Dead battery saga - FYI and questions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013.

  1. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Come back from vacation, completely dead Prius, parked nose in to a crowded garage. Great.

    Jump on line, see how to pop the trunk to jump it. Took a while to find the mini-lever in the hole. Then find lever will only partially release the trunk, so it jiggles but won't open. Grrrrrrrr.

    Hook up charger to under hood connections. 12 hours later, still won't start. See dome light was stuck on, turn off, repeat, still won't start.

    Climb into trunk from inside, remove battery (not hard, just a bit cramped). See Toyota battery is only 14 months old. Hmmmm.... Note I bought the car used in January with no paperwork

    Charge up directly. Check it holds charge overnight. Reinstall. Car starts p and has been fine for two days now.

    Question: are there known issues with charging through the under hood connectors? Didn't seem to do it for me. Glad I tried to charge it with it out of the car or would have been out a new battery.

    Question: common problem that the trunk doesn't fully release? I have yet to retry with everything charged up.

    Question: if I take the battery to Toyota should it be bad which I doubt now) will they honor the warranty without receipt?

    Thanks for listening to my rant!
     
    #1 NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,489
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    No, but it did not help that you were trying to charge the battery while the passenger cabin lighting remained on. The light will probably take at least 2A. How much current can your battery charger deliver?

    No. After you have moved the mechanical lock release, you need to exert upwards pressure on the hatch to open it.

    If the 12V battery sold over the parts counter is a GS Yuasa battery, it probably has only a 12 month warranty. If the battery is TrueStart then it will have a longer warranty. However you will need the battery receipt to file a claim.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 14, 2013
  3. css28

    css28 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2012
    1,566
    443
    3
    Location:
    Suburban Detroit
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    There is an issue with the underhood jump terminal if the charger clip only conducts to one jaw, since the jump terminal is metal on one side and plastic on the other.

    [Edit: I'm not sure if this is true for Gen 2 Prius cars]

    I wouldn't think that to be the case for a charger though.
     
    #3 css28, Aug 14, 2013
  4. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Thanks for reading this Patrick.

    I tried pushing and tugging on the hatch but no luck. I will get that looked at next time I go in for an oil change.

    I agree on the light - charger was pushing 4A IIRC. It also has a fast charge of 10A but was nervous of using that as read somewhere that 2A was the recommended maximum

    It's a Truestart - will also check on that next time I am in there.
     
    #4 NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013
  5. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    585
    152
    0
    Location:
    Monterey CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    How long was the car parked for ?
     
    #5 Drdiesel, Aug 14, 2013
  6. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II

    One week.
     
    #6 NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013
  7. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2011
    1,686
    340
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    The battery does not have a warranty issue. One week @ 2 amps is much more than its amp-hr rating, so it did it's job as advertised, until it was completely discharged.
     
    #7 nh7o, Aug 14, 2013
  8. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II

    That's not why I raised the question about warranty - at first it seemed like it had died completely and wouldn't hold a charge. So far so good though.
     
    #8 NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013
  9. uart

    uart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    4,220
    1,209
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I've never had any problem charging from the front jump point so I'm thinking it may have been a connection problem.

    There's not much space to connect the +ive charger lead in that little fuse box partition and I know that some people have difficulty getting the charger clip properly secured onto the post. Some possibilities are:

    1. If you tried to fit the clip fully within the little "partition" then you may have only had the plastic insulation touching the post, because there's not much space there if the clip is large.

    2. If you have a larger clip and tried to clip it overhanging the side of the fuse box then, as css28 said above, with only one jaw of the charger connected to the post it may not have been the live jaw.

    3. A bad ground connection.

    When I connect a charger I always try to make the earth arc* a few times (by brushing it against its contact) so that I know for sure it's making connection and carrying current.

    *BTW. Of course be careful if the earth point is near the battery that you don't do this if there's any chance of hydrogen build up being present. Fortunately a flat battery when first connected is not a condition where any appreciable hydrogen build up is even remotely likely. And of course the battery is well away from the jump point in the Prius anyway, so the whole issue is not even applicable here.
     
    #9 uart, Aug 14, 2013
  10. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Good points. My charger has a built in sensor for a valid connection at the terminals, but I guess that may not preclude a poor connection.
     
    #10 NoPrevius, Aug 14, 2013
  11. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2010
    5,194
    1,917
    0
    Location:
    Herefordshire England
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    That is why it did not charge.
    Chargers reverse polarity sensing usually require a reasonable voltage at the battery terminals before they will begin charge the battery. A completely discharged battery with a dome light still connected will not produce enough voltage to initiate the charging from the charger.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #11 Britprius, Aug 14, 2013
  12. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    585
    152
    0
    Location:
    Monterey CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    #12 Drdiesel, Aug 14, 2013
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)