IMA Battery Dead - 12V Battery Won't Charge

[rabbett]

My IMA light came on last December, and after getting the run-around from the Tri-Cities Honda dealer I decided to just drive it with the IMA light on. Seemed to run just fine but kinda miserable w/o the battery.

Recently (say 3 mo ago) the 12v charge light (along with the brake light?) started coming on intermittently, but would go out within a minute. Then a week ago the lights would come and stay on until I shut off the car and restarted. As of couple days ago stopping and restarting the car no longer cures the 12v charge light but for a minute or two.

In July the "maintenance required" light got reset and suddenly the IMA light was out and the IMA battery worked great. That lasted about six weeks (during which the IMA battery seemed to be getting progressively weaker) until the IMA light came back on. During that six weeks, of course, the 12v charge light never came on.

I will probably be ordering a new IMA battery from HBR, but is there any way to keep this car running in the meantime?

Thanks,

Rick Barrett

[Omniren]

Have you tried testing out the 12v battery to see if it bad?

[rabbett]

It's just been replaced - the no charge issue came up in June and I had to limp into the Honda dealer with a dead 12V battery. At which point they told me it would cost $5400 to replace the IMA battery (and both modules) and handed me a bunch of sales brochures for CRZ, Fit, and Insight II. I told them to just replace the 12V battery and everything was fine, for a while.

[rabbett]

I have seen people talking about turning the switch on the IMA battery off and disconnecting the BCM when the IMA battery dies to keep the 12V battery charging - is this something I need to do? Don't really know how to disconnect the BCM - I assume it would involve opening the IMA battery pack, is this correct?

[gilbertguy]

You are correct, first thing I'd do before opening the battery compartment and disconnecting any electrical plugs is disconnect the Neg 12V battery terminal and turn off the IMA battery. After that you'll need to remove the metal panel over the top of the battery. Once that is done you'll see two modules sitting on top of the battery, it is the one on the left when viewed from the back of the car. There are 3 plugs, 2 in the front and 1 in the back.

[rabbett]

Thank You!

I need this vehicle to run until the new battery pack gets here. I hope after it's installed everything will be OK.

[MitchJi]

Hi,

Originally Posted by rabbett

I have seen people talking about turning the switch on the IMA battery off and disconnecting the BCM when the IMA battery dies to keep the 12V battery charging - is this something I need to do? Don't really know how to disconnect the BCM - I assume it would involve opening the IMA battery pack, is this correct?

There have been two or three posts by people who got the 12v charging, under 4k rpm, by flipping the switch.

Here's a discussion:

Yeah, the battery light being lit means that the DC-DC isn't operating, essentially the same as when the alternator goes out in a regular car. As long as your battery light remains off, you're OK.

Today a customer drove up to me from Virginia with his battery switch off. The car kept the 12V charged.

To drive it as a regular car, we just turn the switch off? That seems pretty neat and convenient.

Please feel free to give it a shot. Worst case you have to unplug the BCM.

Where is this so called battery switch?

If you pull up the carpet in the back of the car on the aluminum case there is a small cover, take that small cover off and you have the battery switch.

When I turned off the switch under the back carpet the car would not start.

If you heard a click-click from the front, then your grounding straps are bad and the starter isn't getting enough power. Turning off the switch should force the car to start using the starter.

Tighten the battery straps and guess what the car started with the battery switch off. I noticed that above 4000rpm the battery light came on meaning I assume that the battery was not charging. Light went off after a 30 seconds or so of under 4k rpm driving. The IMA light and engine light both orange in color came on and stayed on however that is to be expected.

To ensure your 12 volt battery stays charged you can disconnect the BCM inside the IPU compartment. The car will run without IMA, but will charge the 12 volt battery as long as the engine is under 4500 rpm.

To disconnect the BCM follow the instructions here through step 11, skipping 7 and 8:
http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com...l/removal.html
Then:

When you get to this point (completed step 11), unplug the three connectors on the left hand silver box (the BCM) - the one with the white sticker with the orange bar. Once you do this, the battery will be bypassed and the car will run like a normal car and charge the front battery.

[eddgie]

I had my 2004 Insight battery replaced by the dealer in March of this year for about $2700. My car did not have the updated controller and such, but the Honda dealer I used didn't seem to mind. Said the battery would be warrentied for 3 yrs. 36 mo.

Cost was about $2700.

I would try another dealer.

[Willie Williford]

You sure it was 3 years?
Hope you got it in writing.
Please put your location in your signature for other INSIGHTERS.

Willie

[eddgie]

Yes, 3 years, 36 Mo, on the invoice.

Austin Tx.