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I believe it's a dead battery........

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Chris11, Aug 13, 2018.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    one thing to keep in mind when attaching a charger to the jump point under the hood: only one side of the jump point is metal, the other side is plastic. so make sure a metal side of the clamp is making good contact.
     
  2. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    Thanks for looking. Now my problem is to get to it. I have a ton of tools and a huge tool box in the back. Guess I'll have to start to take them out of the rear door one by one and attempt to move the tool box forward with the rear sear backs down. Will the floor board lift up with the hatch in place?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes, it is hinged about 4-6" from the sill. lift the carpet, and the floorboard has a little fabric pull.
     
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  4. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    I noticed that. So I was certain to make contact with the plate/jumper clip. I wonder if I should try to hit the start button with the jumpers attached? With what Sam Spade said earlier I'm a little hesitant to hit the start button.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    of course you should, how else will you find out if it is going to start?

    just be careful not to cross polarize the jumper cables.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't see where sam said that.

    i'm not sure what kind of damage he is expecting though. it is either going to work or it isn't.
     
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  7. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    Success. It started and I ran it for a bit to charge. The problem with the jump was the cables. They're old and it didn't have a good connection on the one side that touched the plate. I checked them with my voltmeter, filed them clean, and reattached it. Started right away. There is a noise not there from before...kinda like a squeak which I wonder if it's the alternator belt slipping somewhat since it's trying to charge the bat. But I'll phone Toyota and order a new bat today.

    Thanks again for all the help you gave me. And again, I'm sorry if I missed replying to some answers....I seem to miss them.
     
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  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I don’t see anything Sam says:p.

    Still sounds like I’m not missing much(y).
     
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  9. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    The Prius has no alternator.

    And also it charges the 12v really slowly because the 12v does relatively nothing in the Prius. The Prius is not like any car from long ago. When you start the car it uses the 12v battery to flip a few relays in the back and attaches the HV traction battery to the inverter under the hood. Once that connection is made the inverter then bucks the high voltage battery pack to the "12v" and charges back up the 12v battery and runs all the systems. It also uses the HV battery to spin up the ICE (if needed in your case since it's a PiP). No starter, no alternator. This makes the 12v very undersized for American expectations but within design limits and Japanese use models.
     
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  10. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    IF.....the battery reads less than 7 volts, it is a good bet that at least one cell is shorted, maybe two or three.
    If you hook a battery in that condition up to one that is good, there could be a HUGE CURRENT FLOW, resulting in a big POP, sparks flying, cables overheating and maybe even smoke and fire.
     
  11. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    I love you too Ray. (y)
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    chris, the gen 3 is beltless. not sure what is causing the noise. maybe you can post a recording of the sound.
     
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  13. Chris11

    Chris11 Member

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    The noise has stopped. I have no idea what it was. Perhaps a mouse stuck in the flerblederble.

    I bought a new battery. I asked the parts guy if disconnecting the battery would affect any of the stored information. He went into the garage section and I assumed asked a mechanic. He then returned and assured me no information would be lost. In spite of being of an age that I've learned NOT to trust answers from people who are supposed to know stuff but usually don't I believed him. Brought the battery home and had no problem installing it. Upon starting the car I found all of trip A and trip B information had disappeared. Plus some of statistics which I didn't care about. The part I am really really REALLY pissed about is losing trip B. I had kept that since the car was new, which included the accumulated average mpg for 148,xxx miles which was at 72 mpg for those miles. I even used to put a sign on the steering wheel when I took the car to Toyota for oil changes that I didn't want the oil change guy to reset the maintenance odometer in case the straight out of elementary school kid accidently reset my trip B setting. I'm so pissed. I should have asked you guys about keeping a 12 volt source attached to the battery cables to maintain the dash information.. I'm sure it was ready to change the average to 73....I've been trying so hard but I'll never know now. Yes, I know it sounds petty, but after having to cut down on sex to twice a day at my ripe old age of 72 these little things matter to me.

    I washed the outside and cleaned the inside....perhaps now I'll use this as an excuse to buy a new PIP so I can start all over.
     
  14. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    THere is a way to retain those trip information using a small 12v amperage source. Its been posted a few ttimes on here but the search feature is non existent here.