Boosting HV battery in NHW10 Prius

[cuchulain]

The NHW10 Prius in Japan came with a HV battery charger which can be boosted using a 12V emergency battery. The connection is the same as boosting the 12V auxilliary battery.(same in US classic) It can only be used if the 288V battery fault is showing (SOC is less than 20%). 12V at max 40A is DC/DC converted to 288V at CC of 0.9A. It takes about 10min and will bring it up to 20% SOC before shutting off. Apparently it almost never got used in Japan.

[hobbit]

I still think it's kind of lame that they de-included it in
the NHW11 and NHW20, even if it wasn't likely to get used.
Heck, *Ford* kept it for the FEH. Instead, we get all the FUD about how
you must must must have one of the two or three special Toyota
HV chargers in the entire country to rescue a too-far-drained
battery. We not only know the real story, we also know to use
a bare minimum of rescue procedure if necessary and let the
car's excellent BMS take over as soon as it can. Toyota, for
all their merits, still has too many lawyers.
.
_H*

[xcel]

Hi Andrew:

___I learn something new everyday! I wonder why they really removed it from the 11 and 20?

___Hobbit, was there an inside story as to why this feature/HW was pulled that you know of? I cannot imagine anyone being electrocuted with a built in up-converter/charger like that built into the 10 so why not ours?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[hobbit]

My best guess would be what Andrew said -- it was so under-used
because unless they're seriously abused, the HV batteries should
never need it. So I guess Toyota decided to save the cost
[and potential customer-education issues].
.
The one in the FEH forces you to wait the full 8 minutes,
I believe, or the cycle aborts and you have to start over.
.
It would be interesting if one of the FEH folks here was willing
to EV their way to a fairly low SOC, shut down and invoke the
charger, and see how many zoobs it actually pushed in. All
my own FEH info is pretty much hearsay...
.
_H*

[tony.berridge]

Hi Guys this is my 1st post,
I came across your posts whilst researching the car.
I read this thread with interest as I am about to buy a Prius from Japan second hand.
It’s a 98 model NHW10,
I understand what this charger does my question:
Is it fixed into the car or is it removable?

The reason I ask is it takes 4-5 weeks for the car to arrive from Japan, its also one of the oldest ones around so the batteries wont be in the best condition to start with, I am sure I will need to charge the battery,

Just in case your interested car cost $1400 plus $1000 shipping plus 10% import duty into the uk plus 17.5% vat (sales tax) around $3000 landed and paid for.

[hobbit]

Interesting question. For those who aren't aware of it, the
original NHW10 Prius has a little onboard charging box that uses
power from the 12V system to step up and feed the traction
battery -- which disappeared in all the later cars as they moved
to the prismatic Panasonic units. Ford retained this clue about
a remote but sometimes-possible need in the Escape, which also
has an HV charger.
.
If the HV battery in your car when it arrives is low you should
be able to first make sure the 12V is nice and healthy and use the
charger, maybe a couple of go-rounds worth, to get everything
working. The energy has to come from somewhere, of course, so
you might have to charge the 12V a couple of times and possibly
keep the charger on it while dealing with the HV. Please let us
know how it goes, because there's a lot of myth out there about
charging hybrid batteries. Hopefully the cells are all still good!
.
Very cool find, btw, and welcome to the site!
.
_H*

[Blake]

Wow, nice find! If your good with cars I'm sure the no warranty thing will be a non issue.

Welcome to CleanMPG and I'm very interested in how your purchase ends up. I've always wondered about buying cars from overseas, but I think the red tape to get them into the states almost always makes it not worth it. Please keep us up to date on your endeavor!

[tony.berridge]

I have the importing down to a fine art.
The rules will be different for each country,
There are with all blind purchases an element of trust and risk
On the upside the Japanese drive on the same side of the road as us Brits,
I would also like to add this is the cheapest one I have seen for sale by around $500 and has just over 100,000 miles on the clock
I will keep you all up to date and thanks for the reply’s

[xcel]

Hi Tony:

___It sounds like you picked up a heck of a deal.

___Cuchulain (Andrew) has been enjoying his NHW10 in Japan for what seems like forever and with proper maintenance, they should last a heck of along time.

___Than there is Jesse’s 02 NHW11 with almost 350,000 miles on it!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[tony.berridge]

Thanks Wayne