I glanced through the archives and found that most of the information about the risk of electrocution is from 2009 and earlier. Browsing around online I found that there are specific manuals for first responders to prevent them from being electrocuted, but my question is if it's true there are orange wires in the Prius that can badly electrocute you? I apologize if this is a silly question!
If you want to work on your car there are some safety precautions to take, but almost zero risk if you aren't one to want to do lots of DIY projects. And if you do want to do that, the steps to disarm the high voltage system is very simple and straightforward.
it's true, there are orange wires in the prius that can badly electrocute you. but not while you're driving or riding in the car. handle with care.
The Gen 2 Prius has a safety relay mounted on the driverside of the inverter. Any airbag activation triggers that relay to open the main HV relays in the hybrid battery. If it functions properly, the hybrid system (other than the actual battery), will have no power and will not be a danger to anyone or anything. I don't know for certain if this is also true for the Gen 3 or 4.
Yes, there are orange wires that can kill you if you open them up while the car is "Ready". When the Prius is not Ready, the High voltage wires are, in theory, isolated from the battery. Inside the battery case are relays that isolate both Positive and Negative wires, so both relays would have to fail closed. In practice, no one dies because no one is 'macho' enough to think playing with giant orange wires is a good idea. If EMTs were ever harmed, you know the press would be making a big deal of it.
'Electrocute' (a portmanteau of the words "electric" and "execute") pretty much always means badly. If you are still alive, what happened was you got an electric shock or a burn. Toyota does consistently use a bright orange color for all the high-voltage bits in the car that you should be extra careful around. They also build in a lot of safety interlocks so that even if you insist on not being careful around the orange bits, you probably won't be electrocuted, or even shocked or burned. However, you are still advised to handle yourself around any of the car's bright orange bits as you would if it were possible not all of the interlocks were working right.
Not that different from the voltage on your clothes dryer, water heater, air conditioner, etc. Except that the Prius has even more safety features (as described above) since it could potentially be wadded up by an inattentive cement truck driver.
Thanks for all of the helpful answers! I was often being asked if it was true that you could be killed by the electricity in a Prius, and I didn't actually know for sure. I'm glad to have a clearer idea of whether or not I can get seriously injured working on my car. If I'm understanding, it seems like I'll be ok as long as I make sure to follow Toyota's shut-down instructions?
yes, exactly. the number of electrocutions of people working on hybrides for the past 20+ years, following proper proceedures, is surprisingly low. same goes for working on gassers
This video is about Gen 2 in detail, but applies to your Gen 3 in principal. From 1:15 to just after 6 minutes John Kelly discusses the 'contacter' relays and the service plug grip. The contacters protect you outside the battery, the service plug grip protects you if you go inside the battery. At 18 minutes he discusses Personal Protective Equipment you need to go in the battery or inverter. (or if you unwisely mess with the orange wires while in Ready) Short example of your Gen 3 service plug grip, so that is correct in detail as well as in principal.
Code: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1166&v=UxuqHcUbSQ0&feature=emb_logo Code: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0cjxpS7KeY&feature=emb_logo Perhaps you can copy and paste these links.
You can be killed by the electricity in your house too... The risks are much greater at home than in your vehicle in that regard...
