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Stuck in the middle of the road. Would not come out of park red triangle!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by JIM777, May 20, 2017.

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  1. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    We got kind of an interesting one here 05 Prius 295000 miles. Pulled out of my son driveway the other day. And the red triangle came on so I told my wife to shut it off and restart it. Well it's good it was on dirt road because it would not start or come out of park. Know what someone would do that didn't understand the animal. Especially if it were a busy highway. I disconnected the negative post and reconnected it and was able to get it in neutral then. Had my son pull it back to his home where I downloaded my torque app for the OBD. Check fault codes, said it had none. Kinda at a Loss then but I thought I reset them anyways. Then it started right up but the triangle was still lit and no video display. Figured we'd try the three hour trip home. About halfway we stopped at a Minute Market then drove 2 miles and it died again. Was able to Coast to quiet Road and reset the codes a couple times finally it started and we pull out triangle still on. In another two miles someone pulled out right in front of my wife and she slammed the brakes and hit the horn. There was a lot of shifting going on and then the red triangle disappeared and the video display came back. What on Earth happened. Drove the remaining hour and a half everything was working as normal. When to use the vehicle two days later and on it came again. does anybody have any idea of what may be going on. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
    Have a great day. Jim
     
    #1 JIM777, May 20, 2017
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like a loose connection somewhere. maybe have the codes read with tech stream.
     
    #2 bisco, May 20, 2017
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  3. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    Would they be able to identify where the bad connection is or where might I look for that?
     
    #3 JIM777, May 20, 2017
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  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Next time try reading the codes when the triangle appears. Once you disconnect the battery, all the codes would be erased.

    You should check the health of your 12v battery first, but that may not be what's causing the problems in your car
     
    #4 JC91006, May 20, 2017
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Sounds like the hybrid battery is throwing a ground fault nag which does not surprise me given the miles. From leaking batteries in the hybrid battery case.
    Have you heard the fan in the back seat come on and the hybrid battery on the mfd display showing erratic charging & discharging of the hybrid battery?

    We are seeing non stop hybrid battery failures now as there all about that age and miles. Especially yours.

    With a ground fault nag you can reset the car by the neg lead on the 12 volt as you are doing. Take the back area apart and get to the battery case and take the cover off and see how corroded the battery's and the buss bars are.Thats a definitive test of that battery. Don't need any test equipment just your peepers. Rotten batterys that's it for sure.
     
    #5 edthefox5, May 20, 2017
    Last edited: May 20, 2017
  6. chronon

    chronon Active Member

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    its scary when it happens happened to me going 55mph in the wee hours before sun up morning commute and that was not fun at all .. (but did get me out of 1 day work ;)) --- yes, those pairs of modules connect to the sense connectors and the corrosion that can build up can cause problems, if disconnected and not cleaned --- also must be handled with TLC, thin and manhandling will twist theme apart to break .. .. they just stack the thin little loops ontop of the battery series connectors .... https://img01.olx.com.ng/images_olxng/1001128540_1_644x461_prius-hybrid-battery-wire-harness-cell-bolt-lekki.jpg
     
    #6 chronon, May 20, 2017
    Last edited: May 20, 2017
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  7. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    When I bought it I was told the battery was replaced within the last three years. That was about six months ago. I have rebuilt batteries on other Prius. I haven't noticed anything funny with the charge system read out. But I did notice wetness in the trunk area thought it was from the rain. Is it possible it is from the hybrid battery? I did notice the fan come on once or twice.
    Thanks
     
    #7 JIM777, May 20, 2017
  8. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Hybrid battery was replaced..... with what?
    I'd want to see the receipt.
    Could have been replaced with junk. There are plenty of threads here on PriusChat with examples.

    Check the health of the 12v.
    You could see the voltage using torque app.
    Go into accessory mode, turn on fan, high beams, and step on brakes.
    What is the 12v battery reading?

    Use Torque app to read the codes when the error occurs before unhooking the 12v.

    You could also use torque to watch all the high voltage battery blocks.
    See what happens when aggressively charging hybrid battery and when aggressively discharging.
    Are any of the blocks diverging from the others?

    The car has the information you needs.
    You just need to read it and interpret it.
     
    #8 ericbecky, May 20, 2017
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  9. chronon

    chronon Active Member

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    torque seems to be extremely useful, instead of tearing down to the Hbattery, the blocks couuld be read remotely, this gives you an idea of a bad cell in a module if the pair is dragged down below the 1.2v delta.
    Then you need only tear down (ha) hour or 2, 3 or 4 if 1st time.... to the battery and replace the bad one by measuring with
    multimeter each module in the pair.
    Is the torque app needing to run via bluetooth, i guess yes if on a cellular -- and that would be the elm327 which i just ordered ...
     
    #9 chronon, May 20, 2017
  10. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Torque is good in the short term.
    And for general info it is helpful.

    Long term most folks with older Prius that plan on doing repairs themselves are going to want to have Techstream running on a laptop with the connected to the car with appropriate OBDII cable.
    There are functions and information that Techstream provides that Torque cannot.
     
    #10 ericbecky, May 20, 2017
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  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Just using Torque or Techstream to read the codes before clearing them is the first order of business. All the advice about monitoring battery blocks, etc., is fine if any codes come back that even have anything to do with the battery.

    -Chap
     
    #11 ChapmanF, May 20, 2017
  12. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    Now that it came on again I read the codes the only code was PO420 something about powertrain catalyst system below threshold.
    I did get the car from a friend and did not get a receipt for the battery but he said it was still under warranty when I got it. I figured with a warranty of 3 years it must be a decent battery.
     
    #12 JIM777, May 20, 2017
  13. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    Now that it came on again I read the codes the only code was PO420 something about powertrain catalyst system below threshold.
    I did get the car from a friend and did not get a receipt for the battery but he said it was still under warranty when I got it. I figured with a warranty of 3 years it must be a decent battery.
     
    #13 JIM777, May 20, 2017
  14. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Jim the fan coming on means the hybrid battery is having issues. Focus on that.
    Seeing non stop posts that are usually the hybrid battery. Most battery "repairs" Are just whack a mole replace a battery module and get it out the door. A very good battery with very good warranty is expensive. Alternatives are suspect and won't last long.
    To be honest a high mileage Prius is a poor choice unless u know a factory battery ($3500) has been installed.
     
    #14 edthefox5, May 20, 2017
  15. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    What torque add-on can I use to read the hybrid battery box?
     
    #15 JIM777, May 20, 2017
  16. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    The pro version has the battery block measurements preloaded as available items that you can add to a custom screen.
    "Realtime Information" > (Press and Hold Screen) > "Add display" > "Digital Display" > (Scroll down to "HV Battery Block-01 Voltage") > "Tiny"

    Add more displays for each battery block or other items you want to watch.
    For example State of Charge, Delta SOC, etc.
     
    #16 ericbecky, May 20, 2017
  17. chronon

    chronon Active Member

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    I notice there is no pricing here for techstream-LITE, and is this the only method of obtaining the pc run software ++-
    Toyota TechStream LITE | Automotive Diagnostic Tools and Equipment by M2K
     
    #17 chronon, May 20, 2017
  18. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Techstream available on amazon.com

    MINI VCI. $30
     
    #18 edthefox5, May 21, 2017
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  19. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    Well I did start to take it out and seen it was remanufactured by Dorman on 3/24/2016. And labeling said if case was open warranty would be void. So I took it to the shop and he read the codes with a Snap-On code reader. Said all voltages look good. And the resistance between batteries was a consistent .02.
    Also said if hybrid system throws a code it would remain in the system and he could not find any other than the P0420. I talked to the remanufacturer he said all the bus Bars were replaced with new nickel plated bus bars. Not sure If I should break the seal or where to go from here?
     
    #19 JIM777, May 22, 2017
  20. JIM777

    JIM777 Member

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    #20 JIM777, May 22, 2017
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