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Red triangle, (!) and VSC but no codes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dex3703, Sep 12, 2019.

  1. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    I'm having the red triangle, the (!) and VSC lights come on. I have a Bluetooth ODB connector and the Torque Pro app, but when I pull codes, it says there aren't any. Am I missing something?
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You are missing an adequate code reader. I use Mini VCI.
     
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  3. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    Since nobody on this board has anything meaningful to say about what an "adequate" code reader is, does anybody have any helpful suggestions?
     
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I had suggested Mini VCI.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    tech stream, its toyota official reader. check amazon, you need a compatible laptop. but i'm surprised you're not getting any code at all with torque. try an autoparts store for a free read
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many miles on her?
     
  7. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    In another thread, you mentioned that you were getting trouble lights because your 12V battery was depleted. I'm assuming that was in the past, and you have now checked your 12V and found it to be fully charged. If not, that is the first step. If the 12V is fine and Torque Pro is not reporting codes, the trouble is most likely coming from an ECU that Torque Pro does not query, such as your braking system ECU. In the absence of any other information, I would guess it is your braking ECU, since that seems to be the next most common problem after hybrid system issues. As Patrick mentioned, a Mini VCI cable and Techstream software will communicate with all your car's ECUs and should show the codes that Torque Pro is not. I am using this product, Amazon.com: Customer reviews: KKmoon Mini VCI Car OBD Diagnostic Scanner OBD2 USB Interface Scan Tool for TOYOTA TIS Techstream Diagnostic Cable & Software, and it works fine for me, but it seems others have had problems with it. I expect most of them are trying to run the software on Windows 10, which has required a lot of tweaking. I have a drive on which I have a copy of Windows Vista. When I want to run Techstream, I boot up my laptop from that drive and do not use it for anything else. Doing something like that might be easier for you than trying to locate an old laptop with with a 32-bit version of Windows XP, which is what most members of this forum would recommend.

    If getting a system that will run Techstream is too much trouble, you can still read the blink codes from your braking ECU (if that is indeed the one that is throwing the trouble lights), as discussed in this thread (among others):

    Brake electronic issues | Page 2 | PriusChat

    Post #25, in particular, shows you what you want to do.
     
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  8. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I think the problem there is the OP would actually have to type “mini VCI” into the priuschat search feature to get an answer.
     
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Thankfully Dave Cook provided a verbose response to supplement my terse answer.
     
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  10. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    Thanks, Dave. I really appreciate your answer. I'll check the brake system ECU.

    I have put the 12v battery on a charger. It is an optima yellow top, which replaced the original (?) 12v battery. It reads about 12.4 volts on its own. I wouldn't think that would be low enough to cause a problem...

    There is another thread I posted previously on what sort of code reader I'd need. I received only vague answers, or 'they all work, just get a bluetooth one'. I have one of the Elm312 or whatever it is. Clearing the codes makes the lights go off.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    12.4 is sketchy, but more important is a load test
     
  12. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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  13. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Right, that's why I was careful to say mine was working properly, but not necessarily recommending it. If you are not prepared to spend ~$500 for the official Mongoose cable, you should be prepared to return any that don't work properly and keep ordering them until you get one that does. I would find a claim that any of them damaged someone's car to be rather questionable, given that they do not have a power source other than the car, and the car has fuses to protect its electronics.
     
  14. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    Yes I found the claim the cable broke things to be doubtful, but I'm paranoid. I don't have much spare cash and don't want to make things worse. Thanks for the help.
     
  15. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    At long last, with @PriusCamper helping, I got this figured out. It was the problem with corrosion on the 4-wire connector near the battery cooling duct. There was hardly any, but some toothpicks and dielectric grease turned the lights off and they've stayed off. Dr. Prius was able to give me codes where Torque Pro wouldn't.

    Hope this helps someone.
     
  16. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    @PriusCamper is good people. I don’t always agree with him but he helps people. Props to him.
     
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  17. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Thanks @Skibob There's actually lots of help that happens in private messaging that many people aren't aware of... Sometimes new people who post on here get kinda of overwhelmed by the many directions the threads wander off to and decide it's better to reach out directly to someone privately to keep things focused.
     
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  18. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Seeing the way some of the threads go here I can understand that. There is a small group of posters here that I trust when I see an answer. It’s up to the person asking the questions who to believe. I would trust your advice with a traction battery issue myself.