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Will not "ready" or turn over ICE

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Matthew Gluth, Oct 1, 2017.

  1. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    I have a 2009 Toyota Prius. I bought it with a bad motor, I purchased a motor to switch them out. After this, I am not able to get the motor turn over. I tried to turn the motor over before I removed it and it would not turn over then either. I'm guessing it is in "failure to start" mode. Like it would if out of gas. As the previous owner did try to get it to start when it through a rod. The HV battery has only one bar left and I'm running out of options before the battery is completely dead and I have to purchase a new one. I do not have the big red triangle, but the other lights are on. ((!)), check engine, VSC, trac control, and brake. I have been searching for days without any luck with a solution. I have tried the Master Reset, the car will go into Inspection mode but the ICE will still not turn over.

    What make the car allow to get into "ready" and what allows the ICE to turn over.

    The start button is green with no brake and amber with brake depressed, there are 2 bars on the fuel gauge, just added about 3 more gallons and still at 2 bars. The tail lights do turn on when pedal is depressed.

    I do not show any OBDII codes. Not sure what to look at next. I like to troubleshoot and learn how things work, but this is just not playing nice. I have a factory service manual for my car but doesn't really cover "ready" mode.
    The 12v battery was low in charge. Recharged it and have 11-11.5 volts under load.

    Any help is appreciated.
    Is there a way to reset "failure to start" without going to dealer?

    What is the process for starting the Prius through "ready" state? (just to be sure I'm not missing a step, I'm a new Prius owner).

    How low can the HV battery get and still turn over the ICE? (One bar purple, maybe 2 bars purple)

    How do I determine if the HV battery is balanced?

    Thank you for your help in advance.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome. what is the 12v reading car off, and after it has been off a few hours?

    12v boots the computers and closes relays. hybrid battery starts engine. do you have any codes?
     
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  3. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Welcome to Prius Chat (y).

    Is the orange safety plug seated properly? All connections are double checked for proper seating?

    Keep us posted(y).
     
    #3 Raytheeagle, Oct 1, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2017
  4. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    Good evening and thank you. I have checked the Orange plug and reseated it. It goes in, the lever flips and I can feel it kind of click closed. It looks like it did before I removed it so I believe it is correct. I get 1-2 purple bars. Getting closer to one purple bar
    I have checked the other HV connections and they all look good and feel inserted completely. I do not have any codes unfortunately. That is what baffles me.
    As for the 12volt battery after sitting is 11.5 volts. I have even put my battery charger on it for a few hours to give it a boost and tried to get it to start. No luck.
    Today I put it in inspection mode and tried to turn it over manually with a ratchet and some extensions. Hoping it might fire or something. No luck.
    Also, I did not seem to hear the fuel pump today. I'm looking in the manual now to see when it is supposed to be on and where to check the fuel pressure to see if there is an issue there.
     
  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    What are you using to read the codes with?
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    your 12v id dead, and you have to slide the orange switch after locking it down.
     
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  7. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    What do you mean by slide after locking it, which way is it slid?
     
  8. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    I have an OBDII code reader. Should I be using something different?
     
  9. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    YES!

    Your code reader is junk. You need Techstream to read the codes, and work on the Prius.
    As you are finding out the hard way, you are doing yourself a disservice by working on the Prius w/o Techstream.
    1) Buy mini VCI from Amazon. $20-$30. All the selllers are sellig the same knock-off cable and hacked Techstream software.
    2) Get an obsolete Windows 32bit laptop (XP or 7). This will be your dedicated Toyota code reader. Many threads on install help for Win and Mac, just search.
     
    #9 exstudent, Oct 3, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2017
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  10. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You flip the lever up and then you push it DOWN to lock it. You'll hear it click.

    Then your car should start
     
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  11. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    When you said the taillights don't come on when brake is depressed did you mean the brake lights don't come on? I've heard of cases here where the brake light switch is bad. If the switch is bad the car doesn't think you have your foot on the brake and the car won't start.
     
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  12. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I read that as "no brake warning lights on the dash are on" when he pushes the brake but yes a confirmation of rear brake lights should be done. If they don't, the switch may still work, just out of adjustment (very common on motorcycles).
     
  13. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Oh I didn't know that you could adjust the switch. I guess that's why some people said that if they really mashed down on the brakes the light would come on and the car would start.
     
  14. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    Mistake on my part. The voltage after it sat over night no charger is 12.5volts.
     
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  15. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    I did miss that step. I clicked it down and still no "ready" state or ICE start. I do have 4 bars on the HV now, that makes me feel better about the HV battery charge.

    I will need to get a different code scanner. Any other thoughts until I get one?
    Thank you all for your input and help thus far.
     
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what was going on with the first motor, just the failure to start symptom? how many miles on her?
     
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Now try and reset the car by disconnecting the 12v for a minute. It should start
     
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  18. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    Threw a rod from #2. I bought it broken. So I have to assume a failure to start after 3 attempts. Motor had 305k
     
  19. Matthew Gluth

    Matthew Gluth New Member

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    Awesome!! Started, then died. Shut off and started again and now it runs. Thank you everyone! Might have a few more questions as I get to driving it, but happy to have it running.
     
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