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check engline light this morning

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dustin85, Jan 25, 2012.

  1. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    So this morning when i started up my car the cel came on. The car seems to be running fine so i decided id try to go to work and hope for the best. Well nothing happened and i made it to work fine, but i noticed i was always regenerating power. My drive is 45 miles all freeway and little traffic most the drive.. ive never had this happen on my drive to work and ive had the car for a year now. Could the hybrid battery be dying? i have a cheap scan tool but that doesnt mean i will get the correct reading... Can anyone think of anything to help me?
     
    #1 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  2. MJFrog

    MJFrog Active Member

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    Check your 12v battery. It could be low or dying.
     
    #2 MJFrog, Jan 25, 2012
  3. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Yes , check the 12V. Sounds like it is week after sitting over night! H
     
    #3 Hal W, Jan 25, 2012
  4. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    so when its regenerating, this is also showing its charging the car battery, i thought this was only for the hybrid?
     
    #4 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Can you be more specific about what you mean when you say that it is always regenerating? I don't see how this is possible unless your trip is entirely downhill.

    Tom
     
    #5 qbee42, Jan 25, 2012
  6. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    During my 50 minute drive to work, which is basically a flat drive, it regenerated half a car or more the whole trip to work. oddly when i got almost fifty mpg during the 5 min interval, i got the half car. When it was about forty mpg i got the whole car, but never more.
     
    #6 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  7. MJFrog

    MJFrog Active Member

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    #7 MJFrog, Jan 25, 2012
  8. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    may not be unusual for you if your breaking on the freeway, but its all flat, and little to no traffic, and like i said, i never get the regenerating cars unless im breaking, which i do little during my drive at-least not enough to get them the whole trip. This for me is unusual lol, besides the cel light came on, could the 12v battery dying be a reason for the cel to come on?
     
    #8 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  9. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    Yes it could be. If it's the original 12V it's most likely on its last leg. Check it out and replace it if it's low.
     
    #9 wick1ert, Jan 25, 2012
  10. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    ok, when i get it home ill look to see what readings i get. What was the original battery that they used, its a 2007...
     
    #10 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  11. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Can you clarify "check engine"? Is it ONLY the yellow check engine light? Or did you get the red triangle+Christmas tree of ABS/VSC/TRAC?

    But yes, probably 99% of cold-start warning lights are due to a dying 12V. If yours is original, you may be due.
     
    #11 seilerts, Jan 25, 2012
  12. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    you said check engine light... does it actually say check engine? it's just a little engine block, right? (i won't say if i've seen it or not....)

    have you checked your oil? an earlier prius is expected to burn oil. it won't tell you it's low.. it will just tell you there is a problem.

    otherwise... everyone else is probably right with the 12v being a potential issue.

    the only other thing i can think of is that you have a cylinder that isn't firing right... but mpg drops a lot faster when that happens... plus loss of speed, high rpms.. etc..
     
    #12 V8Cobrakid, Jan 25, 2012
  13. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    yes im sure that its the cel, i know this mainly because my maintenance light just stayed solid the night before, time to do an oil change. No the red triangle did not come on, that's impossible to drive with lol by the way, its an engine outline that says check under it
     
    #13 dustin85, Jan 25, 2012
  14. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    got home and found out my volt meter was dead, but my miata has an aftermarket battery gauge. took the prius battery out, put it in the miata, read about 11v put the miata battery in the prius and will drive it tomorrow. hopefully cel stays off.
     
    #14 dustin85, Jan 26, 2012
  15. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    is there a way to tell the battery bod? it is an original, but that doesnt mean it wasnt replaced...
     
    #15 dustin85, Jan 26, 2012
  16. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    There are many conditions where the red triangle comes on and the car is still driveable, either normally or in a limited capacity.

    The most common causes of the Check Engine light in isolation are catalytic efficiency (P0420), low coolant (P1116, 1118, or 1121), or misfire (P030x).
     
    #16 seilerts, Jan 26, 2012
  17. dustin85

    dustin85 Junior Member

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    Well when i have had the red triangle appear, its been when the door was slightly open and the coolant was low, both had an annoying beep/buzz that i was referring to as not drive-able/annoying to deal with. sure the car still drove, but the noise killed my ears.....

    So i got to work today with the miata battery replacing the old prius battery. No check engine light, tho i expected this due to the battery being replaced. Also seemed to get about a 5mpg boost, and i didnt get green cars the whole trip, which is normal for my commute. Hopefully it stays this way and i will be ordering a new battery soon.
     
    #17 dustin85, Jan 26, 2012
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