P0453 and dead battery

I thought I'd post my problem, diagnosis and solution in case it helps someone. I hadn't been driving my 2010 Prius much lately as was vacationing. It was parked outside. Started it up and engine ran, but got the ominous The "Red Triangle of Death". I expected the worst, and started researching how to rebuild my traction battery. Turns it it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Checked the voltage on the 12 V battery and it was in around 11.5 V. Put it on a smart charger for 3 days, but the smart charger never stopped charging. Car would start OK, but still got the dash warning. I pulled the battery off the charger. Next day the battery was at 5 V. Got a brand new battery ($$). Still the same problem with error on dash. Day or two later, checked voltage on new battery and it was in the 11 V range ! Oh, crap. Did I just ruin a brand new battery? Is my car going to catch fire? I disconnected the battery from the car and started charging battery up again. When it was charged up, I attached the battery to to the car and used an OBDll scanner while I started the car. (I bought a OBDLink EX because I also have a Ford.)

I got some codes that pointed to the evaporative emissions system.

Backed up the car on some ramps and crawled under to search for bad wires. Sure enough, I found the EVAP (Evaporative Emissions) Canister/Pressure Sensor sub-harness was all chewed up.



On a 3rd-generation Prius, this short sub-harness links the main chassis wiring loom directly to the components mounted on the charcoal canister assembly, which sits right above the rear subframe near the fuel tank. I pulled it off and then began the lengthy search for a replacement.

Apparently, one can't buy a new sub-harness by itself. I considered getting male and female pigtails and splicing them, but settled on getting a part from the junk yard. Cost me $50 + tax from junkyard.

Put it back on and all is good ! Now I am making a big effort to garage my dear old Prius and put mouse traps in the garage. Have to make room in the garage first.

 

My sisters have been talking about bucket traps with antifreeze in them, dryer sheets, and even steel wool in the exhaust pipe (just have to remember to remove it when you want to drive). I've got to do something! I wonder if a box of used cat litter might work. Mice have an innate fear of the smell of cats.

A mouse completely ate through my spark plug wire where it attached to the electronic ignition of my rototiller. This was under the engine housing, and it took me a long time to figure out what the problem was. It's too much !