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Is my battery giving out?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by codyf5611, Nov 9, 2014.

  1. codyf5611

    codyf5611 New Member

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    Hello, I'm going to describe everything that has happened so you experts can help me out! This morning I turned on my first gen 2001 prius and got the dreaded Triangle of death. Three symbols popped up on the display. One was PS, one was main battery, and one was need fuel. I decided to drive a little ways and see what happened. I drove about a 1/4 of a mile and noticed that I couldn't go over 25 mph. I think the engine wasn't kicking on. I filled it with a little gas even though I knew I wasn't out. I got back in and the lights were still there. I drove home and this time the engine kicked in and I could drive normally. The whole time the battery level was below 25%. I freaked out of course, but didn't have time to mess with it because I had to work. I took my wife's car and when I came on I tried starting it again. Same thing. My wife said she read it could be the gas cap. I have noticed that when I pull the lever to open the gas door sometimes I have to pull it a couple times. Well I screwed on the gas cap and made sure it clicked. Then I closed the gas door with a little more force than normal. I started it again and all of the lights were gone and nothing abnormal on the display. The fuel, however, was still saying it was empty. Is this a sign that my battery is going bad, or is something going on with the fueling messages? I don't know a lot about cars so use simple terms please. Thanks in advance!
     
    #1 codyf5611, Nov 9, 2014
  2. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    To state the obvious you have a 13 year old hybrid vehicle.

    It certainly could be the hybrid battery giving out.

    For your sake, I hope it's as simple as a loose gas cap.

    You've tried what you've tried. I'd suspect if it wasn't simply a loose gas cap, the messages will return.

    I doubt your having to pull the lever to get the gas door open has anything to do with the current problems. That's a separate "physical" problem with that system. Cable replacement or lubrication of the mechanism would be my guess.

    Have you replaced the HV battery? If it's the original, I'd "bet" it probably IS wearing out.
     
    #2 The Electric Me, Nov 9, 2014
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. What prevents you from filling the fuel tank at this time?
    2. Measure the voltage produced by the 12V battery using a digital multimeter, when the car is IG-OFF. If the voltage is less than 12.5V, either replace the battery or charge the battery overnight using a charger set to 4A charging rate.
    3. If you still have problems after taking care of 1 and 2 above, then you should accept that your car has a serious problem (nothing to do with the fuel cap or fuel door) and have the DTC read so that you will have a clue about what is wrong.
    4. If you wish to read the DTC yourself, get Mini VCI from amazon.com. This requires a Windows XP or Windows 7, 32 bit OS laptop.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Nov 9, 2014
  4. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    Pat has given you good advice , in addition I would add the following:

    1) Your High voltage battery is likely giving you problems that is why you were limited to 25 MPH on part of your trip. When the HV battery rested it regained some power and allowed you to go on as normal. The 12 volt battery could be some of the problem and would be the cheapest to replace first, however it is likely some of the high voltage battery modules are starting to fail (there are 38 in your battery). Replacing the faulty module or modules is possible but is a temporary solution, replacing the modules with Gen 2 modules is a more permanent solution. Patrick is right to get a minivic cable and software((very cheap) to identify the problem in more detail, you will need an old computer that runs xp to run the software, buy one off the internet. Identifing the problem is crucial and the only way we can help is with codes the car gives us, then we can help.

    Roy from Canada
     
    #4 royfrontenac, Nov 9, 2014
  5. codyf5611

    codyf5611 New Member

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    So either way HV battery is either bad or starting to go bad? Can I just have autozone read the codes?
     
    #5 codyf5611, Nov 9, 2014
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The AutoZone generic OBD-II code reader may not be able to retrieve the DTC logged by the Prius ECUs. At this point it is not obvious that the traction battery is the problem.

    Rather than continue to guess I suggest that you try to obtain facts. The first set of facts to obtain is the DTC logged by your car.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Nov 9, 2014
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