Trying to prolong a certain battery death?

[met-head]

My IMA battery is failing and I'm sure it's just a matter of time til it gives up the ghost, but I have a few questions: First, the details. Mine is a 160K mile 2000 manual that had a IMA battery replacement about 40k miles and 3 years ago. I have had p1447 & P1449 codes and installed the calpod clutch switch. I have been able to keep full bars on the SOC, but still get a recal and sometimes a code every couple of hundred miles. My problem is that I only drive the car only twice a week to work, 35 mile round trip, (due to horrible traffic, I split lanes on my motorcyle 3 times a week). I know this infrequent use is what is killing my battery. I've tried several diffierent methods, but I seem to have the best luck by keeping the SOC one or two bars short of full. I usually drive without any assist and only use the calpod switch for regen. When I kept the SOC at full bars, It seemed to recal more often. When I drove with the calpod switch off once up to speed, (normal mode), it also seemed to recal more often. Would it be a good idea to find a long hill, and take my battery down to no bars, and then let it recharge, kind of a forced recalibration to get a truer reading on a fully discharged battery. A new battery (and probably a grid charger) will most likely be in my future, but since I have no plans to drive it more often, I'd like to postone this expense as long as possible. I regularly get 600-700 miles on a tank, and could very well be happy by just removing the IMA battery, but I don't know how long the back up starter motor would last, and I would miss that "instant on" when you turn the key.

[azaviator]

I posted this in another thread yesterday, so I'll just cut and paste.

You should use the forced top off technique. Doing this should force the battery to realize a greater capacity which keeps you further from the IMA light, buying you more time with the current battery pack.

You need a 10mm wrench to disconnect the negative cable on the 12v battery (under the hood). After 10 seconds, reconnect it, start the car in neutral and rev it to ~3500 rpm until it gets to a full charge. As soon as it does, turn the car off, disconnect the 12v again and repeat the process. Continue resetting the car until the IMA battery charges very fast (I have been told that it should charge in ~10 seconds but after 10 times of reseting I was still at ~1 minute). This could take a few resets to get back near 'normal' capacity.

I would be interested to hear if your battery capacity improves further by removing as much charge as possible after the forced topoff. In other words, do the forced topoff and then force drain by assisting the heck out of it. This will almost guarantee an IMA light, but you could just reset the 12v again.

Keep us informed on your method of testing...

[met-head]

I got nothing to lose, so I'll try it. Also got a recal and a code and an IMA light on the way home from work tonight. Everything was fine. The calpod switch was on, and I was sitting at a traffic light, with one less than full bars on the SOC. Then I started getting 4 bars of background charge. Then I got on the freeway and was cruising 55-60 mph. Then the SOC started dropping bar by bar until it got to about 5 bars left. Then the IMA light came on, and then the engine check light. Then I switched off the calpod clutch switch and the SOC started going up, soon it reached full bars and it stopped charging. Now with no green bars, I was showing 75 mpg, still with the IMA and engine check light on. When I got home I read the code and it was a P1449. This is the usual routine when it throws a code. Normally, I'll clear the code, do a 12 volt disconnect and be good for another couple of hundred miles...

[Willie Williford]

Mine has been doing the same thing since my first IMA light in 1-2007.
If it does come on with the CARD switch activated, sometimes you can play with it, switching it on and off to limit the charge and it will end up being a positive recal instead of a negative one.
I usually end up with a p-1449 as it is heat related in the battery pack because of the unbalanced cells. 87,000 miles since 07 and I just keep on trucking.
A BB next month I hope.
HTH
Willie

[planete]

Hey their fellas, I am new to this electro-tech talk. While I am waiting to purchase my Helm Inc. manuals....could you explain to me what the Calpod clutch switch is, and the card switch? Thanks in advance, and after breakfast, I am off to Autozone for their code scanner to see about my IMA light which has been on for the last 3 days on my 2000 red insight.

[azaviator]

Originally Posted by planete

Hey their fellas, I am new to this electro-tech talk. While I am waiting to purchase my Helm Inc. manuals....could you explain to me what the Calpod clutch switch is, and the card switch? Thanks in advance, and after breakfast, I am off to Autozone for their code scanner to see about my IMA light which has been on for the last 3 days on my 2000 red insight.

The link in my sig is a walkthrough on how to install, just follow the procedure and you'll do fine.

FYI: doesn't work with the CVT model, 5-speed manual only...

[azaviator]

Originally Posted by met-head

I got nothing to lose, so I'll try it. Also got a recal and a code and an IMA light on the way home from work tonight. Everything was fine. The calpod switch was on, and I was sitting at a traffic light, with one less than full bars on the SOC. Then I started getting 4 bars of background charge. Then I got on the freeway and was cruising 55-60 mph. Then the SOC started dropping bar by bar until it got to about 5 bars left. Then the IMA light came on, and then the engine check light. Then I switched off the calpod clutch switch and the SOC started going up, soon it reached full bars and it stopped charging. Now with no green bars, I was showing 75 mpg, still with the IMA and engine check light on. When I got home I read the code and it was a P1449. This is the usual routine when it throws a code. Normally, I'll clear the code, do a 12 volt disconnect and be good for another couple of hundred miles...

I always put the CARD switch on when it forces a charge (of course, I ALWAYS have it on) which seems to stop the IMA light from coming on. If it is warm out it will still pop up the IMA light. If I suspect this, I will continually toggle the switch as Willie said to limit the charge. A little bit of 'playing with it' will go a long way to understanding what's best for your battery pack.

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

That's the third early failure of a warranty battery posted up here in the last two weeks.

Originally Posted by met-head

My IMA battery is failing and I'm sure it's just a matter of time til it gives up the ghost, but I have a few questions: First, the details. Mine is a 160K mile 2000 manual that had a IMA battery replacement about 40k miles and 3 years ago.

[met-head]

I did 4 successive 12v battery disconnect forced recals yesterday, and by the 4th one, the SOC came up to full bars in less than 5 minutes. Now I'm going to use the calpod clutch switch to keep it at full bars at all time, to see how long it will go before it throws a P1449 code again. Is there anyone out there, that has run their car long term without the IMA battery while waiting for a new Better Battery? Other than using the backup starter motor, having no auto-stop feature, and an engine check light on all the time, what else can one expect. (besides the obvious lack of low end power).

[Willie Williford]

I can only speak from my experience, but since 2007 when I got my first IMA light, my vehicle has NEVER started on the 12V battery.
It is highly suggested by many people on ICN that you disconnect the BCM so the 12V battery gets it charge, I have NEVER done that. Monitor the 12V battery charging via a "scangauge" "ultragauge," OBDIIC&C," or something plugged into the 12V socket and you should be good almost "forever". Of course you will have to change your driving style, but good MPG is still available.

HTH
Willie