Gen 2 rear brake bleeding no scan tool

That's true, now it's just guessing and not knowing if this was the only error. For me it was obvious that this error was caused by replacing one of the calipers (also forgot to disconnect the 12v battery or to unplug the certain relay...).

I only have a simple OBD2 reader, bought it from AliExpress once. Maybe it's time to invest in a better one. For now I will survive without a proper scanner, as long as the car is error free. I also own a Ford Focus C-Max, so I have a backup if the Prius will let me down, that's the moment I will think about the investment.

Best regards, Nick

Black 2007 Prius

 

If you are ever caught with brake warning lights on and no scan tool handy, that's the situation the "paper clip method" is provided for: you can connect those two pins, turn the car ON, and count the flashes of the dash warning lights to know what your trouble codes are.

 

How to connect and the blinking light codes, are behind the paywall?

 

It's all in the Repair Manual, which Elektroingenieur made a whole wiki page about how to get access to, including straight from Toyota for the small subscription fee and also other avenues like public libraries that may have online access. Also, people often find downloaded copies on the net here or there.

A lot of posts here already cover how to do it. With a short wire (people often say paper clip, whatever, just try to avoid anything so fat or stiff it will damage the contacts in the diagnostic port) connect the the Tc and CG pins, then turn the car on and count the blinks of the dash lights. Count them into two-digit codes, so "blink blink (pause) blink blink blink (longer pause) blink blink blink (pause) blink" would be codes 23 and 31. Write them down and be sure to write down which light blinked each code. The different lights have separate tables in the manual listing the codes, and some of the numbers overlap, so if you find the right number in the wrong table, you get the wrong idea.

The brake-related tables in the manual have heading ABS and VSC (no confusion what lights those are) and ECB (electronically controlled braking). Depending on what region the car was built for, the ECB dash light might look like "BRAKE" or "((!))".

The tables list each blink code after the corresponding five-position DTC that a scan tool would show you, separated by a slash, like C1210/36. That means as a shortcut, if you have a PDF copy of the manual, you just search for the two digit blink code with a slash in front, like /36 and usually find it in one try. (But you have to scroll up to the heading of the table you found it in, to make sure it's one for the right light.)

That trick won't work for the small handful of blink codes that don't have a corresponding DTC (because those just appear in the table with no DTC and no slash, so the search with a slash won't find them). Once you're in the manual section where the tables are, you can just look for those. Those codes also got left out of at least some editions of the Gen 2 manual, but you can find them in a Gen 3 book. They generally just mean that the light in question has no useful code for you but that another light is known to.

 

It’s cheap IF you cobble a pirated/hacked version. This goes for Techstream and the various shop manuals.

 

A followup on this thread concerning the few 'mystery' blink codes that can't be found in some editions of the Gen 2 manual (36 on ECB, 42 on ABS, 43 or 45 on VSC): more here.

 

best specialty 15 psi tool, open cap at sea level

 

... except that everything around you is also 15 psia at sea level ...

 

I just came here to say thanks to the OP. This method worked perfect for me. I followed his instructions from YouTube. Rather than buy the expensive brake depressor tool he put in the description I was able to use a Harbor Freight alternative (for about $7). I tried to post a link but don't have a high enough post count. Search Youtube for "The Best DIY Brake Pedal Depressor Tool for under $7.00"