BEWARE! Warranty Voided due to electronics Install

If I'm not mistaken only parts affected by your install can be voided from the warrantry. I would call in a lawyer and another dealer to look at this before anything is touched on the car. This may prove to be a costly repair that should be covered. It's hard to see how drawing a such a small amount of power should cause your problems, although if there is a short, who knows...

 

I'd also be pretty suspicious... The inverter's main job is to transition between the ~200v DC and 500v AC that the car uses for the electric motor (and the regenerative braking). Adding a radio and a nav system shouldn't be any problem whatsoever.

I'd want full written documentation on why they think your modification caused the inverter problem and what the inverter problem actually is.

Can you give us any details on how long it was after your install before the problem arose (immediately, a few days, etc?). If you disconnect the modifications, does it make any difference? Which green wire did you tap into, and what did you use for a ground?

Just adding a Nav module or a Sirus radio should NOT void your warantee, (providing that you didn't make any mistakes when installing it) - otherwise anyone who ever installed a car stereo, immobilizer, or anything else in their car (hybrid or not) would be voiding their warantee...

Unfortunately I think the inverter is a fairly expensive piece of hardware, so if it really does require replacing, I'd make sure to document it fully. If you're in the US, I recall reading somewhere that if a manufacturer wants to void your warantee, they have to PROVE that your modification was the cause of the problem.

You might want to get some legal advice.

Dave.

 

Any other after market items?

BTW, I think the inverter is also the device that provides 12 volts and keeps the 12 volt battery charged.

Also, a device that draws 1.5 Amps may have a fairly high starting or instintaneous operating current. Fuses tend to ignore these current spikes but they can cause problems with solid-state voltage inverters/converters.

 

You might want to familiarize yourself with the Magnuson-Moss Act of 1975 before you allow the dealership to take advantage of you.

http://www.americascarshow.com/tc/?article...nty_Act_of_1975

 

Agreed on Magnuson-Moss. Also, there are a few TSB's on inverter issues they should be familiar with before accusing the aftermarket electronics.

If they fail to change their tune, get a lawyer. They are required to prove how the aftermarket electronics or the installation caused the fault on the car.

Nate

 

According to Mag-Moss Act, your warranty is voided by after-market installation if and only if the manufacturer can prove that the installation is responsible for the failure.

Personally, I have seen people run small refridg (~50W), laptop (~65W) out of 12V thru adaptor. I doubt that your Sat Radio AND Navi in total consume more power than 50W (you might want to gather that info for your own defense). However, if there was a short or malfunctioning in either your Sat Radio or Navi, then it is an entirely diff issue.

Good luck. I am rooting for you against Toyota.

 

I too would be skeptical about even a miswiring killing an inverter. What codes did they pull that indicated an inverter problem?
There is a TSB indicating that a coolant leak internal to the inverter could appear, causing high voltage shorts to be detected by the inverter. The common codes would be high voltage shorts. There's no way you could cause that unless you were fooling around with those orange cables.
If you accidentally connected into one of the HV ECU to inverter control lines, then maybe, but I don't think you would have been able to even attempt to move the car.

As for load surges causing electronic failure, especially other electronics, that's absurd. People have installed subwoofers with amps that draw considerably more, with no ill effects to the electronics. The ECUs and inverter would have to be well protected from power transients, and even if transients caused issues, it wouldn't be permenant.

 

I too am doubtful that the aftermarket electronics caused problems with the inverter. But here's one possible (although farfetched) way it could be trouble. Say the installer tied into a wire that was supposed to supply an "accessory on" signal designed to switch on the power. But say the installer incorrectly failed to connect the power to a real 12V source, and instead relied on the "accessory on" wire for all the power of the accessories. The accessories could draw too much power for the circuit that powers that "accessory on" signal, and the computers could detect that heavy load and raise a fault. Perhaps that signal comes from the inverter or is controlled by the inverter somehow.

 

No, it isn't. It is simply a 7.5A fuse protecting the ACC-On signal, with the exception of the console power outlet, which has a 15A fuse. The 2 are fed by a 25A fuse. By the way, Ig1 (Ig-On) also has a 7.5A fuse. So if such a miswire was done, the 7.5A fuse would have blown, and that would have been obvious when the radio won't play, or the car won't go into Ig1 or Ig2.
Why such a low value fuse, when some accessories clearly draw more current? The same way amps and head units these days work. All the accessories get constant B+, and the ACC, Ig1, Ig2 are turn on signals.
There is an ECU called the power ECU, that turns on the various power stage (ACC, Ig1 [Ig-On], Ig2 [READY]) relays, when it gets an OK from the transponder or SKS.