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Big Red TRIANGLE, and other warning lights, wont go into Drive/Reverse.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mark Z, Oct 7, 2012.

  1. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    I have a 2005 Prius with 107K miles which I had taken off the road for about 2 months. Car ran fine previously. I just replaced the old 12v Battery with a new Optima replacement battery, changed the oil and filter, and have 1/3 tank of gas. Inserted the key into the slot, foot on brake, pressed the Power button, and, just about every warning indicator light is On (Brake, Red Triangle, Check Engine, (!), ABS, VSC, Traction Control) and the yellow exclamation mark with "Problem" message appears for a second on the Display, then a Red Car (!) appears in the upper left-hand corner of the display. Car will Not go into Drive or Reverse, and engine will not run, even when gas pedal depressed.
    Am I doing something wrong, or did I let the car sit too long?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated,
    Thanks,
    Mark
     
  2. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    ** Moved to Gen II T/S forum **

    Good luck! Do you have a way to pull trouble codes with a code reader?
     
  3. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    There have been a few reports of new Optimas being delivered with low charge or faulty. What is the 12V reading? Those error lights can be a result of low voltage.
     
  4. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    Here is what was done over the past week, prior to posting the problem. Replaced the original OEM 12v battery due to weak readings and age. New Optima 12v battery is good. Reads 12.2v with a multi-meter. MFD (Multi-Function Display) shows 12.2v also. Even (pre)-charged the new 12v battery outside the vehicle with a Schumacher battery charger to verify proper charge. Installed the battery, changed the oil and filter, then ran into these symptoms when I tried starting the car to move it. I have an Actron CP9145 OBDII Scanner that I use on my other cars, but ran into 'communication errors' with it and the Prius, quickly learning through internet searches that my scanner wont work on the Prius' vehicles. I was able to get into the diagnostic mode on the MFD to view codes under LAN Monitor - EMV and took a photo of the screen before clearing the codes. I figured that if the car wouldn't start due to certain codes being set, and I cleared the codes, that I'd be good-to-go, but that's not the case. I went as far as testing the HV battery voltage to see if the max voltage was good or to possibly find a bad cell, but the max battery voltage at the output terminals with my Fluke meter is 209v and each cell reads exactly 7.5v. (I understand that max voltage should be 201.6v/7.2v per cell). Anyhow, I had 7 codes previously set under the LAN Monitor - EMV screen as follows:
    01-D5 178-34-B
    01-D5 190-34-B
    01-DA 178-84-2
    01-DB 178-F9-1
    01-DC 440-C3-6
    01-DC 190-37-F
    01-DC 1C6-F9-F

    If anyone can define these codes and direct me through steps to some possible (low-cost) solution, I would be extremely greatful.

    Thanks,
    Mark
     
  5. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    Also, when I try starting the car first thing in the morning and observe the Energy Monitor screen, the battery voltage starts-off with blue bars in the middle of the battery monitor then after about a minute I'm down to two pink bars at the bottom. Just wondering if the HV battery voltage is around normal but the amperage is low due to the car sitting for about 2 months, and if the system monitor is sensing the low current on the current sensor on the positive HV cable during start-up?? And IF that's part of the problem (low charge on the HV cells), can I just charge the cells in pairs (14.4v) safely, without damaging the DENSO Battery Computer Assy. (??)

    Thanks again,
    Mark
     
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Those codes on the mfd are gibberish. Ignore them.

    First unplug the 2 connectors at the pos terminal at the 12 volt battery. That's the same as unplugging the neg terminal without the sparking. Were rebooting the system here.

    Its not good this happened after the 12 volt replacement.I would be concerned the Inverter has been damaged. The dash lights like this if inverter is blown.Was there alot of sparking during the replacement? You didn't somehow reverse the connections for an instant?
    The fact that you can measure Hi Volt B+ means the 12 volt is ok and its closing the HV relays applying voltage to the big interlock switch. Be aware if you removed that plug its really hard to reseat it properly. The slide has to be slid all the way up and locked.

    But lets check the 12 anyway:
    You listed mfd 12 volt reading but like everyone else in the world you did not list the important second step. The 12volt IGN-ON. on which puts a load on the battery. With foot off brake push the start button once...wait few seconds then push again. Measure battery voltage with dvm on front jump points. Report here.

    Start checking all the fuses and links. Especially the dome fuse. You may have to have the car towed to the dealer as you need a special scanner to read the Hybrid codes. Iif you do that make sure you get all the codes shown an report them back here with ll the suffixes complete.
     
  7. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    (Thank You HTMLSpinnr for re-directing me to the Gen II T/S Forum!) (y)
    Yup! I'm a Newbie
     
  8. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    No sparks known of when replacing the 12v battery. Polarity was not reversed (accidentally) during battery replacement. All the fuses appear good. Tested all fuses (and checked links with a flashlight) under the hood with a meter (also visually by pulling all fuses out) including the 5 amp fuse (and the fuseable link) at the positive 12v battery connector. I did have the HV plug removed but was sure to re-install firmly with latch all the way up. I took note that there are two small pins on the HV plug assy. that fit into a small switch.
    Ill try those steps you gave me very soon and report back.
    Thanks!
     
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Hmmm..thats not good.
     
  10. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    I removed (30 sec.) and reconnected both plugs at the 12v battery positive terminal block to re-boot. Tried starting car, same symptoms. With car OFF and using dvm, voltage at fuse terminal block under hood read 12.3v. Pressed power button twice, voltage now reads 11.9v under hood. (still within spec, I believe).
    Is there a code reader available from any of the auto parts store(s) that will read prius codes?
    If its the Converter/Inverter, do you know what codes are generated that indicate a problem with it? You would think that Toyota would engineer these components a bit more robust from being affected by a simple battery change.
    The MFD shows that all systems are still [OK] in Diagnostic Mode. (??) I'm wondering if the car has to actually start and run in order for a new fault or code to be set. ...or if a code reader will even read a diagnostic code if the system shows [OK] on the MFD....
     
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    When you reinstall the traction battery interlock switch, you pivot the lever 90 degrees. Then you slide the lever to lock it in place. Did you slide the lever?
    12.3V is low, but the car should still start. A new, fully-charged AGM battery should read 12.9V.

    If you are sure that all fuses are good based upon your ohmmeter then I suggest you seek professional help for your car. Generic OBD-II code readers cannot be counted upon to read DTC logged by Prius ECUs other than the engine ECU.

    Please ignore the MFD and whatever codes you see there as those are irrelevant to your problem.
     
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  12. Mark Z

    Mark Z New Member

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    Hi Patrick,
    Thank You! You got me thinking about the 'full' operational positions of reinstalling the Traction Battery Service Plug.
    I though the two small pins on the Service Plug "engage" when the lever is pushed 90 degrees down. I had simply forgotten the 3rd position, which is to slide the entire lever "Downward" as the final motion to engage the two small pins for the "Low-Voltage Interlock Loop".
    It took about 3 power-ON-cycles to get the car to "realize" that the Service Plug Interlock Loop was made, with each try, I heard more relays clicking-in, especially from within the Traction Battery. At this point, all the warning lights went out, the "READY" message appeared, the engine started and I was able to switch into Drive and Reverse.
    Yahooo! What a relief!
    Thanks again Patrick! (y)
    I also want to thank EdTheFox5, nh7o and HTMLSpinnr for earlier help and correspondence.;)
    regards,
    Mark
     
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