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Fuel cutoff valve?

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by James_S, May 1, 2017.

  1. James_S

    James_S Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
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    I
    Does the gen 1 Prius have a fuel cutoff valve or fuel pump cutout that is triggered in an accident? We have a 2001 that was rear ended last year and totaled, bought it back from the insurance and swapped out the leather seats, interior door panels and the wheels which had almost brand new tires onto the replacement car. Ever since the accident it will start up and idle for a few minutes but then the engine stalls like it's out of gas and it kicks up a fault code about the gas engine not starting. I poured a few gallons into the tank so I'm fairly sure it's not out of gas. I know some cars have a safety cutout but I have not found it yet, I've seen replacement fuel pump cutout switches at parts sellers but I have no idea where that switch would be on the car. Now that I'm all done swapping everything I wanted I'd like to get it running properly so I can sell it as a parts car with a good drivetrain. It's still a drivable car when running, the damage was just going to cost more to properly fix than the car is worth.
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yes, it's called the circuit breaker sensor and it's mounted on a bracket next to the inverter.

    I've never heard of it cranking for "a few minutes" before the P3191 code comes up; isn't it more like 15 seconds or so? Do you see any other codes? What are you reading them with?

    -Chap
     
  3. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    Without getting all technical like the factory manual does, I'd be checking the operation of the fuel pump. You say it dies after a few minutes, if you turn the key to off, and then try to restart, does it come back on? And then die after a little bit? You can hear the fuel pump in the trunk, right side. Does it run when you turn the key to on, but don't start it? Perhaps the fuel line got kinked in the accident. I'm not aware of a fuel cutoff switch, but does the fuel pump relay work? I suspect you have a weak or failed fuel pump.

    I'll share something with you about parting cars (I've done 3 or 4.) It sucks! It doesn't really even pay a decent hourly rate. And you're stuck with the junk you can't sell. Pull whatever you want off, and then call the junk yard. If you're not staying in Gen 1, see if someone close want's you HV and then call the junkyard. If the HV is the original, it isn't even worth salvaging.
     
  4. James_S

    James_S Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2014
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    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    I
    The engine starts, idles for several minutes and then eventually stalls and throws up an error. It acts like it's out of gas, however I've dumped a few gallons in there and it *should* have had plenty of gas in it already. I'll have a poke around and see if the pump is running, I don't want to spend too much time on it, I just thought if there was something simple I could do that would get it running properly again then it would be easier for me to sell it to a prospective buyer as a driver they could either repair or use for parts. I just want to demonstrate that the engine/trans/inverter/etc is all in good shape. Another oddity that started happening after the accident is that I can't get the key to turn all the way off so I can take it out unless I disconnect the 12V battery. That one is a real head scratcher, I cannot imagine what purpose a solenoid lock preventing me from turning the key all the way off has, unless it's supposed to be activated when the car is in motion. I have a generic OBDII reader and my recollection is that the error it was giving was something along the lines of gas engine failed to start. It does start, but it stalls out and throws the error.

    Just to be clear, I'm not interested in parting the car out myself. We have another Gen 1 Prius we found to replace this one but I don't have space to keep a bunch of parts around trying to guess what stuff I might need. I already have a bunch of parts for my Volvos which are a lot more interesting to me, the Prius belongs to my partner and it's a good dependable if rather boring car but I don't particularly enjoy tinkering with it. The wrecked Prius has under 120k on it and was dealer maintained so the running gear ought to be in great shape. I've never even owned a car with so few miles on it.
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Usually when that happens it's because the car doesn't think it's fully shifted into park. The clever, not-in-your-face-but-effective signal they thought up for that is, as you turn the key from ON to OFF, the whole instrument cluster display goes dark except for PRNDB, which stay lit just long enough for you to say "huh, wonder why I can't turn this key ... oh." Is that happening? Maybe the accident jostled the shift position sensors out of alignment.

    Almost everyone else who says that on PriusChat is really being fooled by the way the Prius's high-power, high-rpm cranking sounds like a started, idling engine. But I can't explain your "several minutes" that way, because it won't generally crank that long ... more on the order of a quarter of a minute.

    -Chap