I just picked up this from Amazon! Portable 12000 mAh Dual 5V USB Power Bank, Car Jump Starter - Product Tour
I got this one; Now I just have to part with it and give it to my son who is home for Father's Day weekend to bake me a strawberry pie.
When using the jump starter, since the cables are so short, where do you connect them? I'd like to know as I bought a similar unit: Connected it under hood. Positive to terminal in fuse box. Couldn't attach to recommended negative location so I found a nearby bolt and crossed my fingers. It worked luckily, The cables are short on the portable battery packs and want to know where you and others attach when using under the hood method.
When using the BatteryMINDer 1510 Charger, I use a shock tower nut just behind the fuse box. Works well.
I can relate with you on putting the small 12V battery on a charger. Some years ago, a client of mine, whose got his Camry hybrid aux battery dead, gave the battery to a battery charger to charge. When the battery charger returned the battery, it was already toast(swollen). Eventually, that killed the battery, and owner had to to look for another one, which unfortunately, he couldn't get. So, what he sis in the interim, was to get a standard 12V battery for a conventional car. Lesson learnt is never give someone whose got no basics in hybrid vehicles such batteries.
There's a stud sticking out of the adjacent egr valve on the engine that I've used for a ground point.
I think there's a protocol. He's right. There's a section of the manual that takes about battery storage or something like that, where you have a special charger with a particular amperage to charge the battery, for some set time.
Thank you. Good catch on two step 4s. I always RTFM but the manual 2010 Prius IV with solar and nav is hard to digest. I have found pieces of the manual in PDF format on Toyota's website but not the entire thing. Is it available anywhere as one PDF that has been OCR'ed? Service manual would be great too.
Sounds kinky! What is a shock tower nut? Sounds like a good connection point. A visual would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Mendel. I'm confused as to where this is in relation to fuse box. Have no idea what an EGR valve is, sorry. Will go look under hood when I take my pup for a walk.
There are numerous ways that car can be started. I have tried that several times. 1. The other car. If you have some discarded HV battery modules lying around, let's say, they're in the 6...volts range, you could connect the 2modules in series, and you've got a 12V battery pack, with maybe, +-6.5Ah. Connect that pack to the terminals of the dead battery (by this time, the dead battery voltage resting might be , 10..., or 11...volts. Ensure the polarity terminals are OK. Crank the engine of the other car. Straightaway it starts. Have done this several times. Immediately the car starts, did connect the battery pack, and keep it in your car. Those discarded modules are handy. 2. Jump starting your car is the same. Dxta
Hah, looking for an epoxy repair pic, I also found (arguably) a better pic of that EGR valve stud. Facing the engine bay, it's just to the left of the engine bay fuse box, quite convenient:
I watched the dealership mechanic use that point, before we even bought our baby. It had been sitting at the back of storage shed for many months, boxed in by other cars and all dusty. A dead bird lay beside it. We spotted it, said that's the one we want, please prep it for a test drive. When we showed up for that, they "had it running, warmed it up for you...". Anyways, after the drive, we wanted to buy, needed to check the mileage on it, so out we go, and what do you know: it won't start. Out comes mechanic with jump pack, used aforementioned ground point, and we went back in, made fresh 12 volt battery one of the sales conditions.
Perfect! Thank you! You resolved something I've been wondering about for 6 months. Does Prius Chat have a place with easy fixes like this? Over 3 years I've had a few dome light on draining incidents - mostly after upgrading the nav DVD or some other fiddling with the MFD and iPhone. Ooops. AAA came out 3 times last year to jump start - got tired of high pressure battery sales tactics so got my own portable charger. Next step is to figure out best way to install and use a battery tender I bought @ Costco so I can avoid jump starting so much. I am trying to walk more and drive less. Can't start car if left sitting over 2 weeks. Still on original OEM battery mfg in 2009 and hope to breathe some life into it.
See the below pic: https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2017/12/136982_image.jpg The black clamp is on the shock tower nut . Not too kinky but functional .
You may have exceeded the amperage ratings on the OEM battery, by loading it up with aftermarket accessories as you've done. Maybe that's y you had the parasitic drain problem.
That is more than enough excuse to swap out the offending lights with much lower current LED lamps. While this won't abolish such dead battery incidents, it will greatly extend the time available to discover and remedy the problem before a jump start becomes a necessity. E.g. leave the light on all night, and the car will still start the next day.
edc415 has an 8 year old 12VDC battery in a seldom driven Prius that has needed a jump 3 times. He needs a new battery.
