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Inverter coolant pump failure

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Riaz, Aug 4, 2015.

  1. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    2006 Prius
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    II
    Hello all,

    I live in Guyana, South America and own a 2006 JDM prius with 323,000 km. The inverter coolant pump failed recently (got P0A93 code and no agitation in coolant reservoir). I ordered a replacement on eBay and am awaiting arrival. I may need to do some light driving in the in the interim and am thinking about installing a 10 inch fan in the space between the inverter/transmission and radiator to help keep things cool. Is this wise or should I just let the car sit until the new pump gets here? There are no hybrid dealers or shops in my country so I do all of the work on the car by myself using info in these forums and elsewhere online.

    Also, I am burning oil...I usually have to top up 1 to 2 quarts in between changes. Is there anything I can do to help this without tearing down the engine? A friend of mine suggested using Lucas oil stabilizer the next time I change oil...could this have any negative implications? Thanks.

    HTC One_M8 ?
     
    #1 Riaz, Aug 4, 2015
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    do not drive with a bad inverter pump, you'll end up ruining the inverter, which is a very expensive part.
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 4, 2015
  3. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    they all burn oil, agreed don't drive it with a bad pump
     
    #3 Beachbummm, Aug 4, 2015
  4. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    Thanks...I'll wait until the replacement pump gets here.

    HTC One_M8 ?
     
    #4 Riaz, Aug 4, 2015
  5. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Don’t drive it with broken pump. Fan won’t help since parts that need the cooling are inside.

    Don’t use Lucas oil stabilizer it won’t help Prius engine oil consumption. And in theory can even cause problems.
     
    #5 valde3, Aug 4, 2015
  6. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    2006 Prius
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    II
    It would have been nice if there was a way to do a manual override to force the car to run on ICE only in cases of inverter problems or HV battery failure. That way the vehicle would still be useable (at reduced HP) pending repairs.

    HTC One_M8 ?
     
    #6 Riaz, Aug 5, 2015
  7. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Toyota hybrid system always has to take power out or put power into MG1 (one of the two motor/generators “transmission”) to get the vehicle to move with gasoline engine so that isn’t possible. Also high voltage battery is used to start the engine. Toyota Prius - Power Split Device
     
    #7 valde3, Aug 5, 2015
  8. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    II
    Thanks...very informative stuff.

    HTC One_M8 ?
     
    #8 Riaz, Aug 5, 2015
  9. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    2006 Prius
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    II
    Received and replaced pump and bled inverter coolant loop using instructions found on this site...car is running great again. I bought a used pump on eBay for $34....Hope it lasts. Out of curiousity I measured the impedance across the terminals of the failed and good pumps for comparison: the dead pump climbs slowly and stops at about 1.2 Mohm after about 2 mins. The good pump stabilizes at 1.8 Mohm in a shorter time (about 1 minute). Reversing the polarity of the ohmmeter terminals generates a negative value for both pumps so looks like there is a capacitor across the input.

    HTC One_M8 ?
     
    #9 Riaz, Aug 17, 2015
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