Power Light not illuminating

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PRIUS GIRL3130, Oct 14, 2014.

  1. PRIUS GIRL3130

    PRIUS GIRL3130 New Member

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    I hope I can get some help here with my 2008 Prius. I will try and explain the problem (if it is a problem) as best I can. I may say something totally stupid (at least the Prius Guru's might think so) But please be nice! :p

    A couple of days ago went to get in my car it would not start. All the power lights and dash lights came on but it would not start. My husband got on this site or another and figured out it was the 12 volt battery. I went to the auto parts store got a new one and he installed it.

    It did start up at that point but my parking and power light indicators did not illuminate. He tells me to drive it around for 10/15 minutes see if it charges the battery more. I drive it (at night) and notice that the lights on the doors (widow buttons) were blinking and the power and park lights still did not illuminate ( well obviously not the park light). I get back to the house turn the car off and then back on and the that seem to fix most of the problems. The only thing I am concerned about is that my power button never illuminates to green (I am fairly certain it is suppose to).

    The car seems to be driving fine. I just am trying to prevent anything going a miss because of something I ignored.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Lisa
     
    #1 PRIUS GIRL3130, Oct 14, 2014
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Moved from the Prius v maintenance forum to the Gen II maintenance forum.
     
    #2 Paradox, Oct 14, 2014
  3. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    While it may not be a factor.....anymore......a new battery should always be fully charged with an external charger before being put into service.

    Now is not too late to do that but it might not help with the light problem.

    The green light is a "READY" light and there might be some fault codes left over from the dead battery that are still telling the system that it is NOT 100% ready.
     
    #3 Easy Rider 2, Oct 14, 2014
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    take it to auto zone and have them check for codes. agree with easy ^ test your battery voltage.
     
    #4 bisco, Oct 14, 2014
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Prius 2G has four possible operating modes:

    1. IG-OFF: the car is powered off. The POWER button LED is dark.
    2. ACC-ON: from IG-OFF, push the POWER button once without depressing the brake pedal. The MFD will turn on, you can play the stereo, most dashboard lights will remain off. The POWER button LED will appear green.
    3. IG-ON: from ACC-ON, push the POWER button again, without depressing the brake pedal. Now all dashboard warning lights will turn on and the POWER button LED will appear red. You can raise and lower the power windows. Since all vehicle electronics are powered up but the hybrid system is not charging the 12V bus, this mode places a high drain on the 12V battery. Do not leave the car in this mode for any length of time.
    4. READY: from any of the other three modes, press the POWER button once with the brake pedal depressed. The "READY" icon appears on the dashboard. Now the car can be driven. The POWER button LED is dark.

    I agree that the 12V battery should be fully-charged overnight before it is put into service.
     
    #5 Patrick Wong, Oct 15, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2014
  6. PRIUS GIRL3130

    PRIUS GIRL3130 New Member

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    Thank to all of you for the replies! I have only had this vehicle for about 6 months and sad to say I am guilty of not paying attention to all the bells an whistles that should or shouldn't be on or off (well... except for the gas gauge)! I was thinking that the green light on the power button should be illuminated when driving and if I am reading this correctly it is not. So I probably do not have a problem at all. I will however go ahead and take it to Auto Zone and have them pull any codes. Thanks again for the help and for being nice!:love:
     
    #6 PRIUS GIRL3130, Oct 15, 2014
  7. mattbuilt1

    mattbuilt1 New Member

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    So at night, after I park, and I am having trouble finding the Power button because it is not lit, that is the expected behavior?
     
    #7 mattbuilt1, Feb 20, 2025 at 8:51 AM
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The gen 2 lights for nighttime illumination of the power button (and also of the Park button, and the shift lever) are actual eety beety light bulbs. You can still get the bulbs at the Toyota dealer. I had to replace all three of those in the last gen 2 I bought. After enough years they burn out (faster if you keep the dash illumination turned up higher).

    Later generations tend to use LEDs for that and they don't burn out much.
     
    #8 ChapmanF, Feb 20, 2025 at 9:29 AM
    mattbuilt1 and Brian1954 like this.
  9. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Active Member

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    I wish I had been a bit smarter when I replaced the 12V battery on my 2012. I think the battery would have been fine if I had brought it inside and thawed it out. I should have known that you don't replace a car battery like you would in a flashlight. The new one cost me over $400.
     
    #9 Paul Gregory, Feb 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    They don't often actually freeze, unless the weather is very cold and the battery is deeply discharged (the freezing point of the electrolyte gets closer to that of plain water, the more discharged a lead-acid battery is).

    If it did actually freeze, the expansion of the frozen electrolyte is likely to have done physical damage.
     
    #10 ChapmanF, Feb 20, 2025 at 10:43 AM
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