If one goes to this effort, it's an extra hour's worth of work to make it permanent and able to be used in place without opening the battery again.

 

Hi All,
Thanks to everyone's input in this tread. My 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid battery died and I followed the advice herein and got it going. I did a lot of reading/watching videos before I did it. I wrote it all up and posted it with relevant urls if anyone is interested go to this link: http://box5679.temp.domains/~joeayres/?cat=3

 

Nice write-up, but there is a fairly significant error that will cause people extra work.and risks potential damage to the HVTB case, which is plastic. You state you can't get to the 4 side fasteners while the HVTB is in its "normal position" in the vehicle and suggest using a metal crowbar to lift it up. You absolutely can do in situ...I document this in paragraph 5 of post #116 in the HV battery jump thread. This is important because other than the lids, the entire HVTB casing is made of plastic and can be damaged easily, especially if using something like a crowbar on it.

 

A crowbar under the metal flange isn't going to hurt anything, and these things get stuck like crazy.

The re-write looks to address it adequately.

 

Just dropping by to say "Thanks!" to S. Kieth.

MIL got a freebie 2011 FEH, not running. Previous owner had left it sitting, and both batteries were dead. Dealer quoted $9K, then after some complaining said $3K (not sure for what, exactly).

Lady gifted it to MIL,which means it became my project. I pulled the battery myself, and found a helper when it was time to reinstall.

I built up the HLG-120H-C350 charger. I included diodes inside the case, and some random connector pair. I soldered and heat-shrinked all connections. Charged for 5 hours first evening, plus 1 hour second day afternoon, then installed. Monitored voltage and temp (infrared) as it charged. Check current too, but it was at the bottom of my clamp meter's range, and didn't seem very accurate.

Also charged the 12V overnight.

12V seems pretty weak -- only 12.5V after charging. Hybrid battery went from 254V up to 340+V quickly (10 min?), then slowly to 350V as the hours clicked along. None of this seemed to match NiMH curves I saw online, but 150W charging on a 78F day probably didn't fit the examples perfectly.

Anyway, it fired right up, like instantly. Took a while to cycle off - maybe 10 min? Drove it, got new gas, called it done for the day.

I did not pull codes with my reader, nor did I get Forscan yet. Probably won't bother as long as it works.

MIL will start it daily, hopefully. Not a bad car for $120 in parts, plus a fresh tank of gas. Only things I see wrong is TPMS error on display, and I'm not sure AC is working.

Thanks for all the wisdom and help from this forum! Any feedback on my notes would be welcome, if you see something concerning.

 

Glad you got it sorted. Concur with weak 12V. After a full charge and 24 hour sit, it should be around 12.6-12.7.

I'd recommend Forscan. The free PC version has a battery balance function that force charges the battery to much higher state of charge and then bleeds it back down. I always run it as a matter of course on any battery I recharge just to ensure maximum benefit.

Just remember to disconnect the 12V if it needs to sit for more than a week. This should prevent the HV battery from discharging.

 

You will want to get AC working, if the blend door closes your battery will have no cooling.

 

Is it worth , if the battery is charged, throwing the charger on it for 24 hours to try to rejuvenate the cells.

 

Only if you pull the cover and lay a box fan on top of the cells to cool them. If you attempt 100% SoC grid charging without active cooling, you'll cook the pack and damage the cells.

And I second the recommendation - Get the A/C fixed on that 2011. It doesn't have the evaporative rear air for battery cooling, but it still needs cool interior air.

 

Thanks for the note on the AC. I'll put it on the project list....need to read the manual and make sure I understand how the dual controls work. Push the AC button and turn the ***** one way for cool, and other for warmer?