1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Fuel gauge blinking without reason!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by pabloggallo, Feb 29, 2016.

  1. pabloggallo

    pabloggallo New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2016
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Miami
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello! I'm new here. I read a lot of your forum in order to change my bad combination meter. I changed it today and I noticed that everything works fine but the fuel gauge is blinking with all the bars! After a few miles the fuel gauge is still blinking but now with less than a half of deposit, I filled the entire deposit yesterday. Maybe is a consequence of changing the combination meter? Should I reset the fuel gauge or reconnect the 12v battery? I'm kind of desperated, so I really need help.
    Thanks!!
     
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,817
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Sounds like you did not connect the fuel sender assy to the MFD. Fuel sender assy has 4 wire connector that goes to the MFD.
    Black
    Brown
    Blue
    Red
     
  3. pabloggallo

    pabloggallo New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2016
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Miami
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes I did. Maybe something with the combination meter? Thanks!
     
  4. Tj S

    Tj S Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    34
    32
    0
    Location:
    Oceanside, ca
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Did you figure it out? I have same exact problem. I put my original combo back in and now it flashes.
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,904
    16,213
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV


    There's actually more than one unique flash pattern; if you match your pattern up to the ones in the repair manual you'll know more about what it needs to tell you.

    The combo meter is actually one of the crossroads between different comms networks in the car ... it flashes the fuel bars to tell you about problems, but that doesn't mean the problem has to be about the fuel sender. You could have a flaky connection on one of the car's networks where the combo meter plugs in. If you recheck all your connections and don't find something questionable, then it'd be time to look up the specific troubleshooting steps in the manual for your flash pattern, and follow those.

    -Chap
     
  6. Tj S

    Tj S Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    34
    32
    0
    Location:
    Oceanside, ca
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Chapman: Thanks for info. What repair manual contains information on the flashing pattern? Alldatadiy? Chiltons?

    I have toyota tis software and there is no mention that I can find.

    Thanks tj
     
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,904
    16,213
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    When you're signed into tis, with tabs showing like TT/SB, SC, RM, EWD, NCF, QTG, the RM tab gives you the Repair Manual for whatever model and year you've entered into the search boxes.

    It's a little disorienting that the sections are shown under the RM tab as a hard-to-navigate flat list ... it's a search result list. But if you click basically any of those links, the window that opens is your repair manual with the section links in the proper, hierarchical order down the left side.

    -Chap
     
  8. Tj S

    Tj S Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    34
    32
    0
    Location:
    Oceanside, ca
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Thanks chap. I'll take another look at the tis software. It's not very user friendly.
     
  9. Name:

    Name: Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2022
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Salinas, CA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I have the same problem. Tried resetting the inclination sensor, no improvement. What's odd, the guage is steady first, for about 30 seconds, and then starts blinking. The sequence is blink-blink pause blink-blink pause and so on.

    I fixed my combination cluster, and it's working great, but this blinking is driving me crazy. I was about to disasseble the dash again to see if I left some wire disconnected, but now that I read this thread, I think it's not likely.

    How do you solve this?
     
  10. Name:

    Name: Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2022
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Salinas, CA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    The gauge shows fuel level fairly accurately. And when it blinks, the MI symbol for miles of the odometer blinks with it.


     
  11. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,668
    1,715
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I would scan all ecu's on the car to see if there are any codes or if data such as vehicle speed is reaching ECM and hybrid control ecu.

    Then I would look at wiring diagram for all fuses that supply the Combination Meter and check them. (is there a constant battery power fuse?)

    If that's ok then check connectors for the CM.

    I can't think of anyway that replacing a capacitor would cause your symptoms.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  12. Name:

    Name: Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2022
    20
    4
    0
    Location:
    Salinas, CA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I have just resolved this issue and posted a picture in a different thread. The circuit board connecting wire gets unplugged ON THE OTHER END! Its under a small cover so not readily visible, and since people like me dont disconnect it for disassembly, we dont check it when putting things back together.
     
  13. Blaz' Barton

    Blaz' Barton New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, MO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Can you post that picture here as well? Trying to resolve the same issue in mine. Thanks!
     
  14. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,854
    3,967
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The picture is in this thread:

    Double flash gas gauge on combo meter? | Post #9

    You might find other information in the thread of interest.