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2015 Prius Two dead as soon as I power it off

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by AdamXX, Aug 29, 2021.

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  1. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    A few days ago, I found my Prius two was dead - when I opened the door, there was no buzz, no light, complete dark on the panel; when I pressed the power button, zero response with everything that should light up just remained off.

    I thought I accidentally drained the battery by leaving the light on, so I went ahead and jump-started it with no trouble. After I drove it around for 15 miles, parked it in front of my garage, and pressed the power button to turn it off, the panel and all the lights just went totally dark immediately and it won't start again (same as before I jump-started it). I jump-started it again and drove a bit longer, but the same problem remained.

    I jump-started it the third time and measured the 12v battery (in the trunk) that showed a healthy 14.4v voltage. I measured the jump-start (positive) terminal in the main fuse box and it showed ZERO voltage. Then I shut the car off and checked a few fuses which were all good.

    Has anyone experienced a similar problem or have any idea what I should check next? Is it normal for the jump-start terminal to have zero voltage?

    Thank you very much for your inputs!
     
    #1 AdamXX, Aug 29, 2021
  2. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    Ok, now it is completely dead --- I could not even jump start it as before. Can anyone help?
     
    #2 AdamXX, Aug 29, 2021
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    git r new batiry.
     
    #3 Grit, Aug 30, 2021
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  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The times you jumped it, you were using the jump terminal in front?

    I would carefully check the connections to the battery in back: the positive clamp on the battery post, the negative clamp on the battery post, the connection where the negative wire bolts to the body, and the fuse built into the positive clamp.

    If you find the fuse is open, find out what's wrong in that cable running up to the front before replacing the fuse.
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Aug 30, 2021
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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Taking a drive in a car with near-dead battery is not a “get out of jail free” card.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Aug 30, 2021
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  6. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    Yes, I was using the jump terminal in front.

    Thanks for the advices! Where is the "fuse built into the positive clamp"? I've never noticed this before.
     
    #6 AdamXX, Aug 30, 2021
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I will guess your 12v battery is totally dead and is dragging down your jump battery. Could be corrosion on the cables around the battery or the negative body end. Check those items.

    Then its time to measure voltages with the system off. Start at the battery. Should be 12v-12.7v. Then measure the engine fuse box incoming 12v white cable 1E location. Should be the same as the battery, if zero then check 140a fuse on positive battery terminal. Then visually check the fuse box 125a located under the top section. Finally measure voltage fed by the 125a fuse. See diagram and pics. Any fuse in the top right of the diagram is fed by the 125a fuse. Any voltage on the interior fuse box is fed by the 125a.
    39C2AB98-3675-42EC-8030-C02A8FDF39C1.jpeg


    FC609BC5-C364-478C-AA71-B836AAC33581.jpeg 79C62163-0B98-47A0-A7A4-6F920A2B00CA.jpeg
     
    #7 rjparker, Aug 30, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2021
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  8. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    I found it, and confirmed this fuse is good.

    My bad, the negative pin of my multi-meter was not grounded correctly. The jump terminal does have voltage.
     
    #8 AdamXX, Aug 30, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 30, 2021
  9. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    The wiring diagram is really helpful, thank you Sir!

    (I was measuring in an incorrect way) The jump terminal does have the same voltage as the battery terminal, but at 2.49v. However, this is a battery I replaced last summer for $150:cry:.

    Now, the question is, should I buy another battery just to try? If the new battery still does not work and all self-diagnosis options exhausted, how can I jump-start the car myself (then drive) without paying 100$ to have it towed to a garage?
     
    #9 AdamXX, Aug 30, 2021
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The part of the clamp that kind of drapes over the side of the battery. It's like Dalí painted a battery clamp.
     
    #10 ChapmanF, Aug 30, 2021
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  11. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    That battery is dead and buried, 98.9%. But it should still have a warranty so take it out and have the seller attempt to raise the dead. If he can't you should get a prorated reduced price new battery.

    Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
     
    #11 rjparker, Aug 30, 2021
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  12. saltdiscus

    saltdiscus Member

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    Yeah warranty if not dealer will tow and put new battery if you buy from them.
     
    #12 saltdiscus, Aug 30, 2021
  13. Maarten28

    Maarten28 Active Member

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    Of course, because the inverter is giving 14.4 V to charge the battery. So the healty you refer to is to the inverter, not the battery. You can't infer battery health from this.
     
    #13 Maarten28, Aug 31, 2021
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  14. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    it's a really good idea to inspect the cables for corrosion. if they're corroded, they will reduce the batteries efficiency and cause starting problems, both in high (regular car's) starting and low (Prius) amperage starting/charging.

    given your description of the running voltage, the charging system is good but the 12v battery has expired
     
    #14 privilege, Aug 31, 2021
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  15. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    This makes total sense, thank you!
     
    #15 AdamXX, Aug 31, 2021
  16. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    Thank you for the recommendation! I did inspect the cables and they look clean.
     
    #16 AdamXX, Aug 31, 2021
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  17. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    Thanks! I bought the battery from Advance Auto Part, so luckily it is still under waranty. I will take the battery out and bring it to the store for a replacement. Cannot believe the battery would die only after one year's light use.
     
    #17 AdamXX, Aug 31, 2021
  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    What is sometimes missed is the car has a continuous drain on the battery even when shutdown. This is known as a parasitic load. Normally it is very low, maybe 25 ma, but even that can discharge the battery over a period of weeks if the car is not run or is only operated for a mile or two each week.

    However there can be excessive parasitic load from 50 ma (ma is thousands of an amp) to several amps. Usually caused by the rear hatch slightly ajar or aftermarket equipment sucking power all the time. Sometimes an obd2 device. In your case it was probably a bump on the road that caused an internal battery connection to fail.
     
    #18 rjparker, Aug 31, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2021
  19. AdamXX

    AdamXX New Member

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    I took the battery to AdvnceAutoParts today. They checked it to confirm the battery is dead, then they gave me a replacement. The car came back to life after I installed the new battery. Thank you everyone for the help! This is a great forum.

    Just for the sake of discussion, will parasitic drain or cable/terminal corrosion damage the battery and make it die? I am asking because I want to make sure my problem was purely a battery problem and not anything else.

    Now I am having a new problem - all the windows (except the driver side) are not operable with buttons on the driver side door, but they are still functional with the button on their respective doors. This problem didn't exist before the battery went bad. Any ideas?
     
    #19 AdamXX, Sep 2, 2021
  20. Higgins909

    Higgins909 Member

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    I think it was earlier this year I had to replace my 12v. I just took the old one to test at Autozone and bought a $200 battery from them. Only had a 3 year warranty. The battery I replaced was a Toyota True Start and it had a 84 month warranty and lasted 90 something months. Something like that. I have no idea how much the True Start battery was. I assumed it was more and don't know how much longer my car will last.
     
    #20 Higgins909, Sep 2, 2021
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