Hybrid Battery Reconditioning

An easy, step-by-step guide to recondition any hybrid battery.

Written by <strong>Kevin Miller</strong>

Written by Kevin Miller

Last Updated on July 8, 2021

Hybrid cars are top-rated for its outstanding fuel efficiency and low carbon footprint emissions, which all come at the right price. However, the overall functionality of this car is rendered useless if your battery pack is in bad condition. Hence, you check if it needs replacement or hybrid battery reconditioning.

Hybrid batteries run these cars, specifically NiMH, which are composed of several cells (also called modules, sticks, or cassettes) that are packed into one set or battery pack.

If something is wrong or your battery pack has decreased in capacity. There is a huge tendency that one of the cells or modules needs reconditioning because it dropped in capacity.

Hybrid Battery Construction

Each type of hybrid battery has its respective number of cells in a pack. For instance, a Ford Escapade has a cylinder hybrid battery pack that contains 25 modules or cells with a 6V capacity each. Hence, the total voltage of its hybrid battery is 150V.

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Another example, for Honda Civic Hybrid Battery Reconditioning, its cylinder pack contains 26 cells or modules each with 7.2V capacity. Hence, it has a total voltage of 187V.

State of Charge (SOC) and Discharge Rate

In terms of the state of charge (SOC), there is a quicker discharge rate if the SOC is high and vice versa. If your NiMH pack is at 100 percent SOC, it has a higher discharge rate compared to a similar pack at 40 percent SOC. Moreover, temperature also influences the discharge rate in an inverse relationship. At cooler temperatures, the discharge rate is slower because the chemical reaction inside the pack is slow.

Benefits of Hybrid Battery Reconditioning

Most hybrid car owners practice battery reconditioning when something goes wrong with their battery pack, and it is passed the warranty period already. Consequently, we have listed below the best benefits of hybrid battery reconditioning.

A brand new pack can cost roughly $3,000, and this changes depending on the specification of your pack. By reconditioning, you would be able to save around 25 to 50 percent of the overall cost for the brand new.
Reconditioned hybrid car batteries will also reduce the maintenance cost of hybrid car owners.
If you have some business skills, you can do a profitable business for providing a service for hybrid battery reconditioning. The projected gross income for this can start at 50 percent of the overall price of a brand new pack.
You can help protect our environment by reducing the amount of these wastes in our society. Batteries of this kind contain chemicals that can pollute our environment, specifically our groundwater and soil.

For instance, there are around 500,000 hybrid cars produced annually, and each battery pack of the vehicle contains seven cells. If all owners replace them after a year, then the total waste contributed is approximately 3.5 million NiMH cells.

Related Article: How long does a hybrid battery last

Tips and Warnings: Hybrid Battery Reconditioning

This process seems to be lucrative and straightforward, which is true. However, there are a few things you need to consider to avoid any accidents which can be detrimental to our health and life.

You need to wear your protective gear like gloves that have high voltage and current resistance.
Always check your circuitry, particularly the polarity of your connections. Remember, you are dealing with hybrid cars which produce around 100 to 300 volts. The high voltage will not kill you, but the high amperage produced from it can.
If you do not have many skills with hybrid cars and batteries, better hire professional help or learn the course about it.
Perform hybrid battery reconditioning if you have the required equipment and tools to accomplish it.

Step-by-Step Guide: Hybrid Battery Reconditioning

Please remember the tips and warnings mentioned above before proceeding to hybrid battery reconditioning. To start, you need to prepare the necessary hybrid battery reconditioning equipment and tools.

Hybrid Battery Reconditioning Equipment

Charge / Discharge Cycler
Software for detecting the state of the charge status of each cell. It needs to gather data about the amp-hour capacity and average voltage of each cell or module.
Driver for bolt and nut
QR code reader

Procedures

STEP 1Wear your safety gear such as rubber gloves (high voltage and current resistance ) and goggles.

STEP 2Take out the hybrid battery from the car using your bolt and nut driver.

STEP 3Detach the wire supplying the high voltage of the pack

STEP 4You need to connect all cells of the pack to the Charge / Discharge Cycler machine.

STEP 5Using the right software, run an analysis on the amp-hour capacity of each cell or module in the pack.

STEP 6Segregate the bad condition cell or module.

STEP 7Find a replacement for the lousy cell or module with the same specification with the rest of the functional cells.

STEP 8Place back and arrange all modules or cells inside the pack.

STEP 9Then do one more discharge and full charge 100 percent capacity of the pack.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have included a few FAQs regarding hybrid battery reconditioning for more insights.

On what age of the hybrid car should its battery be replaced or reconditioned?
Either for replacement or reconditioning, your hybrid car must be around 5 to 10 years old. If only a few of the cells are not in good condition, then reconditioning is preferable than replacing the entire pack.

What is the average life of hybrid car batteries?
Most hybrid car manufacturers claim that the average life of their hybrid batteries matches the lifespan of their hybrid cars. For instance, hybrid batteries from Toyota are expected to last for 180,000 miles. Whereas, Honda hybrid batteries are expected to last around ten years under normal usage.

What is the expected running price of a brand new hybrid battery?
If you plan to buy a brand new pack, then the expected cost is between $3,500 to $4,500.

How much is the expected price for a brand new hybrid battery for Toyota?
The running price for a Toyota hybrid battery is approximately $2,200to $2,600, excluding labor for installation. Likewise, the cost can vary depending on the make and model of the hybrid car.

How do you check the Hybrid battery?

For this, you need to go to the MFT screen. Then check the consumption. For example, 45 miles per gallon is a typical figure for a Toyota Hybrid battery. Likewise, you can go for other Hybrid car batteries.

What is inside the Hybrid battery?

The hybrid battery pack usually consists of several cells which combine and work together. Since a car requires huge power to operate, all these small cells in a hybrid battery pack combine to create a vast charge. The packages also contain positive and negative electrodes.

What are Standard Hybrids?
These cars are similar to gasoline-fed types with a unique feature of recharging its batteries when running on engine mechanism. Standard hybrids are not required to be plugged in as they both use electric motor and gasoline engine.

What are Plug-in Hybrids?
In contrast with Standard hybrids, this type needs to be plugged into your wall or household. They have rechargeable hybrid batteries, which have a higher power.

Wrap Up

We have come to the last part of our sharing, and hopefully, you have gained useful insights regarding hybrid battery reconditioning. I am open to your questions and suggestions, and you can write that down in the comment section.

If you want more ideas about battery reconditioning, you can check out EZ Battery Reconditioning as they provide flexible courses about it. Aside from reconditioning your hybrid battery. The substantial learnings you get from these courses can be used to start your own business of providing hybrid battery reconditioning service at reasonable rates.

Thank you for your time. If you need something more, you can check out my other articles.