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Suspiciosly timed trouble light...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rufaro, Feb 12, 2014.

  1. rufaro

    rufaro WeePoo, Gen II

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    My 12v has been misbehaving, so I had it replaced. All well and good, except, as I'm about to drive off from the facility, I see a yellow light I've never seen before. It's a circle with an exclamation point, and,outside the circle are things that look like a pair of parentheses. At first, I thought the guy might have tripped the tire pressure warning icon, but the circle is round, not splodgy-bottomed as is the tire pressure one.

    I have trusted this facility in the past,but I'm less enthused now. This is a light that has never appeared to me since Bruce was a baby, back in '06. It was late this afternoon when they started letting me go off with the trouble light lit, apparently hoping I wouldn't notice. I have to take the car back tomorrow to give them some time to track it. They did some systems testing to 'prove' it was the 12v at fault and not some other even more expensive component, and claimed to have reset several systems' low voltage codes...but the tech has no idea about the meaning of this icon.

    Suggestions? Warnings? Tech says he's thinking something with power steering module. I'm thinking something reconnected wrong (or not reconnected at all) in new battery installation...I do NOT believe that my power steering controller magically developed a fault at the exact instant a 12v battery was installed.

    Ideas I can bring to the table tomorrow morning back at the repair facility?

    HELP ME PLEASE!!!
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    That light shows you that a DTC was logged by the skid control ECU. The brake system is impaired.

    The brake system power supply is located to the left of the 12V battery, and is a large black rectangular box. It is possible that a wiring harness connector to that power supply might be loose.

    If you don't see any obvious problem, I suggest that you should visit your local Toyota dealer for assistance because it is clear from your OP that whomever installed the 12V battery does not have a clue or the ability to figure this out.
     
  3. Rich12

    Rich12 Member

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    "Bruce"? Seriously?
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  4. Easy Rider

    Easy Rider Active Member

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    Or was at one point, maybe just momentarily.
    For most cars, it is not uncommon for "phantom" things to show up immediately after
    changing the battery.......or even just disconnecting it.
    Would it not be a good idea to "reset" the trouble codes and see if it comes back ?
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    OP's post indicates that the tech attempted to clear the DTC: "claimed to have reset several systems' low voltage codes."

    I suppose it would be OK to clear the skid control ECU DTC again, but that requires using a jumper between pins 4 and 13 of the OBD-II connector. The procedure is posted on PC.

    (Most ECUs will reset after disconnection of 12V power; the two exceptions are the skid control ECU and SRS ECU.)
     
  6. rufaro

    rufaro WeePoo, Gen II

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    Yes, Bruce, dammit. Ya know the shark in Jaws? It even has a sharkfin antenna. And I thought obout having the horn play the da dum da dum shark music. So there. And A LOT of PCers named their cars back in the day. Honest!

    Thanks for all the advice. I'm trying to find a way to show all this to the tech's boss without offending him. The boss is as pissed as I am that the tech tried to send me off yesterday with the warning lit and was hoping I just wouldn't notice...Usually these guys have been great.

    Again, thank you all!