Should I buy it (2000 MT Gen 1)?

[Wocketman]

I posted this in another thread then realized I should have put it here instead....

Ok, so I spent some time looking a very neglected and cosmetically challenged Gen 1 today in Maine. Full of dirt, straw, missing the rocker panel plastic on the driver's side, dented bumpers, etc. Not driven for over six months. Oh well. Apparently the engine has only 30k on it and the IMA batt was replace a couple years ago (when it was under warranty).

The 12V battery was dead. Sure enough, the upper engine-chassis grounding strap was completely corroded severed. Finding something so obvious got my hopes up.

I put in another battery from a Honda VX that happened to fit, only the terminals were backwards and I wasn't paying attention...so got the horn reverse-polarity alarm but not before the main 80A fuse blew. So I went to the nearest Carquest and got a new fuse (and a grounding strap).

With fuse and strap mounted (and battery wired the right way), she started right up. No charge showing on the IMA battery. After a few minutes there were a few charging bars showing and the IMA started to show some bars as well. However, the voltage of the 12V batt did not go up (not charging).

Tried to drive but it wouldn't go into gear. Discovered that the clutch fluid reservior was empty. So, back to the Carquest for fluid and after filling that and pumping the clutch, she started allowing shifting.

So I got my first chance to drive a Gen 1 Insight. Unfortunately, the speedo only read zero and the charging/assist displays showed nothing. What is weird is that even though the charging display had stopped showing charging, the IMA batt continued to "fill up" and eventually showed a full charge. No assist, and the 12V batt continued to be depleted. CEL was on, ABS, 12V batt light flickering, etc. Not a pretty display of warnings. Forgot my code reader so couldn't check those.

So, one can drive the car (with no assist) until the 12V battery goes dead.

Gave a deposit, but I have until Wednes to decided if I want to buy it or not. I'm not sure I want to get too deep into a technical project over my head...are there any potentially simple fixes for what I'm seeing (aside from the already replaced grounding strap)? Did I F-up the ECU with the reversed polarity before the main fuse blew?

The current owner (whose mom is the original owner and drove the car without an oil change until the engine seized, that's why it has a newish engine now) was amazed that I found the broken ground strap.

Should I run away?

[samwichse]

I dunno, you forgot to mention the thing that can make others go away: the price.

[Balboa]

What's the price? Without that...

If it's one of those $3000 cars then it might be worth it. But if the IMA battery needs to be replaced or serviced, the cheapest that can be fixed is about $1300 I believe. You could drive it without assist.

[joecvt]

Originally Posted by Wocketman

The 12V battery was dead.
......
I put in another battery from a Honda VX that happened to fit, only the terminals were backwards and I wasn't paying attention...so got the horn reverse-polarity alarm but not before the main 80A fuse blew. So I went to the nearest Carquest and got a new fuse (and a grounding strap).

With fuse and strap mounted (and battery wired the right way), she started right up. No charge showing on the IMA battery. After a few minutes there were a few charging bars showing and the IMA started to show some bars as well. However, the voltage of the 12V batt did not go up (not charging).
.....

No assist, and the 12V batt continued to be depleted. CEL was on, ABS, 12V batt light flickering, etc. Not a pretty display of warnings. Forgot my code reader so couldn't check those.

So, one can drive the car (with no assist) until the 12V battery goes dead.

Gave a deposit, but I have until Wednes to decided if I want to buy it or not. I'm not sure I want to get too deep into a technical project over my head...are there any potentially simple fixes for what I'm seeing (aside from the already replaced grounding strap)? Did I F-up the ECU with the reversed polarity before the main fuse blew?
......

Should I run away?

Asking if you should run away without listing a price that you are willing to pay for this car does not make any sense because no one can give you an appropriate opinion. My current assumption is that if you put a deposit on the car, the cost was more than likely way more than $1,000

However, Besides not listing the price that you are going to pay, I see another problem. You already started "working" on the car and in doing so, you admittedly reverse polarity of the 12v battery blowing an 80A fuse. That is a fairly large fuse to blow without creating the potential of other damage. You may have caused the DC-DC converter to fail because that is what charges the battery (The Insight does not have an alternator). I can not say that the reversed polarity caused the Vechicle Speed Sensor to fail since that may have a corroded wire or something. If the ECM was toast, you probably would not have been able to start the engine.

I think that you may have blown the DC-DC converter (It needed to be something big like that to blow an 80A fuse). If you walk away, you leave the woman who currently owns the Insight with a more expensive repair casued by you putting the 12v battery in backwards.

It is now hard to tell what (electronically) was damaged before you tried to get the car going by replacing the battery backwards.

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

[Wocketman]

doh! Sorry...asking Price is $1300. Too bad it's SO dirty (& smelly). Cig butts & everything. But could be the one I can afford...

How hard (and expensive) is it to replace the DC-DC converter?

[AbCaRed00]

Originally Posted by Wocketman

..... in Maine. Full of dirt, straw, missing the rocker panel plastic on the driver's side, dented bumpers, etc. Not driven for over six months.

[and later]
".... it's SO dirty (& smelly)..."

At $1300, wow... once you deal with the issues you may still have a bargain.
_____________
re: condition... a cautionary headzup here from your above description of condition and especially the odor comment ...
deadly.Hanta virus may be rare in your locale and more common out west, but, to be safe... when cleaning your new 'used' car if there's any chance mice were in there, [especially deer mice: the reddy-brown type with white belly] , seeing mice droppings, or any smell of urine as you indicate an odor,... then wear a mask covering mouth and nose when cleaning it out for your protection. Don't use a vacuum cleaner that would aerosolize the germs all over the cleaning area.
The dried urine powder can infect via the air with that lung virus.
... if you think mice may have been staying there,[i.e. straw and mud?] use an antiviral household disinfectant,.. wetting down the area so powdered urine doesn't get into the air.
Hanta virus' is more common around the Rockies and people have actually got sick and died [some days later] from turning on ventilation systems in old vehicles that mice occupied and suddenly breathing in the white dust of the mouse urine.
Maybe not a high probablility where you're at in the east, don't know, and where's the car been ?? etc... but average 1 in 20 of the brown and white deer mice carry Hanta if I recall correctly. Better safe then sorry and Best luck with your new purchase.

[Wocketman]

Wow, point taken...I do know of at least one Hantavirus death in Maine.

Anyone here with experience/advice on possible DC-DC converter replacement?

[samwichse]

Maybe $200 or so from a junkyard?

At $1300 you can fix a lot of problems and still come out all right.

The biggest single cost will be a new battery, as one that's been sitting for a couple years unused/uncharged is probably shot, grid charger or no. That's $1200-2000 from hybrid-battery-repair, then you're looking at a new clutch master or slave cylinder (that fluid doesn't just evaporate, it must be leaking), plus the replacement body parts (and maybe a spray job), and a car this hard-used probably needs alignment and underbody panels... I'd also check there carefully for significant damage.

As for the smell, I guess you could go to Costco and buy some extra large things of Febreeze and repeatedly hose down the interior with it? I think some detail shops have a "smoker" service where they deoderize the interior of the car somehow.

I wonder how many miles Mrs. "no oil change" put on the new engine? That seems like it would be significant.

The flickering lights, no speedo readout, that could be several things, including a simple bad connection somewhere.

But if you're mechanically inclined, $1300 for a car with a good low-mileage engine and a straight frame (only cosmetic issues) might not be too bad.

[Eli]

Yikes, this car sounds like a real basket case. While $1300 is cheap.. very cheap, I think you can do better. Unless you want a project, that is.

[Wocketman]

Yeah, tough call...and I need to decide by Wednes! Regarding the engine, I did pull the dipstick and look at the oil which was hardly dark at all; and supposedly it has not been changed for at least 6mo.

I've always wanted a Gen 1 Insight, however I have to say that my 91 CRX-HF gets 50-60+ mpg and has more room in the back... I can fit two bikes in there if I take the wheels off.

But something about having the most fuel-efficient ever sold is irresistible...even though I don't have much more to spend on it after the $1300. Hmmm.....