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Gen 2 Prius Died and won't start with a full battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Cypress650, Aug 30, 2024 at 6:43 PM.

  1. Cypress650

    Cypress650 New Member

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    Location:
    Oakland, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Hello, recently I was surprised to find my Prius, which I had driven without issue just hours earlier, to be completely dead. The battery was brand new, maybe weeks old and it gave me an astounding 3.6v reading!
    Using a smart battery charger I charged it up to 12.8 volts. That got most electrical systems back on. The fob works, lights turn on, but pressing the ignition does nothing, no lights, nada. I realized after the fact that my gas was low and that could be an issue (I still had one bar, wasn't flashing) so I added about 8 gallons, still nothing.

    I tried various things like attempting to start then disconnecting the white plugs from the positive battery connection and letting it sit, that seemed to work but not for me.

    The fusible link seems to still be intact. Not sure what else to do or try.
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Nov 29, 2020
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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    So when you push the start button with the brake pedal depressed you're not hearing the clicking of the relays in the back of the car that you've been hearing as long as you've owned the car?
     
  3. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Does the dash (speedometer) and the warning lights come on with the power button?

    Or does the power button "do nothing"? If so, then check the AM2 fuse in the underhood fusebox. That fuse will pop if the inverter coolant pump fails in a "short circuit" mode.

    Another possibility is that a capacitor on the Combination Meter (speedometer) circuit board has failed which prevents the CM from turning on (& can affect the normal "power on" sequence).

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.