No Power or Dash Lights on 2005

Just bought a 2005 Prius yesterday. It has 340,000 miles on it, but it was clean and it was a really good deal ($1200). Tried to get it to start, but there were not dash lights and the lights only come on for a second. There is power to the radio and all accessories, but the windows will only go up or down with each click of the power button, so it takes several clicks to inch them up to the closed position. I tried to jump it with no success. The 12v battery did appear weak, so I swapped it out with the brand new one from my 2007. Still no luck. The kid who sold it to me said it has been sitting for 4 months, but said he just drove it around last week. He also said the hybrid battery was replaced at 300,000 miles, so I don't believe that is the issue (I hope). Anyway, I spent all day yesterday and today working on it and am completely stumped. I talked to an independent Toyota mechanic who said he had never heard anything like that, but said he thought it could be the combination meter. I don't think so. I then asked someone at the dealer who said the fact that it has been sitting so long could have cause a problem with the hybrid battery and it is possible that may need a jump. Not sure how I would do that. It is sitting in a parking lot in an industrial area, so it can't sit there too long. I checked all connections and fuses and don't see any issues, but there could be something I'm not seeing. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Actually, I didn't check for the cat. Not sure why I didn't, as I'm always worried about that when on road trips in the '07 and the '13. Even without a cat, I would think the dash would at least turn on. I'll check the fuse tomorrow. Luckily I have a cat in my garage, so I can deal with that if that's the issue.

 

Will a regular OBD II scanner read the codes if it won't go into the "Ready" mode?

 

I'm willing to put some money into it if it's worth it. If anyone here knows of a good Prius mechanic near Temecula, CA, please let me know. It seems like most shops claim they specialize in these cars, but I'm not sure who to trust. I know there is a shop in Riverside and one in Escondido. Both are about equidistant from where the car is. I might have it towed to one of them if I can't figure it out, but would prefer someplace closer if possible.

 

Update: I did check and the cat is there. Checked the15A AM2 fuse and found it was blown. Replaced it with the spare and everything worked. All dash lights came on and car started, but I immediately saw smoke and smelled electrical wires burning. Other online posts suggest this issue could be caused by a faulty inverter pump. Does this sound right? I will get that knocked out tomorrow and then post updates.

 

Thank you. I will try that.

 

I just had the car towed to my house, so I can work on it here. I told the seller I was able to get it to start and that it was the AM2 fuse, which indicates an inverter pump. He said he already replaced the pump, so to try the fuse first to see what happens. The problem is, there is still the electrical smell coming from that area and the red triangle is still on. I may have to get a decent OBD II scanner to see what it is telling me.

 

Yep. No movement at all. Put my hand on the pump and felt nothing. Then turned my 2007 on and felt the pump, so I know this one is bad. I think the electrical smell is a short within the pump itself because I could smell it while it was in my hand. I left the car in accessory mode while I was removing the pump and the battery was almost dead after about 30 minutes. I don't think it's supposed to go down that fast, so something else must be draining the 12V. Could it be that the short in the pump was drawing current from the 12V and draining it?

 

Well, I changed the pump and it's working, but now all the light's on the dash are on and I immediately get the annoying beep with the display that says "problem". I didn't add more fluid or bleed the system, as I wanted to see if the codes would clear first. I guess I'm going to have to get a code reader to figure out what else may be wrong with it. I have seen all kinds o posts for different recommendations and am still confused on what scanner to buy. Some recommend Mini VCI while others recommend VXDIAG and not sure which one to get. I need something simple that will also read the codes correctly. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Now I'm even more confused. Way too much information regarding the apps and way too technical for me. I just need a decent tool to plug in so I can read the codes.