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Trying to Diagnose Problem(s) With Gen1

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by VOR, Mar 12, 2015.

  1. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    The PCV valve has a tube that runs back to the intake, remove the hose from the intake area and pull it off and on, if it affects the engine operation to help the vibration you could then proceed to change it - my cars do not have a heavy build up of carbon on that filler cap.
     
  2. VOR

    VOR Junior Member

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    I know with other cars you should change the wires AND the plugs what about the Prius? Are there any good forum posts or other links that show good practice for changing plugs (I've been meaning to look but I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle this first or get codes first)? I understand if you want me to do my own homework but any tips would be appreciated! :)

    Thanks again,
    Vance
     
  3. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    Change the plugs first- the wires may be a problem but they are not known to be a common problem - mine are all original.
     
  4. VOR

    VOR Junior Member

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    The build up is actually around the threads and some down inside. However, I assume your answer will still be the same. I was already convinced that it's not normal. Thanks for the tip on testing the PCV Valve (I know exactly which hose you are referring to)!
     
  5. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    It will not hurt to change the pcv valve, however the severe vibration of the engine is not likely caused by its open or closed operation. Do one thing at a time - many things can cause this vibration and troubleshooting without the codes can be expensive and time consuming. The rough operation of the engine could cause other problems - get to the root of the problem by finding out the codes (if there is any).
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That advice dates back to when a car would usually have one ignition coil making spark pulses, and they would be sent to the right spark plugs by passing through a distributor cap, rotor, and high voltage (like, 20,000 volt) wires to the plugs. Because of the high voltage, any degradation of those wires' insulation could lead to loss of spark energy.

    Most engines haven't been built that way for a while. If you try to change the spark wires on your Prius, the first problem you'll run into is that you won't find any. There is an entire separate ignition coil sitting directly on top of each spark plug. No distributor, no cap, no rotor. No spark wires. (There is ordinary, 12 volt, wiring plugging into each of the four ignition coils, of course, but you wouldn't typically replace that unless mice had been eating it or something.)

    -Chap
     
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  7. VOR

    VOR Junior Member

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    Chap,
    Thanks for the clarification. That makes a lot of sense. Of course now you know how old/limited some of my knowledge is. ;)
    Thanks for helping me get up to date!

    No mice that I am aware of but now that I think of it playing with those wires seemed like it might have helped clear the Triangle of Doom a couple of times. I kind of looked them over but maybe I should take a closer look.
     
  8. royfrontenac

    royfrontenac Member

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    If someone has removed and replaced the assembly on top of each spark plug one or more may not be pushed down all the way on top of the plug causing an air gap between the igniter and the spark plug. Check that they are fully engaged and not causing misfiring of the engine. Since you have been working in the intake area double check that all hoses are secure and all clamps are on properly. When you cleaned the MAF you would have had to move the breather, it has a clamp that needs to be loosened to remove that assembly - if this is not on properly and secured the engine will idle rough.

    Roy
     
  9. VOR

    VOR Junior Member

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    So... I haven't sold my car or gone missing in the Bermuda Triangle... just life. My other car (not a Prius) started having problems... so with the prospect of having no car to drive I had to let my Gen 1 sit in the driveway while I tried to get the other car working again. So here is where I'm at now.

    > I was able to get a code of P3120 from a mechanic friend's scanner. It wasn't able to pull anything else but that code (not really surprised).

    > I have Torque and an OBDLink MX now. Got the same code (P3120). Car had sat for a while and wife took car for a short trip with no warnings so I decided to take the car for a longer trip today. Drove just fine several miles to my destination. However when I got back into the car and started it up I got the "Triangle of Doom" and "Car !" warnings. Normally, I can just turn the car on and off a few times and the "Triangle of Doom" and "Car !" warnings go away. However, that didn't work this time and I was far enough away from home I really couldn't afford a tow. I know, I know stupid... but the car has been so off and on I needed to see what it would do. Since my normal "trick" didn't work I decided to try clearing the code with Torque and my OBDLink to see if that would get me home without the triangle. Code no longer comes up in Torque but the Triangle still persistently stays on. Anyway, in spite of the triangle, I drove the car home at lower speed around 45 mph. Car made it home and doesn't seem any worse off than it was before but I'm not happy about driving it that far with the triangle.

    > I suspect a bad stator and I want to monitor the MG1 and MG2 temps to help troubleshoot but but I'm currently having trouble getting the extended PIDs installed in Torque. I created the "extendedpids" folder under .torque but I can't get it to let me save files in that folder. Tablet is Nook HD. Any ideas????
     
  10. VOR

    VOR Junior Member

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    >> Update. For anyone else that runs the problem of not being able to copy/move files on your Nook HD just use an android file explorer (I used Total Commander but others probably work as well).

    Any tips/ideas of what to look for first now that I got the custom PIDs Installed?