the car has a new 12v battery almost a year old, had 250 miles trip on saturday, and today when we opened the door, there was no life sign. Looks like battery drained, the dash lights turn on very dimmed but doesnt start. When I plug the battery maintainer, I can see the green light on key fob with depressing brake pedal but it's not strong enough to start. Tried to charge it but it didn't go thru and red light blinked on charger. When retry charging it makes a weird noise and makes sparks when taking the positive off. The trunk is closed I was gonna directly charge the 12v. How can I open the trunk and any idea what's going on? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
You cannot use a battery maintainer to charge the battery. It is made to maintain a full charge, not charge a depleted battery. You'll need to get a proper battery charger to charge it. Hopefully you caught it early enough before it got damaged.
This is exactly what I have Schumacher SC1319 Fully Automatic Battery Maintainer- 1.5 Amp, 6/12- for Car, Power Sport or Marine Batteries https://a.co/d/6ehhpO7 Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
1.5amp won't do anything to charge a battery. You need a minimum of 4 amps to 10amps (maximum) to do the job
I was able to start the car but something weird that part of the dash lights not turning on. Checked relevant fuses, didnt see any blown. I see hybrid system working according to left indicator and noises from car while driving
It came back on, and now everything seems normal. Just curious, what might have drained the 12V battery? checked the lights were not on position. This never happened before
Vanity mirror is one of the sneakier ones: 3rd Gen Owner's Manual recommends 4.2 amps max. Maybe overkill. Too: 1.5 amp charger will charge the battery albeit slower. 3~4 amp chargers will take 8~10 hours for a moderately depleted battery.
The one that has gotten me twice is the rear hatch which is closed enough to latch but not completely closed.
You can charge a battery with just 1.5 amps. It will just take a long time. 4 amps is the maximum you're suppose to use on an agm battery. They are not the same as the regular battery that has liquid acid in it. You can really physically damage it if you use too high amperage. You should check all your doors to make sure the lights go out when you shut the door. Also the trunk.
