I have a 2012 Plug In. I left it for a month and for some reason it wouldn't start when I came back to it. I tried jumping it. The first time, I put the connector cables together and without even a jump, it turned on. First question is, why is that? Then I took the cables off. When I tried starting the car an hour later, still no juice. So I tried doing it again. The second time, same thing, the car had power to it when I just connected the cables. But this time, there was a brief spark and the lights flickered, and now the car is dead again completely. No clue what happened there but now the car seems completely not able to be jumped. Anyone know why? EDIT: Sorry, I posted this in the wrong forum
you need a new battery my friend it is possible you blew a fuse, but start with a battery. when you say 'for some reason', the reason is, when the car sits without being used, there is a constant drain on the battery. the longer it sits, and the older it is, the more likelihood of it being completely drained. you could try charging it and seeing if it holds, but at 6 years old, it may be futile.
I agree with @bisco. It sounds to me like you came home to a dead 12V battery. When you jumped it the first time, it was ready to go and you should have just kept it running till the battery charged up. Or connected a battery charger. But you shut it off before it was charged enough to run the computers and relays. When you did it again, you apparently connected the cable backwards and at least blew a fuse. Hopefully, that all you blew because the stuff downstream of the fuse is really really expensive.
Thanks for the help! When you say new battery, are you taking about the expensive electric car battery? Or is there a cheap sub $100 battery in this car as well? Any possibility you can link me to a product page? Also, if it's a fuse, how do I check which one to replace?
I didn't connect the jumper cables backwards but might have connected the black cable to a ground that isn't a great ground. How do I find the fuse that is the one that I fried? Thanks for your help.
the 12 volt battery is in the rear right of the hatch, under the floor panel. $150-200. plus installation. there should be fuse layout and descriptions in the owners manual. some are under the hood, and some in the dash, and some on top of the 12v and in the hybrid battery
If by "put the connector cables together," you mean you connected both clamps to both batteries, that is a jump. You don't need to start the donor car, and, in fact, it's better not to when jump starting a Prius. You may not have blown a fuse. The spark may have made us jump to conclusions. You won't know till you get a functioning 12v battery connected to the car. @bisco has explained where it is. If it's still dead with a known good battery connected, then there's a fuse you need to chase down. From what I've read, it could be right there at the battery or it could be the big 100 amp fuse under the hood.
I have one of those gadgets that is a phone charger but can also jump a car. And yes, I never actually powered it on. I just connected the red to the red and the black to another unpainted metal part of the car. Good info. I will try to replace the battery first. Looks like an easy DIY. Thank you!
Bear in mind that both batteries charge when you plug in. This is a good way to keep your 12 volt battery healthy.
Good point! But, if the 12V is too dead, the car will be too unconscious to know that you plugged in the charging cable. It sounds like this battery might be that dead, but it won't hurt to try.
He means the little 12 volt battery, not the big traction battery. It is kind of a nuisance to dig all the way down to get at the battery but it's doable. If you regularly leave the car sitting idle you could add a disconnect switch to the battery, or leave it on a trickle charger.
