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red ring of death

8K views 59 replies 20 participants last post by  miss_shigatsu 
#1 ·
whelp, that's that. a few days ago while driving around town the check engine and IMA lights came on. took it to the dealership, they said it's the battery system (i was in too much shock and despair to ask for the code numbers or more details about what exactly was wrong) and said it would be just shy of $3300 to fix it. while they were in there, they found that the tranny oil pan is leaking and needs to be replaced/repaired. add this onto the tranny shudder which i've already been told means my cvt tranny is on the way out, plus the engine ticking, shot brake pads, broken spoiler, snapped-off driver side mirror, and my current state of unemployment and i have one really expensive paper weight in the driveway.

:( guess i'm going back to driving the mr2 for a while.
 
#36 ·
i was a front-end web developer until a series of surgeries in 2012 and 2013 left me too sick and in too much pain too much of the time to hold down a job. i've been trying to get on disability since october.
 
#37 ·
I am averaging 60 - 65 mpg with a faulty IMA system in my own '01 5-speed. I doubt I'll even replace the IMA battery as the car seemingly runs fine without. My IMA battery is still able to maintain a weak charge, but apparently not strong enough to allow for charging and assisting as designed.

I've been charging the IMA manually with my grid charger, and immediately upon doing so the SOC charge shows 100%. This slowly depletes as time progresses, apparently as juice is diverted for starting the engine.

I've put a video on YT showing my fuel economy with a faulty IMA system as a testament to my own experiences, and perhaps as a salvation to others with an IMA in a similar state.
 
#39 ·
My IMA light came-on and I decided to just keep driving. The insight makes a fine three-cylinder gasoline car & that seems to be the trend anyway (3-cylinder Mirage, Fiesta, Focus, Chevy Spark, ...)

I now view cars like TVs and refrigerator : An appliance. Sure I could replace a burned-out tube or belt for ~100 dollars, but why bother. I'll just get a new TV, new fridge, or new car. The gasoline is the most expensive part anyhow (~30,000 dollars over typical 300k life).
 
#42 ·
I thought I saw a tutorial in here somewhere. My roommate said he'd help me, since I'm not strong enough to lift it, and he has experience working with high levels of electricity.
 
#43 ·
Eli has an excellent video. Did you buy the battery from him?


Willie
 
#45 ·
#46 ·
If you follow the video the bare battery pack comes in at about 68 lbs. if memory serves. Sometimes it helps to share the lifting by having one person outside the car, alongside the fender. Just lift it as far as the rear sill, and let the inside guy get out. It is a good video:)

OBTW, you can do without the power tools, if you can't borrow them from someone. They do speed up the bolt removals but a simple 3/8" socket set with the extra extensions will do the job. The T30 Torx is essential. It can be purchased at Lowes, probably HD, maybe even Harbor Freight. Watch the video a couple of times, paying particular attention to the words about the plug latches. The plugs can be broken if the disconnect is forced.
 
#50 ·
i've been through most of the procedure once already, when i went through to figure out how to unplug the computers for the battery bypass, so that part i've got figured out. it's the part with the actual lifting the old battery out and putting the new battery in where i'm going to need help. luckily my roommate is a 6' tall man that works out, so it shouldn't be much difficulty for him, because all 5'2" of me couldn't do it. even before, i couldn't do it. i had surgery a couple years ago that required cutting my abdominal wall from ribs to pelvis, so now i'm at high risk for hernia. i may enlist the aid of the guy across the street to be the second pair of hands.
 
#52 ·
I'm a surfer, driveway mechanic and handy at a lot of things but have not mastered any of them so far.

My two suggestions after reading this thread are:
Take it slow and take lots of pictures as you are taking things apart.

Look at the pictures too and make sure you know what you are looking at in the pictures
and retake the pictures if you notice you can't see what you wanted to get from the shot.

It's tedious to make all those pics, but if you need them you will thank the gods you have them.

One other thing that helps me. ymmv - your mileage may vary,
Since I have way too many projects and sometimes leave one or another unfinished for several hours, days, weeks, months, I'll stop here my problems. :()

When you take nuts off or remove bolts, put them back where you took them from as soon as you remove the thing they were holding in.

Even when I do replace nuts and bolts where they came from, I still wind up with missing nuts and bolts, but at least I know the ones I still have are in the right place.
 
#53 · (Edited)
All excellent suggestions. I used ziploc baggies to keep all the bolts straight, or just put them back in the holes, as in the case of the two cross braces. I had the tutorial video playing on my tablet as I went, making sure to watch it all the way through before starting. I had previously taken it most of the way apart, for the battery bypass process, so I was generally familiar with that part already.

I had the whole thing done, start to finish, and back idling in the driveway in less than two hours. The only casualties being one little scratch on the back of my left thumb, and one trim panel clip thingy that mysteriously disappeared.

I let it idle in neutral in the driveway while I finished putting the carpet and trim pieces back in and when the rpm's dropped I figured it was good to go. Took it for a spin around the neighborhood and everything seemed fine. Won't notice any major difference until I actually do some driving, but it just so happens that I have some errands to run this afternoon so I'm going to go get cleaned up and take her for a real drive.

Now, to get around to that oil and tranny fluid change...
 
#54 ·
Congrats, you are now an official "INSIGHTER." You just gave birth to a new Insight.

Good job, not scary at all was it?

Willie
 
#56 ·
hehehe thanks, guys. it's WAY easier than working on an engine, that's for sure. just a bunch of bolts and screws... i can totally handle that. i grew up around race cars, and married a mechanic, so working on cars is old hat to me. not really intimidated by turning a wrench (oh, so many stories of weekends spent with my head in the engine bay of one mr2 or another... note: changing the axle is my absolute least favorite part. that is such a pita.), and i appreciate that this is a "clean" job. the only part i needed help with was the actual lifting out of the old battery and dropping in of the new one. i just can't physically do that. but taking apart and buttoning up? totally nbd.

i CAN do the oil and tranny fluid myself. i've done it before. my mom insisted that her daughters know how to work on their own cars so that they would never be in a position of being at the mercy of a shady mechanic that was trying to rip them off without them knowing any better. i don't LIKE to do it, because it's just a hassle, but i CAN do it. suppose i ought to look up the oil filter location on the Insight.

i'm excited to see what kind of difference it makes in terms of gas mileage and other little finicky noises she's always made. it should go a long way toward trouble-shooting the issues such as the not shutting off at idle and weirdness at low speeds.
 
#57 ·
i'm excited to see what kind of difference it makes in terms of gas mileage and other little finicky noises she's always made. it should go a long way toward trouble-shooting the issues such as the not shutting off at idle and weirdness at low speeds.
The Gen1 Insight has solid lifters, or cam followers in this case. They make a slight ticking sound when the engine is cold, even if adjusted properly.

By idle stop, I assume you mean autostop. It won't stop under all conditions. Read this link to see when it is supposed to stop:

InsightCentral.net - Encyclopedia - Honda Insight Idle Stop Mode
 
#58 ·
That was very helpful! Thank you!

So after my driving around, I can say that it's still a bit jerky off the line and at low speeds, but once moving it seems to run a little better. It gets into the 50+ mpg range easier/faster than it did before. City driving still makes me ragey, though. Have to do something about that jerkiness.
 
#59 ·
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