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Strange P0A93 pump is working ???

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by terramir, Mar 20, 2018.

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  1. terramir

    terramir Member

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    I hear the pump in good old fashioned wawa-waaa wawa-waaaa best way I can explain that sound to you. But neverthe less I dun see no bubbling or boiling kinda movement in the reservoir it's dead in there a little layer of foam so to speak. Before I spend 100 bucks on a pump any input on what could be wrong of course
    The pump could still be moving but only the electric magnet part and the water
    Moving part maybe stuck, but another possibility would be a clog along the fluid path in my head that seems like a sound theory. Would like some input b4 I spend the money better off going to my battery. Never know what fees are gonna eat if I actually reach my goal.
    terramir
     
    #1 terramir, Mar 20, 2018
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Just put your hand on the coolant hose, if the pump is working, you'll feel it

    This pump is also something you don't normally hear when it's running
     
    #2 JC91006, Mar 20, 2018
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  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    The pump should not go waa-waa. It should have a pretty quiet steady whine.
    The pump is bad.
    Good pump should have very aggressive turbulence in the reservoir like it’s boiling.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Mar 20, 2018
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  4. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Actually the waaaa might be the fuel pump or something else turns out the pump is quiet whine like you said and I touched the hose and it vibrates , so the pump is working question is weak pump or obstruction what is causing the no turbulence issue in the res. And obviously the P0A93 ?????
    terramir
     
    #4 terramir, Mar 20, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  5. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Also update the top layer on the reservoir is a light pink oily sludge I'd say that maybe this loop is long overdue for a drain and replace.
    maybe that is part of the problem. How much of that expensive pink stuff do I need they charge like 22 bucks a gallon at the stealership.
    terramir
     
    #5 terramir, Mar 20, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Sounds like the Inverter coolant is in bad shape. No obstructions in the pump path. You have a bad pump or its actually dead and have blown a fuse too boot. Sounds like you never had the pump replaced for free when they offered a TSB on it.

    If the Inverter coolant is that bad most likely the engine coolant is bad too.Take black plastic cover off radiator and open the radiator cover. Not the overflow tank the rad cover. See what that looks like.
     
    #6 edthefox5, Mar 20, 2018
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  7. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Not dead I can feel the vibrations in the hose, but yeah it might be bad. This is the second replacement BTW the fuse is good . can anyone tell me how to drain the inverter fluid? And how much I will need to replace it?
     
    #7 terramir, Mar 20, 2018
  8. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Go under the car, where the transmission is located. There's a I think, 22/24mm bolt in there. Loosened it with a wrench handle and a 22/24mm socket.

    Difficult part would be the bleeding process. Hope you would be able to do that?
     
    #8 Dxta, Mar 20, 2018
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Theirs hundreds and hundreds of posts about it. Use the "search forum" button up top and search

    Inverter coolant
     
    #9 edthefox5, Mar 20, 2018
  10. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    It's an electric pump. The circuit is likely intact, and the motor is chooching, but the but the impeller is likely seized. You'll still feel it "running" but it's not moving much, if any, coolant.

    I try not not be a parts changer, but P0A93, assuming continuity of the wiring circuit, is pretty much a given that it's the pump. Since it sounds like you can feel it running, that's a pretty safe continuity check, but you could go to town with the multimeter if you really wanna narrow it down to the pump without a doubt.

    This does raise the possibility of a blockage, but I'd guess it's still pretty unlikely. I'd probably flush the circuit by doing a full change (including the proper bleed) and then immediately drain and re-fill/bleed again. I'd want any and all spooge out of there, but that's just me and I do understand you're working with a tight budget. You could begin with the coolant change on the off chance it does correct the issue.


    Video by Carolyn from Luscious demonstrating a failed electric pump (turd gen engine pump):




    And her P0A93 summary blog:

    Prius Code P0A93: Inverter Water Pump Failure - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists
     
    #10 m.wynn, Mar 21, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
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  11. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Yeah no. The posts are all over the place and in the first 20 I scrolled through no mention of the amount of coolant needed.
    Lots of em are 3rd Gen posts too.

    I was at the stealership today well riding a 3 hour bus ride back right now. Got the pump for 92 bucks plus tax. And two gallons of coolant for 17.50 ea but while I was there I asked him to look up how much coolant I would need. He said 2.9 gal for the inverter loop and 9 for the engine. So I bought another one there. And price there not online is 22 something plus tax so like 5 -6 bucks more.
    But I was rushed cause the return bus which only comes once an hour so I wasn't thinking 9 gal for the engine :- $ must be 2.9 and 9 qts.
    terramir
     
    #11 terramir, Mar 21, 2018
  12. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You need 3 gallons of SLLC coolant: ~2.5 quarts for the inverter and 6.5 quarts for the engine.
     
    #12 Patrick Wong, Mar 21, 2018
  13. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Yeah if I was doing the engine. But not the point this has officially turned into a twilight zone hunt. I think it's time to start a new thread in a highly technical forum, maybe.....
    What has happened so far bought new pump drained fluid pump only works if I open the bleeder valve!!!! The tank will not drain unless I either disconnect the lower hose from the pump which means I know that the pump has coolant! And it will push fluid out the bleeder valve, but it will not push fluid back into the tank so the clog is between the junction of the bleeder valve and the tank side where the coolant is supposed to flow to refill the tank to go back to the pump. So my pump was probably working but since it was a junk yard replacement of my old one that failed no big loss but now where to find the clog and clear it. BTW if I open the bottom it drains out what ever I fill in the tank probably through the pump to the transaxle and out. So I need to know where the weak spots are between the bleeder valve and that tank actually it might be the tank intake itself . I do not know need input asap cause I gotta move my car by 12 noon tomorrow.
    terramir
    PS : BTW how would one remove that tank to check if the return flow is what is clogged??
     
    #13 terramir, Mar 21, 2018
  14. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Fill the reservoir with water. Hope your opening the inverter coolant dump bolt underneath and not the trans fluid dump bolt,
     
    #14 edthefox5, Mar 22, 2018
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  15. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Yeah that is a no Brainer 24 vs hex 10 not using hex keys .did use water distilled water and no movement the clog seems to be way up in the loop. Will try again.
    terramir
     
    #15 terramir, Mar 22, 2018
  16. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    This thread: Help....inverter coolant not flowing even after pump change | PriusChat has picture of coolant flow in inverter cooling loop. Looking at the problem can be in transaxle, inverter, radiator (theoretically in most of hoses). But it’s easy to find out where the problem is.

    Just disconnect a hose and you will know if the problem is before or after it. If you disconnect the hose from radiator to inverter and coolant will flow out from there (with pump on) you know that problem is in the inverter or reservoir (inverter is much more likely).
    Once you find the blocked part, just push water through it in the reverse direction to normal flow (disconnect it at bough ends) and you should get the garbage out.
     
    #16 valde3, Mar 22, 2018
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The car will move even if the pump is not working. It'll take maybe 15 minutes before it'll get hot enough for it to trigger a code
     
    #17 JC91006, Mar 22, 2018
  18. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    I understood that now terramir replaced the pump and noticed that coolant doesn’t flow because system is blocked. Testing if the fault code will come back is pointless as it will come back if there’s no coolant flow.

    I did try to give advice on how to find and fix the blockage on my previous post.
     
    #18 valde3, Mar 22, 2018
  19. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Don’t ever recall a blockage in that system being mentioned. I do recall one post where the guy bought a salvage and it had front end damage and the hoses were somehow reversed.

    Most likely blockage is occurring in the inverter part of the radiator, there’s a separate chamber in the rad in the bottom where inverter heat exchange is.

    It’s amazing how long this car will run with terrible maintenance, toughtest little car ever.
     
    #19 edthefox5, Mar 22, 2018
  20. terramir

    terramir Member

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    Well got some good news bad news situation good news it's finally going the loop. Bad news 4 rounds of distilled water. And there is still this whitish floating gunk maybe some person added brake fluid or some kinda oil which broke down being exposed to the sllc.
    But it's raining outside about to throw my dam clothes into the dryer and take a hot shower. Then well gonna dump the last water. And add the sllc. Because I gotta go to work tomorrow. My one day every few weeks I actually have work. But this means I probably have to dump that in a few days when it is dry again. Any hints??? On how to get it all out?
    terramir
     
    #20 terramir, Mar 22, 2018
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