Starter Battery

BTW, I bought this 12v power supply to be used as an external power source during a 12v battery change. It is cheaper than buying an extra 12v battery which I have to maintain.

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-PC-6-120AC-Power-Converter/dp/B0012BL8LG

 

Wait, you read instructions?

 

Oops! Did I say that out loud?

 

Yeah looks to have a female cig lighter socket, which the memory saver cables could plug into.

 

Another inept ignorant "technician". Imagine that.
If the vehicle is OFF during the whole process, it is HIGHLY unlikely that any electronics will be damaged; approaching impossible.
Unless maybe you reverse the polarity during the process.

 

Yap, that's how I used it on our other cars. It also becomes handy to use it for the portable 12v compressor I have. The compressor has a 12A max draw and if I plug it into the car cig lighter socket, it blows a fuse. I have done it several times, and it was a pita to change the fuse. Using alligator clips, I could connect it directly to the 12v battery terminal under the hood, but as long as a 120v outlet is nearby, using an extension cord and this converter is easier.

 

I thought all of this would be a simple job to clip some large clamps to the cables of the battery while it is being swapped. Nope. There really is no spot to clamp to (except maybe ground somewhere in the engine bay). In fact it gets weirder than that. From one terminal, there are 5 wires that attach to one terminal, and only one large wire to the other terminal. So six wires connect to the battery in normal operation? Why?

 

It still might be.
IF.....you have a "jump point" in the engine bay, that will work.

 

Unfortunately, there is no jump point in the engine bay for Gen4 and PP. The 12v battery is in the engine bay under the hood.

 

In past I’ve connected a small trickle charger prior to doing a battery replacement: I secured it’s positive ring terminal to an auxiliary bolt on the side of the positive battery cable clamp.

 

What I'm suspecting regarding the Toyota tech saying not to use it is that he was being overly cautious for liability reasons.

Maybe there's a scenario where if you're using a battery saver and you try turning on the car or do something with you could cause damage?

How many of you have used a battery saver on a Gen 4 Prime or other hybrid?

I have a battery saver and used it before by connecting it to the cigarette lighter of another car while connecting it to the obd of my old car (Toyota Matrix) and changing its battery.

 

I have been receiving "Dealer Maintenance is required" notification for the past week or so. Thought that was attributed to a scheduled oil change but i believe it's the battery now. This morning my wife had the emergency flashers going with the car off. Car would not start - "Low 12-Volt Batter Apply Parking Brake Securely While Parking See Owner's Manual". I plugged the car in and the car started up after 30 minutes. Rather than going the battery tender direction do i need to replace my battery? it's a 2017 (nov 2016) model. Sounds like I need to pick up this battery and call it a day? https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP75140R?ref=MA==

 

without any data, it is impossible to know. if money is no object, and you don't have or want to buy the tools, just replace it.
but make sure it is fully charged before installing. i'm kinda surprised that it wouldn't start, but would take a charge.

 

the 12 v battery fully charged or the battery? I just purchased an ODB 2 reader and battery tender so i will try this route before updating the battery. Figured that the car is nearly 5 years old that it's about time.

 

12v battery. a lot of places let them sit and discharge, then sell them without charging

 

There are several possible “Visit Your Dealer” messages, but if the one you saw was “Maintenance Required Visit Your Dealer,” that’s triggered only by the time or distance since the maintenance reminder was last reset. The “Low 12-Volt Battery Apply Parking Brake Securely” message is completely unrelated.

NAPA’s type 140R battery is the correct size, but if there was a known reason for the existing battery to have become discharged—such as the prolonged use of four-way flashers with the car not in READY—I’d suggest giving it a fair chance to recover through recharging, before replacing it out of hand.

 

The message "Key Battery is Low" might be another sign of the 12v's health. Before my last Prius had a bad 12v battery crash incident, I got that message often. As both the key batteries were new, I suspected the real cause for the message was the lower ability of the car's key sensor to detect the key due to the lower voltage on the 12v. This is now happening with my '17 Prime.

 

Depending on the "normal" usage.......or lack of, you probably need to do BOTH or else you will need another new one in about 3 years.
Which is about half of what is considered normal.

Note: replacing parts based only on a wild guess is NOT a good idea.
Some simple checks and tests should be done first. Maybe a battery cable is loose.

 

Or hey, might mean the key battery is low, lol. I appreciate there’s a lot of wildly off messages, but I’ve got that one, and a new fob battery dismissed it.

 

plugged in the OBD 2 reader and had a few codes - two appear related to the battery. The 1st code i believe was from when i purchased the car and there was bad gas that threw an engine light ...

============1==============
P0136(13)
Raw code: 013613
ECU: Engine control unit #2[Archive (inactive)]
Status: Test failed since last DTC clear, Test not completed during this operation cycle
OBDII: Heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) 2, bank 1 - circuit malfunction
Toyota: Oxygen Sensor Bank 1 Sensor 2 Malfunction

============2==============
C1241
Raw code: 5241
ECU: ABS control unit #2
Status: Confirmed
Toyota: IG Power Source Circuit (MR, Cel.)

============3==============
P000C
Raw code: 000C
ECU: Rain sensor
Status: Confirmed
OBDII: Intake camshaft position A, bank 2 - slow response