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2010 battery drained - jump started but now have electrical problem

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by richstan31, Nov 8, 2016.

  1. richstan31

    richstan31 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2016
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I have a 2010 Prius with 143,000 miles, which I have owned for about 9 months (2nd owner). I recently used an air compressor to inflate a tire using the 12v outlet inside the car, not realizing it would completely drain the battery - which I only found out when I went to start the car... As a result I had to jump start the car and all seemed well initially... until I switched off the car and then restarted it a short time later. There was a delay in starting and the MFD screen (that shows the Hybrid usage/settings didn't illuminate.. the speed portion of the display lit up but not the other side. Ever since the battery incident this has randomly occurred and will work some of the time, but not all the time. In addition, I have to press the start button at least twice, to get it to initiate the ability to shift to D and begin driving. This occurred on and off for about 4-5 days, however today it quit completely and the yellow warning triangle briefly displayed and then went out. I ordered a new 12v battery and await it's arrival.

    I am hoping that a new battery will resolve this issue and I am also hoping that this is all that is wrong with my car!

    Has anyone else experienced this issue? I am trying to prepare myself with the foresight for whatever else may have been caused as a result of the battery draining down or that I should do when changing out the battery - I have heard that you need to connect another battery to the vehicle while replacing the existing 12v, so that the car does not lose it's current setting etc.

    Thanks for your time!
     
    #1 richstan31, Nov 8, 2016
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Yes, all of the problems you've described are due to the 12v auxiliary battery being low on current. Replacing the battery should get everything back to normal, ours was fine after the auxiliary battery was replaced.

    I didn't use a second battery, or tender to preserve the car's settings and all that was lost was the radio station presets.

    I would advise you to disconnect the negative ground wire at the body bolt and wrap the terminal in a rag, or put a heavy glove over it. Install the ground wire to the body last, there will be a healthy spark.
     
    #2 xliderider, Nov 8, 2016
    richstan31 likes this.
  3. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
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    Three
    FWIW, next time you use the compressor, put the car in Ready mode so that the high voltage traction battery, the DC to DC inverter, and the engine can all work together to keep the auxiliary battery from being depleted.
     
    #3 xliderider, Nov 8, 2016
  4. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Location:
    Central MO
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    Why not fully charge the battery in the meantime with a charger and find out?
     
    #4 tankyuong, Nov 8, 2016
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