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My car won’t start Dash lights all came on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Boaztheostrich, Jan 19, 2020.

  1. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    You may need green bean battery to replace your 12v and hybrid
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thats the ticket
     
  3. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    To success
     
  4. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    My hybrid? I just kept holding the button after jumping and it went to green
     
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  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    This thread just gets weirder and weirder. One non-sequitur after another. I think I'll just watch this theater of the absurd from here on out.
     
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  6. George W

    George W Active Member

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    The plot thickens. :eek:
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    resistance is futile
     
  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Boaz,

    Please let me help you. I have significant Gen 2 experience and try to provide solid, experienced advice. This thread is horrible, but please listen. You're about to embark on a journey that will most likely result in your car never working again. A Gen 2 Prius is essentially a rolling computer. The big difference is this computer runs on 12v instead of 120v like a house hold computer.

    Here's what you need to do:

    1. Remove your modification and return the door circuit to it's original condition.
    2. Solve the problem with your 12v battery. If this requires testing and charging, or testing and replacing your 12v battery, then so be it, as that NEEDS to be done. The 12v battery powers all the ecus in the car (16 of them). The 12v battery DOES NOT start the car's engine, the HV battery does. If the 12v system is sketchy, then some or all of those 16 ecus are going to be sketchy and unreliable. Without a reliable 12v system, you're going to be pissing in the wind trying to troubleshoot this car. Do you have a cell phone? How well would it work if the phones battery were only installed halfway? How reliable would your TV remote work if the batteries were only partially installed, or the battery compartment cover were left off? Even after jump starting your car, a bad battery can still cause problems by drawing down the voltage provided by the DC-DC converter.
    3. The combination meter may or may not resolve itself a bit with a rejuvenated 12v system. The problem with the combination meter is (2 or 3?) capacitors that wear out/leak and cause the CM display to malfunction. An untrained person just throwing a soldering iron to it is more likely to damage the circuit board than to correctly repair it. I spent 13 years in the military as an Electronics Tech and have been to several schools for micro/miniature repair, yet I have no desire to do this repair myself. Texas Hybrids (who is also a member here) offers an upgraded CM for $150 which will be programmed to your mileage. You'd be better off purchasing that and then doing the part swap. You'll probably end up much happier with the result, as long as you don't forget to reconnect all the wires you'll be working with.

    Now, I've said my peace and tried to nudge you in the right direction so you don't dump a ton of money and effort into this and end up being miserable. The rest is up to you.
     
  9. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    Thanks, I appreciate the advice. I intend to attempt the repair mentioned above but due to your advice I'll probably focus on the 12 v first.
     
  10. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    Glad I've grabbed an audience, current plan is to attempt the repair tmw night assuming that I can start the car.. but I will be replacing the 12 v as suggested more then likely. And I will obviously be removing the mod before anything else.
     
  11. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    Update everyone still watching this thread I removed the mod and the car started when I jumped it. Booyah
     
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  12. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    So you are pretty much right back where you began.......and you still have a bad 12 V battery.
     
  13. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    Started this morning after school and at my friend's house I'm confident the battery is fine.
     
  14. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    Guys,did I the sodering job and replaced the transistor.

    All success so far at first my car was throwing some lights red triangle car with exclamation point but after driving for a bit and turning it on and off it went away.

    I still have some codes but they all seem to relate to o2 sensor so I'm calling this a success atm I'll update if something breaks. I'm 303000 miles in and my Prius is finally fixed.
     
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  15. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Can you provide details of this transistor job? Like which transistor did you replace and with what you replaced it?

    Did you take any photos as you went that you can post?
     
  16. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    I just followed the followed the instructions listed here Prius Maintenance and Dash Problem Solved – Gen 2 Do-It-Yourself Solution for Dash, and watched a couple YouTube videos to figure out the sodering I can try to link them if you're interested.

    I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of the process, however the timing given on the site is pretty accurate it took about 4 hrs with my friend's help.

    Some of the plastic is brittle though so I did crack one part of it, but nothing major.

    I replaced it with a 220 uf 16 v one from Amazon where I got 10 for $7, should be first result.
    Running great atm.
     
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  17. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    IMG_20200123_204439.jpg
     

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  18. Boaztheostrich

    Boaztheostrich Junior Member

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    I forgot to plug something in which is probably the second code and the first was likely from turning the car on and off repeatedly.

    3-6 are o2 sensor related
     
  19. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Oh, I see so you replaced a capacitor, not a transistor. That's good news, as I have never heard of a transistor needing replacement in the CM (combination meter).

    It sounds like your first win.

    Putting the P0420 on the back burner for now, those other two codes probably are to do with flakey 12 V power supply, which does not necessarily mean your 12 V battery is bad. But given how this thread started it is a possibility. At this point, you should start with a clean slate and clear all codes and then re-read if you get lights on the dash.

    If either of those codes come back, need to do a proper test on your 12 V battery, with a load tester of some sort. Or take it to a battery place and get them to test it. If it is anywhere approaching sketchy, you need to replace the 12 V battery with a new one.

    I can't stress the above enough. Don't cheap out thinking you can save money by keeping a next-to-dead battery. You will just end up wasting everybody's time and chasing your own tail. You need to be very confident the 12 V battery is in stellar condition, before proceeding with any further diagnostics.
     
    #59 dolj, Jan 24, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2020
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  20. eternalphoenix64

    eternalphoenix64 Junior Member

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    P0420 is more likely your catalytic converter, not O2 sensor, especially considering the car's age and mileage. I had the same code in a 2009 and had the same hopes for O2 sensor.

    Should still replace the O2 sensor. Pretty simple, really. But given the age, be careful you don't snap the threads taking it out.

    Should still start by clearing codes and see what comes back