330 Volt DC to 110 Volt AC question?

[bcroe]

One day I went out to my Prius Prime, it had been left plugged in overnight, and it refused to start-up. When I tried to access the 12vdc battery, I found the trunk would not unlock [it needs the 12vdc circuit to have a charge to unlock things]. The car is under warranty so I called the dealership and a tow truck came out. They jumped the car by connecting to the terminals under the hood. Once the car was started then everything was fine.

I got an appointment with the dealership, and took it in. They looked at it and said the 12vdc battery had simply ran down because the ICE had not been running frequently enough. They did not replace the 12vdc battery.

Thankfully the doors were not locked. If I had left the car parked with the doors locked, I don't think we would have been able to get under the hood. The tow truck would have needed to haul it into the dealership for them to figure out how to re-charge the 12vdc battery.

Remind me to keep driving my 77 Olds, which has mechanical locks that work even if the
battery is missing. Bruce Roe

[SunEagle]

Remind me to keep driving my 77 Olds, which has mechanical locks that work even if the
battery is missing. Bruce Roe

I bet it even has hand cranks to run the windows up and down.

[organic farmer]

.... Remind me to keep driving my 77 Olds, which has mechanical locks that work even if the battery is missing. Bruce Roe

What kind of mileage do you get on that 77 Olds?

I had one once, a long time ago. It sucked through a lot of gas.

I kind of like driving on solar power instead.

[bcroe]

What kind of mileage do you get on that 77 Olds?
I had one once, a long time ago. It sucked through a lot of gas.
I kind of like driving on solar power instead.

That car made driving 1000 miles a day routine. Could easily cover 900 miles with only 2 gas
stops. My record is 1250 miles in a day. It is essentially police equipped, with all the heavy
duty stuff offered including the Generals most powerful engine in a 4 door cruiser. It is much
more fuel efficient than several years earlier, consistent 19 mpg at 70 mph under favorable
conditions. It will do 91 mph in the quarter mile. Some of those numbers are attained because
of the special switch pitch transmission I built for it, close to having a 6 speed.

Hand cranks, my preference. Every car I have owned with power windows needed to have
them repaired. Every car I have owned with manual windows never need them repaired.
Maintenance parts are cheap and I do 100% free labor. Bruce Roe

[ButchDeal]

Thankfully the doors were not locked. If I had left the car parked with the doors locked, I don't think we would have been able to get under the hood. The tow truck would have needed to haul it into the dealership for them to figure out how to re-charge the 12vdc battery.

Why couldn't you use the physical key to unlock the door (it slides out of the key-fob). We have had dead batteries on our prius before, and it is rather trivial to unlock the door, pop the hood, jump it and open the trunk. Replace the battery and done.

your battery after being run down is not going to hold a charge very well and will give you more and more problems. The Prius have a DC to DC converter that charges and runs the 12V system from the traction battery, the engine does not have to run for this to operate but the car does have to be turn the on position. The keyless entry system drains the battery quickly and other RFI devices nearby can drain it more quickly. This system can be turned off though.

[organic farmer]

Why couldn't you use the physical key to unlock the door (it slides out of the key-fob). We have had dead batteries on our prius before, and it is rather trivial to unlock the door,

I did not know this.

... pop the hood, jump it and open the trunk. Replace the battery and done.

your battery after being run down is not going to hold a charge very well and will give you more and more problems. The Prius have a DC to DC converter that charges and runs the 12V system from the traction battery, the engine does not have to run for this to operate but the car does have to be turn the on position. The keyless entry system drains the battery quickly and other RFI devices nearby can drain it more quickly. This system can be turned off though.

Being a fairly new car, I did not want to harm it.

I assume that this battery will present problems in the future, most likely next winter.

[ButchDeal]

I did not know this.





Being a fairly new car, I did not want to harm it.

I assume that this battery will present problems in the future, most likely next winter.

Neither did I, thats why i do my own work. I am a firm believer in, if you whant something done right, do it yourself.
Corralary, if you want something done wrong, call a dealer....