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Replaced 12V, but still have Red Triangle Light

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bcphotography, Aug 14, 2011.

  1. bcphotography

    bcphotography New Member

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    The 12V battery went out on my 2008 Prius so I replaced it, however, when I turn the car on the red triangle, abs, check engine, traction and parking break lights appeared along with an error message on the display screen that something is wrong with the hybrid system. The READY light does not appear. All other electrical mechanisms work on the car; windows, ac, radio, ect. My problem is that the car will not engage into drive or reverse, only neutral and park. I tried disconnecting the ground wire on the 12V battery to reset the system and that did not work. I also tried unplugging and plugging in the orange fuse on the hybrid battery and that did not work either.

    Any suggestions?

    Could it be a fuse? Something with the break system?

    Before the battery completely died, out of the blue when I turned the car on the other morning, an error message popped up and said that the car was parked on an incline and needed to be parked on a flat surface (which it already was and always is) and wouldn't engage into drive or reverse either. Then the 12V lost all power. I have owned the car for a little over 5 months now and have had zero issues up to this point.

    Please help! I do not want to have to tow it to the dealership.
    Thank You.
     
    #1 bcphotography, Aug 14, 2011
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Do you know anyone that has a code reader? It is really hard to know what is going on otherwise. The brake/abs lights come on whenever there is a problem with the hybrid system. The initial symptom, the transaxle error message, is consistent with a bad battery. The replacement should have fixed the problem, though.

    Please double-check the HV battery fuse, as shown in the photo below. When re-inserted, the handle swings up, then must be pushed down and locked into place to complete the circuit.

    [​IMG]
     
    #2 seilerts, Aug 14, 2011
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  3. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    It does sound like the HV Safety switch was not connected right.
     
    #3 andyprius, Aug 14, 2011
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  4. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I assume you have tried powering it on and off several times? This happened to me when I replaced the 12v on a 2006. The first time I powered it on, this happened. So I powered the car off, waited a few seconds, and tried again-- and all warning lights were gone.

    I would go back and double check all connections.
     
    #4 The Critic, Aug 14, 2011
  5. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi bcphotography. Is there any possibility at any time during the installation that the new battery ever got connected backwards, even with the terminals just lightly touching for a second?
     
    #5 uart, Aug 14, 2011
  6. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    The negative 12V wire is sometimes subject to corrosion where
    it is screwed to the body.

    Also, new 12V batteries sometimes arrive not fully charged.

    Have you considered jumping the car from under the hood?
    (Being always mindful of the correct polarity of course. ;) )
    If that works, the new battery or its connections would be suspect.
     
    #6 Rokeby, Aug 14, 2011
  7. bcphotography

    bcphotography New Member

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    Problem solved! The orange HV Safety Switch was not properly inserted the first couple of times I tried resetting everything.

    Thanks for all the quick responses from everyone.
     
    #7 bcphotography, Aug 14, 2011
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