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Prius newby with some questions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by punatic, Aug 29, 2021.

  1. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    I just purchased an almost rustfree 06 G2. It was sitting for about 8 months, and both electrical systems were dead, and I maybe mistakenly tried to jump start it to load on my trailer to no avail so I AAA'd to my farm. I purchased an Optima yellow top battery and installed, have lights and accessories, but it will not start, either the electric motor nor the gas engine. Pulled and checked all the fuses that have any labels regarding Hybrid, and the big fuse (100A fusable link) by the 12V battery is not blown. I also have an '00 Insight and a Prolong charger and discharger, so I purchased the adapter cable and installed, and put the charger on the system. If does not seem to be doing anything, just sits at 160V with only .1A or so current draw. Also when I plug in the charger to the cable there is no noticeable momentary arcing in the connector as I observe when grid charging my Insight. According to the scant paperwork I got with the car, the battery was change about 2 years ago, and the previous owner has said the car was operating OK till parked. I've searched this and other forums for some similar issues but so far nothing has been found. Why doesn't it grid charge is my main question? Also isn't there some way to trick the car into starting with the gas engine without the Hybrid motor? Sorry for the long post but felt a complete as possible description of the issues would help with some useful suggestions.

    Punatic, BI Hawaii
     
  2. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    I would get some kind of scantool to pull codes and data - particularly for the HV battery ecu. Many here get a mini VCI cable (along with a bootleg copy of Toyota's diagnostic software - techstream) and install it on an old windows laptop. You can get some info using apps such as DrPrius or Hybrid Assistant (android only) with a compatible Bluetooth OBD2 adapter (see DrPrius site). The idea is to get info direct from the battery ecu - voltages, codes and so on.

    After you installed the prolong harness, did you properly refit the orange HV fuse/ disconnect plug? You have to insert the plug, pivot the handle in, THEN SLIDE THE HANDLE DOWN (this step is often overlooked).

    FYI, on the Prius- the hybrid system (HV battery, inverter, and motors in the transaxle) is what spins the Internal Combustion Engine. There is no "starter" motor like most conventional cars. If something is wrong with that system then the ICE can't be started.
    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  3. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Hopefully, you haven't buttoned everything up yet, but check that you haven't blown the harness fuse, and also double check you have the positive connected to the positive and the negative connected to the negative as per the Hybrid Auto instructions.
     
  4. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Thanks folks for your replies. I have been getting up to speed on this for the past several days; I have Dr Prius loaded on my iPhone and should get the device to link my OBDI via bluetooth today or tomorrow. Everything seems to be hooked up correctly, and after a long and informative conversation with Eric in WI I realized that the Insight Charger that I have will not charge the Prius battery as it doesn't provide enough voltage. So until I get the battery charged I am dead in the water. I am looking for a source for borrowing a grid charger here on the BI, and if not I guess I will pull the battery, disassemble the pack and charge individually, at least to get things running and determine the health of the ICE and other things.
     
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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  6. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Link to the advanced search feature : Search | PriusChat
     
  7. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Thanks SFO...I have ordered a reconditioned battery, as this battery only has a voltage of 140 or so.
     
    #7 punatic, Sep 6, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 6, 2021
  8. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Which "used" HV battery did you order, and how much are they charging?
     
  9. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    I ordered a reconditioned battery pack from Hybrid Reconditioners. It should be here Tuesday. It's not so easy getting a pack shipped here, many places will not ship, and this guy will. I did get the cars ICE to start. I used a Maxx Volt charger that I had obtained with my other Hybrid Project, an 01 Insight. I tested the voltage and unloaded it was around 240V, so I hooked it up and let it trickle for a few hours. The pack started at 180V indicated and around .4A and got up to 230 or so and .23A. I figured I had nothing to lose as the amperage was so low and I didn't care about the battery really. Lo and Behold! it started! So I could move the car to my barn where I can actually pull stuff apart and start to repair.
     
    #9 punatic, Sep 10, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 10, 2021
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  10. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Incidentally, I installed the bluetooth OBDI interface and the Dr. Prius app on my phone. All the odd numbered cells with one intermittant one were showing positive voltage, and all the even numbered cells were showing negative voltage. You Prius aficionados out there might know what that indicates.
     
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    For your Gen 2, there should only have been 14 voltage readings: one for each "block" of two "modules" (or every twelve cells, six cells to a module).

    Your even-odd pattern is interesting, and might provoke some ideas while looking at a pinout of the orange connector where those voltage sense wires come to the battery ECU.

    I posted such a pinout some years ago for Gen 1. Now, Gen 1 had a bigger battery (228 cells, 38 modules, 19 blocks), so that won't be the exact pinout for your Gen 2. But if the wiring pattern holds, it could suggest you've got a problem common to one whole row of pins in that connector.
     
  12. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Yes that's what I was thinking too. When I replace the battery I'll mess with it some more.
     
  13. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Well I started to replace the battery with the reconditioned cells I received this morning, and while cleaning the terminals I pulled the orange cable from the ECU and found the connector fried out in the ECU

    IMG_0950.jpeg


    IMG_0949.jpeg
     
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  14. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Guess that's why I was getting such strange readings! LOL!
     
  15. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Wow! That's probably the worst one I've seen posted on here.

    You will need a new No. 2 Frame Wire and a new battery ECU.
    Yup, absolutely.
     
  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    As I was reading through this thread, I was wondering if it was corroded wiring since you live on an island. But wow; that's nasty!! It looks more like something someone put on there than just salt air corrosion. Probably better inspect the rest of the connections like the bus bars and so on while you're replacing that harness and ECU.
     
  17. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Yeah I've been talking to a person who works on these primarily and he says this is fairly common. His theory is the trouble light comes on showing low voltage somewhere, (bear with me as I have never even driven a Prius as of this time, so I'm flying blind), and they just clear the codes and sooner or later something burns up. I have a new harness and computer, and am a big proponent of diaelectric grease, as so many of the problems here are caused by electrical gremlins.
     
  18. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Why then i wonder is this seemingly uncommon in coastal Florida?
     
  19. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I wouldn't say "uncommon." I think I'd say "less severe." On the island where we lived, we were about 50 yards from the Caribbean. And the wind came from that direction about 95% of the time. And, if the wind was from the other direction, the sea was only a little over a mile away. I spent at least 1/4 of my working day fighting rust. (Another quarter was termites and another quarter was theft prevention.) Our transmitter tower was coated with a white layer of salt. We eventually had to replace it. After about 7-8 years of futile scraping, sanding, and painting, our satellite receiver dish literally fell off its post. If you lived on one of the islands off the coast of FL, you'd probably have similar problems. Where we are now in FL is about five miles inland, so salt corrosion is barely noticeable, but it is more than it would be in inland areas.
     
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  20. punatic

    punatic Junior Member

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    Also I would add that we have some HUGE hills here, so the battery probably will be stretched to it's limits. I just finished building and installing a recon battery pack and have been driving around. Since I don't have a functioning MFD yet I'm using the Dr Prius app and on the downslope my voltage goes into the red, observed 247V, and the battery temp which normally is running in the 90's F runs more like 105 to 107F. I have no idea if this is normal, which is why I'm posting. I know there is a way to set the fan speed to max and this seems to me to be a no brainer in hot climates. I'm searching for the method to do this after I post this...