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Dilemma after a breakdown

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by OldGreg, Jul 27, 2024 at 11:16 AM.

  1. OldGreg

    OldGreg New Member

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    Hey all I’m in a bad way and could really use some advice. 2009 Prius w around 170k miles broke down yesterday. Was driving and it suddenly totally shut down. Pulled over and there was a pretty nasty electrical smell from under the hood. Had it towed to my trusted mechanic and the news was bad. They found a blown fuse and after replacing it the car would start back up but blow the same fuse again within seconds. He suspects the fuse has been out and was meant to protect something more important downstream that has also burned out and that even investigating to figure out what’s wrong could be a lengthy process which could end with it being unfixable. At this point I’m only on the hook for the tow bill. The prognosis by his estimation is that I could spend a bunch of money to discover it’s dead or spend a bunch of money to earn the option to make very expensive repairs. I would be bummed if I was giving up on a car that could be fixed but I really can’t afford to be burning money in the event I just need to get a new car. I’m very not in a good financial situation.


    A second question emerges. Were I to decide to scrap it, what are my prospects for selling it? The engine is doing just fine! Do you think a Prius with an unknown but potential very serious electrical problem would be worth more to a person who does their own work than its scrap value? Thanks for any insights you have!
     
    #1 OldGreg, Jul 27, 2024 at 11:16 AM
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Maybe it's a generation 2 I don't know what state it's in what condition it's in or any of that what main fuse is blown the location the size etc these things run in series or whatever so whatever that fuse is it's blowing it's protecting same motor generator one then you know that motor generator one is having some kind of problem and sucking too much car enter something and blowing the fuse so that would be inside the transmission problem probably and so on
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Jul 27, 2024 at 9:01 PM
  3. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Active Member

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    If the fuse that is blowing is AM2, you need to replace the inverter cooling pump. An OEM pump is preferred because cheap generic pumps do not last very long.

    If it is not the AM2 fuse that is blowing, tell everyone which one it is, and someone will be able to help you.
     
    #3 Brian1954, Jul 27, 2024 at 9:53 PM
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    ^^ This. (I went and logged in just so I could reply on this thread, then got sidetracked replying on other things, and Brian1954 beat me to it.)

    There is a connector you can unplug so that AM2 won't keep blowing while you get around to replacing the stinky pump. The pump cools the electronics; drive gently while it's unplugged.

    [​IMG]
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Jul 27, 2024 at 10:01 PM
  5. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    As mentioned, all your symptoms are exactly what happens when the inverter cooling water pump fails. This is an electric pump in the cooling circuit that maintains the electronics cool. The pump is located directly behind the driverside headlight. It's available from Toyota for About $130. Many imposters are available online for $40 but life expectancy varies.....use the info in the photo shown above to remove the pump from the circuit so you can replace the fuse and drive the car. Highway type driving will eventually heat the inverter and make it go to limp mode, but depending on the weather, you can drive quite a long time at 40mph or less and have no problems. I've done 30+ mile trips with a bad pump
     
    #5 TMR-JWAP, Jul 27, 2024 at 10:23 PM
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