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2005 Prius generator died

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by 05 Prius NY, Jul 28, 2023.

  1. 05 Prius NY

    05 Prius NY Junior Member

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    So my scanner can’t pick up the red triangle; so since it’s lit up with the check engine, I can pull the code. However, I felt the pipe connecting to the coolant reservoir and I do feel the coolant circulating. Also, I do see the turbulence in the coolant reservoir and other than that, upon starting the car, a message saying “problem” appears with the overheating symbol. Also, not to mention, the inverter/converter sounds like a washing machine.
     
  2. 05 Prius NY

    05 Prius NY Junior Member

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    Wait!! I actually do have the codes from a report. Here they are:

    P0A7A
    P0A92
     
  3. 05 Prius NY

    05 Prius NY Junior Member

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    Let me know what you guys think.
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That's not really the way it works; there are around a dozen different computers in the car, and the different computers work different lights on the dash, and the different computers have their own different trouble codes.

    What usually happens is a person will have a scan tool that only knows about some of the computers in the car, like the one that controls the engine. Lots of cars have engines, so most scan tools know about that one. But some won't be able to talk to the hybrid-vehicle control ECU (a different computer that controls the triangle light).

    So if you're using a scan tool like that, and you have both lights on, the tool will show you the codes from the engine controller just fine, only it won't show you the codes from hybrid-vehicle ECU.

    We have a thread that reviews a bunch of tools showing which ones can talk to all the ECUs in the car to get trouble codes. Those are the most useful ones.

    Gen2 OBD2 app review | PriusChat

    Yours would be the very first. There are just electronics in it, nothing that moves. I've never heard a washing machine sound like that.

    On the other hand, down below the inverter in that same area of the engine bay, there is a coolant control valve for the engine cooling, and that thing always sounds like a washing machine when it goes bad. It is part of the engine cooling system and has nothing to do with the inverter, but it is near the inverter cooling pump; if you're changing that pump anyway, it wouldn't be a lot more work to change that valve.

    P0A7A has got something like fourteen different possible INF codes to go with it, identifying different issues with the inverter section that controls MG1. One of the INF codes (322) would indicate overheating, but it would be useful to have the actual INF codes from a scan tool that can show them, and look through the 36 pages or so of troubleshooting info in the repair manual:

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat

    (It's not like "oi, 36 pages of troubleshooting steps to go through" if you have the INF code, which'll point you to a specific page or three in that section.)

    P0A92 also has several INF codes (not as many as P0A7A) and also suggests a problem with the inverter section that controls MG1 (or a possible problem with MG1 itself, depending on the INF code, such as a possible shorted winding, or loss of field strength in the permanent(-ish) magnets. I don't think I've ever seen anyone here report a loss of permanent magnet field strength. But if it ever happens, there's a code for it. :))
     
    ColoradoCrow and 05 Prius NY like this.
  5. 05 Prius NY

    05 Prius NY Junior Member

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    "So my scanner can’t pick up the red triangle; so since it’s lit up with the check engine, I can pull the code."

    Had a small typo. I meant to say that I couldn't pull the code in the 1st sentence.