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I need pictures of jump points for battery in trunk of car please!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by barbsbumpercar, Oct 28, 2010.

  1. barbsbumpercar

    barbsbumpercar New Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I've got a severely dead Generation II 2005 Prius. I am not sure where to connect the jumper cables in on the battery terminals in the back. Could you please point me to a link with photos? The owners manual only shows the jump point in the fuse box. I think I know which is the positive terminal because it was under a big red cover that said +. But I want to look at a photo that points out where I should connect the positive and negative clamps.

    Here is some history. Wednesday I woke up to it dead, and I used the trickle charger on the jump points in the fuse box to get it going. I left the car running while shuttled a little one to school. It died again before I left in the afternoon, again used the trickle charger. Now I cannot use the trickle charger at all. Ealier this morning when I connected the trickle charger, with all the doors closed, the energy starts flowing and the check engine light begins to appear, but very dim. The blue alarm light will slowly start to light. After some time, other lights start to flicker, and something in there starts to click wildly. Cannot start the car or turn it over. Then...nothing. Eventually all the lights fade back out, and I can no longer use the trickle charger.

    So...it took me about two hours, had to pull out both the child seats and literally hurl my outdoor wheelchair, but I got the trunk open. I cannot jump from the front, since my jumper cables are not long enough. ALl I have are 12 foot cables, which will not reach from the prius engine to the truck engine. I will have to pull up the truck behind the prius, which I am confident I can do. There is no way for me to get the prius out of the garage to the truck because it won't start to get in to neutral. If I can get the Prius jumped and running, then I can take it to the dealership. I don't know if my roadside assistance will tow my car to the dealership, because it is about two hours away. The nearest autoshop does not carry the Prius battery, neither does Autozone or NAPA.

    So...any pictures that will show me the right places to connect the jumpers? If I could get that info, I am pretty confident that I can hoist myself high enough with a walker to get the truck hood open and the cables attacked. Thanks!
    Barbara
     
    #1 barbsbumpercar, Oct 28, 2010
  2. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The best way is to stay out of the trunk. Open the hood, and on the vehicle's left side (Driver's side in the US), located to the right of the inverter (big silver box that has "Hybrid Synergy Drive" on it), there is a black box that is labelled "+12V Relay and Fuse":

    [​IMG]

    Open the cover, it's a little tricky, but it snaps off if you examine it carefully. Inside near the top left you'll find a little red hinged cover:

    [​IMG]

    (ignore the red wire and fuse, your car will not have this! ;-)

    Flip open the red cover, it hinges to the right. This will reveal a flat metal piece sticking up that you can conveniently clamp a Red (positive) jumper cable or battery charger to:

    [​IMG]

    Then connect the Black (negative) to a shiny large hunk of metal. (I use one of the nearby inverter mounting bolts.)

    Be sure to get the polarity correct!!! If you don't, you will likely end up with MANY THOUSANDS of $ in damage! Also, do not use one of those big "boost starters" on wheels, as it could also have the same effect. The Prius needs only a little power to get going, as there is no conventional starter motor. Usually a small 10 amp battery charger will allow the car to be started within a few minutes.
     
    #2 pEEf, Oct 28, 2010
  3. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Vehicle:
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    This is not a great picture but it shows the positive side of the battery (under the red plastic cover):
    [​IMG]

    The negative side has a cable connected to the car body.

    The sequence of photos of removing panels is here:
    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ng/71909-diary-wimpy-diyer-2.html#post1141954
    You don't need to remove as many panels as I did. Just remove enough to get access to the battery.


    Triple check that you got the polarity correct before connecting the jumper cables. You don't want to fry many thousands of dollar worth of electronics in the Prius. Good luck! :)
     
    #3 2009Prius, Oct 28, 2010
  4. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    My first post above is a cut-and-paste.

    By the way, you definitely need a battery. You don't need an official Prius battery! There is a kit for $160 including shipping that is easy to install and is a much better battery, with higher capacity to boot!

    The trickle charger doesn't have enough power to overcome the loss and get the Prius electronics back up to normal. You will need a bigger charger, or the jump-start. You can jump from the same terminal as I show above that's in the manual.
     
    #4 pEEf, Oct 28, 2010
  5. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Supplementing the above advice:

    1. To remove the fuse box cover, you should press the release tab in the narrow tapered front of the fuse box cover. You have to feel around to find the front release tab, press hard on it, and then lift the cover off the two slotted tabs in the back.

    The Gen II Owner's Manual doesn't illustrate or say or show this.

    But the Gen III Owner's Manual does:

    [IMGLINK]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/gen-iii-2010-prius-technical-discussion/17425d1249874466-jump-starting-ownersmanualresult-48.jpg[/IMGLINK]

    2. If you have trouble putting your big positive jumper clamp on the tiny positive jump point, then you might consider getting a small alligator clip. You clamp the alligator clip, then use the alligator clip to clamp onto the tiny positive jump point.
     
    #5 Boo, Oct 28, 2010
  6. PoutyPrius

    PoutyPrius New Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I don't have a photo, but 2009 prius gave you a good start. Under that red "claw", is the positive terminal. You will see that, because the red claw cover has a + on it. Underneath is the terminal and a bolt. The negative terminal is terminal closest to your brakelight. It is not under any cover, and is grounded to the chassis of the car under your brakelight. Your Prius may vary, mine is a 2005. I've got the rear hatch open now if you need any photos taken. Good luck!
     
    #6 PoutyPrius, Nov 2, 2010
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