2005 Prius: red triangle, VSC, (!) lights, C2318, P3000, P0A81 after Prolong charge - help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dex3703, May 19, 2018.

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  1. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    The owner/designer of the kit is an active member here and has an extensive thread about them you should check out. Bottom line: it's a new solution so no long term reliability on them yet but all positive so far.
     
    #21 fotomoto, May 21, 2018
  2. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    Thanks! I didn't know about this. I knew it would happen sometime.

    I'm driving the car in its current state. The lights will stay off (except the red triangle, which I guess is just showing stored codes) for about 30 minutes, then come back on. Mileage is still 53.4 mpg.

    I presume it's safe to drive the car like this?

    Thanks,
    D
     
    #22 dex3703, May 22, 2018
  3. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    I've been putting the 12v battery on a charger, at 2A. The charger never shows it reaching full charge, but performance is better. I drove it this morning and the VSC and (!) lights didn't come on.

    Is the Prius really that sensitive to a 12v battery that only reads 12v?
     
    #23 dex3703, May 25, 2018
  4. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    SOLVED

    I put the 12v battery on a 2A charge for a couple days. The lights have stayed off, and yesterday the red triangle went out too. In retrospect, most of my driving is about 10 minutes to meet a vanpool, so I suppose over months the little battery just got run down.

    Hope this helps somebody.
     
    #24 dex3703, Jun 4, 2018
    Raytheeagle and bisco like this.
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the answer to your last question is yes, by the time 12v reaches the computers, it is outside their operating parameters. a new 12v reads 13 volts when fully charged.

    there have been more bad optima's than we'd like to see, keep an eye on it. a 12v should last a long time if not in the heat of the south. i typically get 8 years or so.
     
    #25 bisco, Jun 4, 2018
  6. dex3703

    dex3703 Member

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    That's too bad as much as I paid for it. It's 3 1/2 years old, so just out of warranty. I'll just charge it up more. Thanks.
     
    #26 dex3703, Jun 4, 2018
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That would do it. While you have that driving pattern, make it a point to put the 12V battery on charge every 2 weeks and leave it charging until it says the battery is fully charged. If that consistently takes longer than overnight, consider purchasing a 4 A charger.
     
    #27 dolj, Jun 4, 2018
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe consider a maintainer if you park in a garage.
     
    #28 bisco, Jun 4, 2018
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