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2005 Prius won't start after changing headlight

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by JSheikhai, Jul 3, 2015.

  1. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    I went to a shop to have a headlight changed. After they replaced the bulb all the warning lights were on while it was still in the bay and it wouldn't shift into gear. They insisted it was my 12v battery even though the battery was less than a year old and I had no problem before they changed the headlight. They changed the battery and still had the same problem so they "reset the whole system" by unplugging something in the trunk and then it ran fine. It's been a couple weeks now and last night I went over a bump and the ABS, Traction control, and red triangle lights came on. When I got home and turned it off it would not start again. Same thing as in the shop. All warning lights are on and it won't shift into drive. I towed it back to the shop and told them they must have left something loose when they changed the headlight. I saw them in the fuse box so any thing is possible. Again they just "reset the whole system" by unplugging three wires on the right side of the trunk and plugging back in. I drove away, ran over a speed bump, and the same thing happened. I drive home with ABS and traction lights on but as soon as I turned it off I couldn't start it again. I does power accessories it just won't go into drive. In my gut I know it is something that happened while they changed that bulb. Any ideas what I should check?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! how many miles on her?

    it sounds like they are resetting the system, but that's not solving the problem. although, the bump sounds like a loose connection, you should see if any trouble codes have been logged.
     
  3. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    No codes. Each time I go over a bump I get the red triangle, traction control, and ABS light but it drives fine until I turn it off. Then it will only turn accessories on. It won't start engine or go into drive. After I get accessories on, If I press power button with foot on brake it doesn't respond but without foot in brake it turns everything back off. This happened the first time while it was still in the shop having the headlight changed. Drivers side headlight. What is near there that could be loose causing this?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would like to know what they are fiddling with in the hatch, and how they know to do that.

    if the problem is in the front, how is disconnecting and reconnecting something in the back temporarily fixing it?
     
  5. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    It's on the right side when you open the hatch. Some kind of module looking thing. They unplug three wires and plug back in and it starts.

    I'm more concerned with what may be near the fuse box or left headlight that could be loose causing this. I'm sure they left something loose. The only other factor is extreme heat but that's been pretty ongoing lately. I can't get over this happening while it was in for light change. It has to be related.

    Whatever they reset in the back reboots everything then it runs until I turn it off again. Are you a tech?
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nope, just a priuschatter.:)
     
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I suggest you get Mini VCI so you can retrieve the DTC logged by the skid control ECU. If the ABS light is on then at least one DTC was logged.
     
  8. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    Isn't the mini VCI just a cable to connect to a scan tool?

    The shop used an obd11 scanner and it gave them no codes. It was a snap on scanner
     
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Mini VCI is a cable which, when combined with a Windows XP or Windows 7, 32 bit OS laptop and the software which comes with the Mini VCI, allows you to utilize the same diagnostic power as a Toyota dealer tech using Toyota Techstream. The Snap-On scanner apparently could not retrieve the DTC logged by the skid control ECU, but if you had the ABS warning light on, a DTC was present.
     
  10. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    They are likely just unhooking then connectors from 12v battery in back which will clear codes that are in memory.
     
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  11. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Even though 12v is one year old it could be low in charge or bad if it was discharged a couple times. What kind of 12v is it? See prior threads about how to check 12v

    PS- Several Youtube videos on Gen2 light bulb replacement I assume you are talking the regular bulbs ...2 methods you either have to be a contorsion artist (my approach) or take a few pieces off per Lucious garage video. But we do not have too many reports of bulb replacements gone bad. I do not know what shop you are going, but some Prius experience helps.
     
    #11 wjtracy, Jul 4, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2015
  12. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    Check to see if you have anything loose in the fuse box behind the driver side headlight. My guess is that they moved it over get better access to the headlight. They then put it back without checking the connections/fuses/relays for proper contact.
     
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  13. TampaPrius.com

    TampaPrius.com Active Member

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    I don't believe this is related to the headlight replacement, just coincidence but you need the codes read while the lights are on. It is behaving like a high voltage ground fault P0AA6 code. Like Patrick said you will need the mini VCI to check. Once the P0AA6 code is set the car will not restart until it has been fixed/cleared which is why disconnecting the battery clears it and it restarts. The mini VCI will possibly confirm my suspicion and identify the location of the ground fault.
     
  14. alekska

    alekska Active Member

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    We see it all the time. Its not a coincidence. Those incompetent people worked on the car without disconnecting 12v first. Doors open, maybe even in ACC mode so they can check headlight wiring and operation, etc. Battery got discharged. Its a small 20-24 AH battery.
    Now they have to charge you for new battery and other BS that is happening to the car. They probably did not re-connect the battery properly (including the cense wire) after charging/replacing it. That's why you have codes after bumps on the road.


    At least they did not jump it with reversed polarity and did not destroy a $3000 inverter

    -Alex
     
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  15. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    Alex - you're right they did not disconnect battery before replacing headlight and the drivers door was open the entire time it was in the bay. Is there something I can do to fix this?
     
  16. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    While it is a smallish battery, it's not that small.

    The OEM for non-SKS is 36 aH;
    The OEM for SKS is 45 aH.
     
  17. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    You can fully charge the battery back up. As long as this is done soon after the battery was discharged, it will not do any long term damage. The longer you wait to fully charge up the battery the greater the chances of damage occurring.
     
  18. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    What do you mean fully charge the battery? How do I do that when I can't drive the car? Do you mean a trickle charger on the 12v?
     
  19. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I thought OP wrote that the 12v was replaced after the first episode. In any case I do not see why a 12v on its last legs would only be affected by a bump in the road, or why a reset would let the car go again.

    A loose connection or a ground fault sounds right to me. I would follow TampaPrius' advice and also re-seat all the connections in and around the fuse box.
     
  20. JSheikhai

    JSheikhai New Member

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    Yes they replaced the 12 v. The one they removed was less than 2 years old but they said it solved the problem. It didn't. I'm having the same problem with the new battery. I also believe it's a loose connection somewhere I just don't know where. I pulled and reinstalled each fuse in the fuse box. Not sure what else to try. I've towed it twice now and just need to figure it out and get my car reliable again so I can get to work.