Slow progress diagnosing red triangle,vsc,(!),check eng, new 12vbatt

I have been searching and reading on the Gen2 forums for a problem like my 2007 prius touring with 130k miles. We bought it new and it has never let us down. Left the lift gate up for several hours recently and afterwards seemed to be some hesitation shifting on a long steep grade, and then the check engine light came on.Drove it maybe 15 miles more and the red triangle, (!), VSC, check engine, and finally, the little red car icon with red ! on the top left of the mfd came on.

Did some checking on prius chat and read the codes: I imagine some are red herrings:
B1421 solar sensor
P3000 HV batt malf (2 times)
C2122 Tire sensors (2 missing)
C2300 actuator malf
C2318 LV pwr sup
P0A80 (history) hybrid batt failure

We live in very hilly terrain and I have always watched the mfd for how the batt charges and discharges, and it hasn't really changed. Mileage is about 44mpg, with average trips of 10 to 20 miles.

The C2318 made me check the 12v battery and first thing in the AM it was 11.8, checking at the mfd with the info/3 light sw cycles, and with a volt meter at the fuse panel under the hood and also the battery in the trunk. Charging showed a good 14+ volts.

I got a installed a new Optima battery (the old batt was 5-1/2 years old). I had jumpered in a lawn mower batter during the exchange an d the lights and codes did not go away. I disconnected the battery ground and all the lights, etc, cleared. YES!

Then I drove it 1/4 mile and they all came back on. NOOOO.

This morning I got brave and drove it 1/2 mile. I was watching the batt charge bar graph on the mfd and the batt started out with 2 blank lines, but by the time I got home it was all green. But all the bad lights still on. I tried to read the codes again but the reader (a cheapie) was balky and the car was in the ON position for about 3 or 4 minutes. The gas tank bar graph started blinking, the background of the shift position indicator started blinking, and "PROBLEM" showed up on the top of the mfd. Also, the batt cooling fan in the rear seat started running and progressed to full speed and did not stop. However, the AC will run and blows cold air.

Now, the gas tank shows empty (it is definitely full), and the hybrid battery graph show no lines at all, even though it showed all green when parked 30 minutes earlier.

Under the hood, all fluid levels are good. The 12v batt still shows 12.5 volts. I looked in the inverter coolant reservoir while the the car was ON, and also with the gas engine running. At first glance I didn't think the coolant was moving, but looking closely I could see some barely perceptible ripples.

Is it time for me to get techstream, or are there a few mor things I can try before that?
Thanks in advance for the help that is offered on these forums!
Lloyd

 

Yes, thanks, that makes sense. I have a few other older cars so a decent reader won't go to waste.

Anybody have any favorites in the .... what ..... $150-$200 range, or is that too low to be really useful in a tough-to-diagnose situation? BTW, I do plan on keeping the 2007 Prius running as long as I can cost effectively fix it myself. So a decent reader is an investment.

Re: the coolant flow. I saw the 3d pictorial pic of the coolant hose layout (fairly convoluted) in a thread by someone who seemed to be having blocked flow. I can certainly disconnect a couple places and see if the flow looks reasonable. Some have described "turbulence" in the reservoir. This was definitely not turbulence, LOL. The pump should run whenever the car is "ON", but not actually running, correct? It runs 100% of the time?
Thanks.

 

I read thru all the pages of that thread. There seem to be a handfull of favorites, but maybe no clear decisive winner. I also have a Ford and Subaru so something like the Autel Maxi AP200 and its various off-shoots and successors might be better for my situation. Luckily, this isn't an emergency situation so some rumination about what to do can be done. All comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Lloyd

 

One step forward, 2 steps back.

I was congratulating myself for finding that the inverter pump was not pumping, until I realized I had not done the test correctly. I had disconnected the hose at "OUT" from the reservoir and expected to see some flow from the 2 clear hoses A and B. But then I realized I was only starving the pump, so therefore: no flow.

I hooked that back up and then disconnected the hose at the "IN" fitting to the inverter. Connecting 2 short pieces of clear hose C and D, I could see flow coming out of the "C" hose. It was flowing, but slowly. If memory serves me right, flowing like a slow beer tap.

So I know the inverter pump is good, although I will now need to get some replacement coolant because of what I lost during the test.

Time to settle on a scanning tool.

Here is the marked up plumbing diagram.
The A, B, and OUT config is incorrect.
The C, D, and IN config works for the test.

 

Sorry, I seem to be posting the same thing twice. Prbly just getting anxious with the POST button.

 

I am actually leaning toward the Autel MaxiDIAG MD806 Pro. It is less than $200USD and is a self-contained, hand-held unit with cable and its obd2 connector.
And it doesn't rely on bluetooth which I seem to have problems with.(user error ha ha)
I have a request in to Autel with my 4 cars listed to see if they are covered, and what, if any, subscription fees will be needed.
Please pardon my lack of knowledge, but what are the INF sub-codes that many of the other units can't pull. For instance, is tracking down exactly which motive battery module might be bad something that require INF codes. I don't want to be frustrated wishing I had bought something else. If it were user-friendly, and somewhat intuitive to use, that is a BIG Plus.

 

After talking to the folks at Autel, and giving them the list of cars (old and new) I have to deal with, the Autel MX808 is now on order. This is kind of new territory for me, but right or wrong, the decision has been made, so no regrets, and no looking back. It includes software for pretty much all cars, and 2 years of free updates, so hopefully it is at least what I need, and probably a lot more than I need. It is bi-directional, too. I am excited to see what it finds in the Prius.

 

Thank You! That helps a lot. I saw the mention of Freeze Frame capability, and now I kinda know what it can do. It will be a few days before the scanner comes, but I have been reading thru the online manual ahead of time. But every hint (like yours) is like having spent an hour studying the manual. And it takes some of the head scratching out of it. Thanks

 

New Autel MX808 scanner arriving today. Time for me to learn something totally new.

 

Looks like there is going to be a learning curve to using the more advanced functions of the MX808, but I did try the freeze frame and the data format looked pretty much exactly like your example in post #13.

I got off to a baffling start with the MX808 on the Prius so I connected it to my 2016 Tacoma and it worked fine. So I connected it back up to the Prius and it gave me the same baffling results. Almost all of the modules had an identical "lost communication" error, and this had happened with my cheapie scanner also, so both current and history. Also, the new optima battery is now reading 11.7 volts and less, and it was definitely fully charged when I first installed it. Maybe there is a high resistance short somewhere in the wiring? The Prius recently had some mouse issues in the cowling where the windshield wiper linkages are, but I know the mice were in other places, too, and certainly love to chew on wires. Could a low battery cause communication issues? Or maybe some chewed wires somewhere else? I will charge the battery back up tomorrow to get it at least 12.2 volts and see if the communication errors go away, but I doubt they will.

Any ideas on the cause for a multitude of "lost communication" errors?
Thanks, Lloyd

EDIT - P.S. I just did some searching on the forum and I think I will charge the 12v battery back up, then disconnect it to clear the codes, then try again with the MX808 and see if the lost communication errors re-appear.

 

I was able to charge the battery back up to 12.4 volts and clear the codes and let the prius restart and set a new batch of codes.
Here is the final batch as read by the Autel MX808:

P3000 Hybrid control, battery control system, current and history.
U0073 ABS/VSC/TRC, Control module communication buss off, current.
U0123 ABS/VSC/TRC,Lost comm with yaw rate sensor. Current.
U0124 ABS/VSC/TRC,Lost comm with lateral accel sensor module. Current.
U0126 ABS/VSC/TRC,Lost comm with steering angle sensor module. current
U0293 ABS/VSC/TRC,Lost comm with hybrid vehicle control system. current
C2122 Tire press monitor, Data from transmitter ID 2 not received (main). current
U0121 EMPS, Lost comm with ABS control module. current.
B1200 Gateway, Body ECU communication stop. History.
B1207 Gateway, Smart key ECU communication stop. History.
B1271 Gateway, combination meter ECU communication stop. History.

====================
But shortly before getting the "final batch" of codes, I had done another clear, and restart and read these codes:
C2122 Tire press monitor, Data from transmitter ID 2 not received (main). current
U0121 EMPS, Lost comm with ABS control module. current.
B1200 Gateway, Body ECU communication stop. History.
B1207 Gateway, Smart key ECU communication stop. History.
B1271 Gateway, combination meter ECU communication stop. History.
P0A80 Hybrid battery, Replace hybrid battery pack, Pending.

==============
But last night when the 12v battery was reading about 11.7 volts, I had gotten 37 codes:
U0293, lost comm with hybrid veh control sys, current and history
U0100 lost comm with ECM/PCM 'A', current and history
U0111 lost comm with batt energy control module A, current and history
P3000 current and history
P3108 current and history
U0129 current and history
U0146 current and history
C1259 current
C1310 current
U0073 current
U0123 current
U0124 current
U0126 current
U0293 current
C2122 current
U0121 current
B1200 Gateway, Body ECU communication stop. History.
B1207 Gateway, Smart key ECU communication stop. History.
B1271 Gateway, combination meter ECU communication stop. History.
P0A80 Hybrid battery, Replace hybrid battery pack, Pending. and current and history
P3015 Hybrid battery, battery block 5 weak, Pending.and current and history
U0129 current

=============================
Some of the codes seem to be persistent and others are more sporadic. All the codes that showed up later in the 2 short lists had already showed up in the prior long list.
The car is 2007 with 130k miles.
I looked at lots of wire harnesses and connectors and fuses. Including tugging and pushing and inspecting the fuses with an ohm meter. Off course, I only checked a small percentage, I know. Also looked for evidence of mice inside the car and found none. The only place was inside the front fenders and in the cowl where the windshield wiper linkage is.
Plus I am still just learning how to use the MX808, including the print setting, ha ha.

I really do appreciate any help or suggestions you might offer. I will follow up on them and will continue reading prior threads in the forum.
Thanks,
Lloyd

 

======================
It looks like I always got either a Pass/No Fault, or a Fault/(number), from all 16 modules on each test. But what I did notice is that the Gateway ECU ALWAYS showed 3 Fault codes. That makes me suspicious because we were poking a vacuum cleaner hose in the area of the cabin filter and behind the upper glove box. The connectors on the Hybrid Control ECU and the Engine control ECU directly behind the lower glove box look ok, but I need to get access to the Gateway ECU and check its connector. Maybe mice or over zealous vacuuming??? I will see if I can spot anything.
Thank you!