Have been searching for a do it yourself manual to convert my Gen II prius to plug in. I see that you can get a used OEM battery pack for about $500. It seems to me that one should be able to connect this to the existing system and add plug in charger. Am I overlooking something? Has anyone done this or know of a source of info. on how to do it?
... It's not that simple. Not only do you need to find a way to safely charge a huge battery like that (without it overheating and exploding), you also need to get the prius computer to recognize the additional charge in the battery. for more info, I suggest looking here: Prius PHEV - EAA-PHEV
If your wanting to do something cheap and experimantal/almost working perfectly kit go with the Enginer kit. Its cheap, and from what I've been reading the new kits are now plug and play and expandable. If you want something proven to work but more expensive go with Hymotion or PICC conversion. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system.
Thanks for the replies. However the cheapest engineer kit is $2000, including batteries which are not needed. Also, I dont understand the need to get the comp. to recognize the additional battery/charge. If the existing and new packs are the same and are coupled in parallel, verses in series, the voltage would stay same and the comp. should just see a lower charge and recharge rate. This is just like jump starting an old fashion car. However, I do understand not blowing myself up while charging or frying myself during installation. It seems to me all you need are cables, a proper charger, and a thick pair of rubber gloves.
Read through this, it explains it pretty well: Hybridinterfaces Prius plug-ins Basically, there's a coulomb counter in the computer, so there's no benefit to adding another battery unless the computer is changed also.
OK, not just plug and go. However, adding another OEM battery pack (used ~ $500) and a charging means should be the simplest and least expensive conversion. I am sure this has been done. Probably can figure it out by researching on the web. But, was hoping one here may share their experience on doing this.
remember that the stock pack is of order 250vdc. The 2kwh Enginer pack is $900, so i think you can get a kit sans battery for $1100. Jack sells the converter for $400, so if you have a 48v source, then the Enginer converter can be your "charger"; but a dumb one. Be careful with high DC voltage.
Yes, there is a product called BMS+. Products It is designed to have 2 original packs in parallel. But, at most you're going to get about 4 miles EV. the LiIon packs offer a lot more capacity, the 2kwh Enginer kit will be about 10 miles EV, the 4kwh about 20 miles. When you look at the BMS+ cost, the extra pack, and a charger, and figuring it all out for yourself, the Enginer kit cost seems pretty reasonable...
I'm slow and am having problems following. Trying to paraphrase. Stock pack= 250V DC 2KwHr pack =$900 Kit minus battery = $1100 Therefore you can get a converter for $400, but you need a 48V source. (sorry if I can't calculate $400 out of 250V, $900 and $1100.) Getting past the writing, what are the requirements for the 48V supply to supply the converter?
I can't remember the name of the lady in England that made her Prius a plug-in one by adding an extra stock battery pack. She got along with it just fine till it blew-up and totaled her car. There was quite a long thread here on Prius Chat about the conversion. Maybe you can find it with a search.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...lectric-vehicle-mod-under-way-bristol-uk.html Didn't know Velma had suffered an injury, i'll have to read up on that.
Velma's injury (Prius gen II) was related to an unattended extra battery pack recharging procedure. Of course, that was the wrong approach and extra confidence of the owner/operator at the moment.
