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did not see a Gen I thread so....

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by alansimpson1, Mar 23, 2011.

  1. alansimpson1

    alansimpson1 New Member

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    Hi folks,

    I have had my prius for a while now, and luckily very few issues. I do have one now and I hope that taking bad advice did not terminate my poor car...please help if you can. Heres the tale of woe...

    My check engine light went on and the car seemed to be doing fine. I checked the fluids, didn't notice any difference in driving and figured that it was a reminder for a service. So a friend of mine that knows a good bit about cars said that a quick fix was to remove the hot leg of the battery for about 5 minutes and it would reset...guess what...I unplugged the main from the hot leg of the battery and I get the PS symbol, the main battery symbol and the ominous triange/exclamation of doom. The car will start but it goes for about 15-30 seconds then chugs to a stop...does anyone know of a fix that I could try that does not involve hauling it to a dealer and spending a buttload of money on a diagnostic? Anything? If this were a normal car...I would almost think that it was the alternator since the main battery turns the engine over...Any assistance would be more than appreciated.
     
    #1 alansimpson1, Mar 23, 2011
  2. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    There is a Gen 1 Prius Discussion Forum. It is a sub forum of the Gen II main forum. I have no idea what's in there though.
     
    #2 dustoff003, Mar 23, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  3. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Just as a cautionary tale, this is fascinating.

    Consider the fact that, when a car displays a Check Engine light, it thinks that something is WRONG. There will be diagnostic codes, that a competent mechanic will be able to retrieve, using a scantool.

    Interrupting the power supply to "fake out" the car into not showing the warning does not remove the issue - it just makes it really difficult for an actual mechanic to find the trouble.

    Take your Prius to a Prius mechanic, and tell them what happened. Maybe they'll be able to retrieve some codes that will assist them in diagnosing what may have caused that warning light in the first place - and, what other issues have been created by yanking off the battery cable.
     
    #3 Rae Vynn, Mar 23, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  4. twittel

    twittel Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat. If participating in this forum causes you to take your car to a dealer mechanic then you've gotten your money's worth of assistance. Get that car to the dealer and confess what happened.
     
    #4 twittel, Mar 23, 2011
  5. alansimpson1

    alansimpson1 New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
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    N/A
    Ok...I get it. I appreciate the advice/scolding, but I would like to get it actually running so I can drive it to get it diagnosed...has anyone experienced the symptoms before and is there a reset to the system so I can get it drivable?
     
    #5 alansimpson1, Mar 23, 2011
  6. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    DON'T DRIVE IT. Seriously. If it won't run, there isn't a work-around that will get you there.

    Call the dealer, have it trucked there.
     
    #6 Rae Vynn, Mar 23, 2011
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