Is there an Android app I can use to monitor 12V Auxiliary Battery Temperature on Gen 3 Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Vic TO, May 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM.

  1. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    Hello Prius community!
    I’m looking for an Android app that can read the 12V auxiliary battery temperature on a Gen 3 Toyota Prius. Most apps seem to focus on the hybrid battery, but I specifically want to monitor the 12V battery temp. The reason being I get an intermittent DTC code P0517

    Has anyone found an Android app that can pull this data through an OBD2 adapter?
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Is everybody okay over there things all right? I think the code you're looking for is indicative of a hybrid battery HV battery temperature sensor not the 12 volt I don't think there is a 12 volt battery temperature sensor in this vehicle anyway and most cars there's no reason to monitor the 12 volt battery unless it's hidden somewhere where it can't get air and all that the Prius has a piece of duct work that goes right across the top of the 12 volt battery when the battery fan is on air will blow across through the HV battery through that little leg of ductwork and there's a cut out in the bottom of that ductwork you can't see but you can feel it with your fingers and air will blow right on top of the 12 volt battery it'll be warm air coming through the hybrid battery first but air flow nonetheless. I've never heard of a 12 volt battery overheating in the Prius like even sitting in the sun in the parking lot in 110° weather in Arizona for 8 hours waiting for its human to come out of work. So maybe check that situation out check your code again or something I think maybe there's something going on not in the 12 volt system.
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Gen 3 does have a temperature sensor above the 12-volt battery. It is attached to the hold-down bracket and sits in the air an inch or so above the battery. So maybe it is more of a battery-surroundings temperature sensor than a battery-itself temperature sensor.

    It is called out in the wiring diagram as S17 and the legend says "HV Battery Thermometer" but I think that might be a mistake, 'cause the 12V battery is definitely where it's located. I guess you could say it's in the path of the HV battery "exhaling" air on its way out the quarter-panel vent, but that feels like a stretch.

    The diagram shows all the other HV battery thermistors wired to the HV battery smart unit, while this one is the only one whose wires go straight to the power management control ECU. I had always wondered why there was one HV battery thermistor wired differently from the others, but now it starts to make more sense.

    So it's possible that any scan tool that shows "HV battery" temperature readings might already be showing this one among those, and if they followed Toyota's weird labeling, it might be shown as an HV battery temperature reading, maybe for "exhaling" air.

    You could go dunk it in your coffee one morning and see which reading on the scan tool changes.

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  4. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    Code P0517 Toyota Description The battery temperature sensor built into the generator control ECU assembly detects the battery temperature. A thermistor is integrated into the battery temperature sensor, and the resistance of the thermistor changes according to the battery temperature. The resistance of the thermistor increases as the battery temperature decreases and decreases as the temperature increases. The generator control ECU assembly reduces the amount of charging current based on this signal in order to protect the battery. The Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) will be set when the battery temperature sensor output value is abnormally high for 0.5 seconds or more with the ignition switch ON.
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  5. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    I used Dr. Prius, Hybrid Assistant and OBD Fusion. They all show the 12V battery voltage but not the temperature.
     
  6. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    So then on the Gen 3 like the generation 2 isn't the output duct from the battery fan and battery going across the top of the 12 volt to the little vent in the rear quarter panel on my generation 2 as that piece of duck to work is going right over the battery if you reach under the ductwork you'll feel a whole a cutout and when the fan is on the warm air that's coming from the battery will blow out of that vent right on the top of the positive terminal of the battery you can put your hand there and feel it if you command the fan and put your hand there I'm wondering if that air is triggering I don't know the temp sensor near the 12 volt battery I didn't think that was a good idea personally and in my generation twos all of them I have zip taped that hole in the ductwork closed so now all the air from the hybrid battery is going out the quarter panel vent none is dropping on top of the battery no matter what temperature anything is so the battery is pretty much going to see the air conditioned air in the car as it moves around because I keep it cold in there and so does my HV battery when I put my hand on the output duct that goes out of the quarter panel when I've had a good run with the car the air coming out of that duct work doesn't even feel body temperature which is about 99° so I guess that's reasonably good considering everybody wants to keep the battery is cool as possible apparently I thought some heat was good means things are working and moving it
     
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    That's that's right I never saw battery temperature for the 12 volts anywhere in those softwares and I don't have the car here now to look and see if it's in the tech software or Toyota software which I have which I did run on the generation 3 many times through an engine change and everything but never noticed or saw or heard anything about 12 volt temperature sensing. Like I said there's a cutout in the vent that will allow the warm air coming out of the HV battery in route to the quarter panel to drop right on top of the battery I mean it's a big old gaping cut out I taped mine up I didn't think that was a good idea unless you live in freezing conditions or something and then you would have to drive like crazy to heat up the HV battery to get some heat on the 12 volt seriously that doesn't sound right
     
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Gen 3 has less ductwork back there than the earlier gens. The HV battery exhaling air just comes out from the battery case into the area underneath the deck board. It eventually finds its way out the right quarter panel vent near the 12-volt battery, but it isn't ducted all the way there like the earlier gens.

    That is some weird nonsense you found there. I'm not sure if it's that way because some AI wrote it, or just because some mixed-up human wrote it. It's another example of how often it happens somebody goes to sources other than the Toyota repair manual and gets caught up in bogosity.

    "Generator control ECU" is bogus. There is an "MG ECU" inside the inverter, but this thermistor is not wired there. It's wired to the power management control ECU, which is behind the glove box.

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat

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    #8 ChapmanF, May 26, 2025 at 1:35 PM
    Last edited: May 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
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  9. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    I agree the description is some kind of Google translate text or possibly AI. The pictures are 100% correct. I saw this on my car. The sensor is mounted above the 12V battery on the hold down bracket. The other reason I know the code refers to the 12V battery is because I found the connector was loose. However, I still get sporadic code P0517 on Dr. Prius. Not sure if it's the temperature sensor/thermistor or the app, or the Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+ Bluetooth OBD II Scanner.
     
  10. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    See the temperature sensor location below:

    upload_2025-5-26_14-35-47.png
     
  11. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    I really don't need all the quotes from the technical manuals. I would much prefer a straight answer to my original question: Has anyone found an Android app that can pull the 12V battery temperature live data through an OBD2 adapter?
     
  12. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You get what you pay for.
     
  13. Vic TO

    Vic TO New Member

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    Your remark makes absolutely no sense! What did I pay for??? If you are referring to my 2015 Prius, it has only 76,000 miles so it's worth way more than your 21012 with 500k miles!!!
     
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