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yikes.. possible traction battery failure??

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by hpartsch, Jul 9, 2011.

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  1. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    I've been trying to take care of her to have her last another 50-100k miles. I guess the only thing I don't understand is why it just wouldn't reduce power instead of completing shutting off? So your saying you basically had the exact same thing happen to you?

    The only other thing I thought of, which may have contributed was I helped moved a bunch of stuff in my car. It wasn't that heavy but most likely blocked the traction fan. I traveled about 5 miles, with 4/5 of it down hill/level. Then we unloaded everything from my car and the truck. This probally took 1.5 hrs. Then I went back up the hill that I just described comming down, with ac on literally max, radio on, going about 70. It did die on the steapest part of the hill, I usually start to go down to 2 bars right at that part of it.

    Any other suggestions/comments? If this is the case, this is quite interesting. I wonder if this was fixed on the 3rd gen?
     
    #41 hpartsch, Jul 11, 2011
  2. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Since you are interested in keeping the car for a long time, you may consider investing in an OBD-USB device and use my open source software to monitor and record data. See how I started:
    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-trip-record-fun-early-problem-detection.html
    and project home page:
    PriiDash(TM) - Enhanced Instrument Panel and Data Logger for the Prius and more

    For example you can look at the HV battery temperatures after driving to see if there may be any problem with the cooling etc.
     
    #42 2009Prius, Jul 11, 2011
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    This is very interesting. I really wish you could give us the trouble codes. It does sound like an overheating issue. When you arrive at the friend's house, after coming down the long hill, do you remember if your battery meter was in the green, 7 or 8 bars? I have noticed this on my car, where if I shut it off just as it reaches 8 bars, it has a tendency to turn on the fan full blast when starting back up an hour or two later. It also wants to preferentially discharge the battery, and seems to disfavor regen. At this point, I don't think you have anything to lose by disconnecting the 12V negative for 5 minutes to clear the codes, and seeing if the car is drivable upon reconnect.

    +1 on PriIDash.
     
    #43 seilerts, Jul 11, 2011
  4. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    The only time i heard the fan was after i force charged it, from 1 bar to full. This was after it was towed to my house.

    The car is currently driveable now, would you still suggest d/c the 12v battery?
     
    #44 hpartsch, Jul 11, 2011
  5. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Oh, go straight to an auto parts store and have them read the codes (usually for free), if your check engine light is still on.
     
    #45 seilerts, Jul 11, 2011
  6. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Update: I went to autozone and they pulled code P3190 if that helps at all.
    I found the link below.
    http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...us-died-randomly-today-tsb-eg047-cip3190a.pdf

    Update: I found this http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/skyvisions/2008-10-06_171437_05_prius.pdf

    It looks like this was an issue, I'm not sure if mine has been fixed but it is a 2005 made in 2004 so its likely this may be the problem. On page 12 they are showing a label, is that one the door?? Where can I located that if it was completed if it is not? Sadly the fix is only covered untill 80k miles...
     
    #46 hpartsch, Jul 11, 2011
  7. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    I just posted a discussion here:
    HV battery fan Voltage vs. Temperature

    Any dealer should be able to look up the VIN number of your car and find out if the TSB has been done or not. Good luck!
     
    #47 2009Prius, Jul 14, 2011
  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The ECU firmware update label is posted under the hood, on the driver's side.

    Regardless of whether this is covered under warranty, you should have the engine and hybrid vehicle ECUs reflashed with the latest firmware, if that has not already been done. You'll probably be charged for one labor hour.

    SSC 50P is the most recent SSC which relates to 2G ECU reflashing.
     
    #48 Patrick Wong, Jul 14, 2011
  9. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Thanks, I check and it has been done. So I'm going to clean the MAF and go from there. Hopefully it was just a cooling issue? Does that also sound plausible to you Patrick?
     
    #49 hpartsch, Jul 14, 2011
  10. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    DTC P3190 means the engine is not producing the expected amount of power. Typically this is because the throttle body interior and throttle plate are dirty. It also could mean that the MAF sensor needs to be cleaned. This would not be the result of a cooling issue.

    It is a reasonable idea for you to clean the MAF sensor if you remove the sensor from the air filter housing and use the correct MAF sensor cleaner. Do not use throttle body cleaner or any other cleaning product on the MAF sensor. Good luck.
     
    #50 Patrick Wong, Jul 14, 2011
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  11. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Okay thanks! I will do as you advice. I will not get any on the MAF, as I learned the hard way.
     
    #51 hpartsch, Jul 14, 2011
  12. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    i had a full shutdown with really no notice after about 20 mins or so of really aggressive driving from the second i left the house. i took it to the dealer and they didn't help. my mechanic friend tried to pull codes and the only thing he pulled was simliar to what you found.. engine reduced power. later on (30k miles?) i had actual reduced engine power with similar codes... that was my ignition coil failure. #1 failed with no codes pointing to it at all. it didn't generate codes till i unplugged the coil from the harness. (no codes generated from pulling the coil from the spark plug)

    no problems since... this is why i'm always skeptical of the ignition coils. (they're coming to get me)
     
    #52 V8Cobrakid, Jul 14, 2011
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  13. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    i'll check those that out too while I'm under the hood

    Thanks again!
     
    #53 hpartsch, Jul 14, 2011
  14. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Do you force charge it a lot?
     
    #54 richard schumacher, Jul 16, 2011
  15. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    No the time I was told to test it in the previous post was the only time I did that.
     
    #55 hpartsch, Jul 16, 2011
  16. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Well so far, no problems (put about 300 miles on the car). I don't know if it overheated or if the throttle body was dirty (i cleaned it and it didn't appear too dirty, it was cleaned <10k miles ago).

    I'll keep you guys updated, I got my first job, its in Louisiana (I'm from Pa). So hopefully I make it! It won't be for about 80 days though till i head down there.
     
    #56 hpartsch, Aug 10, 2011
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