new member to this forum. i am desperate for help with a 2008 camry hybrid. i had some front end damage that was repaired and the vehicle ran for about 5 minutes. i have a fault code of p0ae6- hybrid battery precharge contractor control circuit low. after weeks of trying and lots of money, the dealer failed to fix the car and i am on my own now. their last recommendation was to replace the wire harness at a cost of $6000 and no certainty it would fix it. has anyone seen this code and corrected the problem? maybe a short or open line in the smrp or igct lines?? maybe the inverter was damaged when the front end got pushed in ? please advise if you can provide any help. thanks....rich in wisconsin - the toyota nation forum said to speak with dave at this site? how do i contact him?

 

Rich,

There are several things that can be happening.

You have an open in the AMD line or the IGCT line which indicates an open in the SMRP line or a short to ground.

Here are the things that can be wrong:

1) Wire harness or connector
2) Fuse
3) Fusible link
4) Hybrid ECU
5) DC/DC Converter
6) Frame wire

To figure it out, you will need access to a Techstream scanner or a good, pro level scanner with two way communication (Snap-on or equal). Check to make sure that the ONLY code thrown is P0AE6-225. If that is the ONLY code in the system, let me know.

From that point on I can give you the diagnostic procedures to check for the problem but you MUST be familiar with and have the equipment to safely work on high voltage circuits. If you are not a tech and don't have a good mechanical knowledge of troubleshooting electrical circuits and working on the high voltages in these systems, you can KILL YOURSELF.

Please understand what I just said. You will be screwing around with systems that can fry your *** and you need to understand that. Most of the problems that can happen with that code are related to the 12 volt auxiliary battery circuit but some involve getting access to the high voltage areas of the battery connections or the DC/DC converter.

Do a quick test on the 12 volt battery in the trunk to make sure it has over 12 volts and if not, replace it if bad (it might have sheared a plate during the crash). If that is OK and you can convince me you are competent to proceed, I will PM you the details to go further.

If you are not able to work on it, go to another dealership and ask for their hybrid tech. I don't know why your local dealer couldn't find the problem as several of the tests are for different wiring harnesses and connectors in the system. Do they have a tech that is familiar with hybrids?

Dave....

 

I'd recommend you remove the phone number from your post. The internet is a pretty big place.

 

 

Thanks soooo much Dave. Yes I do have a tech coming over tomorrow morning. He is Eric from evpower in Madison, Wisconsin. I am very hopeful he is as good as he states. He thinks the problem may be the inverter. He has the advanced code reader and scanners and will try to clear the other codes out and then proceed . I hope he is correct and can fix it. I will definitely contact you if questions persist as he has not dealt with this particular code before. Thanks again . Rich

 

 

Phone number deleted from post. Thanks

 

He should have the info to track down the issue without a problem. Most dealers do not have a tech dedicated to hybrids as they don't have that many issues and are not in the shop very often. More than likely, this is a DC/DC converter, a battery issue or the wiring between the two. A harness wire might have been pinched in the wreck, a plate dislodged in the battery or the converter screwed up in the hit but it can also be something as simple as a loose wire or connecter.

As of those scenarios are in the check list for that code. He should have either a factory manual or some like Mitchell or AllData to be able to follow that procedure. If you have any other problems crop us, let us know.

 

We'll see how things go in the morning.

I'll start with a fresh scan and see what Techstream says.
I'll be using TIS so it should point us in the right direction.

I'll also throw in some good ol' common sense and visual inspection.
This car has been out of commission for a few months so other issues could have arisen as well.

Working on crashed vehicles is always interesting.
You just never know what you'll find

Looking forward to this one.

 

Eric,

Have fun with it as you already know what can happen in a wreck...anything...

Let us know what you find....