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Post Battery Change Problems

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Bosko7, Apr 30, 2019.

  1. Bosko7

    Bosko7 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2019
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    Location:
    florida
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Background: Prius 2008, 86K, Florida.
    Sister's car died and a few "helped" her to try and jump start... to no avail... car was towed and left in the garage for about 4 weeks until I got home since I'm the appointed pseudo-tech of the family.
    After some diagnostics, replaced 12V battery with a new/off the shelf Toyota Battery (12.8V before install).
    Unfortunately, car didn't start, no dash lights, etc.
    After doing some further forum searches, looks like the car was jumped incorrectly so ended up having to replace the Fusible Link, Dome fuse and ETCS fuse in the engine fuse box
    Finally got the car started (today) however, now I'm getting the following errors on the dash:
    1) Red triangle
    2) (!) - yellow braking system light
    ... and on the MFD:
    A) "problem" message for a few seconds... followed by...
    B) "battery icon" indicating charging system warning
    C) "car icon" indicating hybrid system warning

    I entered maintenance mode and recorded the following battery voltages and some initial driving today/15 miles):
    ACC: 12.3 V
    IG-On: 11.8 V
    READY: 13.6 V

    Other then loud buzzing noise behind the inverter (in front of the steering wheel) and an 5 second initial beeping sound when first starting the car, it seems to running "normal" possible more on ICE than on battery or maybe it's just my perception. Good acceleration. 45+miles/hr without problems.The MFD shows the hybrid battery is charging/discharging and going from gas to electric.

    -The inverter pump is working (waves in reservoir and pump vibrates)
    -There are NO messages from the OBD reader.
    -I have ordered a miniVCI connector so no codes from there yet.

    Questions:
    1) It appears the "new" battery levels are somewhat lower than what would be expected. Could this be a combo of hot Florida temp, my time spent with troubleshooting while 12V battery was still connected?
    2) Does the car just need to driven to recharge the 12V and hybrid system considering it hasn't been turned on for 4 weeks OR is the "new" 12V battery poor and thus needs to be returned/replaced?
    3) If the inverter was malfunctioning what are some of the symptoms? testing?
    4) Are the braking system and hybrid charging system errors/warning a separate issue or is there something that can tie them together that I haven't been able to find?
    5) What controls the charging of the 12V battery? How to test?
    6) Was reading about the IG1 relay, is there a way to test?
    7) Anything else I can test/check before the miniVCI comes in?

    Any advice and thoughts on whether the car is still drivable in this state and what are the potential pitfalls (ie. can the car be damaged further by driving it?)

    Thanks in advance to anyone had the patience to read through all this!!!
     
    #1 Bosko7, Apr 30, 2019
  2. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2009
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    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Get codes read. You could clear the codes. If there is a problem, those same codes should reappear.

    That buzzing sound was likely the car telling you the 12V battery is low. You must have been on IG-ON for a prolonged period of time. There should have been an error message on the MFD when IG-ON, w/ the buzzing sound.

    The 12V reading of 11.8V w/ a load (IG-ON) is on the LOW side. You doing diagnosis work probably drained the 12V some, but a recharge will remedy the low SOC (State of Charge). Recharge w/ a smart 12V charger that is AGM compatible or just leave the Prius READY for hours to slowly recharge the 12V battery. The Gen2 Prius has a low amp rate to recharge the 12V battery, thus the need for HOURS to recharge a low 12V battery. The Gen3 Prius has a much higher 12V recharge rate.
     
    #2 exstudent, Apr 30, 2019
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    11.8 is not bad many a prius will be happy with that for a long time. Its just low from you working on it. Go on amazon and order a battery charger. I recently bought a CITEK MUS 4.3 charger off amazon. I love it. Does motorcycle batteries and car batteries and has recondition anti sulphation mode. Every car owner should own one. Its a great diagnostic tool and would have already answered your questions here.
    AS far as what controls the charging of the battery thats the inverter. And you already can see its charging at READY 13.6.
    The 13.6 is because the battery is low and there's a load on the Inverter. At fully charged it gets up to 14 volts.

    The main issue is the jump starting the car improperly. That's where all the codes are coming from. If i was there I would check every single fuse in the car with an ohmmeter. Pull the fuse ohm it for a short or open. There's the big black plastic fuse box under the hood and the fuse box under the cover by your left knee when in the drivers seat.

    Get your mini vci working pull all the codes and post them here. On the mini diagnostic code page where it lists the codes just to the left on that line of info there's a little white asterisk we call a snowflake. Click on it and it will drill down to the code subset that pinpoints the issue. List the codes and the subcodes back here on this thread.
     
    #3 edthefox5, May 1, 2019
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    55,547
    38,711
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I wouldn't go so far as call it a diagnostic tool, but yeah: if your battery can be revived, it'll do it. And if you're very low usage, you can leave it hooked up (comes with a quick connect you can install), it will keep the battery like a daily driver. I have one, and it's been hooked up the last couple of days; that's my norm now, if the car's going to sit.

    For diagnostics, maybe a Solar BA5?
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, May 1, 2019
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    It’s a very good diagnostic tool. If you know how to use it.
     
    #5 edthefox5, May 1, 2019
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
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