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12v parasitic draw too high

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by JamesPriusC, Mar 4, 2023.

  1. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    I am trouble shooting my daughters 2012 Prius C because she is only getting 1-2 days of not being driven and then had to jump car to start. The strange thing is the battery was replaced a year ago (with dealer battery) and the previous battery only lasted 2 years (also dealer batt). I tested the parasitic draw and measured that at 150ma (.15A) and after some searching this site this looks high, should be ~20-30ma.
    I noticed the current battery would not hold a charge, after running the engine for 2 hours (batt voltage ~14.5v) then shutting off engine, batt voltage was ~12.6v. But 1 hour later it was 11.8.. obviously not holding a charge. ok so dealer was good enough to swap the battery. then tested the parasitic draw again and still 150ma. (doors all closed, key out of range, nothing on.)
    I suspect the high parasitic draw was taking the batterie(s) down after not being driven for a week or so and is damaging these batteries, hence the short life(s).
    Which leaves me with needing to figure out why parasitic draw is ~5X what it should be.
    So next I removed every fuse in box under dash and all but 100A fuse in engine compartment and watched draw which remained the 150ma.
    So now I am wondering what else it could be.
    I have read that there may be a brake capacitor bank outboard of 12v battery under rear seat that could be going bad, but I cant find the box. (is there one in this model and if so where is it?)
    I also suspect the DC-DC inverter but looking at the 12v connector and seeing how buried it is under AC motor connector I decided to write this little book and see if the collective minds could help.
    Anybody have any ideas?
    Thanks in advance.
    James
     
  2. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    Just discovered the fuse box on the passenger side, so removing and measuring those now 1 by 1
     
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  3. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    one other thing to mention, tire pressure idiot light comes on when car is running, could this be a factor?
     
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    the c doesn't have the capacitor bank.

    How old is that battery anyway?

    TPMS light could mean low pressure or sensor battery dead. All it really means is "further investigation required."
     
  5. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    Battery is just replaced with new from dealer @ 13.0v so I think we are good there.
    TPMS is confirmed that 2 tire sensors are dead per tire shop with sensor reader.
    I tried removing fuse #25 which is ecu for TPMS didnt make parasitic current drop, so I dont think that is adding to my problem.
    I removed fuse #14 which is main body ECU and parasitic current went from 150ma to 80ma.
    so that thing is drawing a lot but still not down to the 20-30 I am looking for...
     
  6. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    shot in the dark, but I've seen this on more than one car: a CD stuck in the stereo, and the player relentlessly trying to eject it.

    Any chance somebody left an OBDII interface or insurance tracker plugged into the diagnostic port?
     
  7. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    No automotive 12 V battery should ever read 13.0 except for a very short time just after being charged.
    Your meter might be off a bit.

    Then......you do know that when measuring parasitic drain on most all modern cars, you MUST leave it in a "normal" condition with things like hood, trunk and all doors closed for at least an hour and then not disturb anything before or while making the measurement ????
    This makes doing the measurement kind of tricky.
     
  8. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    Good points Leadfoot, nothing in OBDII port, and no insurance tracker installed,
    There was a CD in stereo which I ejected before I started this whole process. But since you mention it maybe the parasitic draw was even worse than the 150ma, I will put it back in and see what happens. In this reguard, i disconnected the OEM stereo module completely with no change in draw.

    Thanks for the effort, keep them coming..
     
  9. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    Thanks Sam, yes I would guess this $30 meter us not real accurate on DCV, dealer may have just taken it off charger, I dont know?? not the problem I am chasing right now.

    I have observed that the car has to rest for quite a period of time after any changes for draw to step down, and I am waiting for it to settle, I also noticed if the smart key is near car, draw jumps to 500ma, so I have them in a faraday cage (tin foil)

    Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming, I WILL get this isolated.
     
  10. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    One other observation that is bothering me, when I remove/replace fuse #14 which is main body ECU, (as well as some interior lights) I hear a relay clicking (on with insertion of fuse and off with removal). That relay coil alone could draw a large portion of the ~80ma that the insertion of the fuse is causing.. why is a relay being held on in resting mode? Doesnt make any sense to me..
     
  11. JamesPriusC

    JamesPriusC New Member

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    Update:
    Looks like I might not have been waiting long enough for car to settle into lowest parasitic draw.. (my bad)
    After waiting over an hour, draw drops to 60ma and fuse from main body ECU no longer triggers relay so some other computer must have been energizing that relay and keeping the main body ECU alive drawing the extra 90ma.
    So I think I can rule that ECU out as culprit..