1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Triangle appears on long drives, then disappears

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Unclebobo, Jun 5, 2018.

  1. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I posted awhile ago but the problem persists:

    Whenever I drive to the city (which is infrequently), which has a lot of uphill freeway driving, I get the red triangle along with Check Engine, VLC, etc. This is usually after around 25-30 miles of driving.

    Then after about three days of my regular daily driving (flat roads, short distances) with the red triangle and the check engine light on, both alerts will clear themselves.

    I replaced the water pump. The coolant and oil are at good levels. I swapped the air filter recently. It must have something to do with overheating but I can't figure out what else to do to prevent the triangle triggering.

    I had an appointment to take it to the dealer (which is a 3 to 4 week wait) and the triangle turned off when I got there. They said if the alert isn't there, they won't be able to replicate it, so I'll have wasted $175 for a diagnostic.

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,521
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I think you have an overheating problem with a failed inverter pump. The warning goes away once the car cools.

    Open the inverter coolant reservoir cap and look at the fluid. With the car "ON and in READY mode", see if you see turbulence in the coolant.

    Also as you've recently changed your water pump on the engine side, make sure you check the coolant level in your radiator. It may not be full.
     
    m.wynn and Raytheeagle like this.
  3. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for your time!

    I replaced the pump to the lower right of the engine (pic attached). The dealer had it down as a water pump.

    I checked for the turbulence before and after I replaced this pump and there wasn't any, but the triangle turned off after I replaced the part so I thought it was repaired.

    Screen Shot 2018-06-05 at 12.25.23 PM.png
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,521
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    That looks like an inverter water pump. If there's no turbulence, then it's not working. Maybe it's not plugged in?

    I would let the dealer sort this out if they did the repair.
     
    m.wynn likes this.
  5. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Ack. I did the swap myself. I'll check the connection to power. (I tried figuring out which fuse it is thinking it might be blown, to no avail).
     
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,521
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    The fuse is not blown since you're still driving your car. When the fuse blows (AM2 fuse in the engine compartment), everything is disabled and you can't start your car.
     
    m.wynn and Raytheeagle like this.
  7. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Got it. Again, thank you. I'll poke around and see if I didn't plug the connectors in properly when I replaced it.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  8. MGpwr

    MGpwr Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2018
    80
    34
    0
    Location:
    Not far (enough) from Asheville, NC
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Business Edition
    Another thing it could be is a blob of pink slime in the cooling passsages of the inverter itself - if you have the inverter drained you can check by blowing through the openings on the inverter resevoir, if it's clear there will be little resistance
    in either direction.
     
  9. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Got it. And the only way to do a check like that is to drain the fluid, right?
     
  10. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    For sure no turbulence when I turn the car on. The plug appears to be seated correctly (aka--it's pushed in all the way). And it's a brand new inverter pump. If it's not the fuse, could it be a loose cable?
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,521
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Was this a brand new Toyota oem part?
     
  12. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes. Straight from the dealer.
     
  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,521
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It's best to read the codes when the triangle comes on again. Hopefully before your timeframe to return the part
     
  14. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,879
    16,193
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    When I changed the pump in my Gen 1, I did a quick test at the bench before putting in the time to install it. It doesn't want to be run dry, even briefly, but I put some short hoses on it and a dish of coolant and just gave it a touch of battery to see it move. Just adds to the confidence factor before going to the trouble of putting it in.

    I think Gen 2 pumps might be about as easy to test (somebody correct me?). Gen 3 and later might be harder; variable speed drive? I don't have the stuff in front of me right now. Could be test-run anyway by plugging it into the harness and telling Techstream to command it on (again, with some hoses and coolant so as not to spin it when dry).

    -Chap
     
  15. MGpwr

    MGpwr Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2018
    80
    34
    0
    Location:
    Not far (enough) from Asheville, NC
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Business Edition
    Yep, Just drain into clean container if it doesn't need replacement.
     
  16. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
  17. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks--

    It was all I could personally pull mechanically to get this thing in. I'm thinking I have to take it to the dealer--and hopefully they listen to me.
     
  18. Unclebobo

    Unclebobo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2018
    18
    2
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I gave in and took it to the dealer. It was the inverter water pump. So it was the pump located directly up from the one I replaced, which i also thought was the inverter water pump. Sigh. All in with diagnostic fees it cost $520 to get it straight.
     
    bisco likes this.
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,033
    49,997
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats!(y)