Petrol Engine not Running

Hello all, I'm new here! I've looked all over this site and can't find anyone with exactly my problem. My 2005 Prius has the red triangle of death, plus a christmas tree of others! I've replaced the 12v battery with a Toyota genuine and checked all the cells in the HV battery, replacing two that were a bit low (but not by much). I've checked the oil level and the AM2 fuse. I split all the wiring connectors I could find, cleaned and reconnected them, plus took out the ECU next to the HV and made sure all the pins on that were good. The car will now start after batteries reconnected (petrol engine) but only runs for maybe 20 seconds before shutting off and throwing up all the warning lights again. I bought a code reader and the codes are both hybrid system related. What else can I check?

 

PS - car will move under battery power...

 

Wow - woke up this morning to some superb responses! Thanks people. I'll get out there when I've got my act together and get answers to your questions ASAP. I have to say that the throttle body and MAF sensor comments look promising... especially as I have changed the air filter a week or so before this problem occured... (I would have included this fact in my initial question if I thought it might have been even remotely relevant!) The car has about 160,000 miles on it and was dealer serviced up until last year. The current situation has forced me to try and "save money" (ha ha) by doing the work myself.

 

OK, the codes were P0A80 and P3000, which made me think it was something wrong with the HV side. I've had an HV battery fail before and the symptoms this time are completely different, so I was never really confident that messing with the traction battery would do any good, but heh...

No the engine definately starts and starts to charge the HV, then the revs rise and it cuts out with all the bells and whistles that go off when it is feeling poorly. ;-) Dust on the MAF is my next challenge - thanks for that clue!

Sorry, but I'm using the cheapest reader I could find... it plugs into the port under the dash and bluetooths to the phone. Codes were P3000 and P0A80. Just under 160,000 miles.

Sorry! P3000 and P0A80...

I've just realised why responses are so delayed... the Atlantic Ocean! It's like trying to have a real-time conversation with someone on Mars! Anyway, it is around freezing here today and fluctuating between rain and snow, so, as the car is outside, it might be a while before I get back to you all with my findings... Water in everything most certainly will NOT improve the situation.

 

Before I turn in, what do we think about grease on the M5 connector...?

 

Fuel issues...? Hmmmm... I mentioned this comment to my wife who was driving at the time of the initial failure (why is it ALWAYS the wife driving???) and she said, "Oh, I had just had the low fuel warning, so I put a couple of gallons in..." We live 1/2 a mile from the filling station, that sounds about how far it would take for bad fuel to get to the engine... doesn't it...? Surely not that simple? If so, what do I do?

 

Yes, that's what I'm most worried about - once I've cranked it too many times and drained the traction battery I'm done for... :-(

 

Ok, I've tried various things in between the rain - M5 plug (that was a pig!), MAF sensor (no joy, although it was covered in black dust), fuel pump check (all fine). After further interrogation of the wife, she mentioned a bad eggs smell... could this have been a battery cell giving up? When I stripped and re-built the battery I only did what I did last time and checked for cells down on VOLTS. I swapped out two which were at 6.5 ish, when all the others were between 6.9 and 7.1... Could it be that I have a cell with volts but no amps? I have seen this with rechargable AA batteries... How to I find the cell to change if this is the case, I've only got a multimeter? This is doing my head in - and to top it off, both my other cars are failing too... 1972 Volvo 145 and a 1968 Hillman Husky. AAAARRRGGGGHHHH...