warm weather prius will not start. Stranded every day for hours till weather cools

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016.

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  1. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    "Vehicle with smart key system: The indicator light flashes after the "POWER" switch has been turned OFF to indicate that the system is operating."

    I have noticed that my immobilizer light will not blink when it has the no start issue. usually when the key is out the light blinks but when it won't blink.... it won't start.

    This is happening daily and Im frustrated. I have checked every fuse
    I have replaced battery
    I have inspected immobilizer ecu and it appears fine.

    sometimes when I get in I see the immobilizer light blinking and I think "yes its going to be ok" and then I try to start and it like shorts out, the light stops blinking when the key is out and will not start..... i have to wait till later in night when car cools down and it'll start

    Im extremely frustrated and unsure what to do. everything seems fine otherwise and as long as car is running, it has no issues and as long as the time when I turn off is not to long, it'll start
     
    #1 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you have checked both your 12v battery voltage and your keyfob battery voltage and both are good, then your car may just have an issue with overheating. When the inverter is overheated, it won't let you start the car until it cools. This would be a problem with the inverter pump not working properly to cool. There was a recall on this item a while back....but they fail approximately every 100k miles. So that may be your problem.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  3. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    thank you for your reply. I have checked voltage to both and not are good.
    Ive heard of the inverter pump issue and my only concern as to why it may not be that is that immobilizer light blinks when the key is in and it will start but when it does not start, the immobilizer light is not blinking anymore before putting the key in. and sometimes when I see the light is blinking and insert the key to start it makes a faint sound as if it shorted then I have to wait till the sun goes down and it'll start again.

    so you still think that could be it?
     
    #3 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you have the SKS smart key, the immobilizer may not blink all the time.......after it detects your key, it may not blink anymore.

    I don't think this is an immobilizer issue, if everything works after it cools down.
     
    #4 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  5. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    I don't have the sks key. its baffling.... Just to reference. I can drive it all day and make 13 stops and it'll have zero issues its after it sets for more than say 20 maybe 30 min that this happens, once the car warms up temp in side.

    I can't reset the car... I've tried unplugging battery and it does nothing for it.
     
    #5 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  6. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    what concerns me is that i see that light blinking and it starts and if it is not blinking it will NOT start an then sometimes after it sets it'll blink but once I try to start some faint sound clicks and then it won't start anymore no blinking light... no start...

    locks work everything works but it will not register key when that light is not blinking
     
    #6 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You should go get the codes read on the car. I'm almost 100% you'll have an overheating code. Either from the inverter or the HV battery. If you had a problem with the immobilizer, this would randomly happen during cool days too....but it doesn't happen until it gets hot.

    If you do have an immobilizer problem, it's a rare problem we don't see much of on here. Most are related to poor 12v issues.
     
    #7 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  8. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    thank you ill have it checked once it runs again. I did check the other day and had the following codes however.... I pulled many fuses and such to test everything so some may not be legit.

    C0200
    c0205
    c1234
    c1241
    u0073
    u0293

    Again, thank you very much for replying... this is a nightmare
     
    #8 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well u0293 says the vehicle has lost communication with HV battery ecu. That would cause a no start. Has this car been in an accident? You can check if all the wiring is connected in the HV battery.
     
    #9 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  10. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    I got it used and yes potentially it has as thefront bumper looks a little off. nothing structural though.
    is that in the trunk?
     
    #10 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  11. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    again it 100% correlates to when that light is not blinking it won't start. would the hv cause that light to not function. it may not be the immobilizer but it appears to be something that at least communicates/ energizes it.
     
    #11 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Yes that's in the trunk. Take out all the back section (as if you're getting your spare tire) and you'll see the battery. See if all the wires (on the left side of battery) look good and not chewed up. See if anything looks out of place or abnormal back there.

    Do you have any pets? There could be a chance the HV battery fan is clogged and it can't cool the HV battery. That fan could get cleaned out.
     
    #12 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  13. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    Ill check it in a min. thank you
     
    #13 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    #14 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  15. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    ok so I was getting everything out and i hit my lock button and.... it started blinking immediately so I hit unlock and it was still blinking still thus I tried and it immediately started. does this make any sense
     
    #15 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Do you have a stuck button on your fob?
     
    #16 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  17. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    no definitely not. I look and unlock it when its like that it never fixes it but it seems once whatever is causing the issue goes away.... hitting the fob, resets that light.

    I think you may be right on that blower motor. I don't have that tester they talk about but I tested resistance of blower and it was erratic but settled below the recommend 9 ohms

    I further tested the blower motor connecter to the body ground and it showed nothing. not even a connection but the car is off.... does that matter
     
    #17 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  18. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It seems the problem is somehow related to the HV battery, my best guess would be the ECU lost communication because the battery got too hot. There is a chance the HV battery ECU is bad too.

    Maybe someone else can elaborate more on this issue tonight. But the HV battery is most likely where the no start issue is originating.
     
    #18 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
  19. Nathaniel McClain

    Nathaniel McClain Junior Member

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    do you know if that blower runs all the time? Cause not seeing any resistance scares me. I would like to see if it is actually getting any power.
     
    #19 Nathaniel McClain, Jun 9, 2016
  20. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Are you talking about the HV battery cooling fan? There are 6 different speeds to that thing. I would think when the car first starts up, it probably isn't running. It'll run when it gets hot.....and it's towards the lower speed settings (you probably can't hear it)
     
    #20 JC91006, Jun 9, 2016
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