Another tale of sudden weird electrical behavior. 2004 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ggarb, Oct 4, 2011.

  1. ggarb

    ggarb Member

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    Another tale of sudden weird electrical behavior.

    I have a 2004 Prius, with about 120,000 miles.
    Original batteries; I replaced the transaxle fluid and 60,000 and am about
    to again. I replaced a battery in my key fob a couple of months ago.

    Anyway, today the weather changed from the hot summer weather we've had
    the past week to cold, cloudy, and eventually drizzly and rainy. This may have
    something to do with the symptoms I've seen, or it may be totally irrelevant.

    Anyway, this afternoon I drove to the local coffee shop, parked, got a coffee.
    Got back in my car, which means the door unlock worked normally.

    Pushed the Start button and
    ..nothing..

    I pushed it three or four times, maybe a light flickered on the dash, maybe not.
    It did not start.
    I then held the Start button for four or five seconds, nothing.
    I made sure I was pressing the brake pedal completely, nothing.
    I tried inserting the fob into the dash and pressing the Start button, nothing.

    I was in the middle of a phone call, so I just sat there in the car while I
    finished that. And five or ten minutes later, as I was just sitting there,
    the car started up and went into ACC or IG-ON. I pressed the Start button
    and it just went into Ready. I drove home.

    A few hours later I had to go to dinner.
    Again, the door unlocked fine.
    Again, the Start button caused a few lights on the dash to appear and
    disappear, but the car didn't start. I'd left the front wipers on when I'd parked,
    and they moved a couple of times, then stopped.

    But after a couple of minutes of pushing the Start button, it started up.
    The clock was reset to 1:00, and the Nav gave me a warning about loading the system,
    don't interrupt. A minute later it was back to normal, but all my Previous Destinations
    were gone. (Saved destinations are still there.)

    I drove ten miles to dinner. After dinner, again the door unlock worked fine.
    Starting the car was again not normal - wipers moved then stopped. But by
    persistently pressing the Start key, and by wiggling the steering wheel, it came
    into ACC or IG-ON. Again, the clock was back to 1:00, the Nav did that loading system thing.

    Sounds to me like my 7 year old accessory battery is failing.
    Tomorrow I'll look to see if I can quickly get one of the new Optima DS46B24R batteries.


    Optima Announces Prius Replacement 12v Yellow Top Battery with Pencil Posts | PriusChat
     
    #1 ggarb, Oct 4, 2011
  2. ahmeow

    ahmeow Prius Lover

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    That's right. YOu should replace the stupid original 12V battery long time ago. All these weird happening were 90% caused by the bad 12V battery. ;)
     
    #2 ahmeow, Oct 4, 2011
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  3. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    LOL, you could have stopped right there and saved yourself a lot of typing.

    >>> Change the 12V battery <<<​
     
    #3 uart, Oct 4, 2011
  4. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Sounds to me like my 7 year old accessory battery is failing.

    Yep......that would be it.....
     
    #4 The Electric Me, Oct 4, 2011
  5. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Check the 12V!!! Hal
     
    #5 Hal W, Oct 4, 2011
  6. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    How long have you been on this forum and not noticed that the 12v battery goes bad at about 5 years old? ;)

    Glad you got it sorted.
     
    #6 GrumpyCabbie, Oct 4, 2011
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  7. ggarb

    ggarb Member

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    I've been on this forum since 2004.
    Sure I'd heard that the accessory battery doesn't last that long - but for some reason mine had. So I just kept going.

    I was really just looking for reassurance that 'd diagnosed the problem correctly. I'll order my Optima DS46B24R right now.

    Thanks, all, for helping out.
    /Gordon
     
    #7 ggarb, Oct 4, 2011
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    It's possibly it's been bad for awhile and more likely that it's been marginal for a long time. I'd be curious as to the results of http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html after you've left the car overnight. It's almost certainly way under 12 volts after the 1st step (Vehicle Signal Check).

    Remember, the 12 volt in the Prius doesn't start the ICE so a bad/low 12 volt will never give symptoms of slow cranking nor inability of a starter to crank the ICE (since the Prius doesn't have a separate starter motor).
     
    #8 cwerdna, Oct 4, 2011
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  9. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi ggarb. Sorry about shouting ">>>change the battery<<<", it's just this was such an obvious case I didn't even bother read to the end of your post. :redface:

    Anyway here's some constructive tips for operating with a weak battery.. Obviously get the battery changed as soon as possible, but in the mean time.

    - Turn off the SKS (keyless ignition)

    - Don't run any accessories until you get the car in ready. Note that this means you should turn off everything (AC, fans, radio, demister etc) before you exit ready mode at the end of each trip. You should then power off and immediately remove the FOB and exit the car, quickly closing all doors and the hatch.

    - When entering the car for a trip, again enter quickly and don't leave the doors open. Fob in the slot and make it ready as quickly as possible. Don't use any lights, accessories, radio, anything, not until you've made ready.
     
    #9 uart, Oct 5, 2011
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  10. ggarb

    ggarb Member

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    No apology needed - I posted so I could get just the kind of feedback that I did. I appreciate it all.

    Since Monday I haven't had any problems; everything is acting normally. But I know that it could act flaky again at any time.

    When I ordered the new Optima replacement, I paid extra for express shipping, so I hope to have it by Friday, then I'll install it. (Thanks to *hobbit and the others who have posted photos and instructions on Priuschat.)

    Other than unplugging my radar detector until I get the new battery installed, I'm just operating the car normally. Luckily it's not very hot here - we even had our first rain of the fall yesterday. And I do have a jumppack in the trunk, just in case.

    Thanks,
    /Gordon

    BTW, Uart, that's an attractive Alsatian/German Shepherd in your icon photo. I have one too.
     
    #10 ggarb, Oct 5, 2011
  11. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Did you order the new Optimal that is made for Prius and does not require the cable change? Hal
     
    #11 Hal W, Oct 5, 2011
  12. ggarb

    ggarb Member

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    Hal, yes, I ordered the new Optima DS46B24R.
    It's a direct plug-in replacement for the OE battery, no adapter cables or installation kit needed.

    Optima BatteriesOptima Batteries DS46B24R YellowTop Prius Auxiliary Battery

    It shipped today and I should have it Friday.
    (Regular shipping would have taken longer, but would have been free.)

    If only my car had started acting flaky last week, I could have gotten the 15% discount Optima offered on Facebook. :-(
    Optima Batteries - Automobiles and Parts - Milwaukee, WI | Facebook
     
    #12 ggarb, Oct 5, 2011
  13. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I don't think you would of gotten so much sarcasm in some of the responses except for the title of your thread.

    This was NOT another case of "Sudden Weird Electrical Behavior". This should of been a case of- Fully Expected Accessory Battery Failure.

    It took 7 years for this to happen, and it should of been expected. It was not sudden or weird.

    Presenting the whole thing as a question....and with a title suggesting you didn't understand what was causing the symptoms- invited sarcastic response.
     
    #13 The Electric Me, Oct 6, 2011
  14. ggarb

    ggarb Member

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    I don't mind a little sarcasm.

    I knew the accessory battery typically needed to be replaced at some point, and would in my car too. I just didn't know when.

    So this was sudden weird behavior in my car.

    I posted here to make sure I was diagnosing the problem correctly - as everyone so helpfully pointed out that I did.

    I appreciate the advice everyone gave.
     
    #14 ggarb, Oct 10, 2011
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