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HELP!!! something is not right!!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by juliolopezgonzalez, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. juliolopezgonzalez

    juliolopezgonzalez Junior Member

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    Update: picked up the car from the station, it started right away after 5 weeks ( that yellow top optima is really something) and drove about 20 miles to the dealer. They voltage for the first 6 miles was 13.9 and after that it went up to 15v. I did check both grey plugs and they seem solid to me. All the warning
    lights came on right away instead of waiting for a few miles like before. Will keep you informed.
     
  2. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Wow another strange symptom that may indicate a problem with the inverter/converter. I don't recall anyone here ever reporting the Prius DC-DC converter putting out more than about 14.2 volts before. Certainly not during the trip after things have already charged up / warmed up.
     
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  3. juliolopezgonzalez

    juliolopezgonzalez Junior Member

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    uart you are right. Dealer just called, they want another $250 to finalize diagnosing the problem, but they say it might be the inverter. Now, is the inverter removed, unplugged, disconnected, touched, massaged...etc when an engine is replaced? Because I remember reading the scaguage before the engine swap and it was always in the high 13s low 14s neighborhood. Maybe a loose connection? Something??? Not looking forward to the $3,600 part cost plus labor. If it is the inverter I would appreciate any advise on remanofactured/eBay options. Also, what is reasonable labor in hours for this replacement (@$105/hr).

    Thanks for reading!
     
  4. ZitterZap

    ZitterZap Member

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    I was able to get a salvaged HV battery from LKQ with 1 year parts and labor warranty recently. You can try them for salvaged or re-manufactured inverter.
    Thread here

    I believe regarding this kind of complicated repair the warranty will really come in handy if person fixing it messes up.

    Good luck on the Prius. Keep us updated.
     
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  5. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Replacing the motor is a big job. Every hose and wiring harness must be disconnected from the motor, transaxle, and inverter. The inverter cover has to come off in order to remove the two MG cables.

    15V is high.

    Another thing to check would be the ground strap from the 12V negative, from the battery to the fenderwell.
     
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  6. juliolopezgonzalez

    juliolopezgonzalez Junior Member

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    UPDATE:

    After 2 days of diagnosing and calls to the service center @ Toyota I get the dreaded call with the "I need a new inverter" outcome. Quote is $4,400 installed.

    But I have the feeling that after 2 days of tinkering with the car they still don't know the real reason for the faulty code and are suggesting full replacement. Now that will solve the problem -hopefully- but it does not make financial sense for this vehicle. And here is the other problem: like Seilerts said, an engine swap is a big deal for this car. How can I be 100% sure that it was done correctly at the dealer in OR? Was the guy that swapped engines the same guy that forgot to tighten the belt that cooked my original engine? And if the inverter has to be accessed during the swap, how can I know that it was closed/done correctly?

    And here is something else to consider: before the engine swap, my Scangauge was always in the 14v neighborhood. After, it would go up to 14.9-15v once the car was warmed up. I never gave any importance to it, till now.

    I honestly think that the engine swap has created extra load on the inverter for some reason and after a few thousand miles the lights lit up. The dealer in OR offered a 1yr warranty on the new (used) engine parts and labor but the inverter is not part of the "mechanical" side of the car, although it is connected to it.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated before I show up at the dealer in person to further discuss this. At this point it does not make sense to spend that amount on this car, regardless of how much I love it.
     
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  7. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Why are they not replacing the inverter under CARB warranty?

    Further, used inverters are a dime/dozen. Riteway in Fontana shows 8 in stock, at $300/ea. Installation would be maybe 3 hours of labor, tops. Maybe push the dealer in OR to cover that kind of repair. It is impossible to have done the engine replacement without removing/installing the inverter.

    Now, interesting question: Did they get all of the ground wires connected? There are 3-4 of these damn things and they are easy to forget.
     
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  8. juliolopezgonzalez

    juliolopezgonzalez Junior Member

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    It looks like the car was originally purchased in Peoria according to the dealer here in SD, but just found out that there is another Peoria in AZ. I know that IL is a non CARB state because I called them, but is AZ? Maybe the dealer assumed that it was IL, not AZ? Would they have an interest in having me pay for it instead of requesting warranty coverage from Toyota? Would that be easier to them?

    I will make sure all wires are connected when I go over there, as well as all your other suggestions. Thanks Scott.