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Unplugged charger while charging

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by speedypri, Sep 12, 2019.

  1. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    Hello Prius world. I have been enjoying my prius plug in for about a year and last night my girl decided to unplug it from the outlet while it was charging. I plugged it back in and no orange charging light. Thought it was done till I noticed the car say charging was interpreted and the ev port had the light on still. I've depleted the ev battery in my commute and tried a level 2 station by my house. Didn't work.

    I read some of the threads on here with similar issues so I will answer the common questions, no it is not on a ev timer. It uses a 220v charger at home. No oem charger. No orange light with home or ev charger station.

    I'll be checking the o rings and handle to ensure it "engages". 1568318876162.jpeg

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  2. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    I hope you were not too mean to the girl. A few dollars can fix anything on the car that broke. Maybe a fuse?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try disconnecting the 12v for a few minutes, but i have to warn you, you might lose some data like trip info
     
  4. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    I probably have unplugged while still charging 100 or 200 times and nothing bad happened.
    Well, nothing bad to the car.
    PIP was new in 2012, so I've probably charged it over 2500 times.

    Mike
     
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  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I’ve pulled the cord on our 2019 prime that we’ve had since April and nothing bad has happened;).

    It flashes a message in the cabin, but that’s easily dismissible (y).
     
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  6. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    I tried the trick of unplugging the 12V for 3 to 5 minutes. Turned the car onto ready. Turned off. Plugged in. Unplugged. Plugged in. Nada.

    I first tried unplugging 12V, using different chargers

    Is it a fuse I can change?

    Old lady beat herself up more than I did because we both know how much Toyota charges...450 to start any electrical work
     
    #6 speedypri, Sep 12, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 13, 2019
  7. Yea Right

    Yea Right Active Member

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    Could the charging cord need to be reset?
     
  8. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    Cable charger doesn't have a reset button than I saw but I used the same outlet and charger on my neighbors volt and starting charging the car right away. So that eliminated breaker to the house, cable, outlet.

    Was it unplugged from the outlet while it was charging? I get removing it from the outlet on the car but I know to never unplug from the outlet
     
    #8 speedypri, Sep 12, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 13, 2019
  9. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    There is a world of difference between unplugging at the charging port versus at the wall outlet. The push-button on the pistol grip disconnects power before the plug can be removed. But yanking the cord out of the wall during active charging will produce a visible spark accompanied by a voltage spike. It's probably twice as bad with a level 2 charger operating at 220 volts.
     
  10. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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  11. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    I would try to open the charger and look all around for a blown fuse inside, after unplugging it first!
     
  12. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    I'll try that. Even though regenerative braking is charging the battery I imagine there is more than 1 fuse?
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    unplugging from the wall is no different than your power going out while charging. the car can handle it. i think there's a blurb in the o/m
     
  14. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    If I'm correct in gathering that the wall outlet is still working and that your EVSE worked on your neighbor's volt, and a different charging station did not work for you, then that definitely narrows it down to the car. Even though you don't report any indicator lights, there's still some sort of fault that ought to show up as a code. I think I'd check for trouble codes first using Techstream or another PiP literate reader. It would seem that unplugging from the wall induced some sort of s power spike that the car didn't like. One can get away with that most of the time, but apparently not all the time.

    If it's a blown fuse, I would not expect a code, though, so that's the other place to look. In fact, before you doo anything else, how about fuse #17 in the engine compartment?
    Screen Shot 2019-09-13 at 2.26.37 PM.png
     
  15. noonm

    noonm Senior Member

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    I've stupidly done this before (while it was actively charging) and can confirm the quite noticeable sparking. In my case, it didn't cause any damage, however, I can see how it would.
     
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  16. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    To prevent sparking...press the button on the charger cable, wait ~1 sec, then pull the charger out.

    Mike
     
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  17. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    That would work. But won't happen when it's someone who doesn't know there's a proper sequence for unplugging. It's really a bit scary that some passer-by could casually yank the plug from the wall outlet and possibly damage the car.
     
  18. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I missed this before. Yes, the battery has two sources of power. The MG's in the transaxle feed the battery through the inverter and the EVSE feeds the charger which feeds the battery through the inverter. Two sources going to the same destination, so it's possible for one to have a problem while the other still works.

    Anyway, it's been a few days: what's the word on the fuse or fuses?
     
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  19. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    I saw this fuse and its fine. I'll check #17 but I'm sure I did already
     

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  20. speedypri

    speedypri New Member

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    #17 is fine....
     
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