OMG I left the dome light on ....

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by jdcollins5, Sep 20, 2013.

  1. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I walked out to get the paper the other morning and saw the faint light inside my car. I had been out the night before playing around with my new Engine Link toy. I have read many posts about this and having to jump the battery to get it started.

    My battery is passing 4 years now so I was concerned about the battery drain. I checked the SGII and the 12V battery was reading 12.3V, so far so good. I thought about doing the headlight test for just a second and went straight to the Power button. The car started with no problem.

    This made me realize that those that have had battery issues and had to jump start the car after doing something as simple as leaving a dome light or hatch light on must have had a very marginal battery. So to me if this were to happen to me in the near future it will be an immediate sign to replace the 12V battery. Do not hesitate.

    I have a 52 mile RT commute each day so my battery is getting a thorough charge. Those that have short trips may not be getting a thorough charge each day.
     
    #1 jdcollins5, Sep 20, 2013
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i do that everytime i use the light before getting out of the car.:mad: glad your battery is okay!(y)
     
    #2 bisco, Sep 20, 2013
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  3. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Darn JD, now we are going to have to take your Prius merit badge and half your thanks away. :)

    Glad it didn't kill it.
     
    #3 spiderman, Sep 20, 2013
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Nope, just a hybrid sized battery.

    Even if the battery's in the pink, just the dome light being on for a few hours can put the battery near death. I have the dome light switch in the fully off position, hatch light switched off, auto headlights off. With the latter it might almost make sense to use it, but I just don't trust them, and it's biologically impossible for me to walk away from a car with it's head lights blazing.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Sep 20, 2013
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  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I am prone to do this on occasion. That is why my interior incandescent bulbs were changed out for normal brightness LEDs drawing about 1/10th as much current. (Some folks prefer stadium brightness lighting, requiring higher currents.)

    While this doesn't cure the problem, it extends the clock for discovering and remedying the problem by a factor of 10. Or for a fixed amount of time, sharply reduces the battery stress.
     
    #5 fuzzy1, Sep 20, 2013
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  6. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    It's funny. If you leave the radio on, the car will shut it off to protect the battery.
     
    #6 El Dobro, Sep 20, 2013
  7. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    And it was hard for me to believe I could actually switch the A/C on in the "On" mode (the one that comes after the Accessory mode) when I first noticed it a couple of years back. I almost ran down the 12V with the A/C.

    Going to be testing the BatteryBrain auto-disconnect switch this weekend...
     
    #7 srivenkat, Sep 20, 2013
  8. Les_PL

    Les_PL Active Member

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    What type of LEDs? I intend to do the same.
     
    #8 Les_PL, Sep 21, 2013
  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    See my old post at: Interior light left on..caused damage?

    My choice was based strictly on convenience (WiredCo) and previous business (SuperBrightLEDs), not because I had any reason to believe their products were better than others. These are working fine for me. Numerous other threads have many other suggestions.
     
    #9 fuzzy1, Sep 22, 2013
  10. Les_PL

    Les_PL Active Member

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    Thanks :)
     
    #10 Les_PL, Sep 23, 2013
  11. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    So the dome/courtesy lights doesn't auto shut off after a certain time has passed? It did in my last car. I have a 2013 if that makes a difference? I thought it did as I forgot once.
     
    #11 Sfcyclist, Sep 23, 2013
  12. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    It does normally. If you press one of the lights and turn it on manually it will not turn off automatically. This is what I did.
     
    #12 jdcollins5, Sep 23, 2013
  13. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    So all lights(interior and exterior) turn off automatically if you don't "overide" it?
     
    #13 Sfcyclist, Sep 23, 2013
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It'd be nice if there was some way to supply unlimited 12 volt to the car (via a converter of some sort) and test this.
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Sep 23, 2013
  15. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    It's a timed auto off so if you are testing, that would be easy. Anyone know what that duration is?
     
    #15 Sfcyclist, Sep 24, 2013
  16. car compulsive

    car compulsive Active Member

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    The lady who borrowed my Prius this summer left the dome light on one day and her husband caught it that night. I got a 10:00 PM call from him about a light being on in the car and I talked him through turning it off. The light was only left on for a few hours, so everything seems fine for now.

    I'll still loan the car out. My future sister-in-law is coming up in October (I guess she won't be future by then), and she'll borrow the car for a few days to visit with her mom.
     
    #16 car compulsive, Sep 24, 2013
  17. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    #17 srivenkat, Sep 25, 2013
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