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Can't charge cell phones

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by volkerbradley, Nov 13, 2011.

  1. volkerbradley

    volkerbradley New Member

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    During the last few months I noticed that I could no longer charge my Verizon Cell phones (the original Droid and the most recent Samsung). Interestingly, the phones vibrate when connected and display the icon that it is charging. However, after 6 hour trips, the phones are not charged at all. I have tried plugging the chargers into both the places where these chargers can be plugged into. Neither work.
    Initially I thought it was my charger and bought another one. No luck. So I bought a third charger at another store. Still no charging. Then my wife and also my daughter connected their phones to the various chargers in my 2006 Prius and in each case it stated that the phone was charging but they did not charge.
    Then I connected the same phones to the same charger and to the cigarette lighter in my Mercedes. The phone charged. Same with my wife's phone.
    Clearly, this has something to do with my 2006 Prius. My dealer has no idea what is going on. He determined that the voltage from charger is 9.5 volts when the car is not running and that the voltage is 14.5 volts when the car is running.
    Any idea how to determine what is causing this odd behavior?
     
    #1 volkerbradley, Nov 13, 2011
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    If your 12V outlet is putting out only 9.5V when the car is not running, test the 12V battery ASAP. It sounds nearly dead for a Prius, and far beyond dead for any non-hybrid.

    I'll speculate -- but cannot back this up -- that the chargers are finding 9.5V too low, and are somehow going into a protection mode at 14.5V. The latter voltage should drop to high 13.x volts when you get a good 12V battery in place. But again, I'm speculating.

    Has your MPG dropped off more than normal for winter?
     
    #2 fuzzy1, Nov 13, 2011
  3. volkerbradley

    volkerbradley New Member

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    Thank you for your fast response. I'll get the battery replaced.
    Yes, last winter my gas mileage dropped. At times it was as low as 38 MPG. Why do you ask?
     
    #3 volkerbradley, Nov 13, 2011
  4. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    +1, get that 12v battery checked out. 12V bus voltage should not below 11V under any circumstance.
     
    #4 seilerts, Nov 13, 2011
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I ask because falling MPG is a far more common symptom of a failing 12V battery. Note that MPG always falls in winter, I'm looking for a larger drop than normal.

    But check your battery first. If it is original from 2006, replace it regardless. If it is much younger and reading above 12V (before starting, after being shut off for a few hours), then the problem is elsewhere.
     
    #5 fuzzy1, Nov 13, 2011
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  6. volkerbradley

    volkerbradley New Member

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    I've replaced the battery now as you suggested. Thereafter I noted two things:
    a.) The mpg display has changed. Before the battery was replaced, if I filled my tank with gas and then pressed Reset on the screen, the mileage would initially drop to around 30 mpg and then rise fairly quickly as I drove. Now if I push Reset, the mileage drops to 0 and rises very slowly.
    b.) Replacing the battery did not fix the charging problem.
    However, I think I have found the solution. Somewhere I read that sometimes there are voltage surges when a car is started. So, I disconnected the charger, started the car and the defroster to make sure the motor was running and then plugged in the phone charger. Then I connected the phone. The phone charged perfectly!! I have confirmed this several times.
     
    #6 volkerbradley, Nov 26, 2011
    amygovoni likes this.
  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Before replacing the battery, did you check its resting voltage and/or age?

    The wide swing of charger voltage you mentioned back in the OP raised alarm bells in my mind, hinting at a weak battery. I was hoping for a report on the above question so that we could have some certainty. Weak 12V batteries are known to be linked to a long list of weird Prius symptoms.

    Regardless, glad to hear that your cell charger is now working.
     
    #7 fuzzy1, Nov 27, 2011
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