2013 Prius battery question

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Jana26, Jun 28, 2023.

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  1. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

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    I had this problem in 2019 but it resolved itself. It's happening again. I went to start it this morning but it was totally dead, no lights, nothing. AAA jump started it and I took it in to have the battery checked. Battery is fine. Same thing happened in 2019. In fact, the dealer had it for over a month but it wouldn't act up for them. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped acting up until now.

    In hindsight, when this happened before, weird things were going on with the window control panel. All the lights except for the one for the driver's window blinked all the time. It would act up and I would have to hold the button to keep the driver's side window to go up and down. The automatic option didn't work. Then that stopped and I never had problems with the car not starting again. However, to this day I can't open the back-door window on the driver's side using the driver's door panel and the lights still blink.

    My Prius only has 70,000 miles on it.

    Now here is my question, could that panel have anything to do with the starting issue. It is like the 12v battery disconnects from everything and reconnects. I don't know if this makes any sense but.... ideas???
     
    #1 Jana26, Jun 28, 2023
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Is this the original battery?
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Jun 28, 2023
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think what you need to do is test the battery next time it won't start.
    i don't see how the panel could do it, but anything is possible, i guess.
     
    #3 bisco, Jun 28, 2023
  4. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

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    No. When this happened to me the very end of 2018, I had a new one put in thinking that was the problem. It wasn't. The battery they put in then is the one in there now.
     
    #4 Jana26, Jun 28, 2023
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  5. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

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    The last time it happened I had a new one put in thinking that was the problem. It wasn't.
     
    #5 Jana26, Jun 28, 2023
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what you want to do when it won't start, is measure the voltage at the jump point under the hood, compared to at the battery.
    could be a loose connection, or a loose fuse, or some corrosion, or chewed wires.
    how long have you owned the car? any accident history?
     
    #6 bisco, Jun 28, 2023
  7. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

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    I bought it new. No accidents. I'm thinking the dealer checked all that when they had it for so long. They even called in experts from corporate to try to figure out what was going on. (They never came up with anything. Luckily they didn't charge me a penny!) I'll go thru my papers to see for sure. Thanks
     
    #7 Jana26, Jun 28, 2023
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you ask them to fix the window switches?
     
    #8 bisco, Jun 28, 2023
  9. Jana26

    Jana26 Junior Member

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    Not after I saw how much it would cost to replace it, especially considering the car was working fine by the time it dawned on me there might have been a connection.
     
    #9 Jana26, Jun 28, 2023
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  10. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    You could just unplug the window switches for a test whatever obviously the window won't go up and down but that's not a thing at the moment we're trying to find out why you're not starting or why you got no display and can't get the car to ready or whatever it is going on so when that's not happening like when the cars broken then you want to get your meter out lift a little plastic tray in the back I keep mine in such a way that I can lift that plastic tray without having to lift all the other trays from the undercover in the back test the battery right there with your flukey meter You have 12 point something volts Yes or no.? Now you go to the front jump point that you just determined you do or don't have voltage and you go up to the front jump point to ground the gold bolt on the frame whatever You should have no voltage at the front of the car. And obviously no lights no ready no nothing probably can't unlock the door with the buttons It is dead. Now make that not be the case I don't care what you put on the battery terminals a hoveround battery whatever when you get something connected to those terminals that reaches the front of the car with the 12.xx volts . You'll have something . I don't know if there are any circuit opening relays or any of that nonsense going on with the 12 volt like you have for the HV battery the clicking in the back The clicking for the 12 volt battery would be pretty much unnoticeable older Toyotas had something called the circuit opening relay when you turn the key on the battery juice would come up to this relay The key activation would open the circuit opening relay and then would power up the dash and what have you at least that's the way I understand it was on my older Corollas I don't know if these Prius use that type of circuit I'm sure they use something similar but that circuit opening relay would very rarely ever be bad It usually was something upstream of it
     
    #10 Tombukt2, Jun 29, 2023
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