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handy jumpstart

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by rfelley, Jul 1, 2010.

  1. rfelley

    rfelley Junior Member

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    For everyone's benefit here's a little tidbit I want to share. If your Gen II won't start due to dome light left on and 12v battery run down or what ever, here's a success story I expereinced recently. In the fuse box under the hood is a "convenience" connection point for jumping the 12v battery. If you don't have another car nearby this will work. Find a charged cordless drill battery of 14.4v (DeWalt or other, most householdsand/or contractors have at last one cordless tool), confirm polarity using a voltmeter if you can't confirm from markings on the battery or tool. Hook the battery just as you would a 12v auto, negative to ground, positive to the "convenience" stud and "Voila!" a dead Prius brought to life.

    This is especially convenient when your Prius is parked head-in to the garage (can't pull a jumper car within reach of the front "Convenience" jumper point)(can't be towed out by a tow truck when the "Park" can't be disengaged due to no-start condition) and the rear hatch can't be opened due to the dead 12v battery (duh! what a dumb engineering safety and convenience BLUNDER!) Gosh, now that I write this, it almost seems like some Toyota team must have planned this weakness, otherwise how could something so obvious have been overlooked? Disgruntled employees would be the only explanation for this and other Prius malfunctions. Oh well, I expand...
     
    #1 rfelley, Jul 1, 2010
    2 people like this.
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Hey thats really cool!! Well done! You have solved the scary over current jump start issue with the built in current limiter of sorts there and if you don't bone up the polarities its a good shot. I never thought of that.

    I moved up to 18 volts on all my Dewalt tools years ago but I do have a 14 volt battery and a charger somewhere. Not a bad idea to keep a charged 14 volt batt and some tech jump leads in the car.

    Excellent! Thanks alot!

    PS- Tried to click the "Thank you" button but it disappeared when I posted. Sorry.
     
    #2 edthefox5, Jul 1, 2010
  3. okiebutnotfrommuskogee

    okiebutnotfrommuskogee Senior Member

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    Here is what I did back in 07 shortly after I bought the car. "EMERGENCY BATTERY PICTURES"

    By the way, I used this setup to keep the presets on my Avalon going a while back when I cleaned the terminals on the car's 12v battery.
     
    #3 okiebutnotfrommuskogee, Jul 1, 2010
  4. MJFrog

    MJFrog Active Member

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    Nice, but I have one issue with your set-up...at least as it's shown in the pics.

    Your emergency battery is not secured properly. In case of a collision or (heaven forbid!) rollover, it could come flying out of the cubby and possibly hit someone. You need to get it strapped/tied down somehow.
     
    #4 MJFrog, Jul 1, 2010
  5. Hugh

    Hugh New Member

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    Would this work on a Gen III?
     
    #5 Hugh, Jul 1, 2010
  6. walterm

    walterm Active Member

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    The Gen III has similar jump-starting terminals in the engine compartment (section 5-2, p.543 of the PDF version of the owner's manual), so yes it should work with them too.
     
    #6 walterm, Jul 1, 2010
  7. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    I just keep a charged jump starter box in my car. Tucks neatly under the front passenger seat. Enables me to easily jump my or someone else's car.
     
    #7 Boo, Jul 1, 2010
  8. Hugh

    Hugh New Member

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    But the battery is bigger 650 vs 500 volts, no?
     
    #8 Hugh, Jul 1, 2010
  9. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    You are quoting the max voltage ratings out of the Inverter (driving the MGs). The 01-03 HV battery (~270) was bigger (more cells in series) than the 04-09 (~200v), The 2010 battery may also be slightly higher voltage than the 04-09. But this thread is discussing jumping the little 12v battery used for accessories and turning on the computer, not the traction (HV) battery.

    JeffD
     
    #9 jdenenberg, Jul 1, 2010
    1 person likes this.
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