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insturment panel is very dark and maintenance low temperature light has come on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by yettonrant, Aug 24, 2010.

  1. yettonrant

    yettonrant New Member

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    2005 Prius
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    Hello
    My instrument panel on my 2005 prius has gone blank and my maintenance and low temperature warning light has come on (it's 80 in SF today) Randomly, the maintenance and low temperature light will go out and then my instrument panel will come back very faintly.

    I suspected I was not charging the 12V battery and was loosing charge but I now think the problem is the instrument panel and the low temp maintenance is a by product of the bad panel seeing as it's 80 today

    Any suggestions? can I drive the car or am I ignoring a much bigger problem?

    Thanks
     
    #1 yettonrant, Aug 24, 2010
  2. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    How old is your 12v battery? If it's the original, replace it now. A low 12v battery can cause all sorts of strange lights and behaviors.
     
    #2 firepa63, Aug 24, 2010
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Have you tried adjusting the brightness via the knob on the lower left side of the dash? If the whole speedometer instrument cluster is out and you must press + hold power to shut the car off, then you're hitting Luscious Garage | Blog | LG TV - Prius Dead Dashboard.
     
    #3 cwerdna, Aug 24, 2010
  4. yettonrant

    yettonrant New Member

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    thanks for the post
    I did drain the 12 v battery a month ago and I am assuming it is stock from 2005 so maybe that is causing the issue
     
    #4 yettonrant, Aug 24, 2010
  5. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    If your 12v battery is now about 5 years old, it's living on borrowed time.
     
    #5 firepa63, Aug 24, 2010
  6. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    #6 richard schumacher, Aug 31, 2010
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