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2005 will not start after disconnecting hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by piper18o, Jan 24, 2013.

  1. piper18o

    piper18o Junior Member

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    My 2005 prius will not start. We had some body work done to it after a deer ran into me. They did a small amount of welding and had disconnected both batteries. Now the car will not start. It can be put in auxiliary mode but if you try to start it with your foot on the brake, it flashes some lights for a few seconds and then goes dead. Is the hybrid battery too low to start the car? It was pretty low. before the batteries were disconnected. Or did they possibly do something wrong when they disconnected the hybrid battery? Final question would be do they have to do some reprogramming after disconnecting the hybrid battery?
     
    #1 piper18o, Jan 24, 2013
  2. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Following.
     
    #2 JMD, Jan 24, 2013
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    No programming is needed.

    Open the hatch, remove the folding hatch floor and the black plastic tray over the spare tire, and find the orange traction battery interlock switch on the left side of the traction battery.

    The switch handle, when inserted, needs to be pivoted 90 degrees, then slid down to lock in place. Frequently the sliding part of this process is forgotten which means the traction battery will not be on line.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Jan 24, 2013
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  4. piper18o

    piper18o Junior Member

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    So do you believe, based on the symptoms that the hybrid battery is not on line still?
     
    #4 piper18o, Jan 24, 2013
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    A no-start condition can be caused by a very large number of possibilities. The traction battery issue that I mentioned is one of those.

    I am merely pointing out that since you know the traction battery had been disconnected, it would be reasonable and easy to check the traction battery interlock switch to see whether it was properly installed.

    If that is properly installed and you cannot get the car to start then I suggest you have the car towed to your local Toyota dealer so that DTC can be read and a diagnosis provided to you.
     
    #5 Patrick Wong, Jan 24, 2013
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  6. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Patrick is right (as usual). Follow this procedure (attached) for reinstalling the traction battery interlock referring specifically to pg 21-118 step 9. (c). This is the step that most people don't do and it causes the very symptoms you mention.
     

    Attached Files:

    #6 usnavystgc, Jan 24, 2013
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  7. piper18o

    piper18o Junior Member

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    Thank you both so much! I really appreciate your expertise! I will go back over tomorrow and discuss this with them.
     
    #7 piper18o, Jan 24, 2013
  8. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Good luck. Also keep in mind, it might need a jump, as the 12V battery has likely been run down from this whole scenario.
     
    #8 usnavystgc, Jan 25, 2013
  9. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    So how did it work out?
     
    #9 JMD, Jan 25, 2013
  10. seckwielen

    seckwielen Member

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    Did this when I first got my 2010 Prius back in September. Forgot to slide the orange handle after re-installing it. o_O
    Same symptoms. Opened the trunk slid the handle over and the prius started right up. :)
     
    #10 seckwielen, Jan 26, 2013
  11. piper18o

    piper18o Junior Member

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    Turns out the shop had disconnected a couple of wires and had switched them when they reconnected them. They call me yesterday and told me, but I didn't say which wires they were. This didn't make sense to me, but they tell me that everything works now. Thank you again for all of your help. I sincerely appreciate each of you!
     
    #11 piper18o, Jan 30, 2013
  12. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    I'm glad to hear it.

    It def concerns me that they said they switched two wires???? WTH??? It doesn't make sense to me either. I'll bet they didn't slide the interlock down and figured it out when you told them. Then they were too prideful to admit their mistake. Switching two wires around would most likely cause more problems (most likely but not always). It is highly doubtful that two HV wires could be switched and not cause problems. Most wires have "fail safes" on them to prevent you from reconnecting them to the wrong spot.
     
    #12 usnavystgc, Jan 30, 2013
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