Many people have asked if the Insight or Civic can be run without the IMA.
The answer is yes, but the 12V battery is not being charged, since the IMA must be operational to charge the IMA battery, so it can power the DC/DC converter, to maintain the 12 volt system .
Ways around it?
Use a large deep cycle 12V battery instead of the tiny one. This would give 6-10 hours of driving, with the lights on, and could be recharged each nite. A plug in hybrid for a different reason
Mount an alternator on the car?
Difficult, not much room. The AC area would be easy, but I like AC. A major mechanical project.
We know from our hybrid training classes that the IMA motor is always generating ac voltage, and can output 50 or more Amps at up to 250V at high rpm. This is with the IMA out of the car, totally disconnected.
A simple 220V 60hz transformer with a 24V secondary, connected across any two legs of the motor terminals, would give isolated 0-35V output to power a 12V charging system with voltage regulator. That would allow the complete removal of the IMA electronics and HV batteries, with only a lb or two of charger weight added back.
Should work. Anyone with a dead battery that wants to try it, let me know.
