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Going to buy a 2005 with a dead hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Bunce, Jan 5, 2018.

  1. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The auto up/down of the window goes away if 12v power is lost. It can be regained by pressing and holding the "up" button for about 10 seconds after the window is actually up all the way. This basically lets the ecu know that the actual position of the window MUST be fully "raised". Once it knows the position, it will allow the auto function to work. Now, if you go out to the car tomorrow, and you have to do the 2 button push again, and the window auto feature doesn't work, I would start thinking you're experiencing some type of 12v system problem.

    By the way, -106 amps is about the max you'll probably ever see when braking. You had to have been on the brakes pretty hard :eek:

    148 amps on accelerating is pretty good too, try a few more fast starts from redlights and stop signs, I think you have a little more room to go higher (y)

    Overall I think your chart is pretty decent for the battery and minimal rebuild you did. The great part is that the "minimum voltages" are all fairly close. That voltage is what got recorded when you were at 148 amps discharge rate under full accell. A weak module should show up pretty clearly at 148 amps.
     
    #141 TMR-JWAP, Jan 14, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2018
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  2. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Spirited TMR, spirited. ;)

    I'm a little hesitant to get on it too hard as that's when I get the misfire code.

    I think I forgot to mention my mpg, it was 44.6 on hilly curvy country roads, with about 25% highway at around 75mph. Does that sound about right? If so, it must be burning the fuel properly.
     
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Your mpg sounds just fine to me
     
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  4. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    And for today's update.....

    I pulled the air box and cleaned the MAF and the throttle body, pulled the coils and plugs, the plugs were covered in a film of soot and oil, I cleaned them, gapped them down to 1mm. I cleaned the coils, applied a coat of dielectric grease inside the boots, switched 1 with 2, and 3 with 4.
    I noticed there was a oily mess on the front near the injectors, I disconnected the injectors and found a light oily residue inside. So I used electrical cleaner on all the connections in the area to clean them of anything. I checked the bolts on the valve cover and they were loose, letting oil come out just above the injectors and there was a pretty bad mess there. I pulled them, cleaned the area as best I could without letting any gunk in the injector holes and reinstalled.
    Oh yeah, and I installed a new PCV, the old seemed fine, but since I ordered it just in case and had it on hand I installed it.

    Whenever I start the car and it goes into that initial ICE cycle, before I've even driven off, the engine sounds like there's a bunch of marbles in there, but if I take the revs up to about 1400 from 1300 (all numbers are -ish) the idle smooths out, and once it's done with it's battery charge and it's idle drops, it is also smooth. Sometimes this throws a code.

    Off for a test drive, I drove around like an idiot, accelerating with my foot on the floor as much as possible. Why is it when you're trying to get a red light it nevers happens?
    The car drove great and I received no codes, (other than the pending water pump one, which I had to scan for).

    But once again, once parked and turned off then restarted I get that terrible first engine cycle with the marbles sound. I don't get it, why does it only run rough just on that cycle?
     
  5. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Here's the plugs.
     

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  6. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Just curious....When you shut the car off, is the gas engine already off or is it still running? If the gas engine is still running does it eventually shut off on it's own?
     
  7. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Usually it's off as the driveway into the apt. complex is downhill. But whenever I come to a stop the ICE will shut off.
     
  8. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Bad oil eater there by the looks of the plugs they look really bad. Or just very bad carbar but I see wet oil.
    Thats not good.

    I recently bought a inspection camera. There very handy. You can stick it in through the plug hole and check out how bad the cylinder walls look. Which will give you a benchmark on how much life the engine has left. I bought a Craftsman buy there's plenty on Amazon pretty cheap.
    Don't put anymore anymore money in the engine till you can look at the cylinder walls as the plugs do not look good at all.
     
    #148 edthefox5, Jan 15, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2018
  9. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Ed, I bought one, it was supposed to have been delivered already, but low and behold Amazons delivery service failed yet again. I should have it tomorrow and might be able to get back in there one day this week, if not it'll be the weekend.
     
  10. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Amazon failed delivery :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: never seen that. All kinds of cars and dudes show up at my door with Amazon packages. Surprised they don't throw them though my window.

    Yeah peek in the cylinders...look at cylinder #2 first. That's always the cylinder that throws a piston through the block on a real bad Prius oil eater. Its always cyl #2.
    It may just be a really bad oil eater was starved a few times and the first thing that goes is the piston wrist bearing.
    Don't put anymore time or money into it till you see how bad it is.

    It may be new engine time but you got it cheap right?
     
  11. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Well, it's running pretty damn well and getting 45 mpg when I drive it pretty hard, and I don't see any smoke in my mirrors when flooring it. So I'm not giving up on it any time soon. I'll have a look, do a few piston soaks and if all else fails go up the weight scale in oil.
     
  12. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Oh and I've ordered a refurbed injector as I've read that a bad one can sometimes cause the missing and stumbling on start up that I've been getting. It was cheap so I thought I'd give it a crack. http://amzn.to/2DBTokS
     
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    wow, 6 bucks. At that price it's worth replacing them all while you're in there. Nice find.
     
  14. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    It looks like it's only number 1 that's given me issues over the last day or 2 so I figured I'd splurge the $6 and see if it works. If 3 pops up again, it's only 2 days away...or maybe 3.... Damn you Amazon. Just use UPS, you're own service sucks.
     
  15. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I suspect you are buying stuff that is stocked in the local Amazon warehouse. I only buy out of state and don't mind waiting for UPS or USPS to make their rounds.
     
  16. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    A little update -

    This morning I installed the injector I bought from Amazon. I had a panic moment when I was done and fuel was gushing out under the airbox. I switching the old o-rings for the new and all was well. I'm not sure if it wasn't seated properly or if it was the o-ring.
    I ran around town, running some errands and trying to trip CEL's.
    Nothing new, just the misfires on 1 and 3, as well as the coolant pump. Hmmmm I was hoping I wouldn't see the code for Cyl. 1.
    I got home and installed the water pump I bought on ebay. I raised the inverter up to give me room and squeezed my hands in. It was a bit tricky at times, I should have just put the front up on ramps so I could have accessed the bottom hose easier, now I know for next time.
    All put back together. I reinstalled the negative battery terminal and go for a test drive.
    I still have to do the start button fandango, push twice, step on brake and push start again. The only code I am now getting is for a misfire on cylinder 3. Maybe disconnecting the battery did something in the computer, who knows, but cylinder 1 was behaving itself and of course the water pump code P1121 was gone.

    Things are looking up. So I'm going to order another injector for Cyl. 3. But those buggers at Amazon have raised the price from $6 to $29! I wonder if this is karma for me slagging them off the other day?

    I'll post again when I have an update. I'm still trying to figure out why I have to push the start button 3 times though, any ideas?
     
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  17. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    So, I was intrigued by this. Let me clarify the normal things, and then you can tell me if these don't work for you.
    Normally, if you have disconnected the 12 V supply, when you next start after reconnecting, you have to press the brake pedal (so it activates the brake lights) and then press the power button, then, while still holding the brake, press the power button a second time. There after, you just need to press the brake pedal (so it activates the brake lights) and then press the power button once to make the car READY from OFF.

    Normally, from any mode (OFF, ACC, IG-ON), when you press the brake pedal (so it activates the brake lights) and then press the power button once, it will go to READY.

    It sounds like you (have your foot off the brake) and cycle through one press (ACC mode); then cycle again with another press (IG-ON mode); then you put you press the brake pedal (so it activates the brake lights) and then press the power button once again to make the car READY.

    How does the above normal behavior fit into your experience?
    No, you were just victim of Amazons bait and switch algorithm that tries to stimulate the market place when TPS (transactions per second) get too low for its liking. Sometimes it is used to feature either new sellers or sellers with flagging sales. Not sure if it is a paid (by seller) feature to help boost sales, but it happens, a lot.

    But, I digress off-topic. Normal programming resumes.
     
    #157 dolj, Jan 19, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2018
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  18. Bunce

    Bunce Active Member

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    Well, I feel like a pleb. I guess I was doing it wrong all along. Well that's one less thing to trouble me.
    So, 2 issues left.

    1.) Misfire in Cylinder 3.
    2.) Awfully rough engine that sounds like there'a a bag of marbles in it, but only for a short period after the engine initially comes on after getting in the car. It's like after a certain time (40-50 seconds-ish) something either turns on or off and the engine runs and idles smooth. Hopefully it's linked with the number 3 injector and it will disappear when I swap that out.
     
  19. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That sounds like just the normal initial part of stage 1. You can read up on the 5 stages of Prius warm-up in the link in my signature.

    In stage 1, which ( in 68ºF (20C) with the heater / A/C off) will last 50 seconds from when the engine starts (after 7 seconds from becoming READY – unless you press the accelerator). At about 40 secs the VVT (variable valve timing) resets from a relatively lean setting (to warm up the engine quicker) to a normal setting. In this first stage, if you drive off the vast majority of the propulsion is by the electric motors using energy from the HV battery. If you request more power than can be provided by just the electric motor, the car will be forced into stage 2 and use the ICE as well.

    Some people liken the initial start up sound to the clatter of a sewing machine.

    I think your engine is running normally.

    So just one problem to fix. Also, disconnect the 12 V battery when you've replaced the injector, it will reset the DTCs and the fuel trims and other engine parameters back to defaults and then relearn them from the next drive session(s).
     
    #159 dolj, Jan 20, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
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  20. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Yeah it’s not bad it’s not a bag of marbles and not dis5urbing at all. The top end of the motor is just a little more clakity then usual. It’s a very noisey top end because it uses solid tappets but not that bad.

    Take a video of the engine doing this.