So I borrowed my Dad's car (Toyota Prius) for a few days and I must have left a light on because it's dead! Can a car like this be jumped? This may seem like a stupid question but since it obviously runs off batteries, can I plug it into the wall? If so, where would I find this plug? Thanks! :lol:
Hey, welcome to PriusChat! Well, the battery is actually at the back but you can access the terminal at under the hood (it's on the driver's side). That is, unless you want to climb into the back seat and into the trunk to find the manual hatch release switch. No, you can't plug it in.
Well, I can climb into the back and open the trunk -- but I don't see the reason to if the battery is under the hood. So if I can't plug it in, I should just jump it?
If you'll flip through the owners manual that should be in the glove box there are instructions of where to find the jumper connections (in the fuse box) under the hood. Yes, the 12v battery can be jumped pretty much like a regular car. Getting a good connection on the jumper terminals can be tricky so if it doesn't work the first time then be sure to check your connections again to make sure they're good.
Is there any precautions I should take that I wouldn't take for a regular car? I don't want to blow the battery.
No, just follow the directions in the owner's manual See the last page of this PDF for a nice diagram and explaination of how to jump start. http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/2nd...instructions%22
Keep in mind, Max, that you most likely did nothing to the Hybrid battery. It's the 12v battery that you must have drained. And just like Evan and the others said, it's just like a regular car. I drained mine once and when I jumped it the Hybrid battery was showing more than half charged. You will, however, need to reprogram the clock, the radio presents, any overrides your dad might have activated (back-up beep, etc), and I think a few other things. Keep us posted.
I jumped it! I had to use a Denali (basically a truck that could eat the Prius) but it worked out. Thanks for the help.
My Prius is still on order, so forgive me if this is a silly question. If you have the EV switch installed, can you run the car in electric-only mode, get the car moving, accelerate enough to start the ICE and subsequently charge the 12-volt battery? Or does a dead 12-volt battery prevent the car from entering Ready state when you power on?
No, Paul. The 12V battery is required to bootstrap the control computers. The HV battery won't be brought online until they've done various sanity checks. If the 12V battery is dead, you're not going anywhere without a jumpstart. I know it seems a bit ironic having to find someone to jumpstart you when you've got plenty of charge in the 200V battery in the boot, but its disconnection is a safety measure. The HV battery remains isolated until the computers are happy the system is OK, and they will cut it off immediately in the event of any problems, including a crash. Without the computers, the battery relays remain in their safe, isolated state.
It would be cool if, on the next generation Prius, they included some sort of "jump start" button. It should be relatively "inconveniently located" so that folks weren't using it all the time. But if it were a little timer circuit that briefly connected the HV battery to the DC/DC converter directly to the 12v battery to allow a brief 'emergency' charge I think that's something that would be a well received feature. You might need to have the button behind the back seat requiring it to be folded down or something. It might need to be powered by a small battery (like a computer or the NAV). I have no idea if the idea is just too complex with the current set up, but it does seem a bit of a waste to have all that 'juice' available but yet be unable to do anything about the tiny 12v with it.
