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Plug in outlet issue

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Jenny2113, May 29, 2016.

  1. Jenny2113

    Jenny2113 New Member

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    Plug-in Base
    Hi all,

    I just bought a 2012 Prius plug in and it's been great! I ran into a bit of a snag though. For the past 2 months I've been charging in my garage with and extension cord (outlet on the ceiling). It's been problem free. Then suddenly today I plug it in and no charge indicator light came one. I drove it to an outlet near washing machine and on came the light no issue. I live in an apartment building and checked my fuse box and no switches are going in wrong direction. The extension cord is lighting up indicating it has power. Only change in building is my neighbor has been using a power saw in his garage all weekend (not at same time I plugged in and I'd imagine we are on different electricity lines)

    Any thoughts or advice on how to process?

    Thanks in advance :)
     
    #1 Jenny2113, May 29, 2016
  2. gallde

    gallde Active Member

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    Plug-in Advanced
    After much use, my 2012 charging cord developed an intermittent break in one of the wires in the car-side cable near the "brick". The brick's Power light would come on, but not the light at the car connector. I'd wiggle the cable near the strain-relief and could usually get the charging to work, but eventually not at all. Public charging cables worked fine. So, I took the cable to the dealer and they agreed it was bad and replaced it under my 100k/7-year warranty.

    My point is that intermittent cord failure could make it look like one outlet was working and another not.
     
    #2 gallde, May 29, 2016
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    good one ^^^ can you try something else in the overhead outlet?
     
    #3 bisco, May 29, 2016
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  4. Jenny2113

    Jenny2113 New Member

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    Hi all,

    Thanks for the helpful info. I tried my hair dryer in the outlet and turned on no problem. I'll head to Toyota tomorrow see what they say. Hopefully it is still under warranty.

    Thanks!
     
    #4 Jenny2113, May 30, 2016
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  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Welcome to Priuschat - and to your "new" Prius.
     
    #5 alanclarkeau, May 30, 2016
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    plug it in again and wiggle the wire and brick from one end to the other to see if it's a loose connection.
     
    #6 bisco, May 30, 2016
  7. Jenny2113

    Jenny2113 New Member

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    No luck with wiggling, but we tested outlet and it's getting the 110ish volts. Looks like a tript to toyota
     
    #7 Jenny2113, May 30, 2016
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe 110 is too low? i'm not sure of the operating range.
     
    #8 bisco, May 30, 2016
  9. Jenny2113

    Jenny2113 New Member

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    That's the strange part, it worked great for the past month then suddenly stopped :(
     
    #9 Jenny2113, May 30, 2016
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe the circuit breaker is bad, but i'm just guessing. has it worked since then it the washer outlet? you should check it for voltage.
     
    #10 bisco, May 30, 2016
  11. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    More likely, you have a defective cable end. It should be covered by some warranty depending tha car's age
     
    #11 mrbigh, May 31, 2016
  12. Jenny2113

    Jenny2113 New Member

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    Yes, looks like a defective cable end. I can get it to charge if I rest the cable on the top of the charger door. The Toyota dealer today said the problem is with the cable, but that it isn't covered by warranty and would be 1200. Such a shame bc I just bought it from a different Toyota dealer certified pre owned about a month ago! Will call that dealer see if they say anything different. At least I've got my answer on canceling the upgraded warranty :)
     
    #12 Jenny2113, May 31, 2016
  13. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    If you can't get the cable replaced through warranty, check out EVSEUpgrade.com. You send your EVSE for them to upgrade to 240V level 2 charge for $239. They're going to open up the cord and replace things anyway, hopefully, they'll fix the problem as well. You'll get something repaired and better than the original.
     
    #13 mmmodem, May 31, 2016
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  14. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Alternatively, a technician/electrician should be able to repair it if it's only a cable issue.
     
    #14 alanclarkeau, May 31, 2016
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    also, call toyota if the other dealer balks. i think they are mistaken about the warranty.
     
    #15 bisco, May 31, 2016
  16. JSB15

    JSB15 New Member

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    And these are frequently sold on ebay for $400
     
    #16 JSB15, May 31, 2016
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  17. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    The dealer is grossly overpricing a new 120v charge cord. The original cord was made for Toyota by Panasonic which also made essentially the same cord for Nissan's LEAF. Although some of the early plugin cars like the 2012 Prius had some compatibility problems with other charge cords I know from personal experience that the LEAF and Prius cords were interoperable.

    Here's a link to a new LEAF Panasonic cord from Nissan that is sold on Amazon for ~$400.

     
    #17 Jeff N, Jun 1, 2016
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  18. Ev1lTw1n

    Ev1lTw1n Member

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    And if you can't get a replacement under warranty and you are feeling somewhat DIY-ish, there is always OpenEV | Home
     
    #18 Ev1lTw1n, Jun 3, 2016
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