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Check Hybrid System - After 12V drained

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by doabbs, Jan 10, 2020.

  1. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    Wanted to start a thread in the hopes of getting some advice as I sit over the weekend contemplating my disaster of a week.

    We've got a 2010 with about 190,000 miles on it. Bought it new, original owners. Almost all highway miles with about a 40 mile commute each way.

    On Saturday I drove about 180 miles round trip and on the ride home I left the interior dome light on accidentally and forgot about it until Tuesday. Came out to the car and obviously found a dead 12V battery. Grabbed jumper cables and used the engine compartment jump points to start the car. Not the first time I've done this in the course of owning the Prius over the last 10 years. Get the READY message the engine attempts to start, or something similar as it didn't sound exactly right, and after about 2-3 seconds the noise stops and I get a check Hybrid System Error. Uh oh... that's odd.

    So I pulled the 12V battery, disconnected the Orange breaker in the trunk and pulled the white lead from the main fuse panel under the hood. I put the 12V on a charger in the house overnight, brought it back out in the morning. Check Hybrid system error isn't there, press Start and same exact behavior. (Prius attempts to do something in the engine compartment for about 2-3 seconds then check Hybrid System error.

    Run out, grab a new 12V battery, rinse.. lather.. repeat.. :(

    I've got a mini-VCI cable coming on Monday so I can read out the codes but I'm really shocked at this point how a simple dead 12V battery could cause such a failure. Any advice as to next steps and has anyone seen anything like this? I've read every thread I could find but no conclusions or root causes ever seem to be presented. Thanks in advance.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you finish the third step of reconnecting the orange safety plug by sliding it?
     
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  3. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    Sorry totally forgot to mention that.

    So after the battery was recharged, hooked the 12V battery back up. Put the orange safety plug back in, made sure it was properly seated and pushed the lever to the right to ensure it was secured properly. Then plugged the white lead back into the fuse box.

    Same issue, engine attempts to do something and then shuts down and displays the Check Hybrid System error.

    Went out and grabbed a new AGM battery. Repeated all steps above, same issue.
     
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  4. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    Did you happen to test either of the 12v voltage, yes the new one?
     
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  5. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    Yes tested both old and new 12V with a multimeter and both look fine with expecting resting voltage.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is the ready light coming on?
     
  7. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    Any possible chance the ignition was left on?
    And if so, was gas tank low?

    (just thinking of recent postings)
     
  8. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    It did come on several times throughout my initial 12V battery troubleshooting. I do know there were times when it didn't however.
     
  9. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Unless you have a way to charge the hv battery, I'd watch how many times you start your Prius as you are in a pitch count;).

    You are sure the leads were connected correctly and you didn't reverse polarity:whistle:?

    All the fuses are in tact and none are blown?

    Good luck and keep us posted(y).
     
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  10. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    Didn’t reverse polarity. I’ll triple check the fuses this week. I was nervous about how many times I can try and start the car and will have to research a way to charge the HV if it comes to that. Ugh. Thanks!
     
  11. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Where about in New Hampshire are you located:whistle:?

    @WilDavis might be in your neck of the woods and has a way to charge the pack if that situation presents itself:).

    But if the fuses are all there and not blown, I'd check for continuity on the front jump point to see if you have juice going to that;).

    Good luck and keep us posted(y).
     
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  12. borgestes

    borgestes Member

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    When I get in a situation where I will either be leaving the car to sit for long periods or having charge issues, I start the car and do a force charge on the hybrid battery. Here is a video that kind of explains it. It doesn't hurt the car, does trash your mileage on the tank (if you track mileage) but it gets a nice charge in your battery so you don't have to worry about using a grid charger which is a pia cause you have to pull stuff off to get to the battery to connect it. Plus you have to provide air to keep it cool.

     
    #12 borgestes, Jan 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2020
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  13. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    Checked all the fuses and on first go around they all look good. I've already replaced the 12V battery and charged it directly without using the front jump point. Good to know there might be someone in my neck of the woods if the HV battery needs charging. I'm on the eastern side of New Hampshire, north of Portsmouth by about 35 miles.

    I can't force charge the pack at the moment as the engine does not start and appears to shut down the fuel pump after about 5-10 seconds. (Was told that by a friend who took a quick look at it)
     
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  14. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    If the car doesn't "ready" you won't be able to force charge it, and each time battery drops a little more;).

    Is the orange safety plug seated correctly with the three steps being followed:whistle:?

    If the battery is good and everything is connected (verified with a volt meter), something else is preventing your Prius from getting to the "ready" state:cool:.

    Good luck and keep us posted(y).
     
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  15. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat! (…and Welcome to @doabbs - I screwed up with the reply, and misunderstood the originator! …sorry! :oops:)
    …if you plan to use the Hybrid-Automotive Prolong System as part of a regular maintenance schedule, you will need to have one of these:
    Prolong® Battery Systems Car Harness - Discharge Ready - Hybrid Automotive
    …and leave it connected to the car (apparently the new version doesn't require the cutting of any existing wires to fit).

    I have one of the older (square, black-box) chargers, and an original "Light-Bulb" discharger and one of the earlier Intelligent Dischargers which I've used regularly since 2015 on my 2009 Gen II which I got in 2014. There are many, many threads here on PriusChat about their use, and advantages/disadvantages, and if you get really stuck, @jeff652 (the boss-fellah of HA) is most helpful.
    The regimen I use is a FullMonty (3 discharge/charge cycles) every 6 months, interspersed with one full-charge (Shortie) each 3 months in between.
    I've offered to share my system to anyone who might be interested in sharing resources (for a consideration) but not too much interest (so far).
    My offer still holds. If you check recent threads you might see that I recently completed a 6-monthly FullMonty just a couple of weeks ago. Read all you can about the Prolong Grid Charging system, here and elsewhere on-line, and if you get really stumped @jeff652 often sticks his head in here (…just to keep us honest! ;))
    Good luck! I hope you find what you're looking for! ;):)
     
    #15 WilDavis, Jan 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2020
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  16. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Check the throttle body air intake hose make sure it’s not loose
     
  17. doabbs

    doabbs Junior Member

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    So hooked up to TechStream and basically had every single ECU system throwing High/Low voltage codes. Ended up being the ECU harness in engine compartment. Latch was broken and the cable slowly worked it’s way off the computer. Plastic clip/latch is part of the cable and can’t be replaced without replacing entire cable. Industrial grade zip tie to the rescue and everything is back to normal!
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well done!(y)
     
  19. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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  20. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    We want photos!