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2005 Prius won't start after replacing a bad cell in main battery pack.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Kruso, Oct 30, 2011.

  1. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    Guys I have two Prius's, a 2008 and a 2005. My 2005 with 129k miles on it is the one in question. Recently I got a check engine light with the code P0A80 and P3016. I purchased a pair of tested to be good cells from Ebay which finally arrived in the mail yesterday. Today I finally got around to installing it and everything was pretty self explanatory... One of 28 cells tested to have 6.24v in block six and all the others had between 7.98-8.00v all around. I went ahead and replaced the bad cell with the new one and put everything back together and now the car will not start.

    Cliff notes: Replaced bad cell in main battery back due to CEL P0A80 and P3016.

    Car will not start, only turns on...

    Getting error message on the radio screen about the Park position is not correct and to park the car on a flat level ground with parking brakes and try again.

    Have charged the 12v battery to make sure it has enough juice in it.

    When I disconnect the 12v battery from the negative ground to the chasis I notice a spark as if the battery is actively being drained, same thing while bolting the ground back up...

    After 12v battery reset, the car starts for exactly HALF a second before the same warning comes back up on the radio screen. The strange thing is it doesn't start with the power button being pressed the first time, its the second time (with the foot on the brakes ofcourse).

    The orange jumper to disable the battery pack is correctly installed back in its place.

    Any ideas? Sorry if this has been covered before, I've searched for an hour to no avail. Thanks in advance.

    Kruso
     
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    The transmission warning is almost always a 12V problem. Double-check all connections at the 12V battery. Monitor the voltage of the 12V when you push the power button to make sure that it does not drop below 11V. Measure the resistance from the negative battery post to a point on the body to make sure that you have less than 1 Ohm. Having to push the power button twice after a re-connect is normal. Sparks occur at reconnect due to various capacitors scattered throughout the car/ECUs.
     
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  3. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    The voltage on the 12v battery was 10v after being charged. Its weird because the car never had an issue starting before. Due to a fender bender on my 08, I have a new 12v battery in it, I will swap it out with my 05 Prius to see if that resolves the issue and report back. I really appreciate your help.

    Kruso
     
  4. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    No such luck guys, the battery had 12.4 volts but minutes after connecting the battery ground to the chasis the battery voltage goes down to 9.7 volts. If you lave the battery disconnected the voltage goes back up to 12~v within 5-10 minutes. I've tried the new battery with similar results.

    I'm noticing a relay clicking in the main battery pack when I try to start the car, the relay is the one that connects the orange cable carrying 224 volts from the battery pack to the chasis orange cables BUT only one relay, one closer towards the front of the car, is providing continuity after clicking which happens within seconds and then goes back to open circuit.
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. Make sure the orange traction battery interlock switch was slid to lock it into place, after pivoting the lever 90 degrees.

    2. When the car is IG-OFF and all doors and hatch are closed, the quiescent battery current draw should be around 20 mA or so (0.02 A.) If you have a digital multimeter I suggest you measure the current to see if it is much greater. If so then you'll need to figure out why. Perhaps a relay is stuck.

    3. Has the 2005 had any other recent problems (such as being in an accident) besides logging the check engine light with the code P0A80 and P3016?
     
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  6. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    Thanks for the response Patrick. Here's what I know so far...

    1. The traction battery interlock switch is infact pushed properly back in, I have verified continuity with my volt meter on the two terminals directly on the battery with the switch in place securely vs pulled out. I was suspecting the same thing, so I ended up taking the cover off of the main battery and re-verified my work. Also I'm getting a full 224 volts on the main leads leaving the battery pack which I don't think will happen if that switch was removed.

    2. I will check to see the current being drawn and post my findings.

    3. The 2005 is an immaculate car that has never been in any accident, all the dealer records are present and has always been dealer maintained.
     
  7. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    the indication from the 12v battery is that they are weak. Since the voltage recovers under no load, the cell impedance is high. This indicates that the battery is old or not fully charged. However I don't think that is why you are not "ready" Did you check that the interlock switch on the traction battery is closed?
     
  8. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    Yes, the interlock switch is in the correct position. To once and for all eliminate the 12v battery as a culprit... I've taken the 12v out of my 08 Prius and swapped it over, that battery was purchased new less then a year ago and performs flawlessly on my 08.

    However I am not getting the Park position error message on the screen anymore. Now I'm getting an error message of " Problem" with beep on the screen and nothing else. Any insight on that?

    Kruso
     
  9. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    This is actually not how you check to see if the interlock is properly installed. The 90 degree rotation of the handle will complete the battery circuit. But there is a sensor inside the handle that must make contact. It is not having the handle pushed all the way down that causes this sensor to have an open circuit and throw the code -- and cause the main relay to remain open. Please compare yours to the picture below to make sure that the handle is in fact correctly in its place.

    [​IMG]
     
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  10. Kruso

    Kruso New Member

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    Seilerts, you and everyone here is awesome! That's exactly what it was... I wasn't pushing it down far enough for the safety switch to engage. Car's running like a champ and going through battery cycle properly instead of just discharging randomly all of a sudden. I'm anticipating on getting that code again most likely from a different block because form what I've seen they tend to go more or less around one another and when I do... I'm planning on replacing all the cells with new ones.

    That infact was my problem and appears to have been solved. This forum is great :)

    Kruso
     
  11. ahmeow

    ahmeow Prius Lover

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    Good guys deserve help from this Forum.:cheer2:
     
  12. tv4fish

    tv4fish Member

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    I'm a newbie - but I have been reading all the "new" posts on this forum and I am VERY impressed by the knowledge that is shared -- kudos to all that DO share their experience/knowledge on here. :) I'm very glad to have found this site.
     
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  13. Dr_SCIFI

    Dr_SCIFI Junior Member

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    Thanks!! You rock. I spent all nite trying to get my car started. I was ready to junk it and call it a lemon.


    FYI you have to slide the plug into the battery and onces it in, then you have to slide it downward so that the other sensor can connect!


    That easy, no sleep last nite!

    My car had a bad vibration problem so the motor mounts were changed. The inverter had to be removed.
     
  14. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Which of the motor mounts was bad?
     
  15. Dr_SCIFI

    Dr_SCIFI Junior Member

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    Wel, I changed all three one by one starting from right to left. The problem was still going on. After I changed the final mount it was running perfect. I mean, the car was running so bad that I wanted to junk it! But it now runs like a new car very smooth.
     
  16. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    So was it the mount on the motor side (passenger) or the transaxle side (driver)?
     
  17. Peking Duck

    Peking Duck Junior Member

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    Saved a marriage! My wife was hunting me after "wasting" $1200 on a new battery and not being able to figure out why it wouldn't start. Same issue. Needed to push safety switch down.
     
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  18. jensendump

    jensendump New Member

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    I've just read this thread b/c I posted my own about a similar problem. Seilerts is amazing. Loved to see his and others help work out. Good, smart folks here.

    Here is my thread about my "stuck in park or neutral" problem...

    Why Won't My Prius Go Into (Drive) | PriusChat







     
  19. Joxuel

    Joxuel New Member

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    hey Seilert, im having the same problem with my 2005 with 179km. i change some bad cell and it will not start. I tried the orange plug for 2 days now , and all i hear is the crank noise from the battery relay. ive been 5 days with out my car, and it still not start. And the 12v Battery is reading 12.5v so ita good
     
  20. T1 Terry

    T1 Terry Active Member

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    I'm guessing you have double checked that the orange plug is both locked in and slid up/down into the on position. The contactors are powered from the 12v battery so that says that part of the system is ok, so the next thing to check is if the fuse in the orange plug is ok and measure the voltage between the 2 contactors on both sides when the system is in the on/start position. This is to check that the contactors are actually engaging properly. If you don't have the correct traction battery voltage or no voltage, there is either a cell link missing or incorrectly positioned or the orange plug is not fully in the lock position, or the fuse is blown. As mentioned previously, there is a safety switch that needs to be engaged when the orange plug is slide up/down to complete the battery connection sequence. There is a small plug that goes to that safety switch, just check that it is plugged in as well.

    T1 Terry
     
    #20 T1 Terry, Feb 29, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 29, 2020
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