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Red Triangle P3000- not HV battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Mkferrie, Sep 21, 2022.

  1. Mkferrie

    Mkferrie Junior Member

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    A precursor:
    I know getting refurb batteries isn’t great… and I know they can go bad fast and be bad from the get go

    i have a 2006 Prius. Last summer (‘21) after sitting for several hot days while we were out of town, we came home to red triangle and told by multiple places due to the code of P 3000, my battery was needing to be replaced. I could not for the life of me find someone who knew anything about Priuses or hybrids.

    I was referred to a Man about 75 miles away from me who is an old airplane mechanic and has a steady income refurbishing Priuses in tinkering on them.

    At the time we couldn’t afford a new battery or the $5000 that our Toyota dealership was trying to have us pay on a car not even worth that much, so we decided we would try one of his batteries. He also helped teach my husband how to replace the combo meter.

    Anyway, that battery lasted great and we had no issues until about seven months later. We had the red triangle come up and used Dr. Prius with our OBDI to determine what was going on. some modules were acting up, of course, and he came back and completely switched it out with another battery. P3000.
    A month later, P 3000. He was nice enough to come and test it out and tinker with it and in the end decided to just replace it again even though she test drives all of them for a while before installing. Then it happened three more times within a couple months. Now, I’ve come to have a relationship with this man and with how often he does this, he says he has about one and 15 that have frequent issues and it ends up being some thing else going on. Obviously that is of no help when I am trying to drive my car. I will say one out of the four times, his test came back conclusive that the battery did indeed fail, but the other times he replaced it, it was all within threshold while he was testing it well, he came and replaced that one out of four battery three weeks ago Friday, came back down the next week and was nice enough to replace it again, and said he was guessing that some thing else was going on if this keeps happening. Well sure enough, happened again today. On another new refurbished battery that had been test driven.

    now, like I said up above, I know that refurbished batteries can go bad quickly, but this frequently and this often I don’t believe should be the case, especially when he doesn’t often have this issue.

    sorry for the novel, but does anyone else know anything that I could look at that could be triggering the code and Triangle??
    I have heard that sometimes there are gremlins in the antilock brake system? How do I even have somebody look at this without understanding Priuses? Sorry, just trying to figure this out and it’s becoming so frustrating lol. Thanks for any help and for anyone who made it this far!

    ps: car has 175k miles
     
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I'm curious how he's reading this code. The p3000 has several possible sub codes (info codes) to help determine the source of the problem. If he's not getting the subcode, then he's just guessing. I'd like to think that if he does this as a gig, he has the Toyota diagnostic software "Techstream" available. It would stink if you've been through all this just because of a failed/clogged cooling fan or something. A P3000 on a 2006 does not always mean replace the hybrid battery, since it's not really looking at the battery modules themselves, but the support systems....The P0A80 code= replace hv battery.

    P3000-123 HV Battery Malfunction Abnormal signal input from battery ECU (HV battery system malfunction) - HV battery system - Battery ECU

    P3000-125 HV Battery Malfunction Abnormal signal input from battery ECU (High voltage fuse blown out) - HV battery system - Battery ECU

    P3000-388 HV Battery Malfunction Abnormal signal input from battery ECU (discharge inhibition control malfunction) - HV control system - Fuel shortage - HV battery assembly

    P3000-389 HV Battery Malfunction Abnormal signal input from battery ECU (drop of high voltage) - HV control system - HV battery assembly

    P3000-603 HV Battery Malfunction Abnormal signal input from battery ECU (HV battery cooling system malfunction) - HV battery system - Battery ECU
     
    #2 TMR-JWAP, Sep 21, 2022
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2022
    Mkferrie likes this.
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Sure wish someone could translate those 5 subscodes in a way you could easily differentiate with specific symptoms/diagnostics in real life. My eyes glaze over when I read their incredibly vague descriptions.

    For example, which P3000 subcode is caused by this corrosion growth inside the ECU causing micro-shorts/noise that create sudden drops in number of bars on the center dash screen?

    PXL_20220813_064430386.jpg
     
  4. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    It really sounds like this guy is guessing at what's wrong. As mentioned, a capable scantool would show the INF or sub code that would give more information about what the hybrid ecu doesn't like. Also, I would expect additional codes from the high voltage battery ecu that would also point to the problem area.

    The basic description of P3000 is "hey, the HV battery ecu says it has a problem. You should go over there and see what's going on".

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Also, the "incredibly vague descriptions" are the ones in the fortune cookies for the codes.

    Regular PriusChat readers have already had an earful about trying to draw diagnostic conclusions from the fortune cookies of codes.

    Flipping in the repair manual to the full workup section for whichever code you have is the way to find the less-incredibly-vague information you're looking for.
     
  6. Mkferrie

    Mkferrie Junior Member

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    Thank you so much for the info. I found someone who has techstream, and there were no subcodes? I even showed them this message and they did not see any subcodes? Is that possible?

    IT did pull up an additional code that Dr. Prius did not come up with P3012. I am seeing things on what this means- but any insights on this one? The person with TechStream talked to a big prius mechanic in LA while we were with him and the guy basically just said any refurbished batteries suck.... and we need to get a new one. From Toyota. I just dont know what to think. I looked into newpriusbatteries.com and I know thats an option, too... but they are out of stock until Nov....

    The guy who does the refurbs does MANY. I mean, he is switching them out all over middle tennessee multiple times a week... he SEEMS very honest, has helped us so many times trouble shoot. Lying to us just seems very out of character. He's a sweet old boy. I'd feel if this were a frequent thing starting to happen with his batteries, he'd fill us in... But, I know we can't trust everyone.

    Any insight GREATLY appreciated.
     
  7. Mkferrie

    Mkferrie Junior Member

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    Thank you so much for your input. We saw someone today who used TechStream... he said there were no subcodes? I even showed this thread talking about it and he said there was no extra code. There was P3000 and P3012. The P3012 did not come up for me on my OBDII. The battery temp has been normal, which usually its running hot in the past with the batteries we've been getting when they throw the triangle... and the voltages seem okay when driving.

    Today I did notice that when it would throw, I was often Idling.... not pressing on gas or break. Just odd.

    Thank you!
     
  8. Mkferrie

    Mkferrie Junior Member

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    Got someone to use Tech Stream and no subcodes came up at all... is that odd?
     
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    So there was no 'snowflake' icon next to the DTC?

    TS FF Snowflake.png
     
  10. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Your OBD2 device can't read all the ecu's on a Prius. P3000 is set by the hybrid control ecu, while P3012 (battery block 2 "becomes weak") is set by the HV battery ecu.

    The battery code indicates that the ecu sees too great a difference in voltage between the highest and the lowest (block #2 in this case) blocks. Most often it's a problem with the battery modules - very common on "refurbished" (used) packs if the modules aren't carefully discharge and charge cycled to achieve the same actual capacity and state of charge. It could also be a problem with the voltage sense wiring or the ecu connector.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  11. Mkferrie

    Mkferrie Junior Member

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    So the likelihood of this happening multiple times in a row is just happenstance and can’t be possibly being triggered by anything else???

    we hear this often- so, I’m certain I know your answer….

    IF you were in our situation, 2006 173000 miles (I was low before)… probably would be spending more on a new battery than the car is worth… would you feel there would be enough life left in it to get a new battery??

    I know you can’t tell me what to do, but I like hearing others advice on the situation.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if the car were in good shape, and didn't burn much oil, i would definitely put in a new battery. but not for 5 grand though.
    it might be hard to find new batteries right now, shop around, dealers are competitive.

    depending on how long i wanted to keep it, i might consider something like green bean or green tec rebuilt batteries with a good warranty, but only if i couldn't find a new one.
     
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I would say the P3012 says it all.....just because someone builds and replaces a lot of batteries doesn't necessarily mean they do it well. Anyone can replace a module, just like changing batteries in a flashlight. Sometimes it works out ok, and sometimes not so much. It's a bit different when there are 28 that need to be tested and matched. Testing and matching can normally lead to a reliable battery, but even then sometimes bad things happen. I just had 28 modules in a group that I tested over the summer. They looked great. They've been on the shelf for a few months, so I popped them in the test rig again prior to building a battery and wow, one of them was totally shot. That's the first time I've ever had a module do that to me after getting through my initial test regimen.
     
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  14. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Option 1: if the same battery fault code has happened each time and your guy just keeps replacing the HV battery- then he doesn't know how to diagnose the actual fault.

    Option 2: if a different battery fault code comes up each time and your guy just keeps replacing the HV battery- then he doesn't know how to refurbish a battery so that it will work.

    If your Prius is in decent shape (no rust, doesn't burn lots of oil, brake booster pump doesn't run very often), then I would put in a new battery.

    I got my 2006 at 160k with a bad battery. Found this forum and read up on HV battery & refurbished it DIY (wasn't sure if the car had any other $$ problems).

    Since then I'm "waiting" for it to give me problems before getting a new OE pack. It's been over 2 years and 35k & still going.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.