Drives Perfectly but inverter failure?

Hi Everyone,

I have now collected the Prius from the Dealer and have the list of codes he provided.

P0A08/264 DC/DC converter circuit / converter inverter assembly fault

POAO9/591 DC/DC converter status circuit low / input / wiring harness / or inverter fault

C1249/49 Open circuit stop lamp switch / fault in stop lamp circuit

C1310/51 Malfunction in HV system / fault in hybrid control system

C1313/13 Open circuit main relay / fault wiht abs relay / skid control ecu / wiring harnesss

C1377/43 Capacitor malfunction / fault brake control power supply / abs fuse / wiring harness

I have taken a short video on my phone to give you guys some idea of what the screen is doing. I really do not think all the above faults can be 'real' otherwise surely the Prius would not drive. For example the brake lights do work! Have tried to upload the video but no sucess so will try to describe exactly the status.

On strange noise is what sounds like a flat tyre from the front near side or US drivers side.

CD, phone, energy flow / consumption menus all work fine. Radio is okay but when tuning each station it will not show the current frequency until you attempt to store it. Therefore as you are adjusting you have to keep storing to show where you are then you have an idea of how much further you need to go.

When you press nav, map any of the buttons on the right hand side of the MFD the display flickers. Sometimes it comes up with the word Problem at the top of the screen. it is the same when reverse gear is engaged although this did work briefly when we got the car.

The red car with exclamation and battery are continually on the MFD unless you adjust temp etc where the menu comes down from the top and obscures them.

I have managed to upload 2 pictures. Given the dealer claims all these faults I am more inclined with my limited knowledge to think there is a couple of wiring harness issues and stored faults within the Main ECU which are not clearing rather than all these existing faults. When I mentioned this to the dealer he just shrugged his shoulders.

Thanks

Nick

 

I measured the battery using the battery terminals in the boot in 3 conditions.

Ignition off bat voltage 12.5 V
key in the ignition power button pressed 12.25V stereo was on
In the ready position with engine running showing on MFD as feeding the battery via the electric motor 14.05V

Regards

Nick

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Having collected the car I removed the seats and carpet and looked at all the cabling. I found a couple of connectors going to the nav with a little discolouration but cleaned them with electrical cleaner. Have just been through the MFD dispay menus and went through all I could find. According to to them everything is working perfectly but still flickering screen with nav functions and will not switch to maintenance. Still have same warning lights. I forgot to mention today was the first time I tried it but the cruise control is not working either.

Thanks in advance

Nick

 

Hi Patrick,

I have disconnected the battery and left it off overnight and for shorter periods. The codes are present as soon as the battery is reconnected and the ignition switched on. Is there any other way to reset the control unit where these codes are stored and might this do anything in resetting the MFD or the signal which is affecting the nav?

Regards

Nick

 

Patrick are there any more tests or inspection you think I could carry out I appreciate I am limited but the only connectors which appear to have had any contact with water were those supplying the nav and amp. Those at the base of the a pillar are fine as are all those in the boot. The fuse box under the hood was clear as well.

Regards

Nick

 

I will continue my investigation tomorrow. I can confirm water did not go about the amplifier and nav control. All the connectors underneath the seats are perfect as are both bundles of connections at the base of the a pillars. The more I think about this and from having done research about vehicles which have been flooded is the ignition was turned on and an attempt made to start the car when some of the connector under the seats were damp or even wet. This seems to have sent the ECU haywire and for some reason the ECU will not reset or 'let go' of the codes. Originally when I took the car in to the dealer I just wanted the warning lights reset and the nav and reversing camera to work. From this I had the dealer bascially claim the car is scrap. I could almost accept this if there were any driving faults or issues with the HV operation or charging but there is not.

Is there anyway to completely reset the ECU on the car without having access to Toyota diagnostic equipment which goes further than disconnecting the power supply from the battery? As if all these faults were present and 'real' the car would not work.

I have managed to do some more checking on the car and located the dealer it was taken to after the flood. He stated the codes were present when they inspected the car and for example he said the car was starting the engine and turning itself off randomly. It does not have keyless start!!!

Regards

Nick

 

It definitely has nav. Perhaps its the different between Euro and US spec cars.

Nick

 

I checked the ECU behind the glove box. All the connectors were clear with no signs of anything. I used electrical contact cleaner again today and something interesting happened. After cleaning the connectors to the nav I noticed some verdis gris came out of the main connector. This did nothing to any of the displays. I cleaned all the connectors to the amp and again the same. When I plugged the amp back in found that the red battery and red car with exclaimation mark was gone once the car had started! Progress at last! I once a turned the ignition off and on again it had returned and there were no codes listed in the MFD. I had ran out of cleaner so will get some more tomorrow and go through the same process. Fingers crossed this will achieve something positive. I am now more than ever convinced all the problems are from the connector blocks at the nav and amp.

Nick

 

Hi Guys,

Good news in fact excellent news. I went through all the connectors in the base of the floor. In the bundle at the base of the a pillar found the 2 lower blocks which had appeared okay were damaged. I had to cut one wire and make a separate connection from the block. It was a red wire so must have been some sort of power feed. Similar repairs to 2 other connections, battery connected and voila all warning lights gone!!!

So now all that is remaining is the nav and reversing camera, I am hoping cruise c is okay but am straight on the computer and will report back from road test shortly.

Going into the MFD menu nav is coming up with 'check' on checking in the current column it stated 48- 50 ? Can anyone shed any light.

Overall to date I am elated. I could not have done this without the support from this forum thanks to everyone who has contributed with particular thanks to Pat and Andy.

Am hoping I will be able to resolve this nav issue with your support and am astounded. Dealer wanted at least £10000 and stated it could go upto £16000 [not sure what that is in dollars] with no guarantee it would work. Now look everything almost fine for a few pounds of electrical cleaner and a couple of hours of my time. It is frightening to think that when a dealer comes across a problem which does not 'fit' with their diagnosis they are completely unable to be creative or think outide of the box. Morons.

Regards

Nick