Won't shift to D or R, Master Alarm ON. 12Vbattery???!!

Something sounds odd here. Don't think it's the 12v battery which is causing problems like these.

Have them check to see for error codes.

 

The stock 12V battery can be unreliable after it has been drained, for example by leaving on a dome light, leaving the rear hatch incompletely closed, incorrect installation of after-market electricals, etc. Low voltage on the 12V system can cause any manner of weird sh!t behaviour.

 

do not know, but it's sounding more and more like it *IS* the 12v battery.

Regarding the instrument displays: it's a bit more difficult to troubleshoot this car empirically than 'conventional' automobiles...I wish I knew the answer but I don't.

 

Did they replace the 12V battery?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OttawaPrius @ Feb 2 2007, 09:24 AM) [snapback]384380[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, no advice, but lots of sympathy (for what that's worth).

BTW, -3C isn't cold! It hasn't been above -16C here for several days.

 

once the car is on, it runs without the 12v. an open circuit in the battery will not affect the car driving in traffic.

ignition relay is possible, but he doesn't have a whole lot to go on here as far as clues, you see.

let us know what happens.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OttawaPrius @ Jan 30 2007, 01:23 PM) [snapback]382867[/snapback]</div>

I have had trouble on 5 occassions now, with what I think now is the 12V battery. In my work I have about an hour to kill between appointments frequently. Every time I have have a problem; I have sat in the car at least 30 minutes. When I push power button all the lights on dash go on, including fan, but it doesn't go to ready or shift. The first four times I was able to push the Power button several times and it eventually seemed to catch or reset and went fine. This last time I the drained battery completely and it would not even unlock the doors, other than driver door to get out. I opened the back door and got to 12V battery and jumped it. The car started right away and I haven't had trouble in the past week. While sitting the dome light was on and the headlights.

Does this sound like a weak 12V battery? I feel that maybe the battery is just to small. I have sat in the car since without problems but making sure the lights and smart key were off.

 

coming in better late than never...
.
I16 appears to be the cover interlock. Any idea why it might have
gone flakey? Didn't they try pulling codes, which would have pointed
them right at it? There's a very clear P3140 or P3143 that points
to the interlock switches on the inverter cover or the service plug.
.
Interestingly, the manual says it's a blue wire, but it's red in
every inverter I've looked inside. Almost seems like an afterthought
the way it's sort of kludged in there with a foam pad...
.
_H*

 

For what it's worth...I just bought a 2005 Prius which was in a rear end accident. The vehicle had sat for quite a number of months and was totally dead. A jump start of the rear luggage 12V auxillary battery started the car. However, the 12V battery must have been extremely week, because when I went to start it the next day, many of the panel lights came on and started flashing...but the car would not start. After a few attempts at starting the car (lights flashing and no luck) I jump started it again by directly hooking up a wall/plug in jump start unit hooking the jump leads directly to the 12V auxillary battery.

Then after shutting down the vehicle, I removed the 12V auxillary battery, charged it overnight at 2amps (trickle charge) and after reinstalling it, everything worked fine.

Conclusion: a week or discharged 12V auxillary battery will cause some strange behavior especially of the panel lights.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Reid @ Mar 11 2007, 12:37 AM) [snapback]403627[/snapback]</div>

Yep. But deep discharges, and especially sitting for a long time while discharged, will pretty well ruin a lead-acid battery regardless of its age (be it the 12V battery in the Prius or any other car for that matter). It may be working for the moment, but I'd suggest that you're living on borrowed time.

Do not expect to get a normal service life out of that 12V battery. Given the time it takes to get a replacement for that battery (they are a special size made just for the Prius) you may want to consider having it replaced pre-emptively to avoid the inconvenience of having to fight with an unhappy Prius for a week or two while you wait for the dealer to get a replacement shipped in.