Well, I have been wanting to pick up another battery pack. However, most of the affordable Insight packs I have found are 2000 - 2001 models. I really didn't want to take a chance with those. I also looked at getting a used Prius pack as they are very affordable as well as getting a later year, but then there is the issue of putting extra work to do a conversion. I decided to also do a search and found that the civic batteries used D-Cell strings like the Insight. The prices were also better than the Insight packs as well as being newer. What I ended up getting was a 144v 2004 Civic pack for $275 shipped. The pack itself is clean, and was at 146v when it arrived. I did an initial voltage check on all of the subpacks and all were between 7.2v and 7.5v, with one being at 6.68v. I will start testing these individually with my Triton smart charger. As a side note are there any issues charging or discharging these subpacks indoors? I haven't started yet and want to make sure I don't endanger anyone.
The good news is that these subpacks appear to be the same as the packs in the Insight. Even the case is laid out like the Insight pack, though the output configuration is slightly different (same components, different locations). The Civic pack also has a temp probe on each subpack, and measure 1.3 ohms at room temp. The main difference is the Civic pack only has 3 extra temp probes vs the 4 for the Insight.
I took pictures throughout the entire teardown and will try to get some posted soon. I also hope to to pull my Inisght's pack in a few weeks and do a full subpack swap, assuming this pack tests well.
They should make a great replacement for an aging Insight subpack, nice find.
On indoor charging question, there should be no problems charging them with the triton charger provided that you set up the charger correctly.
VERY nice... what is the capacity on the Civic Hybrid packs ... larger than the Insights'? Do you think we'll be able to string in parallel with the Insight unit easily?
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Donovan
2000 Insight #789
1990 911 C2
San Francisco, California
Without somekind of diode isolation it doesn't look like 2 packs can be paralleled. You can google NImH parallel charge discharge for some information. So for now I am hoping to rebuild my pack which still operates fine, but has a weird recal issue. So far the subpacks seem identical to the Insight packs, and have the same capacity.
Since the batteries are the same "D" cells, and already have the correct PTC strip down the side of the subpacks, the subpacks will be a direct replacement. Run them through a couple of conditioning cycles with the Triton, and then just disassemble the Insight pack,carefully remove the 4 thermistors on the Insight pack as you remove those subpacks, and put in the civic subpacks, reassemble, and you should be good to go.
Then you can run all of the removed Insight subpacks through the Triton cycle and determine which one(s) are bad.
Putting the packs in parallel is another story, diodes are not the answer, since the two packs will need to be charged to the same condition before the parallel connection is made, and will need to both charge and discharge together.
For safety, you will need to have the temperature and subpack taps properly monitored.
Since there are more Civics than Insights, it is a nice way to get exact replacement subpacks.
Keep us posted.
"What I ended up getting was a 144v 2004 Civic pack for $275 shipped."
Where? I want one - heck, at that price I'll take two!
I've been looking around for a used pack, but haven't seen any on eBay. The only salvage place that comes up in searches requires you to post requests for each separate year.
Sounds like Mark has hit on a good way for insight owners to upgrade their battery packs, with a potentially unlimited supply of subpacks to rebuild our Insight packs. The IMA fuse and current block is functionally the same.
What we don't know is how the mounting pattern is different.
The two packs may be inter changable, with a few wiring adjustments.
Mark,
You may want to pull your Insight pack first, and see if you can find a way to mount that civic pack in there. The plugs may even be the same?
"What I ended up getting was a 144v 2004 Civic pack for $275 shipped."
Where? I want one - heck, at that price I'll take two!
I've been looking around for a used pack, but haven't seen any on eBay. The only salvage place that comes up in searches requires you to post requests for each separate year.
For our information, what sort of prices did you come across during your search? What seems to be the going rate at car breakers for Honda packs and Prius packs, or are they so rare that you just grab one when you see it
Best of luck fitting it.....remember to keep one hand behind your back!
Rog
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Blessed are the "cracked" for it is they who let in the light.
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2004 Honda Civic Battery
