1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Battery polarity

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Nooner, Aug 29, 2019.

Page 2 of 2
  1. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    So the codes are:

    poao8
    poao9
    c1310

    I'm guessing this is bad news and does mean that the inverter is done?

    The car is still running as normal even with red triangle of death and other warning lights. The voltage is still 13.8 when in ready mode.
     
    #21 Nooner, Sep 9, 2019
  2. richmke

    richmke Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    73
    48
    0
    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    This is interesting. Says you might need a new battery terminal.



    Don't know why he is saying "negative terminal" when that is the Positive Terminal assembly.
     
    #22 richmke, Sep 9, 2019
    Nooner likes this.
  3. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Could be something in this for various reasons - when I first changed the battery I noticed there was a bit of standing water down there (since repaired) and the last time I tried to disconnect one of the three cables I couldn't get one of them out. It might be that the answer is in there somewhere.
     
    #23 Nooner, Sep 10, 2019
  4. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Just another quick one:

    I'm getting code c1310 - Could that have been caused by the guy who tried to tow me? He tried dragging the car onto the back of his truck, backwards. He went about a meter before I saw the front wheels locking up and not wanting to move, and told him to stop. We got a different vehicle to tow us after that.
     
    #24 Nooner, Sep 10, 2019
  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,651
    3,862
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Not likely. C1310 is just a repeater code set by the Enhanced VSC ECU that means it heard from the Hybrid Control ECU that it had a problem. Look for the code set by hybrid control ECU, which should highlight the area of concern.
    It could be, but not necessarily a forgone conclusion.

    Check the trouble areas as below.

    P0A08 Trouble Areas:
    • Auxiliary battery
    • Fusible link block assembly - HV control ECU
    • Fuse (for 12 V electrical equipment)
    • Engine room relay block
    • Inverter cooling hose
    • Water pump with motor assembly
    • Cooling fan motor
    • No.2 cooling fan motor
    • Wire harness or connectorInverter with converter assembly (DC / DC converter)
    P0A09 Trouble Areas:
    • Wire harness or connector
    • Inverter with converter assembly
     
    #25 dolj, Sep 11, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2019
    Raytheeagle and Nooner like this.
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,474
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Post 21 says the voltage is 13.8VDC which implies the DC/DC converter is working.

    Dolj posted a number of items to check. It would really help for the OP to obtain access to the factory repair manual so that he can follow the very long troubleshooting process for DTC P0A08 which goes through those items.

    I suggest starting by making sure the battery cables are secure and that the negative battery cable has a good connection to the body sheet metal, since the OP reported water in the battery compartment.
     
    #26 Patrick Wong, Sep 11, 2019
  7. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks, Dolj. I will look into all of these issues just as soon as it stops pissing it down!
     
    #27 Nooner, Sep 11, 2019
  8. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks. Yeah the aux battery is brand new and working fine. It's still at 13.8v when the car is ready so I think the inverter is ok.

    I think you might be on to something with the connectors, I'm wondering if I've damaged the positive terminal somehow. I can pick one up off ebay for a little over $20 so that might be my first bit of action.

    I do think there is further damage in there somewhere though because it's showing a red battery and a car with exclamation car on the mfd and I know from research on here they are not good.
     
    #28 Nooner, Sep 11, 2019
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,651
    3,862
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    That just means a problem with the hybrid system, which we already know seeing as you have P0A08 and P0A09, both hybrid system codes.
     
    #29 dolj, Sep 11, 2019
    Nooner likes this.
  10. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    3 years later and.... I fixed it.

    Yeah it needed a new inverter. I picked up a second hand one from the UK for a hundred dollars along with a gallon of Toyota super long life coolant - a 150$ all in. Not bad from a garage quote of 3500.

    So if anyone does a reverse polarity and gets codes p0a08 and p0a09 - don't fret. I did it myself after watching a YouTube video and I'm a one armed non mechanic guy. It did take about 7 hours though.

    I'd been running the car for three years with the red triangle of death and other dash lights on. In the main it was alright but it did chug, it lacked power after 60mph and the cruise control didn't work. Now it's all back to normal and you can feel a big difference in the smoothness of the car and it's driving sweeeeet!

    Thought I'd give an update for the other reverse polarity idiots out there. Thanks to everyone on here for your help.
     
    #30 Nooner, Oct 20, 2022
    SFO likes this.
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,995
    15,589
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The best advice for anyone else who gets a P0A08 or P0A09 code will be to remain calm and follow the troubleshooting steps in the repair manual to find the reason. If the reason ends up being the inverter assembly the way it was for Nooner, you will find that out, and replacing the inverter will solve it. If the reason ends up being something else, like wiring or a connector in those circuits, you will find that out, and solve it without spending time or money on what fixed someone else's problem.
     
    #31 ChapmanF, Oct 20, 2022
  12. Nooner

    Nooner Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    16
    2
    0
    Location:
    Spain
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Indeed. All the steps to take are within this thread - I tried them all first.
     
    #32 Nooner, Oct 20, 2022
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    55,551
    38,718
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Appreciate there are other clues (bright red cap on the positive terminal, for example), but doesn't hurt to take a silver or white sharpie pen, colour in the plus and minus symbols.

    upload_2022-10-20_8-36-39.png
     
    #33 Mendel Leisk, Oct 20, 2022
    Nooner likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 2 of 2