How To Properly Repair A High Voltage Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) Battery Pack For Hybrid Vehicles

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

Thanks 2012 PRIUS Two owner ( NEW to Me ) beginning to LEARN and Gather knowledge and TOOLS for my 1st time adventure with HYBRID Thanks again COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

[@SkyGizmmo]

Very thorough aerospace level of testing and part selection! Several grand in tools with meticulous data collection methods. Thanx for high standard content

[@Enzo-xi2cm]

Incredible we get all this knowledge for free thank you!

[@TheHybridGuy]

Happy to help.

[@MervsServiceSecrets]

This great video is Merv approved! Question: When you did your voltage drop test, how big of a load did you use and for how long?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@MervsServiceSecrets hi Merv! I load test at 45-50 amps for up to 20 seconds. I use the prolong battery module tester.

[@eddiecortez8320]

Great video I was wondering how u connected the charge discharge connection to pack and myb a pic how the cables are without the computer/section blower section remover I’m a beginner

[@alexandres8846]

Older nickel metal hydride batteries are excellent. Very good capacity and high security. but these must be balanced with a shunt circuit so that all cells charge at the same level. Extends the useful life of the battery pack for many years. The most modern NiMH batteries already have the balancing bus cable.

[@Jettics34]

What year would you classify "more modern"?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@Jettics34modules that are less than 10 years old I consider more modern modules.

[@TheHybridGuy]

Shunt circuit! We should talk!

[@sweetbaby96]

Any info on balancing and your tips on doing so?

[@alext8828]

Where can we get good modules from???

[@eugeneclarke672]

Brilliant and very detailed. Thanks. You never mentioned what an acceptable or target internal resistance is. Like you said 1v voltage drop was the threshold.

[@jayviz]

Excellent, detailed video. However @23:58 could have used sone explanation but you cut it out. What exactly did you do there???

[@TheHybridGuy]

Happy to chat. Email me. [e-mail]

[@alext8828]

@@TheHybridGuy I missed that too.

[@sivucit]

Hi i have subscribed your channel, not sure how i missed it. few questions. i have 2017 toyota highlander that has 30 modules with 8 celll in each module totalling 9.6 volt (8 times 1.2).. how much voltage drop is allowed and how much load you apply and for how long? wht is the lowest value u like to see. what is the spec for internal resistance? I assume if we put a load of 6 amp per module for about 5 minutes, we dont want to see less than 9.6 volt and also dont want to see more than .4 volt difference across all modules.. is that a safe test.

[@briansilva9120]

What is stock IR in each module and what is consider to be to high that should not be used back? Thanks in advance

[@TheHybridGuy]

Hey! Thanks for the questions! I’m going to do another video regarding these specifics but a good IR is 20mOhms or less a below 1 volt of voltage drop. More to come in the video. Thanks!

[@sivucit]

Seems like you skipped how to do IR and VDrop in this video, do u have any videos please.

[@alext8828]

Why no dielectric grease?

[@alext8828]

I missed how you did the IR testing.

[@zuccamachine]

How are you testing internal resistance? And what is the current/duration of your voltage drop test?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@zuccamachine I have the hybrid automotive battery module tester. It load tests each module up to 50amps. Each test runs about 15-20 seconds.

[@Tell-me-more-75225]

Can this be done with the highlander hybrid battery?

[@TheHybridGuy]

Yes! Stay tuned for my free master class and course that is in development now.

[@Tell-me-more-75225]

@@TheHybridGuy Awesome!!! I will look out for that. Thank you for helping the world to keep these batteries going and helping the planet (and our wallets)... Is it much harder or different?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@Tell-me-more-75225just different. I also have more updated information that is better than this video.

[@Tell-me-more-75225]

@@TheHybridGuy Thank you for your time and reading my full message to get to the question at the end :)

[@dc5duben96]

what does it mean when a module has high resistance like ex 36ohms & can they be saved?

[@TheHybridGuy]

36 milliohms is really high resistance on a module. you would need to cycle it and see how much it decreases to know if it can be saved or not. I would probably toss it and find better ones.

[@dc5duben96]

@@TheHybridGuy thanks for the reply, but what do u mean by cycle it?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@dc5duben96fully charge and balance, then drop the voltage, and repeat this process like i show in the video.

[@dc5duben96]

@@TheHybridGuy got chu, i might consider getting a charger then

[@charlesvancil2858]

I have a 2nd gen prius was in great shape but sat for 2 years. Battery pack is completely dead going to try this. What do you think?

[@TheHybridGuy]

Good luck! When they sit that long modules usually don’t recover. But it would be cool if it did!

[@sweetbaby96]

do you have a website where you sell prius batteries?

[@TheHybridGuy]

I don’t I try to stay local so o have better control over quality and warranty.

[@Luisjun91]

What can happen if I don’t balance out every battery cell? I replace one module and there all around the same amount of volts and resistance would this affect anything?

[@TheHybridGuy]

If you do not balance chances are you will be doing the same repair in a very short amount of time. Each module should have similar amp hour rating, internal resistance and voltage drop as the others so they can all play nice on the field, so to speak.

[@Luisjun91]

@@TheHybridGuy The last question I have is about is on the installation of the modules new module. My battery modules voltage fluctuate between 7.67v (the minimal and it's 1 module) to the max 7.82v which is the new module and its just that one at that voltage)average voltage is 7.76v and my resistance is the lowest 4.88m the average is 4.90 and the max 5.43 (which is the new module). I've seen that before re-installation a lot of mechanics do the step of discharge and recharge on every single module before reinstalling the battery back on. I don't have the machine right now to recharge and discharge The modules. Would this cause a problem or suggest just ordering the machine and this extra step.

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@Luisjun91 doing each one individually can work but doing them as a whole pack yields better results in my experience.

[@gerynios]

If you charge and discharge the modules connected altogether, how do you know what capacity each of the cells have? Isn't it important to know on the individual cell, if it has 60 or 80% final capacity before it is mounted with other cells? We know that the battery is as strong as its weakest cell, right?

[@Luisjun91]

@@gerynios I didn’t did it by putting them all together. I bought a module charger in this charger and did it 4 at a time. After all of them got charge I re-ordered them put in my strongest modules in the middle and my weakest ones on the outside then I balance them all out with a wire and put them all in order all positive in one side and all negative at the other side in the end you have to re-order them as it comes in the pack one positive and one negative.

[@briansilva9120]

Thank you for the great education and great video by the way. Is there an email I can reach you at as I have some questions I want to ask in understanding the ProlongPro Module Tester?

[@TheHybridGuy]

[e-mail]

[@briansilva9120]

@@TheHybridGuy thank you, I’ll email you later tonight. 👍🏼

[@tanzaniacarschannel6975]

What is the good range for internal resistance in these NIMH batteries?

[@TheHybridGuy]

@@tanzaniacarschannel6975 in my opinion, 19 milliohms and below. 20-22 is acceptable but may not provide what you are looking for. 23 and over you may find they won’t recondition well.

[@tanzaniacarschannel6975]

@TheHybridGuy thanks.. now, in this regard, is the internal resistance details shown by Dr. prius app correct or not?

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

Thanks COOP ...

[@Codelyoko281]

So been doing some research since my my mileage has dropped down to 34 MPG but no code . Notice that Dr Prius ( on the middle of the pack) reads 30 as an internal resistance. Is it as accurate as it seems ? My voltage dif is never over .07 always under 10 for sure . And was looking at the prolong delux charger to recondition the whole pack. Thoughts ? Should I try and learn and save the pack or buy a whole pack ? Thank you for your time and this awesome video

[@TheHybridGuy]

Best is always replace whole pack. Best value for dollar over lifespan of the car.

[@briansilva9120]

What is a acceptable resistance ?

[@TheHybridGuy]

Less 25 milliohms, 25 is higher than I like but if voltage drop is less than 1v it will work for awhile and probably recondition ok.

[@alext8828]

Why don't you just use dielectric grease? That's what it's for.