Inverter Overheat

Hi Evan,

Yes, it is likely that the inverter coolant pump has failed. Can you look for fluid turbulence within the coolant reservoir (which would show that the pump is running OK?)

If the car will run without warning lights after the inverter has cooled down, then the inverter is probably OK.

 

If you hear or feel that vibration from the pump, but do not see turbulance in the resevoir, it could be just excessive air in system and it needs bleeding. Im not sure of the location on the bleeder screw on the 2004, but it should be posted in PC. I think there are two. If you cannot hear or feel the pump running at all, then it is not getting its 12V. There may be a fuse????

 

Hello Evan, I see you put this in Gen II thread, so bleeding bleeder nipple is even easier. and if needed, installing pump is a snap. Was your car covered by the LSC

 

Coolant is 50% water -- it cannot be bad, just turns to steam easier than SLLC. If it was me I would add water before driving to the dealer. Running on air sounds bad.

 

Hi Evan,

1. You need to put some coolant in the engine coolant reservoir. If the reservoir is empty, who knows how low the fluid is in the radiator. It would be best if you could remove the six plastic fittings that secure the black plastic cover over the radiator so that you can open the radiator cap and look inside.

2. The reservoir that I am talking about is the inverter coolant reservoir which is mounted on the inverter, next to the engine. That is the one that should show turbulence.

3. If you don't have a supply of coolant in your garage, then may I suggest that you should take another car to the dealer to buy a gallon of Toyota SLLC before you drive the Prius, especially if the coolant in the radiator is low.

 

Evan, did you realize you put your personal phone numbers up in that one pic?

 

Your inverter cooling pump is bad. Can't believe they will make you wait until the 11th to fix it.

There probably is a leak in the engine water pump. Because the engine is not used very hard, it takes an eternity for enough coolant to escape to cause a CEL. Even on other 4 cylinder Toyota like the RAV and Corolla, the coolant leak is so slow that it does not leave a drip spot in the driveway.

The pump that made all the noise is usually the coolant storage tank pump. You should be covered for a new inverter cooling pump. Since you can monitor the temperatures, driving short distances is ok.

 

Whatever cooling system is low, engine or inverter, before you go into town fill up with water so you don't damage anything. Water is OK as a temp. coolant, as long as it is not winter. incidentally if you flush and refill the engine cooling system, I am quite sure it takes the same SLLC fluid or (anti-freeze). After you take off the black plastic cover off the car, the white plastic container is the windshield washer container, the metal cap is the radiator cap and the one plastic container is the overflow for the radiator, or engine cooling system. It does sound like you have a bad leak in the radiator system. Good Luck.

 

I gather two separate problems ?

1. Likely inverter coolant pump not working
2. Leak in the engine coolant circuit, perhaps from the pump.

What is a 'safe' temperature to cook the inverter at ?

 

My engine coolant was low right from when new. It looked "normal" when I first inspected the engine compartment but it turned out my idea of "ok" was wrong. I'm talking about the overflow reservoir near the front of the engine compartment. It's nicely hidden. When my mechanical engine coolant pump failed I had nice coloured decoration all around it (dried coolant in stings and splotches). The level didn't actually drop much. But because I was fooled by Toyota not filling it properly I didn't notice it drop slowly (the dealer is supposed to check and fill it during pre-delivery inspection - I guess they were also fooled). But the decoration got my attention.
I now keep my overflow reservoir properly filled so I can see if I get a leak.
The mechanical coolant pumps seem to be poorly made. I don't think they should develop a leak at 50,000 km. And I have the same comment about the electric coolant pumps.

Are you listening yet Toyota? The car is great. Just fix these minor issues!

 

The can-view did a nice job of warning the driver of malfunction, but there is a lot to be said for monitoring fluid levels and appearance. Easy, quick, free, and high yield.

I think David is right that the pumps should not be considered long-life, forget-about-them items. They are inexpensive and pretty easy to install, so I just replace them every 5 years or so as part of preventive maintenance. Avoids drama

 

The IC pump was redesigned for MY 2008; the engine water pump was redesigned for MY 2009. Toyota has had problems with engine water pumps forever. At least now, they generally fail slowly, rather than catastrophically. Try having your water pump break, and then have the attached fan blade scraped down to nothing against the radiator. It happened to me twenty five years ago in a Celica, in June, in between Yuma and El Centro.

 

I suspect you have a pig trapped in your inverter. Did it make this sound all the way home?

Tom