I got the Optima Yellow Top battery from pep boys for $130, it was 155 with tax and $15 core return and free shipping. I only have a trickle charger at home, how long do I need to charge it on the trickle charger before putting it in the car?
A trickle charger won't do much to charge the battery, it's just used to maintain a battery so it won't drop voltage. You're probably better off just putting it in the car as is, then drive your car around the next few days to charge it up
Would it have enough charge to start the car when new out of the box? It may be the case that my 2013 Prius 2 does not use it to start as it is in EV mode when I turn it on.
Pep Boys offers free battery installation. So....here's the question.... if you took advantage of Pep Boy's free installation what would they have done? They would have taken the battery off the shelf, put it in your car and you would have, hopefully, drove away from the store. Does that answer your question? Install it in the car...put the trickle charger on the car when you have the chance, it won't hurt anything. If you haven't already, install a ring type connector to the main big wire connected to the large bolt in the fuse box under the hood which runs directly back to the battery for an easy battery charger connection. There are plenty of bolts around the inverter to connect the negative to. 12v Power Terminal Cover (fuse box) | PriusChat
Almost, I have done after getting a charged battery from Walmart Auto department but never via mail order.
I like to charge new batteries at install, either before putting it in or right after, doesn't really matter which order. But: get a decent smart charger, around 4 amp max, it'll pay for itself. Also, clean up all the connections and posts, get them bright/clean. Be careful with the dust though, there's lead.
check the voltage, there have been optima's with low voltage, then the owner doesn't drive enough to properly charge them. that's a great price btw!
The Prius uses that 12V battery to fire up the computers and close the relay to connect the hybrid battery to the rest of the system. It also runs some accessories. But the engine is cranked by the hybrid battery, so there isn't a great demand for power in turning on a Prius. Unless they sent you a half dead battery (which should not happen), you should be fine. But, unless you drive a considerable distance once you start up, you could use more electrons that you put back in your drive. Putting it on a charger may or may not be helpful, but it certainly wont hurt.
