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HV Battery problem

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by vwbyoy88, Mar 27, 2013.

  1. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I've read and searched on here for a few hours trying to find what is going on with my daughter's 05 Prius with 191k on it. It threw the P0A80 code and the ABS. I checked the 12V battery, charged it back up and still had the same problem. So, I saw on here about checking for dead cells and hoping to save some money, I tore it down and just finished that. All of the cells measured 7.88 to 7.92 all the way down. The batteries are supposed to be at 8 or more at all times, correct?
    Is there a way I can charge them back up? I saw some threads about the Supermate DC6's. Thanks for the help and all the info to help get me to this point!

    Jimmy F.
     
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  2. walleye seeker

    walleye seeker Junior Member

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    I would start with the 12 volt battery they are very small and will easily fail unless you know for 100% sure its good. your voltages look good on your cells . Is it the original traction battery. I just rebuilt my traction battery and am np expert but it is working .

    I have a thread called time for a traction battery rebuild read it you may gain some info there.
     
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  3. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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  4. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Those battery voltages are fine so leave the HV battery as is. Check the 12 volt first as by the method given by Steve.

    John (Britprius)
     
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  5. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Excellent quality advice
     
  6. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    THANK YOU GUYS FOR THIS EXCELLENT INFO!!! I'm at work right now but will definitely run through the steps on that link and post the results. Thanks for the help!
     
  7. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I can charge the 12 Volt with a regular battery charger correct?
     
  8. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Yes. No more than 4 amps. Less for longer may be better. Very careful of the hookup. Even a second hooked up in reverse polarity can lead to a 4 digit repair bill.
     
  9. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I've been working on the car for a couple of weeks off and on now and have replaced the old 12v battery with a new optima yellow top. I hooked everything back up and restarted the car. I cleared all of the codes in the dash and cleared the codes with a code reader.

    But now I'm totally stuck. The car powers up like normal and has all of the dash error lights on. It shows no error codes of any kind in the diagnostic menus. They all read "OK". The ODB port doesn't show any trouble codes, yet the car won't move. The electric motor makes noise, you can hear the fuel pump click on; but trying to shift from "P" does nothing. It goes into "N" and that's it.
    Thank you guys for all of the help up to this point, I'm hoping it's something simple, but I'm scared it could be much worse. I just don't know what to do from here. I can't afford to have a dealer look at the car.
    I'm stumped, any ideas!?!?!?!?
     
  10. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi vwbyoy. Did you happen to have the orange HV battery safety link (at the rear of HV battery) removed at some time during the work? There's a super common problem about reconnecting that thing, just about every first timer does it, where the lever arm isn't fully pushed home. The handle actually has to be slide inwards after connection, otherwise some axillary interlocks don't connect. This causes the symptoms you're reporting.

    If you search the site here you'll find a more completely description of how to do it, but it's basically a two step procedure to reconnect that thing and most people get it wrong the first time.
     
  11. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    Ok, I will definitely check that when I get home. Thank you so much!!!
     
  12. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    Note that a generic code reader will not show anything other than generic engine codes. You need to use a Prius specific code reader to see the hybrid related info, such as the Mini VCI clone. The MFD does not show the necessary stuff either.
     
  13. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    okay, after I got home I checked the HV plug. It seemed to be in the same way as it came out, with the slide up. It was a bit loose, so I took the cover off to make sure that everything inside was tight; and it was good. I got to thinking and popped it in and connected the ground on the 12v and same thing. NADA.

    I'm stumped. My buddy's code reader is a Snap On pro model and has no trouble reading Honda Hybrids, Jags, Lexus, other Yota's up to current year.

    The car is an '05 and I couldn't seem to try and insert the plug upside down, just to check it. There's a groove cut on one side that eliminates that. I did find other threads and they all seem to say face up.

    I'll post some pics of anything you guys need from me as I have it all apart still. (not going to put it back together till she moves. LOL)

    Thank you again for all the advice and help. My family and I really appreciate it.
     
  14. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I figured it out, it was the key! Once I put the key in the slot down by the shifter it cranked right up!! thank you guys
     
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  15. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I took it for a short ride and the HV battery would charge fully and then drain. It did this several times, but she ran fine. The check engine, round !, and VSC are the only things on now. There are no errors in the system menus, but the red square with the car and the ! is in the MFD.

    When I 1st started it up after putting the key in the slot. There were NO codes or errors on the dash. Stupid me shut it off and ran to get my wallet, then was like Wth! and cut it back on and all the codes were back. (you ever felt really stupid?!)

    But after the short drive, the 12v battery's voltage was way up 14.6 and the HV was mostly charged, I pulled the neg terminal to let her sleep tonight, and will go at it again in the morning.

    Thank you guys again. (fingers crossed)
     
  16. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    this morning, I took the girl for a short drive and things started out great, but didn't stay that way for long.

    I reconnected the neg battery cable and started it up, and ALL the lights were gone! YAY! (or so I thought)
    I went down and put 10 bucks of fresh gas in her and then went about 2 miles toward the store to pick up a script. About a 1/4 of a mile from the store, I hear a click from the back and know the HV fan is kicking on; but then I get a "ding" and the red triangle, the check engine, circle with !, and VSC all came back on; as well as the red square in the MFD.

    Now for the really disturbing part. I was in the drive through and picked up the script. As I began to TRY to pull out, the gas motor was revving really high and the car wasn't moving. I would ease into it and she'd do better, but the motor was turning WAY too high to be doing the low speed I was trying to maintain.

    I limped her back home and am really disheartened this morning. That sounds like the transmission to me. I don't know what to do at this point.

    I'm going to get the code reader from my buddy again after he gets off of work and see what codes are there. I'll post the findings when I get it this evening. (he's at work)

    Thank you guys again, for all of the help and advice. (Do I sound in the ballpark, with my guess of this new problem? or source of the trouble from the get go?)
     
  17. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    Was the HV battery fan running at high speed, such that you could hear it easily? If so, then the HV battery was hot, and the car was in "limp" mode, keeping currents low. I think it is always on at some lower speed under normal operation, so hearing the relay at a later point is odd.

    How is the inverter cooling pump? Check in the inverter coolant reservoir, to see if there is turbulence when the car is in Ready mode. If the inverter gets hot from lack of coolant flow, then the car also goes into limp mode.

    There is no way to tell anything for certain without codes. Any home DIY is encouraged to get a cheap mini VCI or something, or run Torque or Prii-dash, as there is little to be learned from the lights on the dash.
     
  18. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    I'll have to check. How do you get a vacuum in the inverter loop?
     
  19. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    Also, we began checking under the light to make sure that the inverter has coolant, we found this plug under the light
     
  20. vwbyoy88

    vwbyoy88 Junior Member

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    Can't post a pic from my iPhone.