DASH Error Lights Exclamation w/Triangle, VSC, and small Exclamation - Car runs great?

Update on my water ingress+display/MFD warning messages
After cleaning the terminal connector (RHS, close to aux battery fan) & clearing the errors I did a 510 km round trip last Thurs. The warning alerts suddenly reappeared at 205 km just after I had to brake hard. I completed the rest of the trip without any problems.
At the w/e I removed the trim on the other (LHS) side of the boot (trunk) and found moisture and another connector with corrosion. Two wires from this connector (which looks more like the one on RHS of OP) came loose when I opened it as they were corroded through. My current thinking is that the wires here were only barely making contact so that when I braked hard contact was lost momentarily leading to the warning messages re-appearing. I hope to get the connector rewired or replaced by an auto electrician later this week.

Regarding the water ingress. The sealant applied to the hairline roof cracks is working but I discovered another leak point. It is beneath the LHS rear light unit where the side panel is welded to the lower rear panel. In this case it is not a new crack but a flawed join. I have again applied sealant. Pics attached.

 

wow, they must have built your car on a friday.

 

TampaPrius,

Interesting that a similar issue has been seen in a car with the grid charger. I actually have not purchased a new fan yet. Since I went on the duct tape sealing extravaganza that eliminated leaks from around the plastic for the cooling channels my P0A82 code has not returned, knock on wood.

I have set the buF XGauge as one of my presets on my ScanGauge and have seen battery temps as high as 132 F, mostly in stop and go type traffic. On the interstate even over long runs it never gets that high. The crappy thing is is there is no XGauge for battery fan speed for a GenII, the GenIII's have one but apparently the GenII's do not. So all I know is my fan is running because I can hear it but I have no idea at what speed or what CFM it is running at?

I am currently in Missouri and heading to Texas next week and I'm sure it will be a lot warmer down there and through the summer in the south so I will keep an eye on it and see if the issue arises again. I still may replace the fan motor but would still like to know the resistance of a brand new one to compare my current motor to before replacing it. Of course I would have to take Ema all apart again because I don't remember what it was, lol.

Happy driving,
Chris

 

Funny thing is I still rate it as a generally well engineered car although disappointed by these flaws. It has 161k km on it of which I put up 157k and the only item I have had to replace so far (other than routine items) was one wheel bearing.

 

I had a new connector wired and fitted on Thursday and the warning lights have not reappeared so far. If they come back again I will post a message but hopefully the problem is fixed now.

 

Update on the residual leak that remained after the hairline cracks under the roof gutter trim were sealed (post #61).
I removed the rear bumper cover today to see where the water was getting in and I found another pair of hairline cracks (one on either side). I had expected the problem to be a weld join issue but this was not the case. These cracks are not as problematic as the other ones as they are less likely to affect the electrics but a nuisance none the less. The pictures attached are from the LHS. I removed the rear light assembly as part of my investigation but this is not necessary.

 

The cooling fan always runs all the time, at one speed or another. You would be just as well off to use the Climate Control to keep the cabin at a comfortable (for people) temperature and let the battery cooling logic take care of itself. It you are monitoring your battery temps and are noticing temps that are out of spec, you should deal with that, rather than go for a ambulance at the bottom of the cliff solution.

But the answer to your question is it is possible to manually control the fan, and doesn't require hacking, per se.

 

great write up, thank you sam!

 

The fan has speeds from 0-6, 0 being off.

 

I had the Red triangle, VSC & Brake (yellow indicator) , same problem, on a 2005 UK Prius, corroded connector behind the left side boot panel causing a break in the brown wire between the HV Battery ECU and the Battery Cooling Fan relay.
See Photos

Codes
P3000
POA84
C1310

 

Great that you located the problem. I presume it was caused by the hairline cracks that seem to be a common fault and that allow water ingress.

 

Yes - cracks now sealed by dripping warm Waxoyl all around the roof gutters and rear hatch.

 

Hi On the Water in the battery area! We Found the Hatch Back Seal where The rubber touches the metal had Cracks an missing Caulking! I fixed it but did what your Considering doing Drilled 1/2 inch Hole! No more Water Collecting! We have an issue from time to time all or some of the Warning Lights show On Red Triangle but the Car still drives ok but if I can’t reset via obd port it’s call the Flat Bed! Air in tires is on all the time now Bob V Thanks

 

Water leaks into the well from cracks in the upper hatch valley corner.


Also water runs down and gets into the power plug for the hybrid battery cooling fan as the connector for that fan hangs right under where the water drips down. Connector needs to be inspected. If rotted enough then the fan will not run and car will throw the RTOD.

if you have intermittent check engine lights the engine may be very low on oil.

half inch hole may be too big if the car lives outside. Rodents will get into the car they love chewing the prius wiring.

Remove the rubber drain plug in the battery well and drill a small weep hole in it and put it back.

Also check under the spare tire for sitting water.

 

I have fixed and sold 40 Prius and the problem I found for PoA84 was the plug maybe getting wet and corroded. The other problem was just dog hair plugged up the fan and ducts. the picture is of a prplaced plug. You can uust snip the 2 wires and just bypass the plug if you dont have a plug to replace it with.