How a Hybrid Car Works: Toyota 3rd Generation Prius Teardown

Video Description

Here's a look inside the inverter assembly of the 3rd Generation Toyota Prius and how it works! The inverter assembly is the heart of the hybrid system. It interfaces the various control modules, such as the power train, engine, battery and other CANBUS computers. It is responsible for taking the high voltage (201VDC) from the NiMH battery in the trunk and converting it to alternating 3 phase current to drive the 2 electric motors inside the e-CVT transmission. The inverter works by taking DC, using a capacitor and inductor to amp up the voltage to 650V using a boost circuit. The power is controlled with a motor control board and a transistor controller. The transistors or IGBT's are then switched on and off rapidly to form a waveform, and phased 120* apart to form 3-phase AC current, which can easily control the motors and propel the vehicle. Under deceleration, regenerative braking is used to capture kinetic energy, pass it through diodes and a capacitor to rectify the current, changing it back to direct current which can charge the battery. The inverter also has a DC to DC inverter, since this hybrid vehicle does not have a typical alternator. It will convert the power from 201VDC to AC, pass it through a center tap transformer and convert it back to 14V DC to charge the auxillary battery to run the electronics throughout the vehicle. The vehicle torn down in this video is a 2010 Toyota Prius with 300,000km on it which suffered internal combustion engine failure. More on the engine teardown can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGEjCgzUIx0 The previous Gen 2 Prius inverter/hybrid system video can be found here for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl87abBl9-A&t=766s Here's how an eCVT works from the Gen 2 Prius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izdMsVOo7bU&t=740s This is the Camera I use: https://amzn.to/3oaRcZX (US) https://amzn.to/3KWQ2uU (Canada) Link to Etsy shop where you can purchase speedkar99's brother's socks, t-shirts or hoodies: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Speedkar speedkar9 on Instagram and Tiktok https://www.instagram.com/speedkar9/ https://www.tiktok.com/@speedkar9 speedkar99 on Facebook and Linkedin: https://www.facebook.com/speedkar9/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/speedkar99/ Subscribe for more videos just like this: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=speedkar99