Multiple warning lights came on - 12v battery related?

If you disconnect the battery to fit the Optima you will also remove the trouble codes. Check the coolant flow in the tank next to the inverter. In ready you should see movement in the coolant with the cap removed, you should also here noise from the pump itself behind the drivers side headlamp. This pump has been or is the subject of a recall. No movement in the fluid is a sure sign the pump is faulty.

John (Britprius).

 

Since the ambient air temp is pretty cold now in your area, I doubt that a failed inverter coolant pump is causing your warning lights. However you might make the Prius READY and look at the inverter coolant reservoir for fluid turbulence. If you don't see turbulence then the pump is not working.

I agree with your plan to charge the battery overnight. Before you do so, disconnect the 12V battery negative cable where it bolts to the body, so that the ECUs have a chance to power down and reset. Check the tightness of the other battery cable connections.

Then, after you've fully charged the battery overnight, reconnect the 12V battery negative cable to the body, tighten the bolt, and see what happens when you make the Prius READY. Depending upon the presence or absence of warning lights as well as any noticeable driveability symptoms, you'll have answers to your two questions.

It is true that you will lose DTC when you disconnect the battery, but I would not worry about that. If your car has a serious issue, the DTC will come back.

 

I had the same thing happen to me this year on my 2006. I would tell you charge and drive, charge and drive. The only thing that no one mentioned is: if your car is equipped with SKS turn it off (little button under steering colum labeled "KEY") this will help slow the battery drain while the car is parked during the day. I would also remind you that if you do end up dead somewhere - use your key blade to unlock the car - place your key in the slot - turn on to accessory mode (do not start it or put it in ready mode) as long as you have juice in your traction battery lots of times the ECU will charge your 12Volt battery enough to be able to start the car.

 

My battery has been sick, too. Right now it appears dead (car will not start). I plan to charge it tomorrow. I've never done this before. Do I use the jump-start terminals under the hood or do I have to get at the battery in the back?

Also, is it too late to turn off the SKS? That hadn't occurred to me before today.

 

bfguilford,

I think you might be having the same problem I had with my 2006 Prius, had 150,000 miles on it when a bunch of lights came on (red triangle, check engine light, brake light, exclamation point on the display monitor). People will often get confused with the warning lights on the dashboard and the smart move is to check the 12volt. However, there are some tell tale signs if it's not the 12 volt. My hybrid battery went out and yes this was a nightmare that I had been hoping wouldn't happen for a long time but after taking the car to a toyota dealer, they told my the hybrid battery was going out and would cost $3,800 to replace with only a 1 year warranty to boot for the replacement.

If you need more help, I replaced the battery myself. I ordered the battery through hybrid battery depot with a 18-month warranty and saved over $2000 dollars. If you need more information, please email me. I also am available to help anyone in the San Antonio area if you have the same problem. You can reach me on email at [email protected]. By the way some signs that the hybrid battery is going out is the gas mileage begins to decrease, you start to hear the fan noise coming from near the rear passenger seat.

Dennis

 

I want my PHEV,

The 12 volt battery on the 2004-2009 Prius is in the back not too far from the hybrid battery. You can jump the 12 volt like you would any other battery. Take a look in the right corner (as you look into the hatchback and see the back side of the rear seats and rear view mirror) from the near the front of the hatchback next to where you keep the spare tire. You can lift the little plastic carpet cover lid which covers the battery. First, you must remove the plastic storage area box over the tire. Once that is out of the way, then you can lift the compartment lid to see the battery. You have to unloosen some bolts and other electrical slips covers and brackets to remove the battery; however for charging purposes, the negative battery terminal is visible and easy to get to but the positive has a red cover which takes some manuevering and is actually snaps into the main electrical wiring system. If you can get the red cover off without breaking the detachment, then it's very much like jump-starting any other battery.

 

Yes, I know where the battery is. I had someone jump-start it a few days ago and he went there to the back. So, what you're saying is I'll want to get back there to charge it? How long will it take? Don't I have to leave the door open to get power to it?

 

I've hooked up my Optimate 4 charger to both the jumping terminal in the front (and a strut bolt for negative). I've also charged it back there. I've just left windows open and run the cords thru the window when charging in the back.

How long it'll take depends on the speed of the charger. http://autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid03.pdf (link from AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICAL ARTICLES) says to not go over 3.5 amps. My Optimate 4 doesn't go over 0.8 amps.

 

I don't think I can get a window open.

 

Lets hope that is the end of the problems for you. As I said in my first post the difficulty with disconnecting the 12 volt is that it removes the trouble codes.

I'm sorry I cannot recommend a charger as I am the wrong side of the pond to be able to do this, but keep it below 4amps.

Have you checked the coolant flow, I know you had the pump replaced but there have been quite a few reports on PC of the new pumps failing at low millage and it costs nothing to look and eliminate the possibility.

John (Britprius).

 

Everyone's partial to what they've got, as long it's working well. I like my CTEK 3300: good range, intelligent charger, robust, portable, comes with nice case. A little pricey though: regular price in the '70's, but goes on sale around 60 sometimes.

 

I posted battery tender/maintainer suggestions | PriusChat but didn't get much in the way of replies...

Yes, turning off SKS will reduce parasitic drain.

I'm not convinced the bolded part is good advice. I think that only puts a drain on the 12 volt and doesn't use the traction battery to charge the 12 volt at all. AFAIK, you need to be in READY mode for that. That's why when one goes thru Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat, you don't see the voltage jump to a high amount (13.x to 14.x volts) until you go to READY.

 

Barry the car does not need to cool down but yes the car needs to be in ready mode you should see movement in the coolant and also hear the pump running down behind the drivers side (for you in thee US) headlamp.

The new pump was re designed and fitted as standard after 2007 because of bearing failure, but now there is a recall up to 2009 because the insulation on the new pumps was being damaged in production causing them to fail.

I have a 2008 that was not part of the first recall but has now been recalled and I had a new pump fitted a few weeks ago.

I do not know if Toyota will change your pump a second time but there have been quite a number of the new pumps failing and reported on PC.

John (Britprius).

 

Success! The spaceship was able to muster up just enough power to open a window, but it turned out I didn't need it. I borrowed my neighbor's charger and we were able to get at the positive terminal without removing the red cover and it charged up pretty quickly. I asked him the charger speed and he wasn't sure but it was "under 5." I have a scangauge so I watched the voltage go up and soon I was able to start it up. I drove it around quite a while and managed to avoid turning it off until I got home. I have now turned off the SKS (and left it unlocked). I checked the gauge again a few hours later (car still off) and it is at 12.0. It was at 7.2 this morning before the charging.

Tomorrow is my appointment to get a new battery. Maybe I should look into getting my own charger.

Barry, I hope your car works great with the new battery. That was a long time for your battery to last. Sorry if I kind of hijacked the thread, but there was a huge overlap in the advice. For the record, I hadn't noticed any weird symptoms before it not starting a few days ago. I track my gas mileage carefully and it has been the same. As my 5-year anniversary is coming up soon, I had been contemplating replacing the battery anyway. Silly me, I had a scangauge and didn't realize I could easily check the voltage.

Now I am much wiser and many thanks to PriusChat and this thread and the other useful information on this excellent forum!

 

This is from third gen manual, but likely similar:

(Likely they're being conservative. And even when you hook up to to say a 6 amp charger, the indicated charging rate can be 2~3 amp.)

Yes, very handy to have. See my pick, up the page.

Another possible acquisition, if you've got deep pockets, is a jump-start pack. Especially handy for avoiding resorting to jumpstarting others when you have a hybrid, since the hybrid 12 volt batteries tend to be tiny.