so I'm posting because my cousin's 2009 Prius won't start and jumpstarting did nothing for them. In fact, when they tried it, they got sparks when they hooked up the ground cable and the headlights came on and stayed on the entire time they were attempting to jump it. I helped them try again, and same thing but now I know they didn't go about it incorrectly or anything. There are also at least three blown fuses, I believe she said they corresponded to the smart key system, electronic throttle control (both up front) and then one in the trunk for the hybrid system. Does anyone have an idea what her problem might be?
This sounds like a reversed polarity jump, which, sad to say, is all too often reported here. Happens all the time, even the tow truck drivers from AAA do it. It can cause huge damage in the Prius. Let's hope that it is just fuses blown in this instance.
I would suggest you replace all the blown fuses, then attempt to recharge the battery using a smart charger. If the battery won't take a charge then replace the battery. There is no telling exactly what happened. Many posts here on Prius Chat about jump starting gone bad. I think that is one of the reasons why so many here on Prius Chat recommend changing 12 volt batteries before they die. It is unfortunate that the problem exists now, but the bottom line is the damage will need to be repaired before the Prius will operate normally again. I understand you believe that everything was done right, but I too agree that it sounds like the polarity was reversed as mentioned by nh7o. FWIW, most here recommend using portable starting packs when jumping a Prius. The 12 volt is only used to power up the computers and close relays. There are a lot of incidents where fuses were blown due to jumping from other cars while engines were running being reported here on Prius Chat also. But most of the problems are caused by accidental reversal of polarity. It only takes a split second to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to the Prius by accidental reversal of polarity.
Unfortunately, you are not providing enough information for any of us to help your cousin. So, let me ask a few questions. 1) When did the fuses blow - before or after the jump start? 2) Have you replaced the fuses? How many times have they been replaced? 3) Did you try inserting the key fob into the slot instead of using the smart key? 4) Have you checked the 12V battery voltage?
No ryan supplied all the info we need. Had a horribly bad battery probably a shorted cell or 2 and like about a thousand posts we have seen before they didn't use the front jump posts under the hood and went at it in the trunk in the dark. Reversed polarity'ed jumped the car. If your really really lucky its just the fuses but doubt it I'm afraid. Before you even buy a new battery just remove the negative side of the cable from the battery in the trunk. Just unbolt it where its bolted to the side of the car not at the post. 10mm bolt. Taped the end over so it cannot catch a ground again by mistake. That takes that battery in the trunk out of circuit. Its referred to as the AUX battery btw. Replace all the fuses then Hook a battery charger to the front jumper posts under the hood in the black plastic fuse box on the drivers side. That supplies 12 volts in lieu of the trunk battery (aux battery) Cross your fingers....cross them again..and try to make the car READY. If you blow the fuses again that means the Inverter is shorted: Dealer: $ XXXX.XX usually + side of $ 4,000 all in or eBay Inverter for $500 and have independent replace the Inverter. Total usually from what we see here is $1500 used installed. Good Luck.
Yes it's quite the mystery. Haven't really heard this same story maybe a thousand times since 2006. But at least I told them how to proceed which was alot more than you could do. Put the key fob in the slot instead of SKS? What does that matter if the car has 3 blown fuses? Good work Sherlock stay on it.
jadziasman, Read my post again, I said "it sounds like" NOT "I know for a fact it was jumped wrong". Big difference. I will say it again, read my post again really s lo w l y. I said "I understand you believe that everything was done right, but I too agree that it sounds like the polarity was reversed as mentioned by nh7o."
Yes dorunron, you did say "sounds like". Which means you considered it as a possible cause based solely on the spotty description (IMHO) ryan gave. So, the way I see it, you were in the chorus even though you didn't sing as loudly as ed. And for the record - where do you see in writing that I stated that the OP did the jump correctly? I never did. I simply asked a few questions and made no assumptions as to what was done right or wrong. What I did say is that YOU GUYS were presuming that it might have been done incorrectly. When I read "they got sparks when they hooked up the ground cable" I interpreted that to mean this occurred when they connected the last clamp (the negative lead of the jumper cable to a unpainted metal surface in the vehicle that needed the jump). Whenever I've jump started a car this is exactly what occurs. Sparks jump across the gap between the unpainted metal surface and the negative lead of the jumper cable when the circuit is completed. That's an expected outcome - not some miraculous anomaly. This is assuming ryan's cousin saw sparks when following the correct procedure which many people either don't know or don't care to follow. And those are the people who are most likely to attempt a jump start with the polarity reversed. I avoid offering potential causes until I have sufficient information to provide them. There are many reasons a Prius will not start. Sure, a weak or dead 12V battery is the cause most of the time, but not all. Many of these "one post wonders" are seeking answers without doing any of the heavy lifting themselves. I began my "career" as a DIY mechanic 40 years ago, when papyrus was king. Today, there's a cornucopia of information (and misinformation) available. We should ask them "Did you Google it?" before offering our sage advice. More often than not I get into arguments with you guys instead of helping the OP who disappears into the night.
If three fuses are known to have blown it is obvious that some serious event has taken place. Multiple fuse blowing is indicative of attempted reverse polarity jump starting. It is quite possible and probable that more not so obvious fuses will be blown both under the clear plastic cover and in the 12 volt battery positive terminal cover. I and a number of other post replies here are not trying to scare or put down the OP but offer a realistic scenario of what has happened, and the likely or possible consequences. Hopefully no further damage apart from the fuses will have occurred, but this cannot be guaranteed. Pointing out the possibilities, is meant to be a helpful direction to explore if replacing fuses on it's own does not help. John (Britprius)
So you've joined the chorus too Britprius while I continue to sing solo. Yes, three blown fuses indicate something's wrong. And we know that jump starting did not get the Prius to start. That's all we know at this point. That's all we have to chew on. Innocent until proven guilty in the U.S. It's the opposite in merry old England, right? The OP is nowhere to be found. I checked his profile, he's 108 years old He might have died last night.
I would be pleased if the OP's Prius proved to have some minor fault, and I am not trying to take sides or discredit your posts, but the fact that there are known to be a minimum of three blown fuses does not bode well. The only circuit I can think of in the Prius where there are three fuses in series is in the headlamp circuit. None of these fuses would blow because of reversed polarity, and the OP said the headlamps came on while the jump start was in progress so we can rule those out, and it would be most unusual for all the fuses to blow when in series. The headlamps are controlled by the body ECU, and a reverse polarity supply to this could well cause the headlamps to come on. John (Britprius)
Must have heard some kids on his lawn. Or the nurse came in and time for his meds. Anyway to the OP replace the fuses and cross your fingers. What really needs to happen is someone who knows how to use an ohmmeter pull those blown fuses and check for dead short on the output side of the fuses. But that may not be possible. If you do not have a battery charger take your existing aux battery out of the mix by removing the neg cable to it. Using front jump points hook up jumper cables to donor car. Make sure donor car engine is off. I would prefer using a small battery charger so let that take a hammering if there is a short and the fuses blow again but another car should be ok just make sure its not running. If it is the Inverter one of the recent posts here had there Inverter repaired at the dealer using a part for it. Not sure if it was bs but there may be serviceable circuits on the Inverter. Possibly a fuse link. Only saw it mentioned once here. Maybe that particular dealer had a very knowledge tech on board. Anything can be repaired just have to be able to get parts for it. But alot of Inverters on ebay pretty cheap.
