Upon reconnecting my ground wire, I noticed some pretty good sparking, is that from the Capacitor box? I am thinking of putting a simple switch, hidden to simplify rebooting. Has anybody done this? And, with periodic rebooting has anybody confirmed a long term, overall improvement in mpg? I rebooted today and immediately got a 7.6 mpg improvement from 44 to 51.6 mpg. ( still too early to confirm tho) :cheer2:
Andy: You will need a switch with a high enough current rating. There are battery disconnect switches designed for regular size terminals for under $10. Maybe one of those can be modified to work with the smaller posts.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into those swiches. Unfortuneately, I already installed a access switch rated at 20Amps, if it burns out I will replace it. I always carry a small gel battery and cabling and tools. Anyway I recycled again and it works fine. A very interesting sidenote my 12 V is going on 6 years now and was reading 12.1 - 12.2, but, now it reads 12.6 Volts. My next question is: How many PCers complaining of a small drop in mpg OR low 12V battery or poor starts......really only need to REBOOT.??????
On behalf of those of us who are computer/control system challenged... What is it that a reboot does that would lead to better FE/MPG numbers? :noidea:
It won't do anything, unless one of the ECUs is confused. It is not at all common, but it has happened where an electronic control unit gets itself misconfigured. Rebooting gives it a fresh start. Often a reboot will make it appear that the car is getting better mileage when it isn't. The reboot resets the mileage calculation, getting rid of low mileage baggage, just like hitting "reset" on the mileage calculation after the engine is warm. Tom
I don't know. But gbee42 gave a pretty good answer. It does refresh the whole system and makes it work properly. There are at least three computers ( ECUs) in Prius. What surprised me was the added improvement in the 12V Battery. To Bisco: PC is basically anonymous, don't hesitate to comment. 99.9% of the PCers are friendy, intelligent and knowledgable. "There is no such thing as an ignorant question" :cheer2:
thanks, now i can really lay into you. my daughters 04 has never had to be reset, but you're putting in a switch so you can do it how often?
Sorry if you thought I was ( laying into you) I don't expect in the future to ever have to reboot again, but if for some unknown reason I notice low mileage again, I will have the means to do it quickly w/o delving into the Bat compartment. Also, should I leave my car at the Airport for three weeks, I can just shut the 12V off. Bringing everything back up again is a snap. Just in case anybody out there thinks that rebooting is simply pushing the power button, that is not what I mean. Disconnecting the ground wire of the battery, for about 15 minutes and then reconnecting. Upon powering up again, you may have to initiate normal starting procedures 2-3 times to attain normal driving mode. I hope that is clearer. Not my own idea, I stole this from Pat. Thankyou Pat Wong:cheer2: In a previous post from 04/07/2008 entitled: How/What Does the Prius CPU(s) "Learn". Many of the functions of the CPU(s) are discussed, but only slightly touching mpg changes. On that post the procedure is called "Resetting"
Hello Bisco: I will venture to say that unbeknownst to your daughter her Prius was reset!............................Was the 12V ever removed or replaced?? that= reset. :cheer2:
oh ya, big time! she got hit by a deer a couple years ago, five grand later, i'm sure the battery was disconnected.
Your slow, I'm still awaiting an answer to my original post from our very astute technicians. Thankyou for your reply.
