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2009 prius battery fan

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sbblesh, May 17, 2021.

  1. sbblesh

    sbblesh New Member

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    Hey all! I have a 2009 Prius with 200,000 miles on it. Love it and want to milk it for all its worth.
    Here is the issue. I believe my battery fan isn't functioning. I checked the fuse and its good. Checked the fan for debris and its good. The reason I say this is after driving a while I get the red triangle of death with all the lights. In the past I did hear the fan running in the back when it was hot or I was using AC or heat. Now I do not hear it anymore. I know that there are 4 speeds so I may not be able to hear it at all. When I get another error I will check the codes to see the error. My question is can I force the fan to run so I can check it?

    Thanks all!

    Sean B.
     
    #1 sbblesh, May 17, 2021
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try a tissue over the grill. some readers like scan gauge will turn the fan on.

    get the codes and diagnosis asap, that's most important
     
    #2 bisco, May 17, 2021
  3. sbblesh

    sbblesh New Member

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    Got code checked today. I have a P0A93 which is inverter cooling system performance error. This makes sense since I'll get the triangle after driving 10-15 miles. I did change the cooling water valve earlier in the month due to the flow being restricted (which apparently is a known problem). Bled and refilled the coolant. Wonder if that was the cause of the inverter pump failing?

    Also how can I check to see if the inverter pump is actually working?

    Thanks all!

    Sean B.
     
    #3 sbblesh, May 19, 2021
  4. sbblesh

    sbblesh New Member

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    Update: Well I ordered a pump and it should be here tomorrow. I doubt this thing has been changed in 200,000 miles.
     
    #4 sbblesh, May 19, 2021
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    open the reservoir cap and look for movement
     
    #5 bisco, May 19, 2021
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The cooling water valve is in the engine cooling loop, which is separate, and that work should not have affected inverter cooling at all, unless the person doing the work got disoriented somehow and did some sort of collateral damage.

    In general, it's important not to read more into a trouble code than what the manual comes right out and says it means. In this case, if you have a code described as an "inverter cooling system performance" issue, all that tells you is that the inverter isn't getting cooled effectively, for some reason. Failure of the pump could be that reason, but that's something still to find out, before speculating about "the cause of the inverter pump failing", which we don't yet know happened.
     
    #6 ChapmanF, May 19, 2021
    sbblesh and Georgina Rudkus like this.
  7. sbblesh

    sbblesh New Member

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    One
    Thank you for your insight. I also checked the reservoir and there is no movement in the liquid. Still waiting for my part to arrive and also bought a bluetooth OBD reader. I'll let you know how it goes.
     
    #7 sbblesh, May 20, 2021
  8. sbblesh

    sbblesh New Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    One
    UPDATE:
    Good news! I changed the pump and I immediately heard it turn on. No codes (cleared previously) and I'll drive it tomorrow for 15-20 miles to see how it goes. Key tip is to get the headlight out of the way for sure. Made the job pretty easy!

    Thanks all for your help! I'm hoping for 300,000 miles before another Prius.
     
    #8 sbblesh, May 20, 2021
    bisco likes this.
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