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Gen 2 Prius Stealth EV Mode Button Install.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by TheLastMojojomo, Aug 30, 2023.

  1. TheLastMojojomo

    TheLastMojojomo Active Member

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    I Installed the EV Mode Button in my Gen 2 Prius converting the Headlight Flasher to a Stealth EV Mode Button. The EV Mode Button is normally a hidden feature in the American Gen 2 Prius. The Software for EV Mode is installed... But Toyota did not include the actual button/wire to activate it for American Markets. If you install the wire and button yourself... you can access the EV Mode Function.

    Below is a complete tutorial of the whole process as well as testing the EV Mode Button behavior with graphed data using the app Realtime Charts for Torque on Android. This was my 2nd time doing this install and it worked both times.


    The 1st time I did this install I ran into a lot of problems because I followed the Evan Fusco Method to a T here on PriusChat... You can cause some serious damage doing the install this way... Mostly because you take the Headlight Stalk Connector Pin, and insert it into the Hybrid Control ECU. This Connector Pin is not right for the Hybrid Control ECU Connector at all, and it will not lock right doing it this way. However, all of the other directions were very helpful. A compilation explaining the issues I had the 1st time doing this install is below. The install still worked out in the end.

    Below is just a quick compilation of the problems I experienced and explains why doing this install the Evan Fusco way is not advisable.

     
    #1 TheLastMojojomo, Aug 30, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2023
    JerryCS likes this.
  2. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    SO......what does this actually accomplish when completed ?

    I have a Prius C with an EV button and find that it is mostly useless.

    The system is programmed to over-ride that any time that more than a TINY bit
    of gas pedal is applied and when the speed gets over about 5 MPH with any gas pedal.
     
  3. TheLastMojojomo

    TheLastMojojomo Active Member

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    Watch the final chapter/10 minutes of the YouTube vid. I explain and show the behavior of the EV Mode button and why it exists.
     
  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    I don't care THAT much.
    :)
     
  5. TheLastMojojomo

    TheLastMojojomo Active Member

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    :unsure:
     
  6. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    What I don't understand is:
    Why you went to all of the time and trouble to post about this here.....
    BUT won't explain it in a couple of sentences or less.

    The audio along with clips sounds so bad on my computer
    that I can't understand most of it.
     
  7. ABhybrib

    ABhybrib Junior Member

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    Thanks for sharing the update on EV mode on Gen 2.
    But what am yet to understand is the duration I will get on the EV mode range?
     
  8. JerryCS

    JerryCS Prius camper with trailer hitch

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    Thanks for the video and all the work that went into it. I bought the EV mode kit and now I know how to install it more easily!
     
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  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Not much. It is not designed to give any duration though. As the guy said in the video, it is really to stop the initial warmup for the purpose of short moves like in/out of the garage, moving parking spots, driving in/out of enclosed parking buildings/structures, and things like that. Another use is showing off or sneaking up on distracted pedestrians mindlessly wandering all over the vehicle way.

    What it isn't for is pretending you have an EV. The Prius is always an electric-assisted gas powered car.
     
  10. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    what if you have lithium battery upgrade? can you drive 2 miles in EV only?
     
  11. bcmanucd

    bcmanucd Junior Member

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    I just tried to implement this mod by following the EFusco method, and ran into the same difficulty in getting the terminal from the headlight connector into the HV ECU plug. I managed to get the metal terminal down into the plug, but the white locking tab would not lock.
    Has anyone else managed to make the headlight connector pins work in the HV ECU plug? Any tips?

    I followed the videos from TheLasMojojomo and found he used a different pin, 1612290-2 from TE Connectivity. Unfortunately it's out of stock, and every other online retailer I've found is also out of stock or requires a minimum order quantity of 7,500 or more. I'm not interested in spending $800+ to try out this mod :) Anybody got a lead on a terminal that fits?
     
  12. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Can't you buy a terminal/pin replacement wire from the dealer? Probably a lot cheaper than $800.

    FWIW, you won't use the EV button much, if at all, once you get it installed. It will be more of a novelty than day-to-day useful.
     
  13. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Watch this part of the OPs first video to see how he gets access to the connector pin you're trying to buy.There's at least 5 unused pins in the connector that are the right part for connector.


    Than watch a minute or two of the OP's second video that explains why the connector you tried using doesn't work easily.

    cheers
     
  14. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    I feel like this would be true for those with NIMH... but someone say with a Lithium or Sodium battery... they should get longer usage than with the lower capacity OE cells... right?
     
  15. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    So, can you? What distance are you getting?
     
  16. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    funny, I stumbled back on this thread in the last 48 hours... when I was here prior, I needed to move the car but the engine was blown... thought this would work but at the time I didnt have a grid charger... that to say, now that the car is running well, I plan on adding the wire and possibly using a wroom-32 or other to control it just never fully installed and made it all work properly... let me order one of those pins first and ill try it out.