Going gas only

Rusttree · 01-06-2011, 07:34 PM

My 2001 has thrown P1447 and P1449, which effectively has made my Insight gas-only. After 10 years and 185,000 miles, I'm willing to leave it that way. So now I'm trying to better understand what exactly is happening in the car's current state.

I've been driving this way for a few weeks, so clearly the DC-DC converter is still being powered by the main battery pack. In turn, that's keeping the 12V battery charged. But will the computer still allow the main battery pack to trickle charge, even though it's "deteriorated"? I know there will come a time that the main battery won't even be able to keep the DC-DC converter going, but I'm thinking that could still be months away. Is that a pipe dream?

Also, I saw a reference somewhere in the forum to unplugging certain parts of the IMA system to keep the car in "gas only" mode. I searched around and couldn't find a more detailed explanation. Can anyone provide a link?

Thanks,
Dan

Calpod · 01-06-2011, 08:01 PM

Hi Rusttree,

I had the same experience a couple of months ago, the same 2 codes, the assist and regen stopped working, autostop did not work either, but since I have MIMA installed I started to force charge the battery until it showed fully charged, when I got home I disconnected the battery for a few minutes, connected it back up and no IMA light or codes came back, the car has been working normal as usual for the last 30 days, everything came back as normal and no problems (knock on wood)

Willie Williford · 01-06-2011, 11:17 PM

I've been running with a deterioated battery pack since 12/2007 and have gone over
75K miles without a major concern.
Monitor your 12V system with either a "Scangauge" or installed 12V battery meter. Also install a CARD switch if you have a manual trans. That way you have a little more control over the IMA light problem. (My opinion)
Learn to drive without useing the IMA system.......

HTH

Willie

TN_engineer · 01-07-2011, 12:04 AM

Hi. For running the vehicle as a non-hybrid, it is best to disconnect all cables from the BCM within the IMA battery compartment. I tried running my CVT with a deteriorated IMA battery, and it worked for about two weeks. However, it seems for that once the trouble codes came on the car was no longer charging the 12V battery under the hood. After it was more or less fully drained, the car sputtered as there wasn't sufficient charge for the spark plugs, and all the dash lights for power steering, brakes, etc came on, and then it died.
Removing the BCM cables triggers the system to charge the 12V battery directly, except for when the rpm gets high (I think it is 4000 rpm). When this happens the red brake and battery light come on, but its not a big deal as long as you reduce the rpms to below the threshhold. After a couple of minutes the lights go away and the car resumes charging the 12V battery. I have been running my CVT as a non-hybrid for about a month. Without the electric assist, the low end acceleration is definitely reduced.

I had to replace the 12V battery as it was on its last legs, but I didn't know it until the Nimh battery stopped working, as the stronger battery hides the weaker battery's weakness.
If you want to continue to operate as a hybrid, there is also a facility that does hybrid battery repairs, and the owner is a member of the forum. As for myself, I am currently refurbishing/swapping out my battery sticks.

BTW, if you are going to run it gas only indefinitely, you might as well remove the battery sticks out of the pack, as this will save approx 65-70 lbs. Also, in that case there are likely several forum members who would buy those battery sticks.

Hope that helped.

See also: Will Grid Charging clear P1447 ?

Willie Williford · 01-07-2011, 01:13 AM

Ron...Hybrid battery repair is in NY. There is a hybrid battery repair facillity in Arizona (Chandler I think)......Hybrid Revolt, zipcode 85379....... Nobody has gone by there to check them out?

HTH
Willie

Rusttree · 01-07-2011, 01:29 AM

Well that's a relief. I have to admit, I only filled my gas tank half way up yesterday. You know.... juuuuuust in case the car wasn't gonna make it another 600 miles. But it sounds like I might be OK for a while longer if I'm willing to drive without IMA.

Willie,
I work in Chandler. I'll check those guys out and see what they're all about. I'll report back with news.

TN_engineer,
I'm a little confused about your suggestion to remove the battery sticks. Doesn't the 12V battery need the DC-DC converter operating to charge it? Does the IMA generator provide the necessary voltage without the main battery?

JimIsbell · 01-07-2011, 12:11 PM

I had a verry poor battery when I bought the car. Dont remember the codes it was throwing in addition to the IMA light. But I found two things. First, pull and reset the plugs on the BCM. I found that there was a bad connection on one of the plugs that just needed "wiping".

Second, in the two going on three years that I have had the car, grid charging regularly and more recently no more than once a month, has eliminated the RECALs and had brought the battery back to 75% of its original capacity.

Rusttree · 01-11-2011, 03:19 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, JimIsbell. I'll take a look at the BCM plugs. I'm probably not too inclined to look into grid chargers. At the advanced age my car is, I'm not too willing to spend much money on new hardware. If it'll continue to drive as it is, I'm ok with that.

One thing that's a little confusing is the SOC indicator. It's always showing either one or two lines, never more and never less. While I'm driving, sometimes it'll drop down to one, but it'll eventually come back up to two. Is that an indication the IMA battery is still being charged slightly?

JimIsbell · 01-11-2011, 06:25 PM

The cost of a grid charger (about $100) will be repaid in short time by the fuel savings and the drivabiliuty of the car would be worth it if it didnt save you fuel!!!

The indicator on the SOC is hard to interpret...except that it means the battery is not doing anything. If you had charge it would show on the Charge gauge. Have you ever had the car running correctly? It sounds like you have not.

The grid charger can, if there is nothing catastrophic wrong with the battery, bring it back to near new. BUT it sounds like, without looking at the thing, that it may be a connection problem...maybe any where.

gilbertguy · 01-11-2011, 07:30 PM

I live in Phoenix area and in the last month have gotten both 1447 and 1449 codes, I've sent an email to Hybrid Revolt here in Phoenix and will probably use their services. Set price at $800 and I can drop off the battery so no shipping charge. Will let you know what I find out.