IMA not showing charge & drained 12v battery

[Meka33]

Hi- I just bought a 2002 Insight, auto trans cvt, with 98k miles, in great condition. It is still under IMA warrantee until Aug. 2012.
Upon purchase, I took it to the Honda dealer to have the $95 diagnostic done on the IMA charging system, as nothing is lighting up showing the IMA charging or assisting. No IMA light on either...I took this a good sign.
The diagnostic came up with nothing wrong other than the IMA not having a charge, they updated the system, and sent me on my way saying that even though no charging status is showing, it would begin to light up as the battery recharges on the drive home. Well, I got about 20 miles and the dash went dim, all accessories lost power, and I had to pull off the road as the whole car went dead. The 12v was dead.
I had it towed directly back to the dealer who insisted that the 12v has nothing to do with the IMA issue. I know from reading this forum that they are related and the IMA has to be dead, that's why the 12v isn't getting charged. Problem is, until the IMA light comes on, they will not replace it.
They assured me that the MCM is working, so why is the IMA light not on if it is depleted?
Also, the dealer said only the IMA is under warrantee. Doesn't the TSB 06-026 specifically apply to the BCM & MCM modules, proving coverage?

Thank you for fielding questions, I am grateful for any feedback.
Michael

[Willie Williford]

Location in your signature please. Other INSIGHTERS in the area may help.

Willie

[gilbertguy]

Did the red brake light on the dash ever come on? It could be that the 12V is just done for, if the red brake light comes on it indicates that you are not getting 12V charging from the IMA system.

[Eli]

Check the ground straps.

[Meka33]

Yes. The brake light is on. What does that mean?
Thanks for your reply.
Michael

[Eli]

The brake light is on but the red 12V battery symbol isn't? The IMA light also isn't on? Hmm.

Sounds like you may have lights burned out in your instrument cluster.

In this context it likely means that the DC-DC converter has been disabled; normally the red 12V battery symbol is illuminated also when this happens.

Charge your 12V battery up, and see if all of the lights in the dash come on when you initially key on to verify they're not burned out.

[Meka33]

The Honda dealership has it and will be taking a look at it first thing tomorrow morning.
You'd think that if the DC-DC converter was disabled, they would have caught that when they did the diagnostic, eh?
Also, since the batter went dead, does that mean any codes that came up during the diagnostic are now gone? If there were any, they didn't share them with me anyway...
I am going to be a lot more forward with them this time around and ask them to list specific details, other than saying "No faults found at this time."
Thanks.

[Eli]

Yes, the battery dying could have cleared any codes that were present.

Stealerships are worthless and completely clueless about our cars. My suggestion is to let us help you work through things. They're likely to charge you an arm and a leg for essentially nothing.

Replace the 12V battery or charge it up and disconnect the three connectors on the BCM(circled in red). This will force your DC-DC converter to stay on. Then you can drive the car without worry and we'll help you work through the problems.

Check the ground straps(G1, G2, G3, G4). If they're broken, have the dealership replace them before you drive home, even though they'll charge you a ridiculous amount to replace them.

[Eli]

Actually..

How far away from home are you? Replacing the 12V battery or disconnecting it for 15 seconds will reset the systems. This should allow you to get home, unless the IMA battery is extremely deteriorated.

Stop at Wal-Mart or an auto parts store on the way back to the dealership and get a 12V battery monitor, it will be something that plugs into your cigarette lighter and has a voltage readout.

Ask them to disconnect the 12V battery, then give you a jump start, which I'm sure they'll charge you $95 for. Let the car idle for 10-15 minutes while you lambast the dealership mechanics for being clueless, then drive the car home. Do not stop, as it will take your 12V battery some time to charge. We don't know if it's necessary to disconnect the BCM yet.

Alternately, you can just pick up a new battery while you're at Wal-Mart(will be cheapest), and do the same thing. If the brake light and/or red 12V battery light are on immediately after resetting the systems, then check the ground straps thoroughly. If they're OK or replacing them doesn't fix the problem, you will have to disconnect the BCM.

[Meka33]

Great, thanks!
The dealership is a little more than an hour away, so theoretically I wasn't going down there until they are done with whatever they are going to do tomorrow.
Should I tell them specifically just to charge the 12v battery and check the ground cables? or Should I have them hold off on working on it all together (so I don't get charged) and get a working 12v battery in it, and drive it home (1hr 20min.) with the ground cables detached?
I was just kinda hoping that they would cop to the fact that the IMA is gone and move forward with replacing it, but if that is not the case, I still have till Aug. 2012 to drive it and wait for the IMA light to come on the dash. However, if that is to happen, the BCM/MCM/IMA system has to be hooked up again right?
Doesn't the 12v battery get charged via the BCM/IMA system?
Sorry for all the questions....just beginning the journey of Insight workings...