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Orange Power button & Check engine light

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by GoFigure28, Aug 6, 2018.

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  1. GoFigure28

    GoFigure28 New Member

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    Hi there, desperately looking for advice. Bought our Prius used in January 2018 and largely been great. Once wouldn't start, jumped it and worked fine.

    Last week, cleaning the car I left the overhead lights on and didn't drive the next several days over the weekend. The Prius will not turn on.

    I tried jumping, and nothing happened. I removed the battery (it's from November 2011) and took it to the autozone store - it's totally discharged and one dead cell. I asked them to slow charge it anyway to try and it got up to ~10V as expected. Replaced it in the Prius and nothing. Still won't come on with a jumpstart either.

    I decided to check fuses and discovered 2 were blown - DOME and ABS-1. I replaced both.

    Now, even with the wimpy battery, it's got some lights again. I tried to Power on the vehicle. The Prius acts like it's going to power on then the Power button turns from green to orange and the check engine light comes on. The display is not on, wipers don't seem to work. I reconnected an assisting vehicle via jumper cables and there was no change.

    Possibly unrelated note, the smart key doesn't seem to be working properly either. The unlock button flashes the hazard lights and the lock seems to trigger a beeping alarm.

    Is this all related to the 12V battery being bad? Are these symptoms indicative of any other known problems?

    Please, any advice would be most helpful.

    Thank you!!
     
    #1 GoFigure28, Aug 6, 2018
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Since you know the 12v is 7+ years old and bad, change that out and see how things go. Can't diagnose the car if the 12v is bad
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 6, 2018
    Montgomery and ITBland like this.
  3. GoFigure28

    GoFigure28 New Member

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    You're right, I was a little ahead of myself. The new battery came in today. I replaced it promptly. Although I noticed some interior lights come on immediately, there is no other change.

    Pressing the Power button once turns green and twice turns orange and the car attempts to cycle through the starting process. The check engine light also turns on. The display does not turn on.

    Additionally, the key still does not work. The unlock button makes the hazards flash. The lock button makes a continuous beep.

    I tried starting the car normally. I tried inserting the fob into the ignition slot. I also tried hitting the key deactivation switch.

    I'm personally out of ideas, as I was hopeful the battery was going to be the main issue.
     
    #3 GoFigure28, Aug 8, 2018
  4. GoFigure28

    GoFigure28 New Member

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    Upon further inspection, I discovered I blew the 100 amp fuse in the fusible link assembly. Trying to figure out where to buy a new one and replace.
     
    #4 GoFigure28, Aug 8, 2018
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    dealer or online. maybe auto parts, idk.
     
    #5 bisco, Aug 9, 2018
  6. carlykaderli6969

    carlykaderli6969 New Member

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    Hi! I think I am having the exact same problem, nobody else has been able to describe it as closely. I got in my car, turned it on and rolled the windows down for my dog, ran inside again to get something I left, and when I came back the car won't turn on, no lights are turning on not event he hazards.

    They key fob is not dead, and I checked my spare as well I don't think it is the fob. I tried to give it a jump and nada. All the fuses are fine, I don't know what happened!

    Did you ever figure your problem out?
     
    #6 carlykaderli6969, May 8, 2020
  7. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Hi Carly and Gofigure28,
    The Prius needs its 12volt battery to be in "like new" condition in order for it to even start up. The 12v batter upon pushing the button, turns on the electric steering, electric brake actuator, the computer, dashboard...........in other words, everything! And then it has to have enought juice to start the ICE. The Prius really needs that 12v to get it going. If your 12v battery is over 5 years old, I would just go ahead and replace it. Just my two cents. I am guessing all of this cause I don't know the age and mileage of Carly's car. Hope this helps!
     
    #7 Montgomery, May 8, 2020
  8. RobertK

    RobertK Member

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    This is not correct.

    The 12 volt battery on a 2nd gen Prius boots up the computers when you press the start button, and not much else. When the computers boot up, all subsequent electrical power is provided by the HV battery through the inverter, including all 12v requirements. While I don't recommend it, you can take the 12v battery out of the car after the car has been made READY and everything will continue to work until the car is shut off. The 12v battery is smaller than what is normally found in most cars because it does a small amount of work unless you do something like listen to the radio when the car is in ACC mode.

    The ICE is started by the HV battery by spinning MG1.

    My Prius worked without any issues when the battery wouldn't hold more than 11.5 volts, which is basically dead as far as a 12 volt battery goes. I replaced the battery because I knew that it would soon get to a point where it wouldn't boot the computers. My replacement battery is now 8 years old and still holds 12.5 volts, and others on this forum have seen longer lives.

    A bad 12v battery can cause a number of issues and should be addressed, but not for any of the things mentioned in the quoted post.
     
    #8 RobertK, May 8, 2020
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  9. mattofbass

    mattofbass New Member

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    Hello. Im having the same problem too. Were is this fuse you were talking about ? Thank You
     
    #9 mattofbass, Feb 27, 2024
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