Engine runs constantly

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Markavelee, Aug 24, 2020.

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  1. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Wow! Looks like a gorgeous place. I have friends who live on St. Vincent. I'd love to visit that area someday.
     
    #21 jerrymildred, Sep 3, 2020
  2. Markavelee

    Markavelee Junior Member

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    Yes it certainly is
     
    #22 Markavelee, Sep 3, 2020
  3. Markavelee

    Markavelee Junior Member

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    Guys I just wanna give you all an update so in the future If you every experience that issue as well you would know what to do, The reason my engine was constantly starting and remaining started even when going down an incline was because of poor connectivity of the bus terminals on the battery pack, due to corrosion build up the computer keep the car started to charge the batteries because the terminals was not making good connectivity and as a result gas mileage dropped significantly, since cleaning and reassembly the car works fine now, You tube was my friend!!!!!
     
    #23 Markavelee, Sep 23, 2020
    jerrymildred, Mendel Leisk, ILuvMyPriusToo and 1 other person like this.
  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Thanks for posting that. It's very common for people to assume the problem is with the battery when it's really that the connections are bad and the car is getting bad or no data from the sensors.
     
    #24 jerrymildred, Sep 24, 2020
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  5. Markavelee

    Markavelee Junior Member

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    New Update! after cleaning the bus bars as mentioned above I drove for about 300 km, engine check light came on again new error code P3018 - "Battery Block 8 becomes weak" this was what the Techstream said, reference to two attached file, The first one was the scan result prior to cleaning the bus bars (P0A7F) and the second one is the scan result error after cleaning the bus bars (P3018), Anyone out there what are your suggestions
     

    Attached Files:

    #25 Markavelee, Sep 26, 2020
  6. hotelprisoner

    hotelprisoner Member

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    Just spitballing ideas here:

    1) The obvious is a module is actually failing. In a hot climate, this is a likely event. I believe some options were detailed above where replacement with new is your certain fix.
    2) You mentioned that there was corrosion and the bus bars have been cleaned up - everything torqued right?
    3) The battery is out of balance. A grid charger such as the prolong system might push off the inevitable, but regardless, you’re probably circling the drain around option 1 above.
     
    #26 hotelprisoner, Sep 26, 2020
  7. Markavelee

    Markavelee Junior Member

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    Yes I can confirm that all the bus terminals was torqued, I did them myself although i didnt have a torque wrench, Yes I thought about replacing the cells with two replacement cells I already got off ebay, Cant get new OEM cells or if anyone knows where I can purchase new oem cells I would appreciate your input, Dont have access to a grid charger, but one question why didnt that code present itself earlier, was it that the terminals needed to be cleaned first so the computer could have received a good reading ?
     
    #27 Markavelee, Sep 26, 2020
  8. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    I have had really hot weather here (So Cal). I usually drive with all windows down. But when it hits 95 degrees, the cabin gets hot and I notice my engine running more to help keep HV battery use down, to lower HV temp. When I roll up my windows and run the air, within 10 minutes, the engine goes back to normal. Just an observation.
     
    #28 Montgomery, Sep 26, 2020
  9. hotelprisoner

    hotelprisoner Member

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    I’m going to offer a guess based on some research during a Gen II rebuilding experience that perhaps with the battery disconnected the ECU was doing some relearning. I also seem to recall a discussion on here where a 0.2V block differential set a code but perhaps someone more knowledgeable can offer a better answer.
     
    #29 hotelprisoner, Sep 26, 2020
  10. Markavelee

    Markavelee Junior Member

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    Thanks for your input initially I thought so as well with the 0.2 v difference but if you noticed in the first pic with the 70A7F error, the difference between the cells were larger than .02 yet that trouble code (P3018) didnt occur, lowest volt cell was block 6 with 15.96 and highest block was block 1 with 16.50, by best bet would have been if there was a failing module it would have been the lowest one in block 6 also its in the centre of the pack so less air is circulated there but to my amazement the computer said block 8 is weak, Im assuming its failing so im puzzled, but maybe you are right with the relearning thing, I dont know can anyone with more experience in this field some some insight!
     
    #30 Markavelee, Sep 26, 2020
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