The road side assistance number for Prius sent out a tow truck when my car was dead. The mechanic/driver crossed the polarity when he jumped the car and fried something in the electrical system. The dealer and Toyota Field Specialist have tried all they can and can not find the problem. Any suggestions or ideas out there? I will post the "already-replaced" parts list soon. Thanks. Btownprius
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Btown Prius @ Nov 3 2007, 03:29 PM) [snapback]534362[/snapback]</div> Maybe we should all install high current diodes at the jump terminal. One to pass the current for the correct connection and another to clamp the incorrect current and blow the guy's fuse when he connects it the wrong way. JeffD
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Btown Prius @ Nov 3 2007, 02:29 PM) [snapback]534362[/snapback]</div> The current thinking is reverse polarity on the 12 VDC bus fries the control computers . . . all of them. Did the tow truck driver use the jumper plug under the hood or go directly to battery? Bob Wilson
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Nov 3 2007, 06:42 PM) [snapback]534439[/snapback]</div> Is that a bad thing?....ugh! I'm suprised there isn't some sort of fail safe to prevent that much damage though it take some serious sloppiness to make a mistake like that.
So there's no way to fale safe this from happening again? i have a problem with leaving my amp plugged in... tree time... I've had to "charge up" the system so i can turn the car on. I stay in the system check menu looking at voltage. my friends van supplies about 11.9volts. the traction battery/hybrid unit provides 14+volts. i would love a scanguage for my b-day. if i had the guages, i would see how green i can go.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Nov 3 2007, 07:15 PM) [snapback]534449[/snapback]</div> That's what I'm thinking. Their doofus. Their dime.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Nov 3 2007, 07:42 PM) [snapback]534439[/snapback]</div> not necessarily. DH has seen this issue in person. first, a ton of fuses blow. including the main bus fuse. if that blows in time, the DC-DC converter is saved. if not... ick. the computers were ok though, unless of course you consider the inverter to be a really big computer.
There are voltage regulators "designed" for the automotive market. Most of them have reverse polarity protection built-in. And protection against all kinds of surges and spikes. Certainly not everything should be dead.
This just might be a kick in the butt (at least for me) to find a big diode that would thread/attach onto the jumpstart terminal. This makes the big assumption that they would use the 'toyota recommended' way to jumpstart the car. If it goes directly across the battery reversed, then there's also the added risk of.. to put it lightly, getting sulfuric acid all over the place. Not only would hacking this section it give a good clip surface to clip the cables onto, but it would prevent idiot mistakes like this, If executed properly, this could look 'stock'. Best of all, it's fairly easy to 'hide' this in the prii, as the start current is fairly low (not the ~600 ish amps in a normal car..) At the moment I can find a mean looking enough diode I would like to use.. Something like the NTE (gasp) 6074 with a custom milled thread adapter would look really cool too! I've only heard about mistakes like this, but all of them have been very dramatic. A long time ago, one of my friends had to replace the engine wiring harness, as it burned to little bits of copper and 'black stuff' (not trivial, even back then!) Hope the tow truck company has a good insurance company..
The peak current requirement during Prius bootup was measured as 30 amps for the 2001-2003 model. Have not seen an oscilloscope trace for the new model. A 10 amp slow blow fuse might very well be large enough as a protector. If not that, then something less than 30A. I agree it would be great (and cheap) for Toyota to protect Prius against this sort of lobotomy.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_echo @ Nov 4 2007, 12:28 AM) [snapback]534548[/snapback]</div> Oh lord please no ECG's in the Prius! You know with all that sulphuric acid and all wouldn't it be alot easier to just be there in person if you were getting jumped and watch the moron doing it..... "Hey sport...negative to chassis...the red end to this little post right HERE!!!!"
Just out of curiosity, has anyone heard of anyone making a mod that would protect against incorrect jumps?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob64 @ Nov 7 2007, 01:19 AM) [snapback]536023[/snapback]</div> Well, there is such a thing as idiot-proof jumper cables. They come in two pieces, and you attach one end to each vehicle, and before you make the connection between the two ends, it warns you if either end is hooked up incorrectly. I can't recall how it works, I think there were LEDs on each of the two pieces that connect together in the middle that lit up either green or red depending on whether you had hooked the cable up correctly or not.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Nov 4 2007, 11:25 PM) [snapback]534791[/snapback]</div> The trouble with a fuse is that by the time it blows, it's often too late for the electronics. I would prefer a large diode, or perhaps a diode and a fuse. Tom
the problem with making something idiotproof is that they will always build a better idiot. you would think RED and BLACK would be sufficient if someone was paying attention. Btown... any more for us to go on here?
I've seen cars without a red OR black cap on their battery. And theres no way I'm touching the bluish fuzz thats growin out from the terminals of the batteries without gloves. Yeah, trying to jump a car in the dark is bad news.
