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100A spare fuse?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by xjosianx, Dec 21, 2004.

  1. xjosianx

    xjosianx New Member

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    Hello guys,

    I have a Prius 2001, and out of the blue, it didn't want to start. I live in Ithaca NY, and the temperature changed drastically from one day to the other. Probably that was the reason of why the car was acting as uncharged.

    I tried to jump start it, but I accidentally crossed the battery poles (red on - and black on +). I know... a dangerous mistake.

    I checked the fuses, and I had 4 broken. 3 of them were easy to replace (15A), but one of them is the 100A spare fuse (circled on the attached picture). I couldn't take that one out. I went to the Toyota dealer and one of the sellers told me that the fuse is held from the holes below (marked on the 2nd attached image), and I need to take the fuses box out in order to be able to replace the 100A fuse. It is very difficult to take the fuses box out of there. It seems that I need a special tool to reach one of the screws, which is in a very uncomfortable position. How can I do that? Any help would be appreciated.

    Jose Aponte

    [Broken External Image]:http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jaa59/Ps2.jpg

    [Broken External Image]:http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jaa59/Ps1.jpg
     
  2. elky

    elky New Member

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    the 100a fuses are bolted in thru those holes that you pointed out... you've got to lift the inside part of the fuse box up after disengaging the locks, then you can unbolt the fuse.. this isn't the easiest task, but do-able.

    brandon
     
  3. xjosianx

    xjosianx New Member

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    Thanks for your reply, Brandon. And do you know if the Prius Vehicle protects the electric system from dumb mistakes like that one? (Switching the poles of the battery when jump starting the car) I mean, do you recommend to just send the car to the Toyota dealer, or you think that the fuse replacement will solve the problem?

    Jose
     
  4. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    You didn't follow the direction in your owner's manual.

    You never, ever, connect both clamps to the battery in the car being jumped. On a normal car, you connect only to the positive terminal, and connect the other clamp to a ground in the engine compartment, like a shiny metal bracket. On the 2004+ Prius, you don't even attach to the battery at all. Positive goes to the terminal inside the fuse box, negative to a metal bracket in the engine compartment.
     
  5. xjosianx

    xjosianx New Member

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    Yeah. You are right. I didn't realized that there was a special way to jump start this car. Now I scheduled an appointment with the toyota dealer, because I don't want to keep messing with things I don't know, and will cause me to spend more money. At least they guarantee every job they do.

    Jose
     
  6. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Even if he had, that wouldn't have corrected for or prevent reverse polarity, or the potential damage it could cause.

    And he doesn't have an 04, he has an 01. From what I remember from a recent post, classics don't have jumper terminals in the hood, and the battery is also in the trunk.
     
  7. xjosianx

    xjosianx New Member

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    Right. I still need to connect the negative pole from the battery. But I read on the manual that I should connect the possitive cable to a non-painted metallic part of the car. I don't see any difference on both of the procedures (connecting positive to the battery or to a metallic part) other than avoiding the confusion.

    I scheduled an appointment with Toyota for the 28th, so I'm still trying to do the job by myself (I mean... it's just a fuse! I can't stand towing my car just to change a fuse). I almost got it, but even when I got every screw out, the fuse box didn't come out right away. I hope it's only the fuse. Otherwise it will be really expensive.

    Do you guys know what kind of damage should I expect from this? Because I think that the fuses are made to avoid major damages to the computer and other electronic devices in the car, but probably somebody can tell me that I'm wrong. I need to know what I should expect to pay for this.

    Thanks so much for your collaboration guys,

    Jose
     
  8. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    it is entirerly possible that there is damage to the converter in the inverter assy. It's worth trying a new fuse and see what happens. The fuse is there to protect the components but you never know. Still if this was mine I dump a fuse in and see what happens. Jumping a vehicle is risky at best and the more computers in it the more risk is involved. That said you jump Positive to Positive and negative to negative. Hook up the two positive cable connections then the negative on the charging vehicle and then the negative to a good ground, unpainted metal, on the dead vehicle. Let the charging vehicle run for a couple of minutes to establish a charge to the dead battery then attempt to start. If the battery is really dead it is entirely possible to reverse the polarity on it by jump it backwards.
     
  9. elky

    elky New Member

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    i have seen many cars jumped backwards, believe it or not it happens all the time, but.. i've never seen it happen on a prius. Almost always the 100a fuse blows, then a lot of the time other fuses will also blow, like the dome or radio fuses. I've seen twice where the radio shorted out inside and had to be replaced (even though the radio fuse was also blown).
    I will guess optimistic and say your car will probably be fine after replacing the 100a fuse and maybe several others.

    brandon
     
  10. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    "Right. I still need to connect the negative pole from the battery. But I read on the manual that I should connect the possitive cable to a non-painted metallic part of the car. I don't see any difference on both of the procedures (connecting positive to the battery or to a metallic part) other than avoiding the confusion. "

    Uh, no. Most viehicles, including the prius, are negative ground vehicles. In other words, the chassis (unpainted metal) would be the negative terminal, not the positive. Doing what you suggest would short out the other battery.


    "I scheduled an appointment with Toyota for the 28th, so I'm still trying to do the job by myself (I mean... it's just a fuse! I can't stand towing my car just to change a fuse). I almost got it, but even when I got every screw out, the fuse box didn't come out right away. I hope it's only the fuse. Otherwise it will be really expensive."

    As stated below, replace the fuses and give it a whirl. Can't really get it worse than it already is.

    "Do you guys know what kind of damage should I expect from this? Because I think that the fuses are made to avoid major damages to the computer and other electronic devices in the car, but probably somebody can tell me that I'm wrong. I need to know what I should expect to pay for this."

    A fuse protects from over-current, nothing else. REversing polarity could cause electronics to draw over-current, thus blowing the fuse. In the process, due to this over-current, electronic components could be weakened or permanently damaged before (or even if) the fuse blew.
    A diode in series with the supply could prevent damage to reverse polarity, as it would block current from flowing backwards. However, having all the needed protection diodes, some of them needing to be quite large, could up the cost of the car.
    However, a diode reverse biased across the power leads could intentionally blow fuses if polarity is reversed, thus possibly protecting circuits behind it.


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