expect to be treated, you have every right to get what you paid for. Actually, you deserve that either way, but one approach works much better than the other. You will NOT find an instance online where HA did not ultimately take care of the customer.

I know Jeff personally. We have met on multiple occasions. We share technical information for the betterment of the industry. I have reached out to Jeff to notify him of your dissatisfaction and directed him to this thread.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Thanks I guess idk! I’m not sure where you would insinuate from any of my posts on this forum that I’m the type of customer whom expects special treatment.

I expect a product I purchase to work functionally and safely as intended especially when a company states claims as such and that their warranty process is satisfactory especially with regards to something in this price range, for example, equivalent to the low cost range of a pc or iPhone.

But in my comparison of price for the Prolong system versus laptop or mobile phone, the latter products are NOT having some level of control (via hardware which communicates to software and vice versa) of a significantly more expensive system i.e. hybrid vehicle components. And I guess that is mistake in entrusting a company’s claims.

I merely want a product that functions in the way it was invented and designed. If that’s too much to ask, I’m not sure how so many companies are still successful especially HA. Not to mention the hours upon hours I’ve had to devote in attempts to get my almost brand new HA Prolong Deluxe System to work once-the very first time I used it. Shame on me for not being able to install me harness during the initial warranty period when I could’ve sent it back for full refund. And now I’m going to have to pay more for ‘warranty’ repair or have new cooling fan controllers for the harness sent to me when I have not performed soldering or splicing of small electrical components and will have to pay someone to do that. And all of this for a product that has been defective from the unpacking unbeknownst to me!

Yes I guess $850 and requesting some basic technical help and some and back and forth emails (without resolution for my first and initial problem and subsequently this most current one) in attempts to have a functional product is a lot to ask :)

You sound almost as bad as MaxxVolts ;)

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

From my most recent experience, I actually risked ‘battery damage’ by having the harness with defective hybrid cooling fan controllers installed! It caused my driver’s side battery bank to be over 100 degrees F and several degrees hotter than the other 2 (even the passenger battery bank over air intake which is always slightly higher due to location) per Dr. Prius app which validated my detection of electrical burning smell emanating from my hybrid battery compartment and most potent in that battery bank location

And I verified the cooling fans were all working upon initial installation per HA instructions and they were. I also verified that they were working when I performed subsequent troubleshooting, reconditioning, and during this most recent issue. They were all operating when I mistakenly decided to reconnect the green boxes and verify that they were still working with those connected after my electrical burning smell detection and that is when the warning lights lit up and my fans went to maximum speed and my engine was extremely loud and rough idling and blowing forceful air from the engine bay while my hood was up during my recent troubleshooting and they are all functioning now without problems or warning lights since I’ve uninstalled the harness and specifically the green boxes which is a hardware circuit that possibly communicates with hardware and software of my hybrid system via the cable wiring harnesses-idk I may be way off

Btw if anyone is interested and needs more information and my own troubleshooting with help of internet, multimeter, and Priuschat folks, my more thorough experience is on Priuschat link as I haven’t been able to find much online regarding Prolong and Toyota/Lexus Hybrid SUV’s. However my current problem with harness remains unresolved. I’m going to research and see if I can use my harness isolated to only the hybrid battery terminals, which I’m still uneasy about but I’m definitely not reconnecting the green boxes ever again and entrust them with my much more expensive hybrid system.

P.S. there are some threads on Priuschat with customers who were or are not too happy with HA and Jeff. So yes I’ve found more than 1 and this was before I purchased my system. I justified those disgruntled customers as the small percentage they encompass. But dang this is one of those times in hindsight when I should have listened to the small calculated percentage of 1-star reviews smh

But thank you @S Keith for your replies and help and for reaching out to Jeff. That’s all I asked at the end of my last email to HA was to please help me regain confidence in their Prolong System as I’m scared to reconnect it to my vehicle and if one cooling fan controller is bad, how can I test the others and the harness to verify it’s safe??!! I suggested a new harness. But that’s not covered under warranty. $189 plus tax and shipping so almost 1/4 of the cost of the system and the system cannot be used without it is not covered?! When mine has been used 6 times for my full reconditioning and probably about that in my install and test and subsequent attempts at first reconditioning so it’s pretty much brand new but defective and now unusable with one broken green controller box that could have caused fire had I not turned a 2 hour drive into a 6 hour drive and drove with my AC on maximum the entire evening drive home freezing and exhausted and stressed about why my car smelled of electrical burning from my hybrid battery? A new harness and some troubleshooting advice on their website for customers such as myself who don’t have backgrounds in these areas? Is that special treatment in your definition?

P.S.S. Tread carefully as you’re almost sounding like that nutter MaxxVolts ;) don’t criticize the complainant assuming they’re the problem until all the facts are available. I’ve been very patient since my June/July experience imo and as a point of reference I think Judge Judy would side with me lol (I’m not going that route but just saying that even with the terms of warranty from HA, given my experience and documentation, I’m inclined to think she would rule that I should be given a whole refund based upon the problems and lack of support I’ve received from HA—merely an example!)

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

Here are some battery facts:

1. NiMH cell temperature damage typically does not occur below 150°F.
2. I rarely see temperatures in my Prius battery, here in Phoenix, of LESS than 110°F.
3. The Prius cooling system allows temperatures to reach 140°F before it engages the cooling fan on its maximum setting.
4. All Toyota hybrids have a measure of temperature protection, i.e., when cells get hot, the car reduces their utilization thus reducing stresses on the cells and lowering risk of damage.
5. The Highlander module temperature is more accurate than the Prius due to differences in construction. The Highlander modules more accurately represent their actual temperature where the Prius modules read low, i.e., if you park a Prius and come back in 30 minutes, the temp will be 10°+ hotter than when you parked it.
6. To state it explicitly, the temperatures you observed in no way pose a risk to battery damage. It's actually a pretty healthy operating temp.
7. Lastly, you received a P3105 due to the fan controller failure, NOT because your battery was hot. The fan control system is "intelligent" and it signaled the fault when motor speed was not sensed.

There are many thousand of those and similar HA fan controller modules in circulation. Some will fail. That doesn't mean they aren't reliable. As a wholly applicable analogy, Highlander Hybrid batteries, ABS actuators, AWD rear wheel motors fail, yet you choose to drive one. Why would you not follow the same logic?

The only way you can use a harness without the fan controllers is to supply 12V power to the Highlander, charge with the ignition on and allow the car to control the fans. This will require at least 10A of 12V charging and possibly more. Given that full charges take 24 hours, it may be very impractical for you to leave your vehicle on for 24 hours.

If you're not willing to do a proper install OR do the above, you should completely abandon it.

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

You are NOT comprehending crucial words I’ve written. I said “risked” battery damage. I know the fan controller on my defective Prolong harness caused the P code and not higher temps because I wasn’t driving when I experienced the P code! I was driving when I smelled electrical burning and subsequently installed veepeak obd-ii reader and used Dr. Prius app to obtain some data as I have the base model and therefore have no information aside from a scanner via mechanic or dealer since I don’t own the type that can interpret Toyota Hybrid codes.

Anyways, this pointless and you’re actually resorting to the same tactics you criticized MaxxFuselage or MaxxVolts for repeatedly-blaming the end user! I don’t know every component of how my vehicle works and really not many do know all the intricacies of Toyota Hybrids as Toyota does but I do know that if I didn’t have a sense of smell as keen as I do, I could’ve had a vehicle fire.

There is no fuse in the Prolong Harness cooling fan circuitry controller and I’m not sure why the slow-blow harness fuse didn’t actually blow. I suspected the harness from the second time I smelled electrical burning on my long drive home but chose to drive with AC because I thought my fan or fans was actually shorted due to the faulty harness but wasn’t about to risk a fire in my hybrid battery compartment relying on a probably low quality 3.15amp slow-blow fuse to actually work since my Prolong Charger and harness have had problems from the beginning

I took my time over a 2 day period with prior reading and researching to make certain I was confident I could install the harness and multiple checking every detail of the instructions. I even called HA and spoke with George during my installation to verify that I was interpreting the instructions correctly at the cooling fan harness step! I was slow and methodical and didn’t want to screw up my vehicle or Prolong System obviously.

I asked HA in my email if there was something I could test in the harness cooling fan controller because I didn’t see any visible burns and knowing what to look for or what was the cause would definitely put my mind at ease about having 3 of them attached to my hybrid system

I was promoting Prolong on ToyotaNation because I do know the benefits it can provide. However, I’m completely dissatisfied as I was never even offered an RMA number to repair my defective harness

Perhaps you’re more comfortable than I, as you have experience and more knowledge about hybrid systems, with electrical burning coming from an area you can’t immediately see or access 130 miles away from home after a long day and it’s almost dark out and you don’t have the funds at the time to get it resolved elsewhere

So let’s also pretend that my cooling fan failed because of this electrical short. Would HA pay for the new part and installation? Not likely since that disclaimer is posted all over their website and products guides

But their product guide for installation is incredible and has helped me immensely with gaining access and information about my vehicle that’s difficult to find elsewhere online for my gen and model! And now I’d be able to replace my own cooling fan because of their thorough and comprehensive installation instructions.

I just want to know what in the cooling fan circuit controller green box failed and possibly why?? So maybe I can prevent it from happening again or know what to do if it does happen again and I’m in the backwoods of the backcountry somewhere without my full toolset or mobile phone service or any signal?

why does all of what I’m saying seem so unreasonable to you?? You automatically are defensive and supporting HA no matter that myself and others have not had successful warranty or technical support and you just cannot fathom this occurrence??

idk it seems like you’re best at when you actually help people on this forum instead of throw accusations and overlook ‘keywords’ but I need to research and attempt to use my Prolong system without the cooling fan controllers installed because I know the temps won’t be as hot as they were when I was driving around with a defective harness and instead I can just plug a fan into the wall, position and direct it towards my battery banks since my interior is still exterior and leave my doors and hatch open outside in 50-70 degree F temps night and day. But will the charger and discharger work without that signal from my cooling fans…therein lies the question!

Re: DIY battery rehab on 2006 HiHy possible?
 

If you are feeling blame, it is likely out of frustration and defensiveness. Nothing I said implied or could be inferred that I blamed you for the technical issue. I literally said, "some will fail," in reference to the fan controllers. The evidence I have seen indicates it's the likely culprit, and I have seen one other controller fail.

I have used my avenue of communication to reach out to Jeff to assist you in your efforts. EVERYTHING I have said has been with your best interest in mind to get you resolution and to ensure that you do not take a course of action that carries a significant risk of battery damage.

All I blame you for is 1) incorrectly establishing a link or any form or correlation between what happened with the MV charger and your issue, and 2) an inconsistent/unrealistic standard of reliability.

I am encouraging you to continue working with HA to resolve your issue.

I am discouraging you from what you seem hell bent to do. What you don't understand is that NiMH charging becomes very inefficient as they approach full. The portion not taken on as charge is released as heat. In air conditioned rooms, I have seen uninstalled batteries with more natural convective flow than would be available while installed hit 130°F as they approach full. In November, charging a Prius with ambient temps in the upper 30's resulted in pack temperatures in excess of 125°F. You are literally hurtling down a road leading to disaster thinking you can avert it. The charger outputs approximately 120W total power at peak voltage. Most of that is bled off as heat as the battery approaches full. How long do you think you could hold on to a 100W incandescent bulb? Maybe a few seconds before your hand sustains injury? It's a lot of energy input into a small volume into a large mass that does not readily shed heat without forced cooling. The ONLY way to get rid of the heat generated is by forced air.

I'll summarize and add a couple more, 5 options:

1. Get a working harness and use the system as intended.
2. Use the charger harness only, provide 10-20A charge current to the 12V battery, leave the car on and allow it to drive the fans as needed. This will require the car stay on for the duration of the charge - typically 24-30 hours from empty.
3. Remove the cover every time you want to charge and provide some means of blowing air down through each of the 3 subpacks during charge.
4. Buy 3 carpet dryers and aim them at each of the battery inlets. This should force enough airflow through each subpack to ensure they don't get too hot.
5. Remove the harness and make no attempt to use a grid charger.

But for the love of all that is holy, NEVER attempt to charge without forced air through the battery. Ever. It's like trying to see your fuel level in your gas tank by lighting a match.

Dozens of people in the Honda world already learned this lesson 5-10 years ago when DIY chargers were all the rage. Many batteries got cooked.

Note that fan operation is not required during DIScharge. Very little heat is produced in comparison to charging even when the discharge current is substantially higher.

Lastly, while I can't say with 100% confidence, I would be shocked if the system does NOT work with the 12V portion inactive. I don't know the full design of the Prolong system, but I'm familiar with the design it is derived from, and I can't see why the charger wouldn't work when the fan controller is disconnected. Additionally, I have used Prolong equipment in that fashion on an experimental basis (use outside the design intent for my own purposes), and I never encountered a situation where the charger failed to operate when the fan control system was disconnected. BUT, please don't attempt this unless you execute one of options 2, 3 or 4 above.

To repeat, I am not blaming you for this issue or accusing you of doing something wrong. I'm desperately trying to PREVENT you from doing something horrifically wrong (charging without active cooling forced through the battery).