Starting prius after 6 months mothball

Does your car have the SKS? Did you put the FOB in the slot?
Does anything at all happen when you press on the start button with the brake depressed?

 

You definitely disconnected the battery before attaching the charger? Otherwise you might have fried something expensive that didn't want to be fried.

 

OK, I have to ask... How much over the limit were you going that you were banned from driving for 6 months?

 

Over in the UK probably not much! We have a 12 point system - hit 12 points and you're banned. Each speeding conviction is 3 points minimum for going just over the limit upto 6 points for a little more (45mph in a 30 mph zone say). In certain areas there are speed camera all over the place, including average speed cameras which record your speed over two points - often miles between them! Luckily my area believe in proactive policing and there are no speed cameras - just a copper with discretion. A little over the limit and get a telling off, take the p*ss and you get a ticket.

You could be in a hurry on an unfamiliar stretch of road and hit all your 12 points in one day. The usual ban is 6 weeks, but if you have had previous speedings or were going over 100 mph (max limit is 70 mph) then you will probably get 6 months ban.

Drink driving is even stricter. A minimum of 12 months ban, if you were just over the limit, ranging upto 18, 24, 36 or even prison depending on how drunk you were. If you cause an accident (fault or not) and you're over the limit then you're in big trouble and probably guaranteed some time in jail. Oh and then when you do get your licence back (you might have to retake your test again) you will find your insurers will probably want at least 100% increase on your premium!

Do people still drink and drink? Course they do, but anyone who relies on their car (thats most people) will be very cautious and get a cab. The risks are too great not to.

 

Thanks Grumpy. I agree with the strict punishment when it comes to drunk driving. In another life, I drove a tow truck for a living for police agencies and have seen too many drunk driving accidents. I've taken people's cars to the impound yard when the police take them to jail and I've seen people that can't stand on their own two feet who were driving a car 15 minutes earlier.

 

1. I suggest that you again disconnect your 12V battery and charge it overnight. <Or, consider buying and installing a replacement 12V battery, to see if that helps.> While you are waiting for the battery to charge, find the alarm horn and disconnect the wiring to it <so that you can work on your car without provoking your neighbors.> If the alarm uses the car's existing horns, you can find them in front of the radiator; remove the black plastic radiator cover to access the horns.

2. Reconnect the 12V battery after it is charged. Without depressing the brake pedal, can you enter ACC-ON mode by pressing the POWER button once (where the green LED on the button lights) and then enter IG-ON mode by pressing the POWER button a second time (where the orange LED on the button lights)?

3. If yes, then depress the brake pedal fully and see if you can make the Prius READY. If the car cannot be made READY, then proceed to #4 below.

4. If the car will not cycle through the ACC-ON and IG-ON modes from IG-OFF, then you'll need to have your car towed to your local Toyota dealer for assistance.

 

Was the battery connected to the car during the 6month period when it wasn't being driven?

If so, then the 12v battery may be dead-dead depleted and damaged enough so it doesn't hold a charge anymore.

Have someone do a load test on that battery. You can also try (CAREFULLY - do not reverse the polarity!!!!) jumping the car.

 

And isn't there a special way to jump the Prius? I'm sure I've read somewhere that the other car must not have its engine running. Is this correct?

 

I think that part stems from the fact that the prius doesn't need much current to successfully jump the car. Other then that, jumping it should be like normal.

 

I just love the discord between the UK and the US meaning of that expression.


As for the problem with the car. You'd be best to let it run the engine for a while and then LEAVE IT IN READY MODE for a few hours. Let the ICE kick in as it wants to. Then if you turn it off and it wont restart well you know for sure the battery a no-hoper.

 

Always reminds me of a friend of mine who was working in Toronto for a couple of weeks. He was in a bar with work colleagues when he told them he was off outside for a fag as he was gagging for one!

Lots of surprised looks

What do our Aussie friends use for a slang term for a quick cig?

 

When I was a kid the predominant external cultural influence in Australia was definitely British. Over time that’s shift more and more towards the US, so now days it’s often the US influence that predominates in culture and slang etc.

So it's a bit of a generational thing. Certainly Australians in my age group would recognize “to smoke a fag” as being about having a ciggie, but lots of the younger generation would probably think it was something to do with homosexuals and firearms.

 

Yes, the 12V battery takes a very long time to charge when the Prius is READY. Leaving the car READY overnight would not be excessive if one wanted to charge up the battery from a near-dead condition.

However, if the OP had already run the battery charger overnight, the charger was equipped with an ammeter, and he could see that the charger was putting reasonable current into the battery from the start - say 4A or so; then it would be reasonable to give up on the existing battery and buy a new one now.

In the US, MSRP is US$139 but knowing how expensive parts are in the UK, the price there will probably be a similar number expressed as GBP. Perhaps a similar battery might be available aftermarket?

If the OP decides to look aftermarket, note the battery's physical dimensions, the small battery terminal size, the AGM construction, and the ~35Ah capacity. Also note that when the battery is facing you with the terminals closest to you, the positive terminal needs to be on the left.

 

If you bought just the elearnaid.com conversion Kit for 17 pounds, you could find a local source for an Optima Yellow Top D51 Battery.

Prius 12V swap

(I came to this thread to learn how to mothball a Prius correctly, only to discover absolutely no mothballing was done)