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ICE rough idle/dies, battery won't charge, triangle of death...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by James2, Jun 8, 2013.

  1. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    In reading a lot of the threads here, it seems that my traction battery or inverter is dying/dead? 2004, 135,000 miles.

    A couple months ago, got the triangle of death and parked it at my office. Next day, came back and it drove fine. Then, a couple weeks ago, drove 100 miles fine, parked at the house. An hour later I hopped in the car and didn't get more than two miles down the road before it died. Came back a couple days later and it drives/runs fine, battery at 50%+ on the MFD. Had it towed to shop and they haven't had time to look at it, so I'm going to figure it out myself. I don't have a scanner but want to get one.

    As described in the thread title, the ICE won't even run, and the traction battery drains down to one bar. If I let the car sit for a day or two, it will probably run, but I know there's something that needs to be addressed. Is it the traction battery, or possibly the inverter?

    I called the dealer to do the inverter coolant pump recall, but they said I did it back in 2011. Was the problem identified back then? Or are they lying to me?
     
  2. brownsnoutuk

    brownsnoutuk Active Member

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    I had a similar issue a couple of months ago with the engine not starting. Sometimes it would start for a couple of minutes and then stall followed by all the warning lights. It turned out to be the coolant switching valve for the thermos. $70ish from Toyota. 30 minutes to install if i remember right. Take it to your local parts store and have them check the codes for free.
     
  3. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    Yes, get the codes read. Nothing to do until then. Get the "mini VCI" on eBay if you can.

    If the engine won't stay running, with rough idle, then the fuel system, air intake, or engine ECU is more likely suspect.
     
  4. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the tips. I'll check those out. It just seems odd, as sometimes it runs fine, and other times it drains the traction battery and then the ICE dies.
     
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Whats all the fluids look like under the hood?

    Oil?
    Engine Coolant? If white plastic engine overflow reservoir is empty open the rad cap by taking off the top black plastic valence cover and check the rad level. If low either place you have a leaking engine water pump.
    Inverter Coolant?

    Car supposedly had ICP recall done but that doesn't mean that pump didn't die. It's a pretty high fail unit. Put car in ready and take cap off I Coolant reservoir and look for good turbulence in that reservoir.
     
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    A stumbling engine can be the tip of the iceberg, with many possible causes lurking below. Get it diagnosed.

    Just thinking of the first time I set up valve clearances on a previous car. I mixed up the intake and exhaust clearance values, the engine wasn't too happy. ;)
     
  7. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    James, it seems that the root cause of your problem is something causing a loss/reduction in engine power rather than a battery or inverter problem. When the engine problem occurs the traction battery is providing most of the motive power and is therefore being discharged.

    When this happens you should try to stop before the traction battery gets too low. You'll need to have traction battery charge available while the engine or fuel problem is being diagnosed/repaired.
     
  8. Riaz

    Riaz Junior Member

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    You can also remove and examine the spark plugs for deposits and other signs of abnormal engine function. I bought my 06 gen 2 with 180k miles and found significant hardened deposits on the plug electrodes (apparently they had never been replaced or cleaned before)...I replaced them with new iridium plugs and the engine ran much smoother.

    May be a good idea to check the throttle plate and MAF to see if they need cleaning...it's a fairly high milage vehicle and if the throttle body has never been cleaned there could be quite a bit of gunk in there.
     
  9. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Any options for a locally available techstream / Toyota scanner? Wife needs the car back sooner than later... Not sure if any of the store-bought units can read Toyota language.
     
  10. jefe

    jefe Member

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    The ScanGuage II can read the prius codes. Mine diagnosed my HV battery failure instantly.
     
  11. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the info. Ordered one, will be here Wednesday. Just went to the shop where car is, mechanic says there are no codes...
     
  12. jefe

    jefe Member

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    If you have the triangle, there are codes.
     
  13. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Did any warning lights appear besides the master warning triangle? If yes, pls. provide sharp photos.

    If the master warning triangle was the only warning light that appeared, there may not be any DTC logged. For example, you can make the master warning light turn on by shifting into D and opening the driver's door. Or if the engine oil level drops down, the master warning light may appear. However in either case no DTC is logged.
    If the shop is not a Toyota dealership or a Toyota independent specialist, then the mechanic may only have a generic OBD-II code reader. That will pick up DTC logged by the engine ECU but probably will not pick up DTC logged by other important ECUs, for example the hybrid vehicle, traction battery, and skid control ECUs.

    Or, if the 12V battery is weak or near dead, most of the ECUs may lose any logged DTC. The skid control and SRS ECUs have nonvolatile memory but the other ECUs depend upon constant 12V power to keep their memory alive.
     
  14. jefe

    jefe Member

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    Good call Patrick. I forgot about this, but actually remembered it last night when i tried to put my car in reverse with my door open.
     
  15. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Okay, thanks all. Finally got back to the shop where the car was (100 miles away) and got my scan gauge 2. The guy said no codes, and he used to work at the local Toyota dealership. Pulled the codes from the scan gauge, and it shows p2102.

    No trouble lights (maybe he cleared), all systems seem fine, ice idles normally and traction battery seems to be charging normally. I have 3-4 bars now (1/2 full).

    At this point I'm going to try and drive it home and see what happens...
     
  16. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Oops, missed one thing... The maintenance required light is on, and I tried to read the code with the scan gauge, and it said no codes. I force cleared, and the light is still on. Not sure what that's about?
     
  17. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    If this DTC returns, you have a problem with the throttle control motor.
    That light comes on based upon a timer in the odometer which needs to be reset at 5K mile intervals. The light is simply reminding you to have the engine oil and oil filter changed. There are several posts about how to reset the timer after the maintenance has been performed.
     
  18. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Okay, drove it 100 miles to work, no problems.

    Forgot to mention, I checked the inverter coolant circulation and it looks fine.

    With the scan gauge, which functions should I monitor for possible trouble?
     
  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You don't have to monitor any functions unless you see warning lights appear. At that point, take good photos of the warning lights, and make a note of any DTC that are reported.

    If the DTC is P2102, then you should clean the throttle plate and throttle shaft using throttle body cleaner, then clear the DTC. If it comes back yet again, then you will need to replace the throttle control motor.
     
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  20. James2

    James2 Junior Member

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    Thanks Patrick. Another 100 miles home yesterday, all seems fine. Kinda weird, but at this point, I'll just have to keep going and see what happens...