Prius fails to start, P0A0f, P3193

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MountWeasel, Feb 26, 2025 at 9:05 AM.

  1. MountWeasel

    MountWeasel Junior Member

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    I actually have 2 gen 2 Prii that appear to be showing the same symptoms and codes, P0A0F and P3193. Confirmed earlier that it wasn’t out of gas, just reporting this code when the engine didn’t start after cranking. I’d like to diagnose the problem rather than throw parts at it, but I’m not really sure where to start. Is there a troubleshooting flowchart or guide in the right direction?
     
    #1 MountWeasel, Feb 26, 2025 at 9:05 AM
  2. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    What does the fuel gauge show? In theory, P3193 should only set if: the engine doesn't run (or produces very low torque) AND the fuel gauge reads "empty" (flashing 1 bar).

    One of my first "no start" go to's is to clean the throttle body bore and MAF sensor.

    Be careful to not attempt too many engine cranks otherwise you will discharge the HV battery.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #2 mr_guy_mann, Feb 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
  3. MountWeasel

    MountWeasel Junior Member

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    Thanks for the response. I have a grid charger, so I’m keeping the traction battery charged up every night. I bought a can of maf sensor cleaner and I’ll start with that. I have dr Prius, torque app, and a pretty good bii-directional code reader, so I can get live data and freeze frame info. Nothing appears out of place, but I might not really know what to look for. Any advice would be appreciated.
     
    #3 MountWeasel, Feb 26, 2025 at 11:37 AM
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I don't think the grid charger is intended to be used in this way. The battery is not suppose to have a constant full charge every day
     
    #4 JC91006, Feb 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    You should need to be charging the hybrid battery every night for a couple of tempted cranks but yeah I have a great charger too I'd like hooked it up to a hybrid battery like twice and its whole life It just sits here but that's interesting anyway yeah you just got to treat this as a no start condition of a regular iced car kind of and you need to ascertain you really do have fuel everybody says they have fuel and at the end of this hole thing here they come back and post yeah I was really out of gas
     
    #5 Tombukt2, Feb 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
  6. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    It sounds to me like one of your Gen 2 Priui is the same car that you started a new thread for on January 5th of this year, https://priuschat.com/index.php?posts/3504846
    There is a lot of good information in the earlier thread. See my post #9 in that thread.

    Just out of curiosity, did you fix the combination meter on the car like you said you were going to do?

    Clean the throttle body as recommended in post #2 in this thread.
     
    #6 Brian1954, Feb 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Reading both threads on this car makes it likely the daughter's car has had many hands in it and could have more than one issue relative to the no start / poor start. It is possible the engine is starting but is running so bad the ecu says I can't sync it with my transaxle so I am waiting for an engine repair.

    Sometimes it can a stupid simple problem like a pcv or other hose allowing unmeasured air into the engine. Or it could be a single wire pulled out of a harness requiring a scope to logically diagnose.

    This recent gen3 video may not be exactly your situation but does demonstrate how to test for a no start. Disregard the blown head gasket. That is not the no start.

    Beached whale Prius stalls after 20 seconds
     
    #7 rjparker, Feb 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
  8. MountWeasel

    MountWeasel Junior Member

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    Thanks all for the responses.
    1. I bought the grid charger from the company that reconditioned the batteries, and am following their instructions for charge rate (300 ma) and final voltage (225 VDC). The battery had dropped to 184 VDC and wouldn’t turn over the engine before I charged it.

    2. Both cars show empty fuel gauge, but have been filled to overflow with a gas can. I’ve been convinced that this condition will be resolved when I get the engines to stay running.

    3. Prius #1 is indeed the one referenced in my previous posts, and I have repaired the cluster with a new capacitor, but it still won’t start, although the cluster now works. Maybe I should have posted to the same thread, but I’m now focusing on Prius #2, which was running well until recently.

    I bought a can of CRC maf cleaner and CRC throttle body cleaner and I’ll try that next. I will post results to this thread.
    I watched the PHAD video when it was first posted to YouTube, but I’ll watch it again to see what info I can gain.
     
    #8 MountWeasel, Feb 26, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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  9. MountWeasel

    MountWeasel Junior Member

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    I have two cars. #2 Prius, the one I’m focusing on now, has been running for almost 3 years, no one has touched it besides me since the day I bought it. I replaced both batteries and the inverter coolant pump when I bought it, and it’s been running since then. Maf and throttle body clean didn’t help any, so I think I’ll change the spark plugs next. Wish there was a better way to systematically diagnose the issues. My son’s celica gives me cylinder misfire codes if I have ignition issues, guess I was hoping for something like that to direct my efforts.
     
    #9 MountWeasel, Feb 27, 2025 at 7:15 AM
  10. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    There is and it was demonstrated in the video above. He has access to the documentation (primarily the wiring most of the time), he has the tools (which are more than wrenches) and he has the basics of no start diagnosis in his head and in that video.
     
    #10 rjparker, Feb 27, 2025 at 7:31 AM
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  11. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Does the engine spin and what is the compression values? What does the MAF sensor read while spinning? Is the exhaust system restricted?
    Does the fuel pump run, and what is the pressure?
    Do the ignition coils fire and produce spark?
    Are the injectors triggered, and do they spray fuel?

    Methodical questions, but you need some specialized tools and skills to answer them

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #11 mr_guy_mann, Feb 27, 2025 at 12:32 PM
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