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HV Battery relays not engaging

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by BRob, Jul 27, 2022.

  1. BRob

    BRob New Member

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    Hi everyone,
    Been reading this forum for a couple of years and have been successful at remedying any issues with the 2009 Prius...up until now. This one has me stumped.
    We have two Prius' in the family, both 2009, both red (I realize color is not associated) my wife drives one and daughter the other. A few days ago my daughter's car got the red triangle ️ of death after it hadn't been driven in 6 days. We read the codes and there was a U0293 ecm communication fault. The auxiliary battery voltage was a little low at 12.4v. My wife purchased a new battery thinking it was the issue since she'd had issues with her car that were resolved with a new auxiliary battery.
    After installing the new battery, it still had the red triangle ️; I disconnected everything including the negative terminal off of the body. Upon reinstalling everything, the car powered up normally. My daughter drove it to work and when she left to go home, another red triangle ️ and the U0293 code had returned... I was unable to get it going that night, but we returned the following morning and after cleaning and reinstalling the battery terminals, the car once again started normally, we drove it around town for the next 2 days with no issues. Our daughter once again drove it to work and parked it until lunch. When she attempted to leave work, another red triangle ️... My wife went to her work, unplugged the positive terminal and let it sit for a few minutes, plugged it back in and the car once again started normally. The following day, another triangle ️ and no start.
    Upon inspection, I realized I wasn't hearing the HV traction battery relays engaging, so I pulled the cover off the HV battery to check it out; I also uncovered the one in my wife's for reference. What I discovered was the voltages going to the relays on my daughter's car were around 9.6v, where the same points on my wife's car were 13.8. I also noted the contacts on the relays in my daughter's car had some minor corrosion, where my wife's were bright and shiny copper.

    I currently have the auxiliary battery fully charged, and I read 12.6 volts at both the auxiliary battery and at the jump connection. I am currently at a loss as to where to go next.
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    A brand new fully charged 12v should give you better voltage than 12.6v. Fairly certain you bought a defective battery. Return it and get a better one. If the 12v is an Optima yellow top I wouldn't be surprised. They're a bunch of criminals who think they can get away with reselling defective batteries.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my mistake. if those voltages were both with the car 'ready', you have an inverter problem. but i thought the 12v closed that relay, and then the car is ready
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The HV control ECU is what decides whether to engage those relays or not, and this sounds like a simple situation where it knows of a problem so it decides not to. So by disconnecting the battery, you make it forget there's a problem, and you can take the car on another trip, until the next time the ECU notices the problem again.

    How many ECUs are you able to read codes from, and which one is reporting the U0293?
     
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!
    Which obd2 device, or app are you currently using to read the codes?
     
  6. BRob

    BRob New Member

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    Quick update:

    While typing the above post, I had the auxiliary battery on charge, though we swapped batteries between the two Prius' and my wife's ran as always. Immediately after charging, the auxiliary battery voltage was 13.0v (pretty normal after a fresh charge). I hooked everything back up and powered the car on; it came on with no dash display (mph, gears, etc), but it drove fine. I disconnected the battery and reconnected it, and upon powering on again I had the display again. Checking voltage at the HV relays, I have 13.8v with the ready light on.
    When the red triangle ️ of death is on, I get only 9.6v at the low-voltage side of the HV relays.

    Swapping batteries between the two cars, my wife's Prius does fine with either battery, but the problem persists with my daughter's.

    I am reading the codes through the OBD II port using a Bluetooth adapter and Torque pro. I am unsure which ECU is giving the U0293 code; is there a way to determine which ECU is giving the code?

    I also ran battery diagnostics using Dr Prius app; according to the application, the HV battery is still doing its job.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm getting confused between the two threads
     
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  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Some apps report the codes grouped by which ECU is reporting them; others just lump them all together, which is less useful (especially for U codes).

    I think Car Scanner was one that will show you the reporting ECU.

    There's more information in this thread.
     
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  9. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Here is a dated (2004) workup for DTC U0293 : https://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/Repair%20Manual/04pruisr/05/2054m/ciu0293.pdf
    You've checked for rust were the 12v negative strap attaches to the body?

    Were you able to any relief in this thread? : U0293 Lost Comm w/ Hybrid Powertrain Control Module | PriusChat
     
  10. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    My info gives U0293 as being set by the ECM or by the HV battery ecu- either is loss of communication with the Hybrid Control ecu.

    It would really help to have a more capable scantool than Torque. Might want to do a search for Techstream (Toyota's pc based diagnostic software). Can also look at the sticky thread at the top of the Gen2 Technical Discussion forum for app and device reviews.

    You want to be able to scan all the ecu's in order to see which ones can't talk, and which ones set codes for not being able to talk to others.

    If only the HC ecu has problems, then you have to look at all powers, grounds, and comm/data circuits to that ecu and see if any go weird when you have a problem.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.