2017 Rav4 Hybrid 2.5 Excel AWD TSS Doesn't Start

[EastLondonGuy]

Hi,

I've left my RAV for for several or more weeks and it won't start this morning.

I can get into it, but I can see that the power for the central locking is weak and when pressing the Start button it's slow to respond.

When I tried to start it by pressing the button a few times with flashing lights on the dash, the cabin fans were going and although it said 'Ready' on the dash, it doesn't want to crank up.

I am going to buy a small Battery jump pack and do you advise I replace the aux Battery (starter batt) in the boot or will it charge up?  This will save me £200.

Also, I've seen a YouTube video opening the fuse cover and putting a jump pack below red jump tab and on the engine - is this all safe to do so?

Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks!

Edited August 16, 2023 by EastLondonGuy
wasn't expanded

[ColinB]

It definitely sounds like the 12V Battery, I would suggest trying to jump it from a Battery pack - it doesn't need much power, so a small one should do. The red point under the fuse cover is for jump starting if required, although on my C-HR I just connected direct to the Battery the AA man did use that point. Your battery might still be ok, I certainly wouldn't change it yet. 

[philip42h]

It's a 2017 car, so a 4.4 (rather than a 4.5).

If it has a jump start point in the fuse box under the bonnet (like the 4.5) it is perfectly safe to use this to jump start the car - that is what it is there for.

Personally, I'd put the car on charge for 24 hours (smart charger only) - again, I'd use the jump start point under the bonnet (if present). If the auxiliary Battery then holds charge all is well for a while longer.

At six years old and well discharged it may be time to change the auxiliary Battery - so don't be too surprised if a simple recharge doesn't do the trick.

[EastLondonGuy]

1 hour ago, philip42h said:

It's a 2017 car, so a 4.4 (rather than a 4.5).

If it has a jump start point in the fuse box under the bonnet (like the 4.5) it is perfectly safe to use this to jump start the car - that is what it is there for.

Personally, I'd put the car on charge for 24 hours (smart charger only) - again, I'd use the jump start point under the bonnet (if present). If the auxiliary battery then holds charge all is well for a while longer.

At six years old and well discharged it may be time to change the auxiliary battery - so don't be too surprised if a simple recharge doesn't do the trick.

Thanks for your reply. Are you implying my car (v4.4) may not have a jump start point under the fuse cover as I haven't looked yet!

When you say "put the car on charge for 24 hours (smart charger only)" - what is a smart charger? I have an old charger that shows up lights etc... would that be ok?  It does full and trickle.  Do I hook this up to the jump points or put it directly onto the small Battery?

Thanks

[EastLondonGuy]

1 hour ago, ColinB said:

It definitely sounds like the 12V battery, I would suggest trying to jump it from a battery pack - it doesn't need much power, so a small one should do. The red point under the fuse cover is for jump starting if required, although on my C-HR I just connected direct to the battery the AA man did use that point. Your battery might still be ok, I certainly wouldn't change it yet. 

Thanks for your reply, very useful. I will jump it and fingers-crossed it works!!!  Will report back...

[EastLondonGuy]

I put a small pocket booster on the +'ve jump terminal and grounded the other side - started with no glitch.  In fact it's working perfectly fine - I may need to take it for a long run this evening!

Thanks all!

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, EastLondonGuy said:

Thanks for your reply. Are you implying my car (v4.4) may not have a jump start point under the fuse cover as I haven't looked yet!

When you say "put the car on charge for 24 hours (smart charger only)" - what is a smart charger? I have an old charger that shows up lights etc... would that be ok?  It does full and trickle.  Do I hook this up to the jump points or put it directly onto the small battery?

Thanks

36 minutes ago, EastLondonGuy said:

I put a small pocket booster on the +'ve jump terminal and grounded the other side - started with no glitch.  In fact it's working perfectly fine - I may need to take it for a long run this evening!

Thanks all!

I suspect that you have now found that the 4.4 does have a jump start point under the bonnet? 🙂  My caveat was merely to warn 4.5 owners not to assume that it did.

A smart charger monitors the state of the 12v Battery and delivers charge accordingly. In the first phase it will deliver at a variable voltage just high enough to deliver a constant manageable current into the Battery (to avoid gassing) and later at a constant voltage to top-up the Battery. A smart charger will, typically, give an indication as to the state of charge of the battery while it is being charged and switches from full to trickle and maintain automatically. I'm happy to use a smart charger with the 12v battery in and still connected to the car.

An old-fashioned dumb charger uses either maximum current (full) or a fixed voltage (trickle) as selected by the user. I wouldn't use such a charger period but, if I had to, I'd remove the battery from the car first.

And, finally, you don't need a long run as such - rather you need a long time in Ready mode with the engine allowed to run as needed. 60 minutes would be a good start, but I'd still be tempted to charge the battery overnight (with a smart charger) if I could.

 

[EastLondonGuy]

2 minutes ago, philip42h said:

I suspect that you have now found that the 4.4 does have a jump start point under the bonnet? 🙂  My caveat was merely to warn 4.5 owners not to assume that it did.

A smart charger monitors the state of the 12v battery and delivers charge accordingly. In the first phase it will deliver at a variable voltage just high enough to deliver a constant manageable current into the battery (to avoid gassing) and later at a constant voltage to top-up the battery. A smart charger will, typically, give an indication as to the state of charge of the battery while it is being charged and switches from full to trickle and maintain automatically. I'm happy to use a smart charger with the 12v battery in and still connected to the car.

An old-fashioned dumb charger uses either maximum current (full) or a fixed voltage (trickle) as selected by the user. I wouldn't use such a charger period but, if I had to, I'd remove the battery from the car first.

And, finally, you don't need a long run as such - rather you need a long time in Ready mode with the engine allowed to run as needed. 60 minutes would be a good start, but I'd still be tempted to charge the battery overnight (with a smart charger) if I could.

 

Thanks for your input. Can you tell me which smart charger I should buy please?  I am in the UK, accessible to Amazon, Argos etc... Are you implying I leave the smart charger hanging off my jump points under the bonnet or do I connect it to the starter Battery only? Thanks again.

[philip42h]

50 minutes ago, EastLondonGuy said:

Thanks for your input. Can you tell me which smart charger I should buy please?  I am in the UK, accessible to Amazon, Argos etc... Are you implying I leave the smart charger hanging off my jump points under the bonnet or do I connect it to the starter battery only? Thanks again.

CTEK and NOCO are the most oft recommended smart chargers. A 5A charger is more than enough to top up the auxiliary Battery in our hybrids. (Note that we don't have a starter Battery, nor a starter motor, nor an alternator - but I'm just being pedantic 😉 )

Examples on Amazon:

• CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger
• NOCO GENIUS5UK, 5A Smart Car Charger

I have a NOCO Genius 10 - but then I had a diesel before - both are equally good.

Personally, I used the jump start point under the bonnet to save the faff of getting at the Battery in the boot. Others may balk at doing so ...

Edit: it's worth look around for prices - they often are available as better offers.

[EastLondonGuy]

6 minutes ago, philip42h said:

CTEK and NOCO are the most oft recommended smart chargers. A 5A charger is more than enough to top up the auxiliary battery in our hybrids. (Note that we don't have a starter battery, nor a starter motor, nor an alternator - but I'm just being pedantic 😉 )

Examples on Amazon:

• CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger
• NOCO GENIUS5UK, 5A Smart Car Charger

I have a NOCO Genius 10 - but then I had a diesel before - both are equally good.

Personally, I used the jump start point under the bonnet to save the faff of getting at the battery in the boot. Others may balk at doing so ...

Edit: it's worth look around for prices - they often are available as better offers.

Thanks a lot for the pointers. So basically you prefer to charge using a NOCO by using the jump point under the bonnet in the fuse box - correct?

[philip42h]

44 minutes ago, EastLondonGuy said:

Thanks a lot for the pointers. So basically you prefer to charge using a NOCO by using the jump point under the bonnet in the fuse box - correct?

Yes

[ColinB]

I use an Optimate on my bike Battery to keep that charged, similar idea and price. If you don't have access to a mains supply where you are parked you could use a solar charger, this could be left on the dash and connected via the ODB port on the dash - it won't produce much charge but enough to keep the Battery topped up. I went this route but now use the car often enough to not have a problem, although I keep a NOCO pack handy just in case. 

[EastLondonGuy]

15 hours ago, ColinB said:

I use an Optimate on my bike battery to keep that charged, similar idea and price. If you don't have access to a mains supply where you are parked you could use a solar charger, this could be left on the dash and connected via the ODB port on the dash - it won't produce much charge but enough to keep the battery topped up. I went this route but now use the car often enough to not have a problem, although I keep a NOCO pack handy just in case. 

Hi there, many thanks for your response. I think a trickle charge by a solar panel will be great. I purchased an AA version for my Toyota IQ which I hardly drive, 600 miles per annum, if that.  The AA version plugs into the EOBD port.  However, keen to know which one you recommend - do you have a link to Amazon or other so that I can see more details/cost? Thanks again.

[ColinB]

This is the charger I bought (others are available):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08K3BQTNK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

I bought the obd adaptor from Halfords, although I've not actually used it yet:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/ring-obd-power-cable-for-solar-battery-maintainers-983932.html?_gl=1*1ubkwd4*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTA4NTQ1ODEwMC4xNjkyMzU5Nzk4*_ga_VK44BRER97*MTY5MjM1OTc5OC4xLjEuMTY5MjM1OTg1NC4wLjAuMA..

 

Hope this helps, Colin