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Red triangle

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by greshambobb, Feb 9, 2020.

  1. greshambobb

    greshambobb Junior Member

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    09 Prius, 130K. No trouble codes since new. Pulled traction battery, removed buss bars,(light corrosion). Tested each cell, they were all within
    0.1 volts and the terminal bolt areas were dry with no corrosion. Reassembled with new nickle plated buss bars and stainless nuts and torqued the nuts. Next I installed the wiring harness for the Prolong charger/discharger. Installed the traction battery and made sure the cooling fan was clean and ran with the Prolong charger. Only had time to do 2 full cycles, but have seen a change in battery performance. OK, 3 weeks later and the red triangle and the Amber circle ! , And the VSC , light up all at once. Have tried with a Carista, and O'Reilly's and a friend's code reader.....they All say zero codes. Reset twice and lights come right back, and still read zero codes. Anybody got an idea? Can you steer to a list of faults that might cause these lights? I'll go to Toyota if I have too..... Thanks!!!! Bob

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #1 greshambobb, Feb 9, 2020
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Your code readers are not Prius friendly. The hybrid system codes are kinda "propriety" I suppose and most normal readers will not display them. You should look into getting Techstream or some of the popular hybrid vehicle smart phone apps. Odds are likely it's P0A80, which is "replace hybrid battery". This code will allow you to continue driving the car. Once it gets bad enough that you get a specific code for "Block x becomes weak", (in the hybrid battery) it will throw you into limited driving mode and the car will start feeling weak. Same thing if the P3000 code triggers.

    09 Prius, 130K. No trouble codes since new. Pulled traction battery, removed buss bars,(light corrosion). Tested each cell, they were all within

    I'm a bit confused, did you pull the battery and do this work when there were no problems? or did it code out and then you did the work? A prolong charger/discharger will not fix a failed module. It may cover it up for a while, but it won't fix it.
     
    #2 TMR-JWAP, Feb 9, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2020
    strawbrad, jerrymildred and SFO like this.
  3. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    #3 SFO, Feb 10, 2020
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  4. greshambobb

    greshambobb Junior Member

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    Thanks for the reply... Yes I pulled the battery when there were no codes, after 130K was noticing lower MPG and saw the battery reach the green state less often. Prolong seemed like a good preventive measure. The battery is now spending much more time in the green and the mileage is slightly better, but to be objective I have not taken it on a long trip yet. When I had the battery out tested each cell and all were within 0.1 volts range. You mentioned some smart phone apps that would be Prius friendly, could you recommend one or two? Really appreciate your help!! Bob

    Yes I torqued all the nuts after replacing all the buss bars and using new stainless nuts. Was reading about all the causes for the red triangle and took the time to top off all fluids and adjust the perking brake cable, reset the codes and will drive it today to see if that helps. Thanks for your input!! Bob
     
    #4 greshambobb, Feb 10, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 10, 2020
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Which device are you using? (iOS, droid, etc.)
    You might try another auto parts store, as each location may carry a different OBD2 scanner.
     
    #5 SFO, Feb 10, 2020
  6. greshambobb

    greshambobb Junior Member

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    #6 greshambobb, Feb 10, 2020
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    #7 SFO, Feb 10, 2020
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  8. greshambobb

    greshambobb Junior Member

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    Really appreciate your help working on this problem. Priuschat is a great group of people. Thanks to all

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #8 greshambobb, Feb 11, 2020
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  9. greshambobb

    greshambobb Junior Member

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    After reading several articles that suggested many different causes for the red triangle of death, I checked all of them. I filled all the fluids and adjusted the parking brake, check the voltage in the 12 volt battery and made sure that the orange safety device on the traction battery was firmly in place. I reset the codes, and it's been a week now and I've had no trouble at all. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions I really appreciate it. I can't say for sure exactly why the codes did not come back but it's working well so I'm happy.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #9 greshambobb, Feb 16, 2020
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