stupid question

I can't imagine why, but just to be sure (because I've seen the subject come up in the archives here), is there any reason low tire pressure would trigger a CEL? That's the only thing that was obviously wrong with the car I'm getting a CEL on. 3 of the tires pretty low.

 

My ScanGuage doesn't pull one up, and I've never installed Techstream (bought the cable but leery of bootleg sw on my only laptop and haven't found an old one yet; just busy). The engine light is on, not the PS or battery.

 

wouldn't the inverter pump throw a code if it wasn't working? I saw coolant moving, but maybe it's not moving fast enough. I bought a new pump thinking it wasn't working, but never put it on when I saw the fluid moving. Can it "kinda fail"?

 

Yes, I understand that. Will check with the dealers today to see if any will scan for me.

 

I found a local shop that will pull the codes for $20. Not bad for 5 minutes of work, but worth to me at this time.

 

Well thanks for the insight, Sam. Not sure why you think I would throw parts at the problem, but the thought never crossed my mind - I'm the last of the red-hot misers.

Did get the codes scanned - 3000 and 3009. Not sure why my ScanGauge doesn't pull those and, yet, pulled a 3030 on another car. So, I got the battery out and am checking it over. First, I see evidence that the battery has been out of the car before, and it's got the 3 large labels on the cover, so I don't think it's the original. There is evidence, I assume, of leakage - lots of brown corrosion across the bottom of the case. Yet, each module is charged between 7.39 and 7.42. No obvious swelling on any module.

The harness has what seems like typical corrosion. I have the sensor side off and am going through each segment confirming that the sensor wire is good. All the nuts were snug and seemed to take the same amount of force to break lose. Came inside to read up on the 3009 code. I still have my other spare battery with the brand new harness and one bad module.

Questions: where do these modules usually leak? Is it possible that this is a rebuilt battery that used an old case with leakage stains; it's got Toyota labels, and I'd think they'd paint the case if they reused old ones. Can a module be leaking and still be charged? If the brown stain is across most of the bottom of the case and both sides, is that a sign that multiple cells are leaking?

I guess I screwed up - should have used my Dr. Prius app to check the battery before pulling it out. Would that app identify which modules are bad? I'm thinking the free version I downloaded doesn't show module-level data.

Dang, getting these batteries in and out of the car by myself is a pain. I could swap the new harness on my spare battery over to this one and try it out. Or, take the old one from that battery - since it didn't fix the 3030 code, it might still be good. Third option is take take a good module from this battery and put it in the spare to see if that fixes that battery - but that's the most work.

Does that sound like a miser, Sam? lol

Anyway, let me go read up on 3009 and see if I'm missing something.

 

Well, dang, wish I'd read up first, before removing the battery. My first mistake - I assumed the "leakage" referred to in the p3009 descriptions was module leakage, lol. Now, I understand that it's voltage leak to ground. BTW, I also got a C1259 code, but from reading it seems like that is probably a result of the 3009 - fix it and the 1259 will go away.

Next, I found a link here to a YouTube on diagnosing the 3009. Should have gone through that first. I assumed battery, but I now see it could be something else leaking. I do know that while I'm driving, if I clear the code, it returns immediately, less than 30 seconds. However, I have gotten it to go away for a longer amount of time by clearing it repeatedly. Still, I need to check whether the code resets with just the key ON (not Ready), which indicates battery, or when Ready in Neutral, which rules out the transmission, or only when in Park/Drive, which suggests the leak is in the transmission.

So, I'm going to finish cleaning up the buss bar/check for sensor wire breaks, put it back together with that or my other buss bar, and then go through that diagnosis procedure.

If any one is bored and wants to suggest where the leak is in the transmission, in case that's the issue, I'd appreciate it.

 

Ah, yes. the pump. At the time I thought it had a bad pump, and still, the fluid doesn't circulate as fast as I'd think it should - it's just vibrating a little. But, I didn't mind buying the pump - I needed one and saved on shipping to get two, and I'm sure to need the other for one of my cars, if not this one.

In fact, coming back from getting the codes scanned, I'm pretty sure it threw a new code - something caused it to go into limp mode and the small Check Engine light came on - only the triangle and display alert had come on prior to that, but I'm pretty sure that light was coming on before.

I should also note that the car has a weak 12v. I charged it up a few days ago, but it's now weak again.

So, really, I don't know if I"m on the right track at all. Can a weak 12v cause the 3009? If so, my problem may still be the pump. I probably cleared that code before today, and it took me driving it the few miles to that shop and back for it to heat up enough to throw the code???

So, 1) clean up this buss bar, and reinstall the HV battery. Then, 2) swap in a known good battery, fully charged. 3) run through the diagnostic procedure to see if I can isolate the issue to the battery or transmission. Not sure how to tell if its the inverter, which is another possibility, or what to look for on either of those.

Still, this car was running fine before I had the fenderbender and let it sit in the garage over a year. The batteries are the most likely culprit.

 

Mine were all 7.4, but it wasn't charging up correctly. The SOC was less than 50%. I'll check it again now that I got it fixed and have driven it a bit. I bet it's a lot higher. Thx.

I've seen some laptops on Ebay, I just wonder whether they have a good battery. I suppose they still sell batteries though. I'll look again soon. I've got to jump over to my diesel truck next, then probably hit the road and make some money. I've got two more Prii to work on next. One is super nice but was hit in the front hood and messed up at least the MAF sensor and maybe the throttle body. Also, the inverter looks crooked. It started up but then died when I picked it up from the auction. I've not messed with an inverter at all. Are they just sitting on top on the transmission/electric motor, or is there a mechanical connection between them that is probably messed up since it's crooked? I took the HV battery out of this one to fix my other, so I've got to get one of those too.

I bought the other car 2-3 years ago and it's been sitting outside in my storage lot in Dallas ever since. I've actually only seen it once, but it seemed well taken care of. I imagine the paint is a bit faded now.