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My Battery Died

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010.

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  1. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    after 6 years and 3 Pri's i guess it was inevitable that i would have a problem sooner or later.

    my 2010 12 volt battery failed to start the car yesterday. it had only sat for 6 days. checked the doors, lights, etc. all were closed.

    i jumped it and it ran ok. i guess i will monitor it to make sure it maintains a charge but would be easier if i can figure out why it died so quickly in the first place. will keep u posted
     
    #1 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Interesting. Did you check the hatch light and all the vanity and dome lights?
     
    #2 usbseawolf2000, May 13, 2010
  3. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    yep first thing. have 3 YO who killed batt in 2006 by leaving door slightly open so was first thing i looked at. nothing.

    wondering if the door sills might have done it. bad connections or something? i would think they would not since they are door switch activated...
     
    #3 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    How many miles on the car, and how many months have you owned it? Perhaps lack of use resulted in the 12V battery losing charge?
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, May 13, 2010
  5. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Per Dave's signature, he has a little over 9k miles.
     
    #5 usbseawolf2000, May 13, 2010
  6. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    9500 miles and it will be a year old in a few days. i would hope that the battery did not die from extended non use since it is driven every so often. this period of inactivity is longer than normal i will say, but having it sit for 3-4 days is pretty normal
     
    #6 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  7. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I will be replacing my 12v this summer. After 5.5 years with 74,000+ miles, I've successfully killed and jumped it three times.
     
    #7 TonyPSchaefer, May 13, 2010
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    My 12v battery is 4 years old with 125k miles on it. The diagnostic screen still show it as 12.1v in IGN mode. I hope it last me another year, pushing it over 150k miles.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, May 13, 2010
  9. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Probably the best thing to do is put an ammeter in-line at the battery and see if there is excessive draw.
     
    #9 spiderman, May 13, 2010
  10. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    There have been a few reports on battery dying on Gen 3 less than one year old.
    I have doubts about the quality of parts that Toyota is putting into cars to reduce costs.
     
    #10 bedrock8x, May 13, 2010
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i doubt that battery is dead. something ran it down as it should not have lost power that fast.
     
    #11 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  12. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well i guess as long as you retain a 50/50 ratio of success, cant complain about that!
     
    #12 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  13. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Did you leave a fob in the car, or was the fob in a car NEAR the 2010? It might have spent the week chatting back and forth with the fob, and ran the battery down. Have the fob in the pocket of that shirt hanging in the garage?
     
    #13 Rae Vynn, May 13, 2010
  14. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    #14 phoenixgreg, May 13, 2010
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Doesn't sound right. I left it for two weeks outside without cover over Christmas and it started up when I got back.
     
    #15 Tideland Prius, May 13, 2010
  16. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i have scangauge. so it was going to warn me? what would it have looked like?

    one thing though. before i would hit the display button and it would stay on all the time. since the batt jump, the display only stays on for a minute or two and shuts off. i am sure there is a setting to make it stay on, but thinking that i will leave it as is and see what happens
     
    #16 DaveinOlyWA, May 13, 2010
  17. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    Actually, I'm interested in your experience with the Scangauge. I was thinking of mounting one behind the steering wheel on a Velcro patch so it would be visible thru the upper "open area" of the wheel. Is that how you mounted yours? I think I've seen where the display can be changed to light aqua to somewhat match the color of the MFD. I would program mine to show ICE rpm, ICE coolant temp, 12v battery status, and if it could be programmed, the traction battery voltage.
    Back to your situation...a normal car's healthy 12 volt battery should show a running voltage of about 14 volts unless every conceivable accessory is on. Then it could be hovering around 13 volt + or -. I understand the Prius 12 volt battery is different so until I get a scangauge, I can't give stats. I have read here that a healthy battery is about 12.8 + or -volts at rest. Again, that's with the power on and no accessories running. Were your voltages around those numbers? Maybe when your 12 volt battery died, your default settings on the scangauge were lost.
     
    #17 phoenixgreg, May 14, 2010
  18. esoniat

    esoniat Junior Member

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    12.1 is pretty low for a battery, a fully charged 12 volt lead acid battery should show 12.6 volts. 12.1 indicates a nearly dead battery.
    I think you have gotten you money's worth out of this battery and should replace it.

     
    #18 esoniat, May 14, 2010
  19. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Dave: Maybe it's always been faulty? See if Toyota will replace it free. With thier LONG history of faulty batteries, one would think a better solution would surface.
     
    #19 andyprius, May 14, 2010
  20. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    When should I check though? I let the car sit overnight and check in the morning and see 12.1 volts.
     
    #20 usbseawolf2000, May 14, 2010
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