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DOA Actuator

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by violinguy, Aug 10, 2023.

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  1. violinguy

    violinguy Junior Member

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    2006 Prius
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    N/A
    04 with 152k miles.

    Bought this prius recently with known actuator issues. Trouble codes were c1391 and C1256 both pointing to a bad actuator. Drove it this way until it started triggering the skid control alarm (albeit briefly) and got nervous about continuing to drive it like this. The actuator motor cycled often (accumulator not holding pressure).

    Got Ebay Actuator that was from an 07 in good condition. Seller claimed it worked fine when removed. Swapped it into the car yesterday...then tried to do brake bleeding using Techstream. The software always said "failed..." I checked the removal of the ABS motor relays to make sure I had taken the correct ones out, checked all fuses (including fusible link), but the bottom line was I could not get the computer to activate the ABS module. Tried jumping the 12v with another prius (on) to give it full 12v power...no dice. I borrowed a friends Snap-on obd2 scanner and was able to go through the steps using it, HOWEVER, no sounds ever cam from the ABS module. I heard no solenoid sounds, no valve sounds and no motor sounds.

    I confirmed with the seller that the part worked fine when it was removed. Do I have a dead Actuator? I am super annoyed at the prospect of having to do this all over again with another used actuator. (

    And BTW, I also rechecked the harness to make sure it was solid--it was locked in place. Took it off and the harness (female side) looked fine. Anyone ever had this situation?

    Thanks in advance
     
    #1 violinguy, Aug 10, 2023
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yes I had one once or I'd done a bunch of cleaning under the hood of the car while I was doing the break actuator for a customer The car was really kind of dirty under the hood so I cleaned everything super clean in all of it some overspray got into the plug car side that goes in the actuator I could not get can't remember what it was The skid control light or something stayed on even after the job was done The car was bled The brakes were working great but a light was on undoing that plug cleaning it out spraying it with some contact cleaner than wire dryer leaving it apart 40 minutes while I did other things put it back together and all was well. The connector that you're using with TIS to bleed the brakes maybe the issue I have TIS with the real Mongoose cable supposedly and it works and when it activates the valves and you have to pump the brakes 30 times and 30 seconds You see that screen? You can actually hear the valves open and close open it's not loud but you know it's happening. So check your connector see what you got I mean I would tend to believe the guy on eBay unless you know I literally talk to him and I could tell something else but I've sold a lot of parts on eBay I don't think I've ever had a problem with one of these unless it's broken in my car but the ones I've sold I've never gotten the call back about so I don't know.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Aug 10, 2023
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Right. Why was it removed if it was working fine? Probably a salvage yard where the condition is a huge unknown.

    Often there are at least two part numbers per year based on wheel size. So a wrong part problem could exist even if it "worked" in the seller's personal running vehicle. The only sure verification of part is to know the vin of the donor vehicle, look up the part number and compare to the part needed for your vin.

    Plus the most likely issues - bad install and or the need to use Techstream to calibrate and initialize the unit.
     
    #3 rjparker, Aug 10, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2023
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    It's the risk of buying a used one... But when you compare the price of a used one versus a new one, it's worth the risk.
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Aug 10, 2023
  5. ChristopherJCullen

    ChristopherJCullen New Member

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    You’ve probably fixed it by now, but I kept getting errors like that with the abs bleed process on my scan tool when my 12v battery was low. This was also after replacing the actuator. Put a new 12v battery in and suddenly my scan tool let me complete the whole bleed process

    I’ve since learned it’s important to keep it on a charger when doing the abs bleed process, as the ignition being on and cycling of the accumulator pump can drain the 12v pretty fast
     
    #5 ChristopherJCullen, Nov 16, 2023
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