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ICE will not start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mikepelly, Oct 2, 2022.

  1. Mikepelly

    Mikepelly New Member

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    ICE engine will not start. Both traction battery and 12v battery are ok. Any suggestions where to check? I went to drive it first thing in morning out my driveway and ICE started and ran for about 8-10 seconds then stalled out. Started again and ran for about 2 seconds, stalled again and wuld not restart. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree triangle an all. The car ran fine when I parked it the day before. Gas tank is 3/4 full but gauge reads close to empty. Unfortunately I had disconnected 12v battery before thinking to read codes and now memory is clean. I've had the traction battery out and checked by a shop also load tested the 12v battery and both batteries have checked out to be fine. The car otherwise has been running fine and has about 250k miles on it. Any suggestions or guidence would be really appreciated. Tired of driving my 3/4 ton 1981 GMC pickup 'farm truck' while Prius is down.
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Ask the car why it's choosing not to start. Those lights mean it wants to tell you.

    We can guess, but we don't know like the car does.
     
  3. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!
    It was never actually running, only trying to start. If the HV battery isn't depleted (this is what starts the ICE), you might try some starting fluid to see if that keeps it running for more than 10 seconds. Then you know the problem is fuel related.
    Reconnect the 12v, and attempt to make the vehicle 'ready', then scan for OBD2 codes again. Which scanner/app are you using?

    @PriusCamper is just around the corner, and he will be able to get you back on the road.

    FYI : you're moderated until you've posted 5 times.
     
  4. Mikepelly

    Mikepelly New Member

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    To be certain it was not out of gas I added 5 gallons of gas to tank. The codes are not registering because I had disconnected 12v battery and were not reading anything after I reconnected it. I will not even comment on the ether suggestion. Again the car ran fine when I drove it the evening before it quit and did not have any check engine or red triangles lite up on dash. Any good suggestions on probable suspects to start trouble shooting will be appreciated. I've successfully worked on this vehicle in the past but this is an entirely new uncharted problem for me.
     
  5. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    As mentioned, the ICE isn't actually running. The hybrid system "cranks" (spins) the ICE at 1000 rpm for up to 10 seconds when it wants to start it.

    There are lots of things that can prevent the ICE from running. You need fuel, air (& compression), and spark- all at the correct time.

    Two things to check first. First is to clean the throttle body (& the MAF sensor). Second is to test what the fuel pressure is from the pump.

    It can be very useful to have a capable scantool that has bidirectional controls so you can command the pump on or off.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  6. Mikepelly

    Mikepelly New Member

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    I'll check fuel delivery. That is something I needed to do a few years ago. Do you know if these have any switches that prevent engine from running if they don't detect oil pressure? Engine has plenty of oil but maybe this switch is faulty. I've seen this happen on generators.
     
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    This will happen after the 12v is disconnected, eventually the gauge will register the correct amount of fuel in the bladder.
    Assuming you had 3/4 tank of fuel, you may have a hard time getting all 5 gallons in, but stranger things have happened. I've personally ran out of fuel with multiple pips still being registered on the fuel gauge, and I'm sure others have as well.
    Sounds like your scanner may not be up to the challenge, not all are created equal, how are you currently scanning the vehicle?

    Many here use techstream (dealer tech software) installed on a windows device (or you can emulate such), and a generic mini-VCI cable (or a Tactrix Openport) to diagnose and repair their vehicles, others might get by with only an OBD2 adapter and an app.

    Generally speaking, if you have lights displayed on the dash, then you'll have OBD2 codes (DTCs) stored in the ECUs. If you can't get the vehicle to boot up, or go into ready, then you have a different issue, and might start checking the fuses, and look for rodent signs.

    Do you still have warning lights being displayed on the dash?
    What voltage is the HV battery measuring, if low enough, the vehicle won't be able to turn over the engine in an attempt to actually start it.

    As mentioned above, since the 12v was disconnected, and assuming the MAF and throttle body haven't been cleaned lately, that will be the first order of business, as disconnecting the 12v will reset fuel mapping to factory default, which may cause a no start condition.
     
  8. Mikepelly

    Mikepelly New Member

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    I'll keep at it in next couple days. Thanks for suggestions I'll share here what and when I eventually find out.
     
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  9. Mikepelly

    Mikepelly New Member

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    Deane @PriusCamper was able to trouble shoot my problem. I did not have the battery disconnect switch fully engaged after reinstalling the traction battery. Yea go ahead dope slap me. Deane also noticed the my engine coolant control switch was acting sluggish so I now have one ordered. We never figured out what caused the initial problem but the optimum 12v battery might of had a low charge after car sat a few days is suspect.
     
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  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Mike has a very old Optima Yellowtop 12v battery and he had not driven the car for a few days when the problems occured. So he had our mutual friend help him in charging & testing the 12v and hybrid pack and both turned out good. But the usual problem of the Orange safety plug not being fully clicked into place kept the car from working and add to that some configuration problems with his phone and OBD2 reader kept him from seeing and clearing the code for that plug. He was very pleased to have his Prius back on the road and before I left I explained to him the noise of the bad sensor in the 3 way coolant valve and how it will eventually show up as an error code via check engine light.
     
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