I have a 2004 Prius and I recently had every warning light in the car come on and it refused to move or even go into gear. It does start and go into gear if you unplug the 12 volt battery (it's a new battery) and plug it back in but it will give all the warning lights and stop running after about 20 seconds. I (thanks to lots of useful threads here) determined it is the main battery with my code reader (code P0A80) as far as I understand it I can rebuild the battery. I have found kits online to do so as well as battery reconditioning kits. I have an opportunity to buy a used battery for $250 which is considerably less than the other 2 options above so my question is do you guys think I could rebuild my battery by putting the usable cells of the 2 batteries together? My battery was replaced with a reconditioned battery 100,000 miles ago and the battery I found is supposedly bad but the car still runs and drives. I have reviewed the procedure and I have the tools to do this, has anyone had success doing something like this? Any other things I should check before I move to repair/replace the battery? I did check the cooling fan and it is now clean though it was pretty dirty. Anyway any thoughts are welcome, I love my little Prius and need her back on the road. Thanks. Oh if it helps my Prius has just over 300,000 miles on it. Before this happened it ran great.
Well.... If the used $250 battery comes with the whole pack, meaning the metal chassis, covers, relays, ECU, bus bars, and ready to go and you throw it in and bolt it down... Then yes... But I'd try to talk 'em down because at times I only pay $50 for those kind of battery packs at a wrecker... and be careful about it being a legit pack and not just a stack of bad modules a rebuilder ditched. But if yes to being legit, a 2nd pack is a great place to start if you 1st load test it, charge, recondition, build a spreadsheet, as well as clean or replace bus bars, new nuts, new voltage sensing harness... Get it all upgraded as much as possible from condition you bought it in and then swap it with pack in you car. Then rebuild the pack in your car... That way you'll always be able to swap battery packs whenever you have a problem, or better yet help a friend who has a problem with their battery pack. You're less than 200K from 1/2 million mile club! You can do it!!!!
But in general taking modules from one pack to build another pack is not ideal with basic gear and best left to people with expensive equipment. You're better off keeping the pack whole for as long as possible and just replacing failing modules as they fail or are about to fail... You can get really good replacement modules that will be strongest ones in your pack for $30 each if you know who to order from...
A voltage tester, some wires, your car's headlight bulb 12v / 55w or equivalent if you have LED headlights, which won't work... The testing process is simple... Learn more here: Prolong® Battery Module Load Tester User Guide
So I replaced the battery checked all the cells and they all read right around 7.5 so I’d thought I’d try it. The triangle still comes on and the car won’t start. No more battery warning light just the little red car now no did notice the battery fan isn’t running should it be? Anything stupid I might have done that would cause this? All the lights come up immediately the code reader shows 0 detected and 4 abs codes.
The HV battery fan will run at various speeds as needed, unless overridden or an appropriate DTC is detected. Tell us more about this OBD2 code reader you're using? Please post all current and prior OBD2 codes here.
The reader is one I bought from Auto-zone it’s an Innova. Prior to replacing the battery it was showing the P0A80. Now it shows nothing apparently. But something is definitely not right.
Look into procuring a Toyota Hybrid compatible OBD2 reader, it appears the current reader isn't fully compatible. Could also try the various auto part chains or nearby repair facilities, they may offer a compatible loaner. Many here use a mini-vci cable or bluetooth adapter. What were those ABS codes again? Did you check the orange safety plug for proper installation?
I did check the plug it just goes in and levers up right? I’ll get the ABS codes here in a bit got to head out for now
You’re awesome Raytheeagle I missed the last motion down. So battery seems fine car runs a little rough (it always did when it was cold) then all the lights come up again except the battery warning light which is good perhaps I solved one problem. Code reader reads P3190 and C1259 and C1310. I noticed the 12V battery is read close to 12 (it’s new but it’s been used a lot with out the car running) so I’m going to charge it overnight and get back to it tomorrow after work.
Those DTCs should clear if you power cycle the vehicle a few times. Best to pick up a mini-vci cable or bluetooth adapter at this stage, wouldn't be surprised if you have other OBD2 codes (DTCs) that aren't being read. What kind of vehicle maintenance have you performed in the last 300k (plugs, injectors, fluids, etc) ? Here is the workup for : DTCs P1259 and C1310 : https://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/Repair%20Manual/04pruisr/05/21avn/cic12595.pdf DTC P3190 : https://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/Repair%20Manual/04pruisr/05/2054m/cip3190a.pdf
My guess is the engine was not actually running but trying to start. Read around the site about cleaning the MAF and throttle body. Change the plugs and air filter also if they haven’t been done in a while.
Your original battery got run down because the engine is not running properly. The replacement battery will get quickly discharged if you do not find the problem with the engine. +1
I would get a miniVCI and use a win 7 or XP laptop for the software. It's a pirated version of Techstream and can tell you about your individual modules, reprogram your battery cooling fan, and detect and reset as needed the DTC codes. I have an old Dell XP, and with the cable and software I have about $60 in it. Don't currently have a Prius (sold my 02 a couple of months ago.) But I'm planning on keeping the laptop and cable for future Pri's. Really is a great, cheap tool.
