Gen I trans problems--

I'd like to suggest we take this to an open forum, either in PriusChat or one of the Yahoo Prius groups:
stevelectro
Hey,Bob, do you have a moment to help a GA boy , with a 2001 project car.? I bought a dead 01, with dead trac bat. replaced with used bat,voltages fair, started up fine, but slipping in d and r, setting code 3125,cant read info/sub codes--should of known a prob off the wrecker, was making a clicking racheting noise in neutral. No - little pull in d or r., ,again. .. shows charging on tract bat on dash, 12 v is charging--I know 3125 is inverter/converter code---have you been down this road--ideas---steve---suwanee GA
The reason is we have a lot of folks who are pretty skilled, those who taught me many valuable lessons. Plus sometimes I get 'busy' and might not see a note or posting for a couple of days. Many times others will come back with excellent suggestions. But looking at your note, several things standout:

• "slipping in d or r" - there is nothing to 'slip' so this suggests something else is potentially wrong . . . we need OBD data
• "code 3125" - this is bad news because it is a generic inverter code and there is an obscure sub-code that tells us what is broke . . . we need OBD data
• "clicking racheting noise in neutral" - this is bad as this suggests something in the transaxle is 'toast'. Since the inverter is a key part of transaxle operation, this suggests the transaxle may be toast
• "charging on tract bat and 12 V is charging" - this is good for part of the transaxle, the MG1 side. But power has to flow through the power split device (a planetary gear) and then four, reduction gears to the planetary gear.

What sort of OBD scanner do you have? Something like a ScanGauge II, AutoEnginuity, or Techstream Lite? These have the ability to read out the 3125 subcode.

Since it sounds like it moves, if you had one of the above scanners we could look at MG2 temperature versus MG1 and the engine. If MG2 is burnt or burning out, we could quickly tell from the rapid temperature rise.

When it moves, do you hear a speed related "humm" that remains if you are rolling and shift into "N". When MG2 'burns up,' a short occurs in the stator windings. Every time the car moves, it generates power that further heats and burns more windings. This might be the 'pulsing' sensed when it came off the wrecker in "N."

You might consider draining the transaxle oil and observing it to see if it looks and smells burnt. Then drop the pan and look for debris.

I've helped with swapping a transaxle and seen the inside of a burnt transaxle. There are folks who claim they can be re-built but given the availability of salvage transaxles or engine/transaxle pairs, re-building does not make a lot of sense to me. But I don't know if you have an interest in what that might take.

But as I pointed out before, let's go public with this note (feel free to cut and paste) and let's get more expert eyes on the problem.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks,Bob. By slipping,I mean pushing the gas more than a little and the car stops moving and sets code . Just rolling down a hill in N sounds like a broken gear tooth or something hitting. Have only a cheap obd reader, what's the cheapest scanner that reads info/subs? Guess the trans and or mg2 are bad , causing the inverter to set a code, maybe damaging the inverter also.. win some loose some--