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Starting prius after 6 months mothball

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rocketmandlgc, Sep 4, 2010.

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  1. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    Welp, for future reference: keep the 12v battery on a float charger if your planning on not driving/charging the car for an extended period. You can even disconnect it from the car - just incase.

    Just remember that your radio settings will be lost and you'll have to reprogram the auto window thingy (keep pulling up on the power window switch for like 5 seconds to program the auto-close-stop)
     
    #21 Bob64, Sep 7, 2010
  2. rocketmandlgc

    rocketmandlgc New Member

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    :rockon::rockon::cheer2::):rockon::cheer2:

    Jumped it, fired it up, removed key from fob, locked it up in ready mode (4 hours) powered off, went inside for several fags :D and coffee's:eek:

    1.5 hrs later, got in car - fired up ...purrrrfect.

    Thanks for all the help guys
     
    #22 rocketmandlgc, Sep 9, 2010
  3. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Just a note: the battery status you see on the MFD does not actually relate to the 12V in the back of the car. Just because you've jumped your Prius and the battery on the screen "has lots of bars" doesn't mean your 12V is all charged up.

    And, I'd be looking for a new 12V pretty quick, anyway.
     
    #23 Rae Vynn, Sep 9, 2010
  4. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    I'll second that. I would like to mention that it would have been much easier to check the SOC by using a multimeter, before and after the charge. It probably isn't necessary to disconnect the ground wire when charging either with a special charger, jumper cables or the cars own charging system! They are all the same. And easiest access is, under the hood (bonnet) rather than all that trouble in the trunk (boot). Very tough laws in the U.K. Stay tuned to Prius Chat. :D P.S. The reason your first try after charging was not succesful is that you disconnected the battery and then reconnected after the charge. When attempting to go into ready mode you must cycle the Power button at least twice. because you rebooted the car, after reconnecting the ground wire.
     
    #24 andyprius, Sep 9, 2010
  5. rocketmandlgc

    rocketmandlgc New Member

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    2 Quick points

    1)Yes Rae, I do know the difference between the batteries and what the screen is telling me - have you followed the whole thread?

    2) Andy, Mines a 2008 and still under manufacturers Warranty - The UK manual says " be sure to disconnect the earth cable if charging in situ" - so, when under warranty, that's what I do. But I do take your point about disconnecting - with hindsight I should have gone straight for a jump start instead of trying to recharge. I didn't realise that once in ready mode, the Prius could recharge itself from the HV batteries. Should have looked for this forum before trying ANYTHING but hey-ho, all's well that ends well

    And to avoid any more posts, the battery has been load tested and is fine - and anyway, the very nice man at our local Toyota Dealership (Wife is on her third Celica - never missed a service) Said, "I'll pretend we didn't have the conversation about the 6 month layoff - your battery is under warranty, bring it in we'll swap it for you"

    So just to recap for anyone with a similar problem. It seems the Prius is a very resilient, almost self healing vehicle (well at least when they are relatively new)

    So if the battery dies and it's less than 3 years old (maybe longer)

    Jump Start the car
    Leave it in Ready mode
    Lock it up
    Get on with you life for a few hours
    Let the Prius sort itself out

    Oh yes - almost forgot, UK price for a new battery 83 GBP - OUCH!!!!!! - thank God it wasn't broken
     
    #25 rocketmandlgc, Sep 9, 2010
  6. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Yes, I did follow the whole thread. However, I read the above description of what the battery bars were showing, where it SOUNDED like you were expecting that, since the battery went back up to "4 greens" you THOUGHT the 12V was all charged up.

    I wanted to make the point that it is two separate batteries, for those watching at home.
     
    #26 Rae Vynn, Sep 9, 2010
  7. rocketmandlgc

    rocketmandlgc New Member

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    Yep - good point.

    Happy Driving :)
     
    #27 rocketmandlgc, Sep 10, 2010
  8. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    Great! Glad to hear everthing worked out well. I didn't know about that special 08 warning on charging the 12V. One can also keep a small emergency battery for starting, ( I keep a gel, 7 AH ) I also have read that one can jumpstart, and remove the rear battery connection and the car will continue to run on virtually NO 12V. I have not tried it yet, The procedure would certainly improve mileage as 12V charging would be non-existant, any comments on this ??? Please, no theorizing. :D
     
    #28 andyprius, Sep 10, 2010
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