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2008 Prius with possible 12 volt battery issue

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mpolley@ mac.com, Jul 16, 2017.

  1. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    I have a 2008 Prius and replaced the 12 volt battery in April...my son has been driving the car for a year while at college. Anyway, he has graduated and is now about 5 hours away where he now has a job. In early June he would occasionally get some beeps after turning the car of...it did this before the 12 volt battery died in April. No warning lights would come on and it wouldn't beep all the time. (He did replace the batteries in the fob) I went up and traded him cars to have it looked at where I live. It never beeped for me until I went to leave the car to be looked at. They couldn't find any problem and there where no error codes. He called me Friday saying the car wouldn't start. He had someone jump it and he brought it back home. Did we get a bad battery maybe when it was replaced at the dealership? Any ideas on what could cause the 12 volt battery to die after only 2.5 months? Just looking for some idea on what could be going on. Thanks I'm going to call the dealership in the morning
     
  2. Travis Decker

    Travis Decker Active Member

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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    your son probably left a light on or door open overnight. that's all it takes to kill these batteries.
     
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  4. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    Right now the car has no power...have to use the key in the fob to unlock the door. If I turn on a map light it is VERY dim.
     
  5. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    He keeps,the switch for the auto light for the doors in the off position so I don't think it's the lights.
     
  6. Travis Decker

    Travis Decker Active Member

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    Jump it. Leave it in ready mode for an hour or two and then test the 12 volt battery. 90% of the time when cars come into our shop with a dead 12v somebody left something on
     
  7. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    Ok, I'll try that in the morning. Thanks
     
  8. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    One thing I noticed in the video is that it said the "triangle" would come on at start to indicate a possible issue. In this case this never happened. The only "odd" thing we'd experienced was a beeping every once in a while when turning the car off and getting out. This what happened when I took it to be looked st about a week or so ago. My son said when it'd do this if he turned the lights on and of it'd stop the beeping. Sometimes he'd have to do that a couple of times. Could some component be drawing power that would show up in an error code or a warning light on the dash?
     
  9. Travis Decker

    Travis Decker Active Member

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    Components that drain 12v battery seldom would set a code. Charge 12v and test it
     
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Is the light for the deck turned off?
     
  11. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    Well, jumped it this morning and let it stay in ready mode for over an hour and then ran the diagnostics here are images of what it read...
    IMG_0338.JPG

    IMG_0335.JPG

    IMG_0336.JPG

    any ideas what could be the issue? It looks to me like the 12 volt battery is reading as being ok.
     
  12. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Somebody needs to check the voltage on the 12 V battery.......both when it is failing and when it is "running".
    It appears that you got a bad new battery (it happens) OR the charging system isn't working.
    OR.....a switch or relay is stuck and something is staying "on" when the car is off.

    Some manual troubleshooting (GASP) might be necessary.

    P.S. If they did not fully charge the new battery with an external charger before installing it.......that might be part of the problem, especially if the car was used mostly for short trips.
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the reading on your mfd is almost meaningless. you ned a static reading with a volt meter after the car has been off several hours, and then a capacity test under load.
     
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  14. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

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    One thing you might want to check with multimeter is see if car is drawing unusual amount of power with car off which might indicate short or something.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I think we need a sticky thread, for this deluge of "what's the matter with my battery" threads. It gets tiresome, going over the same ground over an' over:

    1. Jumpstarting and running for 1/2 hour, won't do much, besides waste gas.
    2. Starting up the car and seeing what the Multi Function Display shows for voltage: meaningless.

    Folks, please:

    1. Read up.
    2. Get a digital multimeter, at the least.
    3. Get a smart charger.
    4. If you seriously want to know what's happening with your battery, either get it professionally tested, or get a Solar BA5 or similar.
     
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if i were in charge of sticky, you would be sticky.:cool:
     
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  17. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    I took it to the Toyota place I bought it from. Although they had to jump it to pull it in the bay, they claimed there was not issue. All their tests showed nothing. So I've had it at home and from a guy I know who was a Toyota specialist as a dealership, I let it sit for 3 days. Checked the voltage yesterday and it was at 11.9. Checked it this morning before I drove it and it was at 11.4. Once I got to my office I checked it again and it was down to 10.8...called the dealership back and talked to the same guy explained what was happening. I'm bringing it back this afternoon. Any ideas?
     
    #17 mpolley@ mac.com, Jul 24, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2017
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah. Even 11.9 volts is crazy low. That is checking with the car off, with a voltmeter? The only time I've seen that is after leaving a door ajar for about 18 hours.
     
  19. mpolley@ mac.com

    mpolley@ mac.com Junior Member

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    I don't have a voltmeter (I do plan getting one), but I used the diagnostic mode without turning the car on (without pushing start with foot on break). They guy I know I've talked with said it could be something related to the smart key and the door sensor...but he also said it could be a lot of other things as well.
     
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    where did you buy the new 12v?