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Brake light, (!), ABS, VCS lights all on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Islandboy84, Dec 16, 2014.

  1. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    Just bought 04 prius before thanksgiving and Im loving it so far. Anywho fast forward to yesterday and Im driving home and notice the Brake light, (!), ABS, VCS lights come on. I read a couple forums about bridging pins 4,13 to get codes and this is what I have.
    (!)69, 57 ABS 42, VSC 45

    I tested the battery and it was 13.8 V on and around 12.3 or something off. I felt around where the inverter pump is and it feels like there something going on in the middle hose. I tried to look in the reservoir but honestly I coudnt get it pumping when I had the hood up so I couldnt confirm movement in the reservoir.

    I reset the codes (stomping on brakes 8 times) and it went away until I started driving home again today and theyre back.
    I added a file the is the sounds I hear when pressing the brakes. Truthfully I hear this all the time when I turn off the prius. I just noticed though that when I hit the brakes I hear it now. In the sound file you hear a pause when I press and release the brake pedals and reapply.
    Sorry for the long post I will hook up a MVCI and see what i can find but honestly I only used techstream to program smart key because I dont have one that works in the key slot.
     

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  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    How many miles on the car and how old is the 12 V battery?

    I believe you have one (inverter coolant pump dead) or may be two (12 V battery on last legs) problems with your car.

    You need to test the battery after the car has sat off for 3 or more hours to ensure any surface charge dissipates*. This would be the resting voltage. You then need to put the car into ACC mode (one press of the start button with foot OFF the brake), turn the headlights on and then measure the voltage again. The voltage should settle to a constant level after 10-15 secs and this is the voltage you should record. If the voltage does not settle but keeps dropping, let us know that too. This is the voltage under load. Stop this test if the voltage drops below 10.5 V.

    Notwithstanding this, the reading of 12.3 V "or something", is too low and you should immediately put your battery on charge for 12-16 hours using a smart charger suitable for AGM batteries, if you have one. After this time, take it off the charger and let it sit for 3 hours to let the surface charge dissipate* then repeat the above tests. Let us know this second set of readings.

    Hopefully, it is just your 12 V battery being in a poor state, but most likely your 12 V battery is due for change.

    *Alternately you can put a load on the battery for 15-30 sec to dissipate the surface charge.

    Sometimes a bright light behind the reservoir can help, but if you see no movement of fluid, your inverter coolant pump will need replacing. The symptoms of of this are as you described:

    If the inverter coolant pump has failed, the dash warning lights will come back on after 10 or so mins running in READY mode after the car has been off for a while and you clear the codes. Obtaining the DTC's with Mini VCI will confirm for sure.

    Let us know how you get on.
     
    #2 dolj, Dec 16, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014
  3. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the reply I will check the battery as you suggested ASAP. Here are codes I pull from techstream,
    When I cleared the light yesterday I drove to work ~ 35 min and no lights, went to lunch ~10 min drive and was half way home ~15 min before lights came back on.
     

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  4. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    The thing to bear in mind, if your 12V battery is in poor condition, there can be spurious DTC's thrown, so you need to establish the state of that ASAP, and if it proves to be bad, replace it straight away to avoid chasing down red herrings.

    Secondly, you need to establish whether there is or isn't movement in the inverter coolant reservoir ASAP to establish whether your inverter coolant pump is working or not as it is not good to drive on a failed pump. You could end up with an additional couple of failed parts, each in the realm of 4 figures to replace with new parts.
     
  5. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    How so I check the inverter reservoir. Do I remove cap and have someone hit the breaks/gas while peeking in? Im not sure if that sounds stupid, Im just wondering how others have checked it and if they did it solo
     
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The inverter coolant pump will run whenever the Prius is IG-ON or READY. So just make the car READY and look at the reservoir. If you don't see fluid turbulence then either the coolant pump is not running or air remains in that system.
     
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Just in case you are not sure where the inverter coolant reservoir is here is a pic:
    Prius Gen II Inverter Reservoir.jpg
     
  8. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    Tested and got 12.03V . I dont remember if I saw it but does the prius take a special 12v battery or would any that is the right size work.
     
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    You haven't said to what your test relates. I did asked you to take two measurements: a) resting and 2) under load. Then charge your battery and repeat the tests. Which does 12.03 V represent?
     
  10. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    Sorry for not specifying but I ended up replacing the battery but the lights are still there. I figured they would clear after being disconnected for so long. I'll clear after I remeber how and see if they come back
     
  11. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That's ok. Did you fully charge the new battery before installing? What are the resting and load voltages of the new battery?
     
  12. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    I didnt charge the battery but it was at 12.49V before install. The old one was at 12.39 when I had it removed. Looking at the previous battery, it looked fined. I dont know if you looked at the picture I sent with the codes but I hooked up an OBD2 scanner at autozone and I got the same codes:
    C1256 Accumulator Low pressure
    C1391 Abnormal leak of ACC pressure.

    A couple times when I turn the car on I get a long solid beep noise. After reading around and trying to figure out what the hell an accumulator is I found my answer and a very scary 1k$ repair cost and I dont think that is with labor, just parts
     
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Do you have a battery charger? If you don't I'd get one (Smart charger with capability to charge AGM, presumably your new battery is an AGM) and give your new battery a charge up to full. This is for the sake of looking after your battery as at 12.5 volts has probably sat around on a shelf for a while.

    Yes I looked your Techstream images, and that is why I got you to focus on the 12V battery first. The Bxxxx codes can be ignored for now as they will not be contributing to your warning lights.

    So are the C1256 and C1391 the only codes now? If they are then that is good and they are probably what you need to concentrate on. $1,000 is not too bad for a problem of this nature.

    Were you able to confirm movement of coolant in the inverter coolant reservoir?

    Here is a post where our knowledgeable member Patrick Wong comments and both the above trouble codes are mentioned.

    Early failure mode on brake hydraulic boost pump

    My ability to help you further ends at this point, but hopefully @Patrick Wong or others will be able to chip in with their thoughts.

    All the best with the repair.
     
    #13 dolj, Dec 18, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2014
  14. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. I agree that your 12V battery needs to be fully-charged now. Upon installation, the new battery was at 50% discharge. A new fully-charged AGM battery should measure 13.0V. A discharged battery will measure around 12V.
    2. However, the low battery voltage is not the cause of C1256 and C1391. Yes, the brake actuator assembly needs to be replaced.

    Since you have Mini VCI it is feasible for you to DIY install a used part which you can probably buy for ~$300 or so on eBay. The brake actuator is mounted on the firewall, you have to remove the cowl tray that the windshield wiper motor sits in, the inverter and the cabin heater core coolant pump for access.

    This is a pretty big job. If you think you are up for it then you can obtain repair manual info at techinfo.toyota.com
    Make sure you have the correct tools, for example you need the correct slotted box wrench to remove the hydraulic brake lines from the brake actuator assembly. You do not want to damage those lines. You also need to observe the safety precautions associated with removing the high voltage cabling from the traction battery to the inverter.
     
  15. Islandboy84

    Islandboy84 Junior Member

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    Alright guys update time

    I end up get a used brake actuator assembly and had it installed, lights are gone. Annoying clicking noise that was there ever since I bought the car is gone. I now know that wasnt normal and it was a bad actuator assembly.

    I got a flashlight and was able to confirm the coolant pump was working and the battery was fine.

    Thanks for all the help guys.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats!(y)
     
  17. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That is good news, I hope you have many miles of trouble free driving.

    Job well done.
     
  18. bbui13

    bbui13 New Member

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    Excellent thread... Especially, Dolj posted the picture with text described the Inverter Reservoir... This is how we have documents in High Tech places. Thanks