400h Hv battery

[Siberpir8]

Hi all, 

I have an rx400h 2006, and although I don't have any issues with it yet, I am prempting them like my prius. 

I have successfully replaced cells on my prius and I have followed alot of guides and bought discarding and charging equipment. 

But for the lexus, can't seem to find any information or youtube videos. 

Does anyone have any info? 

Thanks

[ColinBarber]

There are less guides because there are less vehicles, and unlike the GS450h seem very reliable. The principles are exactly the same as the Prius Battery, it just uses a different number of cells per module and physically different layout.

[Britprius]

The modules "a pack of 8 cells" in the NX are very different to the Prius modules "a pack of 6 cells" in that they are metal cased against the Prius plastic case. The Prius type plastic modules are used in virtually all the other Toyota/Lexus hybrids making them readily available, but the NX modules are difficult to find.
The NX Battery does share the same total number of cell (240), and the same terminal voltage of 288 volts as the GS450H, but has 30 modules "of 8 cells" against the GS that has 40 modules "of 6 cells"

The plastic modules of the 6 cell variety will not fit in the NX Battery cases. The NX has 3 Battery cases each with it's own cooling fan, against one case, and fan for the GS. The extra cooling is possibly the reason for the NX's Battery longevity.

John.

[ColinBarber]

Why mention the NX when the owner has an RX? I assume you mean RX?

[genkakuzai]

I thought the batteries were supposed to outlive the vehicle, more or less?

[ColinBarber]

2 minutes ago, genkakuzai said:

I thought the batteries were supposed to outlive the vehicle, more or less?

plenty of 2005 400h vehicles still around on their original batteries

[Siberpir8]

Yeah like I said, I haven't had an issue yet. I just want to prepare just in case. 

I have some reconditioning and preventative equipment from a company called hybrid Automotive, that basically discharges the Battery fully and recharges it fully to improve Battery capacity. So I just wanted to know, if I scanned it and i identified block 5 module faulty. How could I determine which one was block 5. I know the prius cells are identified as block 1 is furthest away from the ecu. But like I said there is very little information of anyone disassembling the Battery. 

[Britprius]

4 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Why mention the NX when the owner has an RX? I assume you mean RX?

Sorry senior moment I did mean RX.

John.

[Siberpir8]

So how would you number the cells from the diagram someone has attached for example, If I scanned it with a diagnostic machine and I identified a weak cell. How can you identify the cell or module from that diagram? 

Cheers

Simon

[Britprius]

2 hours ago, Siberpir8 said:

So how would you number the cells from the diagram someone has attached for example, If I scanned it with a diagnostic machine and I identified a weak cell. How can you identify the cell or module from that diagram? 

Cheers

Simon

A voltage drop test with load would identify it in minutes. The diagnostics will only tell you which block "two paired modules" is problematic, and this would still be enough information to tie it down to 4 possible modules if you do not have the block position numbers.

If the diagnostics say it is block 3 that is the problem this can only relate to module numbers 5&6 or 35&36 no matter which end you count from.

John

[Britprius]

14 minutes ago, Britprius said:

A voltage drop test with load would identify the fault module it in minutes. The diagnostics will only tell you which block "two paired modules or 16 cells" is problematic, and this would still be enough information to tie it down to 4 possible modules if you do not have the block position numbers.

If the diagnostics say it is block 3 that is the problem this can only relate to module numbers 5&6 or 35&36 no matter which end you count from. You cannot change individual cells, and the cells are not numbered. A cell is only 1/240 part of the battery.

You are confusing things by calling modules cells. As already said the diagnostics cannot identify faulty cells it can only diagnose a faulty block "that is 2 modules containing a total of 16 cells" these are Toyota / Lexus terminologies not mine although the cell terminology is standard throughout the electrics industry.

John

 

[Gliderpilot]

Apart from using Techstream for which I don't have a pc to run it on and object to paying mega bucks to have Lexus do it, is there an app that will check the Battery state of the RX400h HV Battery. I've got hybrid assistant, which I get very mixed results from and Torque Pro only seems to have a PID for the Prius. 

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, Gliderpilot said:

Apart from using Techstream for which I don't have a pc to run it on

You could pick up an old laptop running Windows XP from a charity shop or eBay for not much more than a tenner, plus about £20 for a miniVCI cable from eBay which will come with a (pirated) copy of Techstream (or you could pay for a block of time from Lexus to use the official Techstream - either way you'll need that cable so it's up to you which one you use).

So, for about £30 you could have a laptop to use Techstream and once you've bought it it's always there for future use too.

[Britprius]

I totally agree with member "Herbie" above. For a minimal amount of money you can have dealer level of diagnostics that will pay for itself 4 times over the first time you use it. The system will work on all Toyota / Lexus cars from 1998 on. I have used it on my previous car "a Prius" on my current GS450H, and on my wife's Aygo with MMT transmission.

I bought the Aygo very cheaply because after having a new clutch fitted the previous owner could not get rid of sever clutch judder on pulling away, and indecisive gear changes. Using Techstream the cars computer relearned the clutch positions, and gear selection speeds. This transforming both clutch to smooth operation, and gear selection dependent on road speed and load.

I am not saying that Techstream it is the only system, but for the hybrids in particular it is by far the best diagnostic solution for less cost than a good torque wrench that with modern cars is another essential item in your tool box. 

John. 

[Gliderpilot]

9 hours ago, Herbie said:

You could pick up an old laptop running Windows XP from a charity shop or eBay for not much more than a tenner, plus about £20 for a miniVCI cable from eBay which will come with a (pirated) copy of Techstream (or you could pay for a block of time from Lexus to use the official Techstream - either way you'll need that cable so it's up to you which one you use).

So, for about £30 you could have a laptop to use Techstream and once you've bought it it's always there for future use too.

Don't know where you get your prices from for an XP laptop ones on e-bay are £50 up to £150. I do have two laptops but they don't have serial ports and usb adaptors don't work with XP.

[Siberpir8]

On 4/30/2019 at 10:13 PM, Gliderpilot said:

Don't know where you get your prices from for an XP laptop ones on e-bay are £50 up to £150. I do have two laptops but they don't have serial ports and usb adaptors don't work with XP.

How come it has to be on xp? Ones on eBay say they are compatible with xp, 7,8 and 10.

[Britprius]

12 hours ago, Siberpir8 said:

How come it has to be on xp? Ones on ebay say they are compatible with xp, 7,8 and 10.

The drivers on the slightly earlier versions were not designed for 64 bit use, and were therefore difficult to load on the later versions of Windows. With some early systems still being sold on eBay, and the like with no clarification as to what Windows system they were suitable for it was easier, and more reliable  to load on an XP machine. These machines are also much cheaper on the SH market.

John.