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

Drained battery

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by abdullah arslan, Jul 5, 2022.

  1. abdullah arslan

    abdullah arslan Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2019
    180
    77
    0
    Location:
    46628
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    the car has a new 12v battery almost a year old, had 250 miles trip on saturday, and today when we opened the door, there was no life sign. Looks like battery drained, the dash lights turn on very dimmed but doesnt start. When I plug the battery maintainer, I can see the green light on key fob with depressing brake pedal but it's not strong enough to start. Tried to charge it but it didn't go thru and red light blinked on charger. When retry charging it makes a weird noise and makes sparks when taking the positive off. The trunk is closed I was gonna directly charge the 12v. How can I open the trunk and any idea what's going on?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #1 abdullah arslan, Jul 5, 2022
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,468
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You cannot use a battery maintainer to charge the battery. It is made to maintain a full charge, not charge a depleted battery. You'll need to get a proper battery charger to charge it. Hopefully you caught it early enough before it got damaged.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jul 6, 2022
  3. abdullah arslan

    abdullah arslan Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2019
    180
    77
    0
    Location:
    46628
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    #3 abdullah arslan, Jul 6, 2022
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,468
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    1.5amp won't do anything to charge a battery. You need a minimum of 4 amps to 10amps (maximum) to do the job
     
    #4 JC91006, Jul 6, 2022
    abdullah arslan likes this.
  5. abdullah arslan

    abdullah arslan Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2019
    180
    77
    0
    Location:
    46628
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I was able to start the car but something weird that part of the dash lights not turning on. Checked relevant fuses, didnt see any blown. I see hybrid system working according to left indicator and noises from car while driving
    upload_2022-7-6_11-5-12.png
     
    #5 abdullah arslan, Jul 6, 2022
  6. abdullah arslan

    abdullah arslan Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2019
    180
    77
    0
    Location:
    46628
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    It came back on, and now everything seems normal. Just curious, what might have drained the 12V battery? checked the lights were not on position. This never happened before
     
    #6 abdullah arslan, Jul 6, 2022
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,636
    38,198
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Vanity mirror is one of the sneakier ones:

    0897B2A3-0221-4EBF-84A0-1846286088FD.jpeg

    3rd Gen Owner's Manual recommends 4.2 amps max. Maybe overkill. Too: 1.5 amp charger will charge the battery albeit slower. 3~4 amp chargers will take 8~10 hours for a moderately depleted battery.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Jul 6, 2022
    abdullah arslan likes this.
  8. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    998
    756
    2
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    The one that has gotten me twice is the rear hatch which is closed enough to latch but not completely closed.
     
    #8 Johnny Cakes, Jul 10, 2022
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    5,883
    3,155
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    You can charge a battery with just 1.5 amps. It will just take a long time.
    4 amps is the maximum you're suppose to use on an agm battery.
    They are not the same as the regular battery that has liquid acid in it.
    You can really physically damage it if you use too high amperage.

    You should check all your doors to make sure the lights go out when you shut the door.
    Also the trunk.
     
    #9 ASRDogman, Jul 10, 2022
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)