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2013 Gen 3 won't start sometimes, no juice, battery not the issue

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Jana26, Feb 1, 2019.

  1. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2019
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    Location:
    MO
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I posted before about this but can't find it so I'm starting a new one. This problem has been going on since the middle of December. At first I thought it was a problem with the battery being drained but that ends up not being the problem. When it all happens, there are no lights, nothing shows, it's like the battery is either totally drained or disconnected.

    It's been at the dealer more than I've had it in the past 45 days. They can't figure out what's wrong. They've even brought in a tech person from Toyota (Corporate??) to try to figure out what's going on. They think it's a fuse but when they test it, nothing shows wrong. They said they have to test it when it's acting up but it doesn't act up when they have it.

    All that said, here is what it's doing. When I've had it, it starts fine and then, all of a sudden, goes totally "dark". No lights, no codes, no nothing. I've had to jump it (in the front) and then take it back in to the dealer. They've had to jump it to get it into the shop but then it starts fine after that. They've checked wires, connections, the starter button, connections from the battery on, and nothing shows up. They are at a loss.

    Any ideas???

    One thing they told me that might be of importance is once they tried to jump start it at the battery, not the contacts under the hood, but it wouldn't start.

    The car only has 42,000 miles on it.
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Maybe rodents nibbled on the wiring harness. Something not getting power
     
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I think that you have to become a bit of an electrician, so that you can become comfortable taking voltage readings and interpreting the results.

    It is an important clue that when this happens, it is possible to jumpstart the car at the dedicated jumpstart terminal in the main relay/fuse box; but it is not possible to jumpstart the car at the battery. That calls into question the battery positive terminal connector and cable leading to the main relay/fuse box, the MAIN fuse which is located within the battery positive terminal, and the negative battery cable where it bolts to the body as well as where it attaches to the battery.

    Do you have a digital multimeter so that you can take voltage readings? If you do not have a meter, are you sufficiently motivated to buy one and figure out how to use it?
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Feb 1, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2019
    Pluggo likes this.
  4. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    When car is shut off, wait til the next morning and measure the 12v battery at the jump post in the engine bay while engine is OFF and doors are all closed- nothing on drawing power. If the voltage at the jump post are measure below 12.6v, you need the replace the 12v battery.