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wipers were going slow and red triangle came up

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by gone2green, Aug 26, 2012.

  1. gone2green

    gone2green grumpier than the grumpiest old man you know ;)

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    The other day we had a little rain, drove the car parked it left the wipers in the on position. Went
    to start the car again for another jaunt, and pressed the start button and brake pedal, the wipers came on very slow and the red triangle on the mfd came on. So I turned off the car and tried to start again, every thing was fine. So I am thinking my 5 yr aux battery is failing . Would I be correct in thinking that?

    I just ordered the yellow top optima from the elearn site that is listed on the forum.

    Or should I be thinking it is the hybrid battery? I know my hybrid battery runs down real fasdt but then again it is AZ and is hot with the ac on all the time. so that may be normal.
     
    #1 gone2green, Aug 26, 2012
  2. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    This does sound like the 12
    This does sound like the 12v battery. The HV battery should be fine as this is not in use till the car is made ready.
     
    #2 Britprius, Aug 26, 2012
  3. gone2green

    gone2green grumpier than the grumpiest old man you know ;)

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    Thanks for the prompt reply and to help confirm my suspcion of the 12 volt batt.
     
    #3 gone2green, Aug 26, 2012
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    12volt is the first place to start, so you're right in that regard... Maybe more stuff will come up after but odds are it won't!
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Aug 26, 2012
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Before spending $200, test it using the built-in self test procedure or a voltmeter.
     
    #5 richard schumacher, Aug 28, 2012
  6. gone2green

    gone2green grumpier than the grumpiest old man you know ;)

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    I did the self test a month ago, after I pulled it from the car the battery was at 9.85 on digital meter no load and double checked with my analog meter shows just under 10 volts dc set at the 20 vdc setting. So new battery time.

    UPDATE

    After receiving the new battery I thought I would put my smart charger on the old battery, it went to the desulfation mode right away. Does not get over 65% charge . The new battery is installed and mileage has improved back to 48 mpg and main battery does not drain as fast as it was doing before the replacement.
     
    #6 gone2green, Aug 30, 2012
  7. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    I would check the battery volts again when the car has stood over night if not Reading at least 12.6 volts send it back.

    There have been a number of reports of faulty Optima batteries on PC, Optima says that one of there batteries fully charged after standing for 8hrs should read (with a meter not the MFD and not under load) 13 to 13.2volts.

    Read > Question re-12v battery, please? In gen2 main forum.
     
    #7 Britprius, Aug 30, 2012
  8. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi Britprius. You might have misread that post. It's his old (dead) battery that's not taking a charge properly. In another thread he said his optima was 13.0 volts straight out of the box and is performing well.
     
    #8 uart, Aug 30, 2012
  9. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Thanks Uart I never was any good at speed reading in fact I'm not good at anything.
     
    #9 Britprius, Aug 30, 2012
  10. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    Yes you are:) . You have a very good mechanical mind and that is good. H
     
    #10 HaroldW, Aug 30, 2012
  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Very good on the yellowtop but throw that charger on the Yellowtop. Lots of us including myself have gotten a somewhat discharged Yellowtop out of the box. It really helps to charge it up first. In fact I would put it on the charger once a month anyway and give it a full charge. Thats what i do with all my cars and it really extends battery life.
    Plus you can track the battery health too.
     
    #11 edthefox5, Aug 30, 2012
    HaroldW likes this.
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