Replaced 12v Battery but Car is Still Dead

About a week ago I tried to start my 2005 Prius and nothing turned on. I then noticed that the door locks and interior lights were completely off. After a bit of searching online (and basic intuition) I figured the battery dead. Of course, finding the damn thing took more searching online and then opening the trunk took another trip inside. I was originally going to jump start the car (the front is not accessible for me because of where it is parked and I do not own a portable battery charger) but I read in a forum post that you could simply hook up the Prius battery (or the jump points under the hood) to another car battery and if the lights and interior stuff come on, it is a sure sign your Prius 12v battery is dead.

So...I located a 12v battery at a dealer and brought it home today to install it. I was unbelievably careful in the entire process, making sure no connections were left exposed during the swap. When I finally got the new battery in, I noticed that the power light in the car had turned on (perhaps the interior lights were on too but it was still light outside [and cold as poop] so I did not think to look). I hopped in the car and pressed the power button (the key was not in the ignition, it was inside the house) and everything powered down.

I went and retrieved the key, put it in the ignition and pressed Power...nothing. Nothing turned on at all. I pressed it several times, brake pedal depressed, and every 5-6 presses I noticed the engine light (picture of the engine, or something) would flash on and off. The door locks still do not work and the car still will not turn on.

What do I do? What else could be wrong here? Is it possible that something major (e.g., the larger, more expensive engine) is broken?

Thanks for the help!

 

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the quick reply. I decided to post to this forum, in part, because of how good your responses have been to other posters.

I have not had a chance to test the battery connections because it was late (and 6 degrees) last night when i got your reply and now I am at work. I plan to test this route this afternoon when I get home.

As to the possibility of the wrong battery, I would imagine it to be pretty unlikely. The dealership used my VIN to look up the battery so unless the guy screwed it up after that, I should have the right one. It looked just like the battery I removed from the car. Is there an easy way to check if it is the correct battery?

I am also pretty sure the negative post cable and body mount are pretty secure. The latter produced a tiny spark when I rested it in the hole to begin securing it (which I took as a good sign that the battery was functional). I suppose I will test the tightness of it and the others, as well as disconnecting and allowing it to rest for a moment before reconnecting everything and crossing my fingers.

I am worried that if I have to tow the vehicle (a chore in its own right given its place in the driveway) I will have to rent a car to get my daughter to Sesame Street Live this Friday.

 

Just a quick update (I still have to teach until 4:15 so I have not had time to check the connections yet). I called the Toyota dealership and they double checked my VIN against the battery they say they sold me (according to their sales/inventory) but this at least suggests that the battery itself is the correct battery. Of course, I suppose the parent company could have put the wrong battery in the wrong box but I am going to hope that is not the case. Now just to see if it has any power in it and if it's completely connected. I will post an update, hopefully an exuberant and positive one, later this evening.

 

I was unable to get home before dark (and extreme cold) so checking the connections on the battery will have to wait until tomorrow. I did, however, try one more time to put the key in the ignition and start it up. Instantly I noticed that the Power Light lit up (the backlight) and an orange light in the middle of the Power button began to blink. Also, every other time that I pressed power, the Parking light button would blink once as would the picture of the engine light that is on the dash.

I tried to turn on the headlights, lock/unlock the door, turn on cabin lights, etc. and I still have nothing happening. Not sure if this is any more help in assisting me to diagnose the problem but more it is always better to have too much data than too little. I will still check the connections in the morning and report back.

 

I do not own a voltmeter so I can think of no way to test the battery aside from ripping it back out and taking it to an auto parts store to test it. I am going to check a few connections on the battery terminals and the ground and hope for the best. Man, it is still so cold outside though (wind chill of -13)!

 

Checked battery, positive and negative terminals are in the places they should be and the cables are all secured properly

I just disconnected the battery, left it disconnected for 5 minutes, and then reconnected everything. Still not starting but symptoms seem more positive (maybe I am being optimistic?). When I inserted the key in the ignition and pressed power, the green light in the power button came on. when i pressed it again it flashed the engine symbol at me and turned the light in the power button red. I am almost positive I heard something turn on under the hood, a light rumble/vibration type sound for a few seconds. It is certainly a sound I have heard during normal turning on/off of the vehicle so it has me hoping that perhaps the solution is in sight.

Any ideas?

 

I give up. I called the AAA to come test the charge on the battery and the guy forgot the equip needed to test it. He did, however, bring a 12v battery charger that he used to try to jump the vehicle but this did not work at all. In fact, nothing changed from when it was hooked up to a charger to when it was not (no additional lights, door locks, no start up, etc.). He finally gave up and said he would be happy to have it towed for me so now they are arranging for a tow truck that also has dollies and can move the thing out of my driveway. I am having it towed to the dealer so I will let you know what they diagnose as the problem. I am hoping, at this point, that it is just a fuse or something or a bad relay/wiring harness somewhere. At least that would be a, relatively, cheap repair. And maybe I can return the battery I bought if it turns out that the old one was just fine.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

It had not been more than a few days (3, at most). I drive my 94 mustang to and from work every day and the Prius is my wife's car (car seat doesn't fit well in my car). I did notice that our gas mileage had slipped down to the mid 30s lately. Now I know I need a new air filter and that could knock a few miles off the mpg but we normally get 44, so perhaps that was a symptom of a larger problem? It has been so snowy and icy lately that I attributed the lower mpg to poor traction.

 

You are right, that fuse appears to be intact. What other fuse and fuseable link the mechanic was talking about, I am not sure. I was on my way into the theater to see Sesame Street Live and didn't have much time to have him elaborate. He did say, however, that he thinks AAA jumped it with the wires crossed (Egon is upset somewhere) and that blew the fuse. He said that had I just hooked up the new battery, my problems would likely have been solved. But instead, I decided to get AAA out here once to check the charge on the battery and while I was at work they talked my wife into letting them try to jump it. It was unsuccessful so I bought and installed a new battery, but it was too later.

He also said my serpentine belt looked worn and my transmission fluid was dark. Just before I got off the phone it sounded like he was attributing one of these other issues to the car "trying to run on the engine too much." Sounded like a weird explanation to me but I opted out of the services anyway, planning to do the belt myself and let someone else get dirty with the tranny (but for cheaper than the dealer).

So hours spent freezing outside in the cold, $130 battery that I already installed, and now about $1000 (his estimate) to cover about $300 worth of diagnosis and, I guess, $700 in parts and labor. Oh, and I had to get 3 separate tow truck companies out here before the AAA woman finally understood that we needed dollies to move the damn thing out of the driveway.

Oh well, I am glad I decided to teach summer classes. It looks like that extra salary will go to paying for this!

Thanks for all your help guys!