cycle of death

Happened to me today

key in key slot power on
lower all windows
open all doors
open boot
start cleaning car

3 hours later

beep beep beep beep beep beep........
does it want me to take the key out?
take it out
close all doors and boot
lock
unlock
beep beep beep beep beep beep........

try to open boot
nothing happens
open door
try to switch on
all warning lights plus big red triangle

oh nooooooo
battery?
clamber inside to boot
just read this morning about taking out floor and finding manual catch
done
boot open
find 12V battery right side
that is tiny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

back into house
grab meter

8.83V
oh noooooooooo

still
beep beep beep beep beep beep........

get charger connect to mains
set to 2A
connect to battery
volts gradually build

12.5V
back into drivers seat
switch on
warning message
battery will not charge in neutral put into park
oh didnt know it wasnt
do that & engine starts
beep beep stops phew
symbol shows charging main battery
but is it charging 12V battery?

leave for a while - engine cuts after about 1 minute
well thats not going to charge battery - is it?
turn off ignition etc
continue to charge 12v battery through charger

Is this the correct procedure?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 10:12 AM) [snapback]493525[/snapback]</div>

That will certainly work.

By the way, The engine does not charge the 12V battery directly. There is an inverter between the 200V battery and the 12V battery that supplies the 12V battery with voltage for charging as needed. As long as the car is in "ready" mode the 12V battery will continue to charge off the 200V battery.

If the 200V battery runs down far enough, as long as the car is in "ready" mode, the engine will turn back on the charge up the 200V battery again, and then shut back off.

When the car is not in "ready" mode the car disconnects the 200V battery, so it is not able to supply the inverter (and therefore the 12V battery) with any voltage to keep the 12V battery charged up.

yes IGN on

what is 'ready' mode?
its sat there now with key out
but with blinking red car with key inside symbol

I disconnected the charger soon after above as there was a fizzing noise coming from the 12V battery
it's currently at 11.5V

8.83V means one cell ran out?
How many years does the battery typically need replacement?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 10:40 AM) [snapback]493537[/snapback]</div>

The car has 3 "modes" of being "on".

Starting with the car off

If you don't put your foot on the brake and you press the on button once, the car goes into "ACC" mode. In this mode a few of the 12V accessories will work, but you can't shift into drive and the engine will not come on. The 200V battery is still disconnected from the car so the inverter is not supplying any voltage to keep the 12V battery charged.

If you don't put your foot on the brake and you press the on button twice, the car goes into "IGN-ON" mode. In this mode a lot more 12V functions are available in the car (such as the windows). You still can't shift into drive and the engine still will not come on. The 200V battery is still disconnected from the car, so the inverter is still not supplying any voltage to keep the 12V battery charged.

If you DO press the brake firmly and press the on button, the car goes into "Ready" mode. The word "ready" is displayed on the instrument panel. The 200V battery is now connected and the inverter is supplying voltage for all the 12V funcions of the car including keeping the 12V battery charged. You can shift into Drive, and the car will start up the engine anytime it finds it needs to (including to keep the catalytic converter warm, and to keep enough charge in the 200V battery. The car will stop the engine whenever it finds it isn't needed.

If you are using an external charger, then it really doesn't matter right now for the sake of charging the 12V battery, other than to be aware that by putting the car into "ready" mode in the future, you can keep from running the 12V battery down in the first place. However if you disconnect the external charger and leave the car in "ready" mode the car will recharge the 12V battery for you from the 200V battery.

thanks
when I thought about it I did know what 'ready' mode was
- when these things happens all sense goes out of the window

After writing my last post I put the key in and got the car into ready mode
after a few seconds it started the ICE which ran for a minute charging the main battery before shutting down again
It's sitting there now in ready mode

I've noticed that the puddle lights stay on forever when the doors are open.. is there no timer to turn them off?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 11:08 AM) [snapback]493553[/snapback]</div>

I'm not sure, but I think you answered this question yourself

so I did

the ICE started itself after 30 mins in that mode
ran for about 2 minutes
then switched off

Sounds like your back to normal

Did you you ever try the manual everything is explained quite nicely.

I had skimmed the manual but I didn't expect to be in a no go situation with a beeping which wont stop, and unable to start the car. What would I do if I didnt have a charger to hand?

The main battery now has 2 lilac bars B)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 12:39 PM) [snapback]493627[/snapback]</div>

Use jumper cables and a friend's/neighbor's/friendly stranger's car?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 01:39 PM) [snapback]493627[/snapback]</div>

To lower the windows you had to be in the "ACC" mode. Which means the radio works, the windows work, the interior lights are on and you are not charging the small 12V battery. The manual warns you not to leave it in this mode for long periods as it drains the 12V battery with no way to recharge it.

Take sometime and really read the do's and don'ts with this car, you will save yourself lots of grief.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Aug 10 2007, 01:39 PM) [snapback]493627[/snapback]</div>

Even though you have 2 purple bars(there are only a few colors in this world and fruits and flowers do not count except for orange lol) you still have adequate charge to start the motor(the ICE starts on the BIG HV traction battery through one of the MG's....not the tiny 12Volt auxilery battery. The SOC(state of charge) that you see on the battery is the indicated level between 40% and 80% for the usable range of the HV Traction battery. The battery ECU will not let the battery go below 40% or above 80%.....ie have you tried to get 8 green bars on your battery???? It is very, very, very hard to accomplish this unless you have a three to 5 mile down hill slope at about 6% grade or more and the battery is already at 6 bars. The Battery ECU tries to maintain 60% SOC on the traction battery all the time. This is to maintain the life of the battery.

Now to the charging of the Auxilary 12 Volt battery. If you read the owners manual you will find that you are not supposed to use a regular car charger on this battery. They charge with toooo many amps and will cause damage. I purchased a small motorcycle/boat battery maintainer just for the aux 12 v battery in case I really need to charge. I also purchased one of those jump start mobile devices that you can plug into your wall at home for 12 hours or so. I put this in my cargo area for emergencies. I will charge this once every two weeks inside to maintain it. The jumpstart device has a small air compressor, light and 12 Volt cigarette socket for aux power and has a set of 2 foot leads attached to the main wires, it will go up to 1200 amps for a jump I have considered purchasing a nanopulser from sigma automotive to help maintain my 12 V aux battery but have not yet ......$ think it is 75-85$ Ouch. Hope all of this helps you.

If you have the door open and you place the vehicle in drive you will get the Neutral battery will not charge warning....I have done this several times with washing and waxing...It says it every time.

Fast answer: the next time you clean the car, either

1. Do it in less than 1 hour

2. Do it outside or in a garage with the garage door fully open. Turn the car ON ("Ready"), as though you were going to drive it away. Shift to Park and apply the parking brake. Now the car will run the engine as needed to keep itself charged normally; obviously you should be VERY CAREFUL if you fool around under the hood because the engine may start at any time. Turn the car OFF when you're done.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 10 2007, 03:38 PM) [snapback]493733[/snapback]</div>

+1. Out of curiosity, why would you turn the car on while cleaning it?

I'm not understanding something with the switch on sequence
first press of the power button doesnt let me open the windows
second does
then the car is switched on
Also
I'm used to having timers which power down various lights etc if the doors are left open too long :mellow:

Interesting about the brake and ready light
I do press the brake before trying to select R, but maybe not enough for the ready light to come on
that may explain why it doesnt beep and doesnt let me select R
pressing power off
then twice more
allows me to select it though

needs more research! B)

I knew it was confusing

so me pressing power twice to get it to power up
then pressing the brake
trying to select D or R
doesnt work?
then releasing the parking brake
and again trying to select D or R

Actually I think selecting D works
It's R that is randomly not available
but might be due to not enough pressure on foot brake

will research tomorrow :blink:
thanks

In 3 above is that the mode where I flattened the battery
i..e. where it doesnt charge it from the main battery?