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Dead Prius and burning smell!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sotagear, Feb 1, 2008.

  1. sotagear

    sotagear New Member

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    My 2005 Prius's 12v battery decidfed not to work, out of the blue last week, even though I've been driving it every few days. So I did as I always do and hooked up the battery to a slow trickle charging little 12 v charger for a few hours and tried to start the car again. It seemed to have started, so I got out and walked around to open the trunk, so I could unhook the battery charger from the battery a little easier than crwling through from the rear seat, and the car started to make weird electrical beeps. I got back in and the car's Start button was a yellow color and the car made even more and different weird electrical sounds I've never heard before, sounding as if it were a robot dying and fading away. The strange sound repeated and got slower and less loud, as if its battery was dying and there was nothing I could do to make it stop. It did not start again.

    So I figured maybe it just didn't have enough time on the charger so I left it on overnight. Just got up and checked this morning and when i opened the door, the inside of the car has a burning smell as if there was an electrical short or fire and the Prius is completely dead!

    Of course I immediately checked the connections on the 12v battery and they were fine and nothing looked weird or felt hot. I unhooked the charger and I'm about to drive down to my local Toyota dealership and ask what this sounds like to them, but before I do I thought I'd run this by you all to see if this sounds like someting any of you have heard of.

    I have a very weird feeling feeling about this. :eek:
     
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Why do you jump through the back? The jump point under the hood is easier and safer to use.

    As for funny beeps and lights, my first guess is that your 12V battery is no longer taking a charge. You shouldn't have to charge it on a regular basis. It's probably long past time for a new one.

    You have to hope the smell is from the charger, otherwise this could be very expensive.

    Tom
     
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    If you are lucky all you need is a new 12V battery. Let us know what they find.
     
  4. sotagear

    sotagear New Member

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    I was unaware of how to pop the rear hatchback from inside the car so i always got access to the 12v battery by putting down the rear seat, etc. Where is the latch located to pop the rear door?
     
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    The point is, you don't have to directly access the 12V battery in order to charge it. You can do it using jump points provided under the front hood. Much more convenient. See the owner's manual for the method.
     
  6. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    i am not sure buth when the car is from 2005
    i think you my get one off warranty

    its to urly fot it to brake donw
     
  7. sotagear

    sotagear New Member

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    Thanks Richard, I usually do read the manual or Google for the answers before I do something, but somehow I just didn't do that in this case. :confused: That would have saved me a lot of hassle. Also, I did find the latch to unlatch the rear door (a quick Google search).

    I checked the battery voltage and it has 1.2 volts - dead. I think the smell may have come from my little battery charger as it also has a burnt smell to it. So now I'm off to buy a new battery (I hear they are expensive) and figure out the best way to replace it (looking around the net). Found 1 post with a few pix. Hope this all just turns out to be as benign as a smelly battery charger and a dead 12v battery. Find out soon.
     
  8. klodhopper

    klodhopper New Member

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  9. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I'm hoping you cooked your battery charger. Otherwise that could get expensive
     
  10. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    The number for a 12v battery for a Prius is NS40ZLX which is the heavy duty version, cost here in Australia is about $130AU which isn't that expensive as 12v batteries go.
     
  11. sotagear

    sotagear New Member

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    OK, sorted it out.

    In retrospect I feel a bit foolish thinking something else may have happened. As it turned out, it was me having a series of "Inspector Clouseau" moments in my initial attempted fix, the reaction when I first came on the scene this morning, and now the public humiliation of posting this mess.

    After further investigation I found that the burning smell was not only from the battery charger, but more from the battery charger heating up and burning the cloth covering on the back of the rear seat I had placed it on. :rolleyes: The smell is horrendous.

    The fact that I probably fried a cheap old battery charger was of no consequence, but the fact that I now have a "hot iron" spot on the back of my folded down rear seat and the toxic smell to go with it is a bit more of a pisser. :eek: That's what happens when you temporarily lose your mind just trying to do something quick to get out of the rain. However, I still wasn't too sure everything was just down to a bad battery - yet.

    Then I set out to drive to the dealer, buy a battery and replace it. Called my local Stevens Creek Toyota and found one for $152. Then I called service and asked how much to replace it since I live pretty close by and if it was cheap enough and I never use my AAA anyway - so what the heck. The guy on the phone said it might be under warranty. If not it would probably cost about $60 to install, so bring it on in. I called AAA, the guy came to the house with a very large flat bed tow truck. He asks a few questions, admits his complete naiveté about hybrid vehicles as I continue to dispel a few urban myths. Nevertheless he whips out a hand held battery jumper, I pop the hood, puts it on the terminals and - presto - back in business.

    Leaving the car running I thank the driver and get my nice person in the car and drive down to SC Toyota. The first tech I met said - no warranty coverage because I'm at 38k, but he'll do what he can to knock off a few bucks. Just after that I'm confronted in the service parking lot by another service advisor who quickly becomes my newest buddy after he recognizes me and says he'll call someone and see if they can take care of it. 30 minutes later - he sorts it out, no charge, and there you have it. A complete cluster-f**k on my part has a somewhat happy ending. Now all I’m left with is a big omelet on my face for the 24 hours of dumb and dumbest moves, and a slightly smellier than before version of my old car is back in black . . . literally.

    Now – anyone know how to get rid of a burning smell in your car?

    Cheers,
    -Dave
     
  12. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    At least you got to the bottom of that.
    A box of carb soda propped up so it CAN NOT fall over will help to remove the smells. Not sure how to get the brown mark out.
     
  13. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Geez, I think you're being a wee bit hard on yourself, don't you think? I would have also placed the battery charger directly on the seat back, I never realized they could get so hot as to actually scorch fabric

    Now that I think of it, I have a commercial wheeled Schumacher and a "portable" commercial Schumacher at my hobby farm. Even in extended operation, both remain cool to the touch, though their fans will sometimes kick on

    Pat's idea of baking soda in the car is a good one. Same as putting a box of baking soda in the fridge to absorb odors. Maybe try using one of those carpet cleaner spray cans to clean where it burned.

    That won't restore the fabric but it may get rid of most of the smell

    Actually, thinking of that battery charger getting hot enough to scorch the fabric. Lucky the damn thing didn't start a fire, you could have lost the car.

    What brand is that "hot" battery charger?
     
  14. klodhopper

    klodhopper New Member

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