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Red Triangle of Death with loss of power and battery fan running

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Tan_Prius_2007, May 12, 2016.

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  1. Tan_Prius_2007

    Tan_Prius_2007 Junior Member

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    I recently replaced my engine water pump at 164,000 miles on my 2007 Prius, the car sat for 3 weeks while waiting to gather needed parts, i.e., water pump, coolant and Airlift system for adding coolant fluid. After installing the new water pump the car ran rough for 5-10 minutes upon initial crank (parked for 3-weeks). I took a 20 minute test drive around the neighborhood that evening, outside temperature around 65 degrees F, and car ran fine. SOC looked ok, bars moving between Blue and Green, everything appeared normal.

    The next morning, I backed out of my driveway and the Red Triangle of Death appeared on the dash so I parked the car.

    That evening I hooked up OBDII ELM327 scanner using EngineLink and picked up 2 separate P0A80 error codes, 1 of them was pending. I disconnected the Aux battery for 3-5 mins to clear the error's, Red Triangle of Death was cleared, then drove the Prius for 20 minutes with no error's or alarms. SOC seemed to be normal. OBDII ELM327 scanner showed the HV batteries were charging at same level, 16.8V and Aux battery was registering at 14.0 Volts.

    The next morning, after 20 minutes of driving the Red Triangle of Death appeared, and shortly after I experienced loss of power, with sporadic engine idle and interior traction battery fan was on. Luckily I had made it to work and was able to pull into a vacant parking lot.

    I did notice that around the time the Red Triangle of death came on this morning the SOC dropped quickly to 1 Purple bar and was slow to charge then shortly after came the loss of power and sporadic engine idle followed by interior battery fan.

    I'm somewhat mechanically inclined but new to troubleshooting Prius problems given my 2007 Prius has been very reliable since I bought it in 2013 with 80,000 miles, I know have 164,000 miles on it.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
     
    #1 Tan_Prius_2007, May 12, 2016
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! best to get mini vci w/ techstram software and an old laptop for correct codes and troubleshooting. cheap and easy. if you do need a battery, see if any salvage yards have a low mile one, check around for doorman rebuilt at auto supply $1,500. (iffy quality) or look for good price on a new one if you're going to keep the car. should be in the low $2,000.'s. all the best!(y)
     
    #2 bisco, May 12, 2016
  3. Tan_Prius_2007

    Tan_Prius_2007 Junior Member

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    I need to add an update to my original post. I actually have 144,000 miles not 164,000 and I found what appeared to be mice nest around the spare tire. I removed the all of the cooling duct for the battery fan and found no evidence of nest or mice.

    Recent maintenance
    One week ago - Completed the engine water pump replacement

    Two weeks ago - I removed my front brake pads thinking they needed replacing, given high pitch sequel when breaking. They actually were in great shape to I put the pads back on and removed the rear drums to inspect rear pads and they were good as well. I took an air hose and blew a ton of brake dust from the rear drums. Brakes are no longer squealing.

    Two months ago - I changed the Tans axle fluid, simple drain and refill.
     
    #3 Tan_Prius_2007, May 12, 2016
  4. Tan_Prius_2007

    Tan_Prius_2007 Junior Member

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    Another update, about a week after I parked the car while waiting to get parts I had to move the car within my driveway and when I cranked the engine it had a rough idle, like timing was off, so I immediately turn it off. A couple weeks later after the engine water pump was replaced it ran a little rough for the first 5-10 minutes.
     
    #4 Tan_Prius_2007, May 12, 2016
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Your HV battery has failed. If you like, you can try and contact Toyota for a goodwill warranty on the battery. They may pay for a portion of the repair.

    Since this car has 144k miles, you should be able to get a lot more mileage from the car with a brand new battery.
     
    #5 JC91006, May 12, 2016
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  6. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    $1500 used vs $2XXX new, no brainer.
     
    #6 Former Member 68813, May 12, 2016
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    agreed, if you can find one.
     
    #7 bisco, May 12, 2016
  8. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    you're right. i also just learned about the non-plug&play factor.
     
    #8 Former Member 68813, May 12, 2016
  9. uagent

    uagent Junior Member

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    The Dorman batteries are not known to be good? Thanks for the tip. I was considering one since I've had to replace two modules inside my battery already.
     
    #9 uagent, May 12, 2016
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the thing with dorman is, we don't have a handle on quantitative numbers, all we see here are (mostly) complaints. so it's hard to say what percentage are bad. they stand behind their warranty, but you have to pull the old battery and replace again.
    when you look at the prices, if you can find new in the low $2,000.'s, it seems to make more sense.
     
    #10 bisco, May 13, 2016
    Last edited: May 13, 2016
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  11. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    uagent,
    It is not true to say the Dorman are not good.
    I have had positive experience with Dorman.

    Dorman is a huge international company traded on the NASDAQ (Symbol: DORM)
    They are in the business or providing aftermarket products to consumers and repair shops.
    Walk into any parts store and I bet you will see a display wall full of many Dorman products

    I have seen or replaced plenty of hybrid batteries in my years working on hybrids
    OEM (Toyota, Honda, etc)
    Dorman
    Cardone
    Grentec
    Elite Auto
    Falcon
    ReInvolt
    Junkyard
    Home built Nimh
    Home built Lithium

    It is hard for most people to get a handle on quantitative numbers. Mostly we have anecdotal.
    I have plenty of customers who are satisfied with the Dorman pack that is installed in their car.
    But I don't think any of them regularly post on forums.

    Be aware that Installing a OEM Toyota pack is much different than installing an aftermarket replacement pack.
    There is an additional hour worth of work swapping over various components and electronics.
    You will have your old, and new battery torn apart and parts all over the place. You need to be very conscientious about which nuts go on which bolts, etc. and there is a much higher risk of arcing or creating a short across bare conductors.
    That may change if Toyota moves towards a drop in replacement, but that's not the current state of things.

    I've attached a photo that I took part way through a Toyota Battery install the other day.
    You would never have to dig this deep in a drop in replacement pack. But you have to with every Toyota replacement. EV Powers - OEM HV Battery parts swap.jpg

    Notice I have the cover off. I have the electronics end piece taken off. I have the wire loom safety covers off. The orange plug disconnect is removed, etc, etc etc.
    Plenty of room for error here. There is one correct way for it to go together. Lots of incorrect ways.
     
    #11 ericbecky, May 13, 2016
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  12. uagent

    uagent Junior Member

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    Hi Eric, thanks for the photos. I know of Dorman, I've used their parts on my various cars for years, and I know they purchased Re-InVolt. I actually interviewed with them a couple years back. :)
    I suppose swapping the relays and ECU would be a pain, though I've become fairly practiced at getting the battery assembly in and out of my car at this point.
     
    #12 uagent, May 14, 2016
  13. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Because you have done more than most people, you can feel more confident. If you do a Toyota, just pay special attention to the nuts. They are not all the same. And use all the new pieces. Too often I see techs skipping it.
    There is also a special protocol on returning the core for Toyota, so make sure you have a good long talk with the parts department to make sure you follow it. Fighting to get your core $$ back is much harder once the core is out of your hands.
     
    #13 ericbecky, May 14, 2016
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  14. Tan_Prius_2007

    Tan_Prius_2007 Junior Member

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    I removed the HV Battery pack and tested the individual modules today and they range from 7.63 - 7.74 volts. I noticed that the modules on the outside had the highest voltage, I'm guessing because they stay cooler, as the lowest module with 7.63 was near the center of the pack. Can the HV Battery be bad
     
    #14 Tan_Prius_2007, May 14, 2016
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you test them under load?
     
    #15 bisco, May 14, 2016
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If all the modules measured that range, it shouldn't be bad. You should check for leaks in the modules and clean off all the corrosion on the buss bars. Maybe it's having a yard time getting a good reading from corrosion.

    When you got the P0A80 error, you should have another error telling you which block is bad. You can check that block and see
     
    #16 JC91006, May 14, 2016
  17. Tan_Prius_2007

    Tan_Prius_2007 Junior Member

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    I currently have the battery out of the car and was considering the 55w DC light bulb test but I would like to rule out the battery ECU. Is there a way to bench test the battery ECU without having expensive diagnostics equipment?
     
    #17 Tan_Prius_2007, May 16, 2016
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