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2006 Prius Inverter ( It's Not the Inverter)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by VivoJets, Mar 13, 2018.

  1. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Ok here is the short story,, I bought a 2006 prius with 155,000 miles on it. The woman selling it said the Toyota dealership told her the inverter was bad and had to be replace so she sold the car. I bought the car replaced the inverter and the inverter water pump. Car fired up with no code things looked great, put car into maintenance mode to bleed the air out of the coolant ran great for 10 mins then died. I am waiting for a an OBD Diagnostic Scanner OBD2 USB Interface Scan Tool for TOYOTA TIS Techstream Diagnostic Cable & Software.

    Here is my question, is it worth waiting for the code reader or start removing the battery and finding the bad cells and replacing them?

     
    #1 VivoJets, Mar 13, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 14, 2018
  2. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    It’s always worth reading the codes and/or diagnosing before guessing and replacing parts.
     
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  3. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    code reader is not coming until Thursday, Is there any possibilities that the 12v Battery is causing this? Will test battery tonight
     
  4. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    ANYTHING is possible, especially if it's old (5+ years) and the vehicle sat unused for any length of time.
     
  5. Texas Hybrid Batteries

    Texas Hybrid Batteries Senior Member

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    There's no reason to put it in maintenance mode to bleed the inverter coolant. The inverter cooling pump runs anytime the car is on regardless of what the ICE is doing.

    It would be very unusual for the car to run that long and then die. A lot of people confuse the spinning of the engine on start-up with it actually running but that only lasts 15-20 seconds. When it died did any trouble lights come on the dash (check engine, red triangle, hybrid system warning)? Running for 10 minutes and then shutting off sounds more like normal behavior, could it be that your new to the Prius and didn't realize that it's supposed to shut off after the engine warms up?

    Definitely don't start down that road until you know that something is wrong with the battery. Also remember that a bad hybrid battery will never cause the engine to die. If anything it will cause it to run more. Things that would indicate a failure of the battery will be the red triangle, hybrid system warning light (looks like a car with an exclamation point top left on the MFD), battery SOC down at 1-2 bars or green all the way to the top with rapid fluctuations between the two, or the cooling fan in the back running all the time.
     
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  6. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Yes when it did die the check engine and red triangle did come on and is still on. Will wait for code reader and I will update.
    On a side note I took the 12v battery out and its charging fine. ( set the charger to 2 Amps )

    This is my first Prius I wanted a challenge and I got one, but I did put in the replacement inverter without electrocuting my self.
    I pickup the 2006 Prius for $2,000
     
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  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Check the am2 fuse in the engine compartment, maybe you shorted the water pump.

    You did buy a new water pump right? Not used from a donor car?
     
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  8. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Thanks for the info and yes it was a new Toyota pump
     
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  9. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Checked the am2 fuse it's fine, thanks for the advice waiting for code reader
     
  10. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Quick update, trickle charged the 2007 12v battery and all is fine. Drove the car three miles and no problems it can't be that easy.
    Here are the questions, buy a new 12v battery? The one in the car was made in 2007.
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Check the voltage of the battery when the car is in READY mode. Should be around 14v
     
  12. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    will do, I did notice the battery was at 12v when trickle charging it and slowly climb to 14v. The battery is 11 yrs old should I replace it? Not interested in the car dying on the freeway.
     
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  13. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    Once the car is in ready mode the 12 V is no longer needed, can actually be disconnected! However buy a emergency battery pack, lithium I think I paid $35, made in China, really nice unit. Can also be used in charging cellphones,computers, etc. comes with all cables.
     
  14. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    emergency battery pack, lithium I think I paid $35, I like will do. Thanks
     
  15. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Eleven years old? I'd replace it in a heartbeat.
     
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  16. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    An 11 year old 12 volt battery? .....er.....mine lasted only 6 years in the vehicle before beginning to fail and getting replaced.

    Yes, please, do absolutely replace the battery. The miracle in my opinion is that it’s STILL holding a charge at all .


    iPhone ? Pro
     
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  17. MGpwr

    MGpwr Member

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    .

    I have 2 of the Yuasa batteries, the one that is date-stamped August 2008, is in a 2009 wrecked Prius: It had been parked in the PO's driveway for about 3 months with the emergency flashers on (hint: a Prius won't go into neutral If you try jumping it with the flashers on). After a few days on a 2 amp trickle charger, it came back enough that it's usually able to start the vehicle, even after a week of sitting.

    The other battery has August 2010 date code, it's in the daily driver and so far no further issues (after initially leaving it
    on a 2 amp trickle charge for a couple days when I first got it - about 150 miles @ 42.8mpg, so far so good).
     
    #17 MGpwr, Mar 21, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
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  18. VivoJets

    VivoJets Junior Member

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    Prius update, passed smog this morning, Fyi I put about 64 mile on it and that was enough for the smog check. I will keep an eye on the 12v battery. Would like to thank everyone on this board for there help.
    -Joe
     
  19. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Always enjoy learning something new, can you please elaborate on how this could be necessary.

    Example: If I wanted to jump start a prius, when might it need to be in neutral?
     
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  20. MGpwr

    MGpwr Member

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    Don't know about that. In my case, when the wrecker showed up to pick up the wreck I'd purchased, the guy couldn't
    get the car into neutral to roll it onto the flatbed, so he skidded it up , and back off when he dropped it over to the shop.
    Since he'd previously told me he knew all about hauling a Prius, and agreed that he wouldn't skid it onto the truck, I wondered why, and then found when I connected a battery to the 12V posts that the coming-on process was disrupted
    each time all the lights flashed and so couldn't be put in neutral till the flashers had been turned off.

    Whew, did I kill that story or what...8^( - anyway, my point was the fact that, being essentially short-circuited for 3 months this one Yuasa battery (S26B24R) still came back to the point of holding a charge and being useful again. Now I'm babying it, may get a few more years out of it 8^)
     
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