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Dead inverter or transaxle 276k

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by My86turborunner, Apr 29, 2018.

  1. My86turborunner

    My86turborunner New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2018
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    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello I have a 08 Prius that I bought knowing it had a"bad" trans. 12v battery was dead charged it drove it 4k miles no codes lights etc. Mileage was mid high 30s I don't drive economically. Then one day I got off the freeway and it got jerky clunky coming to a stop equally so starting off got to my parents house OK. When leaving later that night started off really clunky but once moving felt OK got on freeway lost power has to start and stop many times to get to parents house. Towed it home checked mg1/2 with insulation tester 550m ohm on all 6 leads battery is original but not weak.
    Code p0a78- drive motor a inverter performance
    Code p0a7a- generator inverter performance
    Code p0a90- drive motor a performance
    Code p3000- battery control system
    Car will turn on start and charge battery but when you move it į feels like a bad winding in an electric motor I'm leading to a bad inverter but any thoughts are welcome.
    My first Prius 2 months of ownership
     
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2017
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    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    First you will need to have the prius properly scanned OR pick up a scanner that reads DTCs and INFs (subcodes potentially related to a DTC), the least expensive option might be a mini-vci cable with the techstream software (y)

    That one DTC p0a7a alone has over 10 different INFs (subcodes) that could be associated with it :confused:

    Without the proper DTCs/INFs it would be difficult to offer any thoughts beyond obtaining such :whistle:

    Question (data reference really), when was the last time the transmission fluid was change (if known).
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  3. MGpwr

    MGpwr Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2018
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    Location:
    Not far (enough) from Asheville, NC
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Business Edition
    Hey turbo,
    Are you saying the stator coils the on MG's both read over 550 Megohms to ground? If so, I think that's too high a reading and may indicate a meter malfunction.

    Here's another example of a failed T/A, an '06 picked up from the local dealership that was diagnosed as having bad
    tranny, but all codes had been cleared. The vehicle ran ok and all systems working fine, just around the neighborhood
    for about a month (I didn't have it licensed for the highway). Finally got a P0aa6 along with subcodes 526 and 613 (indicating a problem with mg2), plus I started feeling extra vibe and hear some extra noise from the inverter. Long story short, tore down transaxle and found a bad mg1 stator coil.
     
    SFO likes this.
  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
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    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Hope you got it reeeeeeal cheap!

    GOOD LUCK!