1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Heated Seats Problem

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dennis Kuba, Nov 28, 2016.

Tags:
  1. Dennis Kuba

    Dennis Kuba New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2016
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    While running my 2013 Prius V front seat heaters for several hours on a cold night, the instrument panel suddenly went black except for the check engine light. Then all the panel lights went on except for the fuel and battery levels. I turned the car off to prevent any possible damage. What's going one?
     
    #1 Dennis Kuba, Nov 28, 2016
  2. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,909
    1,065
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    12v battery failure, likely. Check its resting voltage. Look for 12.6v or better.
     
    #2 Air_Boss, Nov 28, 2016
    Prodigyplace and Dennis Kuba like this.
  3. EZW1

    EZW1 Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2008
    722
    80
    7
    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four Touring
    By the way, one easy trick to try to see if the hybrid system is charging the 12V battery when you turn it on:
    1. Turn on headlights (not auto mode, not parking lights, but headlights). Of course, they will not yet illumintate
    2. Turn on hybrid system while watching for the headlight illumination reflection (against garage wall, door, or other)
    3. Immediately upon turning on Hybrid system, the headlights will come on, then a second or two later the inverter will begin to charge the 12v battery and you will see the headlights get brighter.

    If you don't see them get brighter, then I would suspet a bad battery or a problem in the inverter. This test is 'quick and dirty' and doesn't require the use of a voltmeter. If you don't see them get brighter, then use a voltmeter and see what 12v charge voltage jumps up to, or take it in to a mechanic.
     
    #3 EZW1, Dec 7, 2016
    Dennis Kuba likes this.
  4. Dennis Kuba

    Dennis Kuba New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2016
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Thanks Air_Boss and EZW1 for your suggestions. You have both led me to examine the state of my 12 volt battery. After reviewing several posts on Prius Chat, I am using the Maintenance Mode Service display. For those who may not know, you can instantly check the voltage of your 12 volt battery. To get there, I press and hold the Info Apps button next to the display. Then I turn on the headlights twice or three times which brings up the Service Menu on the display. If you touch Function Check/Setting, it brings you to another screen where you click on Vehicle Signal. The next screen shows you the voltage level for your 12 volt battery.

    The mistake I made is running the following items - heated seats, MacBook on Kensington Inverter, hot water heater, smartphone recharger - while in Accessory Mode instead of Ready Mode. I did not understand until yesterday that Accessory Mode uses the 12 volt battery only and does not recharge when needed unlike in Ready Mode. Today, I see my 12 volt battery is reading 14.7 volts so I am good to go thanks to all the experts on Prius Chat. Thanks to you all!!!
     
    #4 Dennis Kuba, Dec 7, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
    Air_Boss likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)