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HELP! ASAP please.......

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Gasolean5, Jan 15, 2008.

  1. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    Hey everyone! I just came back from a vacation of just a little over 3 weeks and my Prius is not starting. I have had left the lights on before and had the battery go dead before. I usually just left it on for 20 or so minutes and it seemed to work after that. I'm currently leaving it on now but in addition to all the lights going off when I turn it on (and the car being sluggish) the gas lights are doing funny things too. Any thoughts? I have to drive back to NY tomorrow. I left the car at a family member that was SUPPOSED to drive it. But I think its obvious that they didn't.
     
    #1 Gasolean5, Jan 15, 2008
  2. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    It almost appears as though you were not successful in convincing your relatives that the car should be driven often. In the future, I would suggest that you remove the dome light fuse or find different relatives.

    In the immediate future, you should be able to jump it.
     
    #2 TonyPSchaefer, Jan 15, 2008
  3. Shieldsy

    Shieldsy Prius Fruitcake

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    If it has "Smart Key" the 12v Battery sounds like it has depleted. Next time you go away for over a week, just disable the smart key (in the manual)system that polls continuously for your FOB.

    As for now, just jumper the car (it's in the manual) and as soon as the "READY" light comes on, the main traction battery should charge the 12v battery and everything will be OK.
     
    #3 Shieldsy, Jan 15, 2008
  4. beboyle

    beboyle Junior Member

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    Sounds like your 12v starter battery is too low to get the computers running. You can safely jump start the car using the two connections in the fuse box under the hood. They're designed to connect with normal jumper cables. It won't take much power to get you going. Check your owner's manual for specifics.
     
    #4 beboyle, Jan 15, 2008
  5. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    Thanks everyone for the prompt replies. I do not have Smart Key - I have a base price normal 2006 Prius. I bought it new. The first time this happened I did jump it and was told it wasn't necessary. I'm still hoping its not.

    I find that a lot of non-prius people are afraid to drive it. I usually leave it with a friend when I leave for long periods of time and they do drive it but I have since moved from that side of the state and am closer to family so I decided to leave it with them.

    I will try jumping it tomorrow. I hope it's okay. I love my car and I'm really mad that someone neglected it. Especially someone I trusted to make sure its driven every couple days
     
    #5 Gasolean5, Jan 15, 2008
  6. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    Don't worry about it, a quick jump start and a 20 min drive and you'll be good to go.

    You might want to get the 12v battery checked, though, I would have thought that it would survive 3-weeks without having the smart-key function on.
     
    #6 drees, Jan 16, 2008
  7. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    I would think so too. I have friends that have the fancier models that do die out fairly quickly. But mine isn't. I was gone from Dec 29th (but the last time I drove it was the 28th) to Jan 15th. Not even three weeks. I did get it to run for a bit last night. I'm going to just go ahead and leave in a bit and hopefully I'll make it home to New YorK!
     
    #7 Gasolean5, Jan 16, 2008
  8. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    Update: Now it's COMPLETELY and utterly DEAD. Nothing is turning on or off. I can't get he other doors to unlock. Only the driver's side. I have called AAA and my family member's Prius dealer (we're a family of Prii) and we'll see what happens. Talk about a great way to end your vacation.
     
    #8 Gasolean5, Jan 16, 2008
  9. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I'm confused...have you or have you not jump started it yet? Everything you've described is exactly consistant with a dead 12v and you should start right back up if you do a simple jump.
     
    #9 efusco, Jan 16, 2008
  10. Betelgeuse

    Betelgeuse Active Member

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    Agreed. The only thing that this is consistent with is a totally dead (i.e. non-rechargeable) battery. If a simple jump doesn't fix it, you probably need to replace the 12V battery.

    Assuming there weren't anything drawing power while you were gone, it should have *easily* lasted for three weeks without driving. There's a second indicator that you might need a new 12V battery.

    Actually, did you leave your headlight switch on? I've been trying to figure out why some people have problems with dead batteries and others don't. It seems like a lot of people that come home to dead batteries left their headlight switch in the "On" position.
     
    #10 Betelgeuse, Jan 16, 2008
  11. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Shouldn't be a problem unless you turned the headlight switch on AFTER shutting the car down. I leave my headlight switch on 24x7 (except on the interstate in clear daylight). The car happily turns them turns them on as soon as I power up and off as soon as I open the door after powering down. I left my car for 2.5 weeks last spring. I probably did turn off the SKS switch under the dash but I'm sure I didn't turn off the headlight switch. No problems whatever.

    If I'm reading Gasolean5's posts right, the 12V has been killed at least once before. Certainly a permanently damaged 12V is a prime suspect.
     
    #11 bruceha_2000, Jan 16, 2008
  12. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    The positive is under the red cap in the fuse box (black plastic box on the driver's side). The negative is a bolt on the passenger side close to the dash.
     
    #12 bruceha_2000, Jan 16, 2008
  13. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    If the battery is drained flat, and left that way for a few days (not immediately recharged to full capacity), chances are the plates have sulfated. That's why a battery has much reduced capacity and is never the same if it ever gets drained completely and is not immediately recharged.
     
    #13 priusenvy, Jan 16, 2008
  14. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    I'm not sure if you read up on how to jump the prius.

    there are the terminals under the hood.. but they don't always work. I would suggest (if possible) lowering the back seats.. pulling the cover off the hatch.. unlatching it.. and getting to the 12v directly so you can trickle charge it for a couple hours.

    It's best to never hook the prius up to another running car. the prius' 12v system is pretty spazmastic (yeah)

    the good news is.. you only need approximately 9v to turn the car "ON".. after it's in ready mode, you will get a constast 14~v feed from the hybrid battery.
     
    #14 V8Cobrakid, Jan 16, 2008
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    If it's been drained before this 12V battery is now shot. Buy a new one and figure out how not to kill it. (One stratagem: Always lock the car. If a door or the hatch is ajar, which will drain the battery, the car will beep.)
     
    #15 richard schumacher, Jan 16, 2008
  16. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    i have 86k miles on my original battery. I've killed it at least 4 times. the nice constant charge from the hybrid system is nice to have. It seems to give it enough charge to keep living for a while.

    it doesn't help my sub's amp is always on...

    i've had to connect a battery charger a few times to get the system started if it's been sitting for too many days... but i drive my car many times every day.

    I'm thinking it will hold out till i hit 100k miles.
     
    #16 V8Cobrakid, Jan 16, 2008
  17. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    Thanks everyone for your responses. The car was jumped and it is running well and I managed to drive back to NY.

    THE FIRST time I had to have the car jumped I had accidentally left the lights on (this was about 2mths ago) and when I unlocked the car it was "sluggish" and slow. I turned it on and all the dashboard lights came on and I couldn't shift or anything. I called AAA and they came and jumped me but jumped me in the TRUNK. The car started and all was well.

    The SECOND time I went grocery shopping and left the lights on again (I was in a car accident in the Prius almost two years ago (right after I got it!!!) and I was T-boned by a Ford 250. Ever since its whole left side was replaced, the lights never went all the way off when I turne the car off). Anyway after talking with some people on here, they said that if I left the car on, it would recharge. Just leave it on for 20-30 minutes. After about 20 minutes I was able to start my car and drive off no problem. All the lights on the dash came on and the same symptoms as above.

    This THIRD time I left nothing on and was gone for 3 weeks. A person was supposed to start my car while I was gone, but didn't. The first thing I did when I got home was to try to start my car. Again it was "sluggish" and all the lights came on. However this time it did one thing it never did before - the gas lights showed empty and blinking. And the whole gas strip was blinking. This never happened the previous times and I knew I had left more than half a tank left. I left the car on for a bit and then when I went back to check it ALL the lights were off and dead except for a very very faint "check engine light" and the little green light on the park button. I could take the key in and out of the ignition and the lights still remained on. I tried to turn it off - nothing happened lights still on. I tried to put it on and it still no change. I started to freak out. This NEVER happened in the past. I called a local Prius dealer and they said to call AAA have it towed in. The AAA guy came out and jumped it in the FRONT and it started. I drove it around the neighborhood a bit then came back. I drove it to NY. All is well.
     
    #17 Gasolean5, Jan 17, 2008
  18. Kidd

    Kidd New Member

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    If the car is OFF and you leave the headlight switch ON, how would that affect the battery?
     
    #18 Kidd, Jan 17, 2008
  19. Gasolean5

    Gasolean5 New Member

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    Because as I explained earlier ever since my car was repaired from the car accident, even if I turn the car off, the lights still stay on but in lowlight
     
    #19 Gasolean5, Jan 17, 2008
  20. 9G-man

    9G-man Senior Member

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    It's a shame that it took two pages of threads for you to fess up and inform us that your car has, in fact, been wrecked, repaired improperly, that you knew it, and havn't done anything about getting it fixed properly. That your lights stay on all the time and you have developed and accepted a routine where you or others have to start you car periodically in order to let it recharge the 12v battery by sitting 20 minutes or so. (I wondered what that was all about).
    Your car is messed up and needs to have the wiring, related to the original collision repair, checked out. It is draining your 12v battery.
    What a waste of everyone's efforts to try and understand what's going with your car and help you.
     
    #20 9G-man, Jan 17, 2008
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