Check PCS system / Check Hybrid System message

I'm across the Lake from you in Rochester. I don't know the specs of your MagSafe iPhone charger, but I'd suspect it's amp / watt rating is too low to make a significant difference to the cars 12 volt battery while watching a test for a short time. If your charger is rated for charging 12 volts at even as low as 1/2 amp or higher, it should recharge you cars battery, but it will take at least a few hours to make much of a difference in the voltage reading you see.
Our Prime works very similar to your PiP 12 volt charging. While running I also see above 14 volts, but in ON mode (two pushes of the Start Button *( without foot on the brake )* ) , I see voltage in the very low 12 volt range and dropping below 12 volts while I watch. and my 12 volt battery is fairly new, but temps are a lot lower here now too (which changes how the Prime works in many ways),

 

Sorry

 

Sorry again

 

I assume you mean "discharge" right?

The 12V to USB car adapter is a UGREEN that supports up to 40 Watts over two USB-C ports, but the USB-C iPhone MagSafe charger attached to it maxes out at around 15 W I believe.

 

I hope you and anyone / everyone else that see this "shameless plug" for @jacktheripper s nextpower project doesn't criticize for being to far offtopic.
jack just released his installation video for his PiP lithium phosphate traction pack upgrade.

$ 4,480.00 usd
https://projectlithium.com/collections/all
home page is showing Black Friday code: 2023HOLIDAY

I hope to be able to provide data to NextPower Energy ( when and if they need it ) for the Prime upgrade.

 

OK, I misunderstood what the MagSafe charger was being used for.
I have a phone charger also plugged into the Prime, mine is in the 12 volt socket. I also have an ODB11 adapter plugged in. Both of these accessories probably make a difference in the readings seen on the 12 volt battery when the Prius in ON in any of its modes. Not much I'd suspect, but surely some difference. Which is why I like taking direct readings of the 12 volt battery with a voltmeter while the car is OFF ( or as close to OFF as possible ) , keeping in mind there is still some load on the 12 volt system even after simply opening a door and probably even juist locking or unlocking the car.
I new realize ( after watching the video I posted above ) it's a little harder to take direct 12 volt battery readings using a voltmeter in the PiP with the battery located in the back of the car.

 

I went back and reopened the battery compartment, this time armed with a volt meter. It reads 12.45 V.

So, I think I'm probably OK for the time being for the battery.

BTW, you can also check the battery under the hood since there is the positive terminal in the fuse box, and a negative nut nearby.

Now that I think back on it, I believe the 11.8 V was what the mechanic measured at the time, not what was on screen, because I don't recall actually accessing the service menu last time.

 

Yes, 12.45 volts looks much better than 12.2 or 11.9 .
Now that you have done both a maintenance mode check and a voltmeter check in your PiP, I'm gong to do the same in our Prime. Especially since the maintenance mode readings I've seen recently match so closely to yours.
I didn't know how to get the Prime into maintenance mode in 2020 when I posted some of my voltmeter readings on page 16 of this almost 4 year old thread with 21 pages of posts
12v Battery Is Discharging, Re-Charge Now ! | PriusChat
by the time I'd gotten to pg 16 I'd forgotten all the rules for testing Rob had posted in his original post #1 so my voltages were not exactly what Rob was looking to test, but neither was most of the other posts.

Hope you're enjoying the holiday @Eug

 

It is not a holiday in Canada this week but Happy Thanksgiving to you nonetheless. We adopted the Black Friday sales though, so that’s good.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

PCS warning came back. I’m not sure if it is worth trying a new battery as it’s pretty expensive and other people have said a new battery didn’t fix their problem.

What a great way to start the new year. Happy New Year!

 

seems like pcs would have more to do with the accident or repair, but idk.

 

There was a warning code previously about the right rear speed sensor. I wonder if that’s the issue.

 

Doesn’t seem like something that would be connected to the pre collision system, but who knows these days of interconnected systems

 

Was someone else working on that? The connectors are a nightmare, maybe got broken during a disconnect, pushed together but just held by friction?

both ours are thus btw.

 

Yes, I've read in other threads that error code C1466 for the rear wheel speed sensor can be a cause for the PCS warning light to come on.

I found this on another site, a list of causes of the PCS warning light:

- Dirt and debris on the radar sensor and radar sensor cover
- VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) system is disabled by the driver or has malfunctioned
- Defective ABS wheel speed sensor
- Front camera malfunction radar sensor not working properly
- Low battery voltage
- Charging system fault Blown fuse Defective ABS pump.

I took it back to the shop for a diagnosis. The thing is, despite the error code and the PCS light coming on initially, it actually went away so I just continued to drive it. But then it came back on eventually. (This erratic behaviour isn't unusual, according to other threads.)

It'd be nice if it was just a loose sensor connection, but I'm not that optimistic.

 

I've also had PCS warnings show up for both the Camera and the Radar Sensor. The messages I've seen show up on the small screen (MID) that say either the Camera can;t see out of the windshield or the Radar sensor cover is dirty and needs to be cleaned. And those message go away without setting DTC codes, as soon as the problem is taken care of.
I'm not sure what the PCS warning you're describing looks like in the Gen 3 Plugin, cause I've never seen it happen in my 2014 PiP.

 

Interesting. Previously the error codes included right rear speed sensor fault with the Pre-Collision System warning light coming on. But then the warning light went off and I just kept driving the car.

However, last week it came back on and so I took the car into the shop, but the mechanic did NOT detect that right rear wheel speed sensor fault. However, he did detect a left rear sensor fault. He then did some percussive maintenance on the left wheel hub (ie. he tapped it) and the fault would intermittently come and go. However, he said even though the warning light would go off, both sets of rear wheel bearings were shot. The wheels hummed and he recommended replacing both, which I guess isn't completely surprising after ~127500 km / 79200 miles in Canada with the car outside 24/7 and sitting in the snow in the winter.

He recommended NSK branded ones since that's what Toyota uses for OEM and I approved that, but in retrospect I think that may have been an error. If I am correct the NSK may have been even more expensive than Toyota OEM ones. Or not, because maybe I was looking up the wrong part number and I don't know if he checked Toyota OEM pricing. He did say another well respected third party brand (that Toyota had used in the past) was even more expensive), and he didn't recommend cheaper lower tier brands. Anyhow, his labour is cheap and the NSK hubs were available same day so there's that, and the PCS warning lights are all gone now. Yay!

Given that the rear wheel bearings are sealed bearings too, this made me worry about the status of the front wheel bearings, but he informed me the design of the front ones are different so maybe they'll last longer.

 

Pre-collision system light came on again. This time it was the front right speed sensor. My mechanic traced the wire and found it to be damaged. The sheath was partially stripped, with the wire exposed. This is undoubtedly due to the prior collision I had that involved that area. The mechanic fixed the wire and the PCS light is gone again.

I'd upload a picture but this site isn't letting me do it.

I wonder if this could have caused the rear sensor errors mentioned in the last post, but there was no front sensor error at that time. FWIW, he said the bearings for those rear wheels were near the end of their life (humming) and needed to be replaced anyway.

 

Here we go. This is the damaged wire that was causing the PCS warning light to come on.

Well, you sort of called this one. Yes, it was related to the accident, but it was because it caused an intermittent disconnect in the circuit to the right front speed sensor.