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2012 Prius C Power Failure when starting

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by BK PriusC 2012, Jan 29, 2022.

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  1. BK PriusC 2012

    BK PriusC 2012 New Member

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    Location:
    Toronto
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    The car has 116,000km. It was a cold night. Drove my car and it was fine. Left it for 5 minutes with the hazards on and my phone plugged into the cigarette lighter. Came back. Put something in trunk. Wouldn't start. Dash lights flickered, dimmed, flickered more. Buzz sound. Tried to start a few more times until it died. No hazard lights, nothing, just the yellow transmission light, dimmed. Tried several times, no dice. Took keys out. Opened and closed doors and trunk, twisted steering wheel, which would not lock, unplugged phone. Waited a few minutes. Started, battery at half bars, lights on seemed fine, headlights full strength, no flickering dashboard. There's a short somewhere in the system. Slamming the trunk seemed to fix it. Drove today, was fine. Thoughts anyone?
     
    #1 BK PriusC 2012, Jan 29, 2022
  2. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2012
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    Location:
    Lancaster Co PA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    How is that 12v battery?
     
    #2 dig4dirt, Jan 29, 2022
    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller likes this.
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    Two
    +1 sounds like the 12v battery gave up the ghost.

    When those batteries are near end of life you get odd behavior. Sometimes just giving it a few minutes with no load is enough to recover just enough power to get the car into ready mode. Once the car is in ready mode, it makes its own 12v power to keep going- so you're good until the next shutdown.
     
    #3 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 29, 2022
    dig4dirt likes this.
  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    No, not a short, maybe an intermittent OPEN, cause by a loose main battery cable connection or a failing battery.......which is located in the trunk or under the back seat.
    How old is the 12 V battery ?
     
    #4 sam spade 2, Jan 29, 2022
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