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Need Help Diagnosing - P0A80 + P3004

Discussion in 'Prius c Technical Discussion' started by TymJym, Feb 3, 2023.

  1. TymJym

    TymJym New Member

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    Here's the gist. 2015 Prius C with 135K miles.

    Got the light for "Check Hybrid Battery" - OBD read P0A80 code. One cell (#6) showing low voltage and a total voltage difference of .37v. Not great, but I wanted to check other things as well.

    12v battery was showing a low charge (11.5v), so took it to the store to get it charged up. Came back and it was showing 12.1v, but took it home anyways.

    Took the HV battery out, cleaned all the contacts and bus bars, reassembled, and put it back in. Car would no longer go into "ready". And is now throwing the P3004 code along with P0A80.

    I have never changed a cell before, but seems like something I can do, especially since it's only one cell, every other cell is looking perfect. But now I'm concerned about the P3004 code - Did I mess something up? I checked the safety clip, and all connections, and seems like everything is in place. Does anyone have any ideas what might be happening?
     

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  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    it's 3 steps for the safety plug: push in, turn down, slide down. Often the last one is forgotten.

    It does look like one bad module, and I'd agree that a single module replacement isn't likely to be hard for DIY.

    It's when it turns into a single module per month...
     
  3. TymJym

    TymJym New Member

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    Thanks for the input - But I'm definitely pushing the safety clip in, pulling down the lever so it's in place, and then it's a push UP in order to lock in into place with the connecters. It doesn't move in any direction and it's stable, but still won't go into Ready Mode.
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If a person is giving the trouble codes they have, we can save time by remembering an open in that interlock circuit gives a P0A0D. So if that's not among the codes (and there are other power management control ECU codes shown, as in this case, so we know it's not just a code reader not showing them), then we can move past the interlock circuit.
     
  5. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Chap is a much more experience diagnostician than I am. And if he's got current access to techstream I might even get negative note for posting this generic description of the P3004 without any further explanation of what or why, since I don't know exactly (but still might give a hint ) how it could have shown up after the traction pack removal - cleaning - reinstall, and not have been in the initial dtc set. Anyways the generic dtc description:

    If the inverter voltage is not decreased after discharge with the ignition switch OFF, the VM sensor in the inverter is determined as defective. The ECU sets the OBDII code when HV battery voltage becomes lower than inverter voltage.

    Read more: https://www.autocodes.com/p3004_toyota.html

    Need more information on how to fix the P3004 Toyota code? Get Access to Factory Service Manuals

    both references above are about half way down the page.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Thanks :)

    I hope this doesn't come off as negative! Most of the time, if I'm making a post adding more information to what's already been said, I am not intending that as negative, and I would hope for it not to be taken that way. Even in cases of correcting something where another poster may have been mistaken, the point isn't to dunk on someone, but to get the information into the thread and help move things along. I think of that as the way forums work.

    There are certain specific ways of posting I bet I'm known to respond negatively to :cautious: but those are ways people kind of have to work at. I'm not sitting here waiting to maul innocent passersby.

    In the spirit of just getting the information into the thread, I do want to distinguish between the terms "techstream" and "techinfo".

    "Techstream" is the name of some software you can put on a Windows box and use to talk to the car.

    "Techinfo" comes from the web address techinfo.toyota.com, which is where you find the Toyota's Technical Information Service, or TIS, with all the manuals and stuff:

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat

    I sometimes have access to techinfo, or TIS, but I don't have it paid up all the time. It's $20 for two days. I usually bank up questions I don't have answers for until they feel like about $20 worth, and then I'll reactivate for two days and go find out. It can be sort of noticeable when I've done that, 'cause there'll be about two days when I can give amazingly complete answers to any questions I see on PriusChat, and then after that it's just back again to what I can say from memory and notes and free searches.

    There are some PDFs floating around where other people "print-to-file"d a lot of repair manual pages, so like a lot of people I'm stuck with those between times when my TIS subscription's paid up. But they're not complete. It turns out the Gen 3 one is completely missing the main troubleshooting section for P3004! So I'm sorry to say I can't add much to the generic description given above. Somebody would have to sign in to TIS (or use one of the other resources in the wiki page above) to get the details.

    I can see enough, in the pages that aren't missing, to know it has half a dozen different INF codes that probably give more detail about the situation. But still someone would have to go find the missing section to learn what the INF codes are telling.

    The generic info quoted above is probably for one of the half dozen possible INF codes.

    From what I can see of the code details, this is probably one of the cases where, if it were my car, I'd consider it money well spent to go use $20 on TIS to learn exactly what I was looking at, rather than trying to guess it out.
     
  7. TymJym

    TymJym New Member

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    If the inverter voltage is not decreased after discharge with the ignition switch OFF, the VM sensor in the inverter is determined as defective. The ECU sets the OBDII code when HV battery voltage becomes lower than inverter voltage.

    __

    I'm curious about this situation here - does this mean my inverter is ruined now? Or does this mean there's just been a mistake that I can fix?

    In response to Chap - I'm going to see if I can find a subcode for P3004. I didn't get one in Dr Prius but I'll check in another app to see if anything comes up.

    I also changed the spark plugs and will change the coolant as well as a precautionary measure. But first I'm concerned about P3004 now.
     
  8. TymJym

    TymJym New Member

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    So if I get the 2-day and the software, what kind of dongle do I need to work with it? Can it run of a Surface Pro you think?
     
  9. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Chaps post above describes (at least in my mind) a service here at priuschat, that is on a regular basis, far beyond any others contribution, using his own money to put the data where it's the most useful.
    I fully agree with this statement from his post above as the last words of it ring as true as the other parts of his post.
    My purpose in posting the description of P3004 in my post above was to hopefully give a clue about where to start looking for some answers about why you might see that specific dtc after pulling and doing some work on the traction pack, than reinstalling the pack and getting that code. Not to scare you into thinking you may have a bad inverter.

    I was thinking and this may be <important to understand> far from the actual issue , the inverter saw something different than it was expecting to see after you reinstalled the traction pack. Now it's up to you to find out if that was actually what happened in the cars systems that kept the car from starting / going into ready...
    I wouldn't be hopeful of another app being able to get P3004 sub codes, unless that app is techstream on a windows PC / laptop and a mini vci cable to connect the car to the windows computer.

    I'm also not saying to get techstream, although I'd recommend you put it on your list, as it is also on my list.
    I do second Chaps recommendation to get a standard subscription from techinfo.toyota.com and dig out all the data for your year and model prius for both the codes you are seeing..
     
    #9 vvillovv, Feb 5, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2023
  10. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    the wiki page explains an overview of choices you have and ways to get what pieces of the diagnostic system that are available and also lists some of the pros and cons for each choice.
    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat
    To get the software a minimum of a 2 day professional subscription is required.


    A surface pro is not a very detailed description: there is a
    minimum hardware requirement list at
    techinfo.toyota.com
    so you'll have to see if your specific surface lappy meets those minimum hardware requirements.

    there is also a list of cables that are compatible on that page. here is a link to one of them
    Mongoose Plus - Toyota
     
    #10 vvillovv, Feb 6, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2023