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Gen 2 2006 HV issues (C1259, C1310, P0A80, P3022) in Phoenix

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by cinsolidarity, Jan 20, 2019.

  1. cinsolidarity

    cinsolidarity Junior Member

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    Hello all.

    I just bought this car 4 months ago. Recently having electrical issues: the red triangle comes on, and check engine light, and the rear air vent starts blowing. Getting error codes C1259, C1310, P0A80, P3022. From what I gather so far, P3022 appears to be the main problem / Battery block cell 12 is weak?

    I live in Phoenix. I need all the help and information I can get. Ideally I'd like to find a way to fix this by myself. Can anyone please shed light on exactly what appears to be going on and what my best options are for possibly fixing this on my own?? Thank you so much for your help.
     
  2. cinsolidarity

    cinsolidarity Junior Member

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    A few other minor details. A couple months ago apparently there was a washer loose on the battery terminal of one of the cells, which was causing a reverse polarity issue, jumping from positive power reading to a negative power reading, back and forth, on a voltage reader/scanner. That was fixed though. For the last few weeks, stepping out of my car, I'd get a notable shock while closing my car door. More recently the car was completely shutting off for a moment after parking and turning it off. No remaining lights for the car door or the key, no lights on in the car. Upon trying to restart, it wouldn't respond for 30 seconds, and then suddenly it would respond to the start button. It seemed to me like wires were crossed or something. Recently it wouldn't turn on. I attempted jump-starting it even though I didn't think it would help. I didn't think that a dead battery was the problem, just a bad wiring connection somewhere. It actually did help though and the car had power again. So I've had some odd electrical things going on.
     
  3. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!

    Basically your HV battery has or is failing, and if you continue to use the vehicle it will eventually leave you stranded at best.

    Find out what options you have by calling Steve Keith at PHOENIX HYBRID BATTERIES (say PriusChat still misses him)

    Then clean up your HV battery fan, doesn't take that long and is fairly easy. This won't fix the problem, but is part of the overall / eventual 'fix'.

    If you're a DIY type, replacing the failed module(s) isn't that difficult but requires a way to balance the battery pack afterwards, otherwise it will fail again, either sooner or later. Most here use the http://hybridautomotive.com/ products for reconditioning/balancing. There might be someone local to you that has the above gear for a group share, loan or rental. Sometimes you can find a used set offered here for under retail, but that usually gets snapped up quickly.
     
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  4. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Your pack is dying. It's on life support.

    Use this time where it still "kind of works" to purchase a new pack. If you don't then when things go wrong for the final time and the pack is dead, you'll be scrambling to find any solution.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    easy fix, but you still have an old car. how many miles on her?
     
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  6. cinsolidarity

    cinsolidarity Junior Member

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    175k. I recently bought it supposedly refurbished, bad cells having been replaced. What do you recommend as far as a possible 'easy fix'?
     
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Someone opened up the HV battery pack to fix a loose washer problem? (is your HV battery possibly rebuilt or used?)

    The 12v battery is in rear passenger corner, check the connections leading to and from the 12v battery for tightness (and standing water).

    Then measure the 12v battery voltage with a multi-meter, as it could be failing. Do you know when it was last replaced or serviced?

    How many miles per week do you drive this vehicle? If you're not using it that often the 12v may fail sooner (generally speaking).
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    new $1,600. battery. but you're still looking at other potentially large expenses
     
  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I looks like someone did a very poor job rebuilding that battery. :(

    A rebuild needs to be balanced to have any chance of success. It should also get a new wiring harness if there is any sign of corrosion in the connectors and there usually is. You might be able to salvage that one by checking the wiring harness, checking the torque on all the nuts, and using a Prolong charger to rebalance the cells.

    The best solution is a new battery from Toyota. Boom! Done! Some places will sell you one over the counter. Some insist on installing it themselves. Replacing the battery isn't all that hard. If the rest of the car is in good shape and you want to keep it long term, that's the way to go or get a kit of new cells from @2k1Toaster who has posted above. Rebuilds are usually just an expensive way to purchase trouble. @SFO mentioned Phoenix Hybrid Batteries. I see that they sell rebuilt and also new for $2,400 installed. That's not a bad price for a new installed one.
     
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  10. cinsolidarity

    cinsolidarity Junior Member

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    My HV battery is rebuilt by a local prius mechanic who I won't be using anymore. I had someone at O'Reilly's test my 12v battery when they tested for the other codes. They said the 12v was just fine. It is possible though that my connections aren't optimal. I haven't had the plastic piece covering the 12v, only a flap of trunk mat. I'll have to check the other side of the connection as well. Once I figure out where it goes. I drive it a lot every week. I'm a full time uber/lyft driver. So code P3022 says "Battery block cell 12 is weak". That doesn't mean the 12v, does it? That means cell 12 on the main (HV) block right?
     
    #10 cinsolidarity, Jan 21, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2019
  11. cinsolidarity

    cinsolidarity Junior Member

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    No standing water that I can see. But It's cold enough here that frost covers windows in the morning, I also have a rear window below the spoiler thats busted out, covered in cardboard and gorilla tape, so cool frosty air gets in and again, the plastic piece that covers the 12v isn't covering it now, just a flap of the rear mat. Do you think that's a legitimate problem?
     
  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Nothing to do with the 12V. Cell 12 is the twelfth cell from the end of the HV (traction) battery. On the 2nd generation, that's counting from the ECU end of the pack, iirc.
     
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That is correct it is the hybrid vehicle (HV) battery, not the 12 V battery.

    It is actually block 12 which are modules 23 and 24, counting from the RHS of the battery (as viewed from the rear of the car looking forward, as all references to left and right on a car are), the side opposite the electronics. It is most likely only one of the two modules, but a lot of people like to replace both anyway.

    In addition, once the battery is put back together, you will need to ensure the battery is charged to balance and ideally the battery should have a 3 cycle charge/discharge regime done. Ensure all nuts on the bus bar are tightened to the correct torque using an in/lb torque wrench which will make sure that they are not too tight nor too loose. Either situation could cause bad things, and more problems.

    As you are a lyft/uber driver, time is money, I'd say forget DIY and get along to Steve Keith at Phoenix Hybrid Batteries. He is a good and knowledgable guy who will be able to advise you in a no nonsense way about the best way for you to proceed. And the repair work is all tax deductible, right?
     
  14. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    It appears that you're using the vehicle enough to keep the 12v battery charged, even with any excessive 12v accessory usage.

    If your no power/no start condition persists, and after checking the 12v battery connections and properly assessing the 12v battery health (try an actual voltage meter), you might consider purchasing a new 12v for this 'new to you' vehicle.
     
  15. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    You get shocked when you touch the door? HV leak???
     
  16. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Sections of your battery are failing. Since the car came with a failing pack (refurbished) and it was put together wrong, you will likely continue to have ongoing problems with it.

    To fix yourself, quickest way is to replace the hybrid battery with one from Toyota. It would take you maybe 1/2 a day or so for the job.

    It likely retails at about $2,100 or so from the Toyota parts department. Once you do this, you will not have to think about your battery for years to come.

    As others have said, you could contact Steve at Phoenix Hybrid. He has other options and can even do the work if you want. For example he installs Toyota Battery with NEW cells for $2400

    If you choose to keeping picking away at your pack and just replacing sections of the battery as they fail, it will take you most of a day to do the job each time.

    With this method it may only cost you $100 each time, but every time you replace a section you are introducing more variability into your pack. Which will increase the likelihood of having more failures.

    You could mask some of the variability by frequently balancing your pack, but you'd need to buy $600-800 of equipment for that. Plus each balance sessions takes a few days to do properly.
     
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