Muliple indicators lit up simultaneously while idling.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by danmaku, Jul 31, 2016.

  1. danmaku

    danmaku New Member

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    I recently purchased a used 2007 Prius. I test drove it for a good hour and encountered no issues. However, about a week later, I was idling in my parking lot when suddenly these lights lit up:

    The master warning light
    The Vehicle Stability control
    The brake light
    The malfunction indicator lamp

    I went into diagnostic mode, noticed that the battery was at 11.5V. However, since I haven't driven it in a while, I thought that might not be a symptom. I checked under the hood and noticed the coolant volume was low. Restarting the car, I noticed that the same warning lights persisted. I don't have any codes yet, I just purchased a Mini VCI for use with my laptop. Based on what I've read, I thought the inverter water pump may be the most likely culprit.

    Any ideas to further diagnose the problem? I'm hesitant to drive it around.

    EDIT: I recently restarted my car and now only the check engine and master warning lights are on. Very mysterious
    EDIT2: Restarting my car again has all the aforementioned indicators light up again.
    EDIT3: Leaving the car with the engine on seems to get a higher reading off my 12V in diagnostic (i just measured it in IG-ON mode originally), with a total of 12-14V
     
    #1 danmaku, Jul 31, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2016
  2. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Pull the codes with the Mini VCI and then post back with the codes.

    Without the codes you are guessing.

    Best of luck to you and "Welcome to Prius Chat"!
     
    #2 dorunron, Jul 31, 2016
  3. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    You can visually check the inverter pump. You can see a slight flow on the surface of the inverter reservoir, looking down the neck with good light. You should also be able to hear a slight hum from the pump, which is behind the left headlight. Do this in IG-ON mode, engine off.

    11.5 is very low for the Prius battery. Keep an eye on that and start shopping for a new one. I got a pretty good deal at the local Toyota dealer, about $200 before tax.

    Also, check the engine coolant level in the COLD radiator. You'll have to remove the splash shield for access, six tricky little fasteners. Check the water pump for leaks by looking for pink residue. How does the cabin heat work, though now is probably not a good time to check.
     
    #3 andrewclaus, Jul 31, 2016
  4. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    I had a battery malfunction a couple of months ago. THE CAR WOULDN'T TURN OFF! I was leaving a parking lot at 10 pm and I noticed the whole dashboard was dark after I turned the car on. I restarted the car and it still didn't work. When I got home, the lights were still off, but the car wouldn't turn off either! I tried for about 3 hours. I was low on gas too. I decided to disconnect the battery while the car was running (which was probably unsafe, but I had no other choice). The car turned off, and I decided I didn't want this happening again, so I got a new battery. All is well now.

    Sorry, but I have no idea what your problem is. I say get a new battery. I don't think the car tells you the battery is almost dead; it freaks you out with a bunch of warning lights.:p
     
    #4 'LectroFuel, Aug 1, 2016
  5. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Your problem was probably the combination meter (CM), a well-documented problem with the Gen II Prius. There was a warranty extension offered about five years ago, good for nine years after in-service date. If you're too late for that, there are DIY options available for just over $100.

    The problem is intermittent, and usually occurs on cold days. If/when it happens again, maybe next winter, the car can be driven to a safe place, then turned off by holding the start button for a full three seconds or so.
     
    #5 andrewclaus, Aug 1, 2016
  6. danmaku

    danmaku New Member

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    Hello, I got a generic J2534 MiniVCI cable and following instructions/installing.

    Hybrid Control: P3000
    HV Battery: P0A80
    Tire Pressure Monitor: C2124 (no reading came from sensor 4, I'm thinking it just needs to be replaced. Not worried about this)
    Air Conditioner: B1412 and B1421
    Immobilizer: B2795
    Gateway: B1271

    Looks like the big problems are the HV Battery failure. Any way to get a more specific diagnosis without disassembling the battery and checking the modules?
     
    #6 danmaku, Aug 9, 2016
  7. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Yes. Connect to the hybrid battery ECU and that will give you block voltages (pairs of modules). P0A80 is telling you there's too much difference. It may take a few tries to achieve that connection, depending on your PC.
     
    #7 andrewclaus, Aug 9, 2016
  8. danmaku

    danmaku New Member

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    So I idled in the parking lot a bit and got these numbers:
    Batt Block Minimum Vol = 16.21V
    Batt Block Max Vol = 16.47V

    I read that a 0.3V difference is enough to trigger the warning. Would the warning system interpret a 0.26V difference as a rounded value of 0.3V?

    Battery blocks #1 and #14 have the lowest values (16.21 each) whereas blocks #2-#13 have values ranging between 16.37V and 16.47V. The internal resistance of all blocks except #2 and#10 were equal at 0.028ohm (#2/#10 had 0.027ohm resistance)

    Should I try to drive around to get the battery fully charged and get another reading or is this enough to confirm the battery needs servicing/replacing? I'm interested in keeping this car since it's likely if I went around for another used Prius, I'd run into this problem sooner or later anyways unless the HV battery was replaced recently. Given that, would it be cheaper in the long run to continually replace modules as they go out or simply buy a new/refurbished battery?
     
    #8 danmaku, Aug 9, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2016
  9. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    The DTC should give you freeze frame data on what happened when the code was thrown. I haven't had to do this, but I hear you click on the snowflake icon next to the DTC log to get there.

    Battery voltages are dynamic. What you see at idle may be within threshold, but will be different at rapid charge, discharge, resting or different temps.

    If this is a low-mileage vehicle in otherwise good mechanical condition, you like the car, and want it to be very reliable for many years, definitely invest in a new battery. It may good for another nine or ten years. If you like to tinker and can accept some risk in transportation reliability, go the module replacement route. Lots of threads on that--some get lucky, some get headaches.
     
    #9 andrewclaus, Aug 10, 2016
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