Hi Everybody...long time lurker... I have Four Gen 2 Priuses all 200k+ miles... used to have five...first one lasted 306k miles... bought it brand new 0 miles in 07 I've gotten lots of information from this forum over the years so I thought I'd give something back... I had a check engine light with a code of cylinder 1 misfire ....couldn't get rid of it... change the plugs.... and the coils ...went through about four bottles of fuel injector cleaner .....nothing would get rid of it... and I couldn't get a smog check because in SoCal and the check engine light was still lit New fuel injectors are $100 a piece at O'Reilly and $200 a piece from the dealer... The O'Reilly's guy suggested... why don't you just clean them.. good idea! Took the car home... only took about 5 minutes to pull them out.. got to be really careful and have a vacuum cleaner with a small hose ready to suck out any crap dust debris before it drops into the cylinder They were REALLY dirty! Scraped them with some wooden popsicle sticks split in half... and blasted it with throttle body cleaner and shop rags....And they look good as new Installed them back in the car...turned it on and the check engine light went away all by itself.. drove the car 200+ miles and no problems.... feels like a RACINGPrius now!... checked it with OBD II...itll pass smog check no problem
Clean the others also. I cleaned them on my old bmw while back. Fill the port with brake fluid, apply 12V power and blow threw it with compressed air. Immediate difference. Did you replaced the O-Rings? You could get it professionally cleaned also.
Yup I cleaned all 4 injectors... Bought 2 sets of replacement Orings because thats all they had...but the stock ones looked good so decided to leave them in...hopefully not leaking but will check later Is THAT how they work!?...hit it with 12 volts and blast it with compressed air...See!...thanks again!...I was almost certain I had jammed some gunk into the little holes and wasn't sure how to clear them out...ok will try that too!...awesome
Out of curiosity, has the OP been using something other than "top tier" gas? Interesting that 4 bottles of injector cleaner didn't help. Techron or something else? Did I read this right, only the outside was cleaned? As in the outlet holes were clogged right at the surface but (apparently) not the innards?
Yes ran through 4 smaller bottles of Lucas fuel.injector cleaner...thats.2 bottles each in 2 tanks of gas...92 octane from chevron and shell... Only the outside was cleaned...sprayed with throttle body cleaner and scraped with wooden popsicle.sticks...im almost certain i jammed some gunk into the little holes...but now that I know how to clean the inside I'm going to try the compressed air method next...
You are wasting money. Octane rating is merely a measurement of a gasoline's ability to resist detonation/early ignition, not a measurement of a fuels ability to keep the fuel system clean or a measurement of how "good" a fuel is. This resistance to detonation is achieved by additives and some say it's designed to burn more slowly. I think that's always going to be debated. A Gen 2 engine is designed to run perfectly fine using 87 octane fuel and will likely run better on 87 than 92. You'd likely be much better off using an 87 octane fuel from a top tier rated supplier. Even Costco is top tier. Is The Top Tier Gas Myth A Scam Or Is It Worth The Extra Cost? Top Tier gas isn’t just a marketing ploy or a myth – it’s backed by scientific research proving that it helps keep your engine cleaner and running more efficiently. Unlike regular gasoline, Top Tier gas contains a higher concentration of detergent additives that actively reduce carbon buildup inside your engine, improving fuel economy and extending engine life.
Whats the best way to add 12 volts to the injector when it is out of the car? I have a 12V sleeve power supply.... and a compressor... clean with what? then blow out?
Keep in mind an injector is not 100% duty cycle. I think injectors usually have 12v applied at all times and the ecu just connects the ground when it needs to be activated. I also don't know if the ecu acts as a current limiting device. I've always heard being energized "long term" may damage the coils. I've never had the need to find out, so I can't speak from experience. Regardless, good luck and let us know how it goes.
What i did is, 1. Add brake cleaner to the port. 2. Have the 12V connection ready. I used a 12V dc adapter. Less amps than a car battery. 3. Blow through it and on/off of 12V. Kind of simulate the pulse from the ECU. I did this like 20k miles and few years back on the bmw. Never had issues. What i know is, ECU sends pulses to the injector to turn it on/off matching with timing and all. Safe way is to send it for professional cleaning. They do much more.
Rich Jensen at Cruzin Performance, who used to do the injector restorations when this forum had an injector exchange going for a while, used to suggest using an ordinary 9V battery for testing (short of having an injector test rig that makes proper 12V pulses). 9V was enough to test the injector, and less likely to damage the coil in a manual, non-pulsed test.
