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Just Replaced 2 Bad Battery Cells In My 2007.. Now All Dash Lights Are On And Engine Wont Start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by GenoJ, Feb 12, 2015.

  1. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Tested and replaced 2 bad battery cells in my 2007 Prius... Got everything put back together and now all dash lights are on and engine won't start... When i try to shift into drive or reverse it goes directly into park... I tested the battery without removing the safety key and the inside terminals are at 220 volts and the outside terminals are at 0 volts as shown by photo... Any thoughts from the experts here on PriusChat?? Maybe a fuse somewhere?? Im going crazy.
     

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  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The orange safety plug needs to be pressed downward to lock it into place. Then try to start again
     
  3. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Yeah im a idiot... I forgot to press it down to lock it... 1000x thank you JC91006... Works perfectly
     
  4. MTL_hihy

    MTL_hihy Active Member

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    Gotta love those easy fixes!
     
  5. ihab

    ihab New Member

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    dear guys ...i am very new and very interested to understand the Prius how it works ,
    can any one share with me the nature of the voltage coming from MG1 MG2 ?
    are both 220 V AC ,,,may i know the relation between Volatge , RPM
    when MG1 wrok as motor to run the engine what voltage it uses ? 220 VDC ?
     
  6. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Welcome to PC.
    The two motor generators in the Prius work at high voltages varying dependent on the model generation, but typically 500 volts +. They are three phase AC variable frequency, and it is the variable frequency that varies the speed not the voltage.

    John (Britprius)
     
  7. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Inverter has ability to bought boost the battery voltage to feed to motor-generators and to boost voltage coming from motor-generators. But they are synchronous so speed is directly related to frequency.
     
  8. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    OK, now i seem to have a different problem... Been driving it for the past 2 months (1200 miles) without incident after I replaced 2 bad cells... Actually getting ridiculous milage 50+ MPG... Thursday all the dash lights came back on but now i can hear the hybrid battery fan running full blast in the back which it never did when i originally replaced cells... When this happens, i noticed the engine runs constantly and seems to miss or cutout when i accelerate.. As I'm driving, while watching the Energy Monitor, i notice the battery seems to be charging (charging arrows going into battery level) but will not discharge (arrows going out of battery level) no matter how i drive it and battery level seems to stay the same.. When i come to stoplight, engine normally will shuts down, allowing me to accelerate using only my battery up to 35-40 mph then engine will kick on... It no long does this, engine runs constantly and will not disengage... Now heres the weird part, started it today and no lights on dash... It drove flawlessly for about 50 miles then light came back on and started running like crap again... Drove it home, Disconnected the 12volt battery for a couple minutes and when i restarted, lights were gone and drove flawlessly again for approximately another 50 miles then lights came back on... Drove home, disconnected 12volt again and lights gone again and runs fine... Just wanted to check Prius Chat before i take to dealer again to run codes... 12volt battery tested at 12.45volts.. Any thought from the experts here on PC??
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    could be the hybrid battery again. seems to be a common problem in quick and dirty battery rebuild solutions.
     
  10. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    I agree with bisco, your traction battery is acting up again :(
     
  11. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Yeah but it is totally acting different from the first time... Engine didn't miss/shudder and the hybrid battery fan wasn't going full blast... And it runs perfect when the lights go away.. Like it will be driving perfect and the second the dash lights come on, engine starts acting up... Do you think it could possible be the ecu??
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what are you doing for code reading?
     
  13. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Taking it to the dealership but they charge me $100 every time i take it... Once for the airbag and twice for the initial diagnostics for the battery.. The same dash lights are on but like i said, it is acting different from the last time... Guess maybe i should invest in a code scanner if I'm gonna keep it
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you have windows, mini vci and tech stream are cheap. it's possible that the two cells you put in blew up the system, which caused different reaction.
     
  15. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    Absolutely, get the mini VCI and read all the codes. The battery fan running is caused by overheating of one or more bad cells. You are experiencing "limp mode" as a result, with the car limiting the battery current as a result. I doubt it is the Battery ECU that is the cause, based on PC statistics.
     
  16. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Well i just ordered a mini vci.. If i would have know they were that cheap would have ordered one a long time ago... It will be here Tuesday... Thanks for all the help guys... Ill post what codes pop up
     
  17. GenoJ

    GenoJ Junior Member

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    Finally got Mini VCI... It pulled 4 codes.. First is p3000 battery control system and X is marked under current and history... Second code is p3024 battery block 14 becomes weak and X is marked under pending and history.. Third code is c1259 HV system regenerative malfunction and is only X under current.. Finally forth code is c1310 HV system malfunction and also is only marked X under current... Can anyone make any since of this as it is way over my head... Can one malfunction cause all 4 codes?? Im so frustrated with this car
     
  18. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    The main code is the one pointing to block 14 becoming weak. That is the cause of the others. It is normal that if the battery has a malfunction, then the regenerative system is caused to stop working as well, since the regeneration only has the battery as a charge sink.

    What you have found is that rebuilding a battery pack can require more than one pass to highlight and change out all the weak cells. This is called "whack-a-mole" and has been reported by others. Don't let the frustration get you down as you have made progress thus far, and you have at least seen that when working properly, the car does very well.

    It is normal for any feedback and control loop system, as in the Prius, to have a single point failure cause multi-point error conditions.
     
    #18 nh7o, Apr 1, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2015
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    but don't rely on whack a mole for success either.
     
  20. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Too funny. OP missed all the threads/complaints of swapping out bad modules, hoping for a long term fix.

    If OP continues to just swap out bad modules w/o going through a charge/discharge cycle, at least twice (ideally 3 cycles), to each module, followed by balancing the entire pack, he will become high scorer of whack-a-mole.

    OP should have read this thread to see how to properly rebuild a pack.
    Gen II Prius Individual Battery Module Replacement | PriusChat
    That being said, new will always provide greater longevity and trouble free issues over any rebuilt; unless the new one happens to be defective, which seems rare on PC.