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Jumped prius opposite polarity and now the car is completely dead. What should I do?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by SuperOmar, Dec 17, 2023.

  1. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    I have a 2015 prius with 250k miles. I accidentally jumped the car with opposite polarity from the fuse box under the hood. The car is completely dead now, when I try to turn on the car now, the only thing that I see on the dashboard is the door and engine check light.

    I looked through the fuse box under the hood the following day, and I found a few burned fuses which I replaced. However nothing changed. The dashboard still doesn't turn on and absolutely nothing happens when I push to start.

    I decided to tow the car to the nearby Toyota dealership however they couldn't figure out anything.

    What do you guys suggest me do?
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Pretty sure that means you have to replace your fuesable link... Not sure what else... Maybe @ChapmanF know?
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Go through its pockets for loose change?

    (other ideas....)

    If you see the door and check engine lights, it's only mostly dead.
     
  4. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    Thank you for your response. Do you mean that the auxiliary battery (12V) is dead? or the car as whole is dead?
     
  5. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    Thank you for your response. Do you mean that the auxiliary battery (12V) is dead? or the car as whole is dead?
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Have you visually inspected the fusible link yet, as described in the linked "other ideas"?
     
  7. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Pretty dang sad that a dealer can't sort this out.
    The initial troubleshooting can be pretty simple and may just be tracing the 12v.
    Verify the battery terminals have 12v.
    The fuse box should have a stud/nut connection where the (+) cable from the 12v battery fastens. Make sure you have 12v there. If not, something between the stud and battery terminal is open. Often there is a high amp fuse or link in that circuit, sometimes mounted on the + post of the battery.
    Often, (but I'm not a Gen 3 person) there is also some type of high amperage fusible link between that stud and the rest of the fusebox.

    You just need to determine where the 12v is lost, assuming the fuses did their job and protected from any major electronics getting smoked.

    Yup....the 2015 Prius (+) battery terminal cable has a 140 amp fusible link/fuse in the vertical section next to the battery, covered by the red plastic. May want to check that. If it's bad, it may require replacing the entire piece. You would think the car would be completely dead if it were open. With the dash still having a couple lights, it would make you think the problem lies somewhere after the battery cable/fusebox stud, but you just never know.

    [​IMG]
     
    #7 TMR-JWAP, Dec 20, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2023
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Post #3 has a link with details on checking / replacing that.
     
  9. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    I have another prius that is also generation 3, I moved the fusible link from the dead car to my other prius. The fusible link works just fine. I hope that this is a good way to confirm that it is in working condition.
     
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Taking apart two cars' underhood fuseboxes to move the 125 amp internal fuse from one to the other sounds like maybe the single most difficult possible way to test that ....
     
  11. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    I believe that I misunderstood what the fusible link fuse is. I just looked it up on priuschat and this is what I found. Is this the correct one?


    [​IMG]
     
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That's the one I was thinking of. Is it the one you swapped?
     
  13. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    No I swapped a different one. Do I need to remove to top half fuse box in order access it?
     
  14. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If you look back at the link I posted a week ago, that thread has a lot of information on how to get access to that. It's also something I would try to just test with a multimeter first; there are some ways you can test that without taking the box all apart, and that's a lot less work.
     
  15. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    I was able to confirm that the fusible link is the blown out. I bought the fusible link for the dealership and tried to remove the top half of the fuse box to reach it however I was not able too. I was able to fine a bypass diagram on priuschat and followed the steps however still no change.

    What do you suggest me do?

    Thanks for your help
     
  16. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If the 125 amp fuse is blown. replace it. There is a thread linked in post #3 that shows how.

    After that, perhaps other fuses may still need to be checked.
     
  17. SuperOmar

    SuperOmar Junior Member

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    [​IMG]
    I tried following the steps in post #3 however it is super difficult to remove the top half of the fusebox. So I tired bypassing the 125 amp fuse by using a diagram posted by @rjparker in another thread but the dashboard is still only showing the engine check and door light.
     
  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I believe the right way to replace the 125a link is to remove the whole box which has big “christmas tree” connectors on its right side going into the sheet metal. I have never blown or bypassed that 125a link but that style bypass was used by another member and worked until his bad connections failed.

    As Chapman says there are always other fuses blown as well. In that box and in the interior fuse box. If a bypass was tried with a wrong sized fuse it will blow as well. There are other fusible links in the engine fuse box that some fail to check. There is a fuse at the 12v battery.

    Other common mistakes: Checking fuses by pulling them out and not returning the fuse to the right space.



    People will pull the hybrid battery orange disconnect and fail to perform the final slide engagement.



    It is possible the 12v battery is too discharged to start.

    It always requires two Ready attempts after disconnecting the 12v battery, which is sometimes needed to clear codes.
     
    #18 rjparker, Dec 31, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2023