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car won't shift to drive or reverse

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Buckinghambob, Aug 13, 2020.

  1. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    So the thing started with lots of codes for a traction battery failure, I rebuilt the battery with nick's cells and from the display it looks like the build was successful.

    Only now it won't go into drive or reverse.

    Also there's a little red car with an exclamation point in the top left corner of the mpg readout screen

    when I turn on the key, the power button light stays red, and even though the 12v battery was disconnected for some time, the old codes never went away.

    From what I've read, I suspect the 12 volt bat might be the issue, but a jump and longer charging does nothing. With the car on battery volts drop into 11.7 with the ac running, and I thought engine would start if I turned that on, so although the fan comes on, the actual ac does not.

    if it's the 12v bat, wouldn't the problems of low voltage disappear with the jump (around 13.1v)
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    battery sounds okay, but take it out of the circuit and try jumping
     
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  3. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    What were the OBD2 codes (DTCs) before, and what are they now?

    Which OBD2 reader is currently being used? (make, model, app, etc)

    Like @bisco kindly mentioned above, the 12v should be fine for the moment.

    For future thread readers, "Nick's cell" would be http://newpriusbatteries.com/
     
    #3 SFO, Aug 13, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2020
  4. ttou68

    ttou68 Active Member

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    Have you checked traction battery's orange plug?
    Is it properly locked in place?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Is your battery pack bolted to the car? It can't sit loosely without being bolted down, the car won't start
     
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  6. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    Double checking the disconnect (even though the battery readings appeared normal on the display) and I don't see any way the connection could be any better.

    I tried the jump directly after a fairly long disconnect from the 12v battery and the battery out of the circuit with no different results

    I'm charging the battery again, just to cover all bases with it, but will be buying a new battery soon anyway.

    As far as scanner codes, I have one of those cheap obd bluetooth tools, but no way to know how to use it, instructions assume you already know what you are doing, and so far I haven't much of a clue about scanners.I will likely need some sort of software and not sure what computer system would be best- linux or windows. my head is swimming with unknowns

    I do plan to borrow one of those cheap bare bones scanners that a friend has, he told me it read bad hybrid battery before I did the rebuild.
     
  7. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    yes, battery reinstall totally finished, although i did remove the fabric cover to check the disconnect
     
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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  9. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    Thank you, thank you for that diagram, I didn't remember to push down, car went to ready, and shifted, going to test drive now,


    thank you, thank you, thank you
     
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Get the low hanging fruit first. (y)
     
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  11. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    seeing the battery level indicator gave me a false impression it was connected, evidently just enough for sensors to read voltage, but not the strong connection needed to engage the battery.

    I was so sure I had done it right, I just didn't do it far enough, funny how that simple act of pushing down could make such a difference.

    Thanks again.

    Btw all the warnings cleared, and normal functions on a short test drive, probably take it about 50 miles later today to get an idea about mpg and actual functionality of the new modules.
     
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  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The high current connection to the battery was just fine. There is a separate, low-voltage, safety interlock circuit that runs through several safety covers in the car, including that switch, to lock things out whenever any of that is open, and avoid killing you. Pushing that handle down is what closes that safety circuit.

    If you had read the trouble codes, there would have been one for the interlock circuit, answer in one step.
     
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  13. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    Thanks everybody, I learned much more than how to lock the disconnect back in place. only other thing undone is figuring out if this cheap elm clone bluetooth reader can get functional. I should probably put up another post with separate subject, unless someone has a nice link that could shortcut past my confusion, hint hint.
     
  14. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    You need an app to make that adapter functional, you might be best served by using Dr Prius, but if you want a challenge you could also try Torque.

    Before you pick an app like Dr Prius (as Torque will work with most adapters), make sure you have a quality adapter by first reading up here : Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus

    Which platform/device will you be connecting to?
     
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  15. Buckinghambob

    Buckinghambob Junior Member

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    Thanks for the link, looking at the circuit boards for the good ones, my pretty blue elm has like half a circuit board where the good ones have two stacked on top of each other.

    I found a dr prius app in play store, so may try and see if this elm works at all, if it just reads the codes, that might be a place to start. monitoring the battery would be good, but i'm not super worried about that right now, too many other things on my mind.

    Thanks again for all the information.