Battery Level Gage ‘stuck’ 1/2 Way

[scootr06]

Yesterday my Battery Level Gage ‘stuck’ in the half-way position….moves maybe 1-3 bars up/down, no more? There is no IMA trouble indicator light. The IMA Charge/Assist gage appears is to be working as it always does. In 2 days of driving now, the Battery Gage has remained @ ½ way.

The IMA Battery Assembly was replaced 1/11 at the Honda Dealer. I’m not driving her until this is resolved, so I’ll be dealer bound tomorrow. In the meantime, thought I’d post this in hopes one of you G1 heavyweights out there might have some insight.

[Eli]

There is nothing wrong with your car or battery. Don't spend $100 at the dealership for them to tell you this, just go out and drive until the battery is full. Or better yet, just continue to drive like normal.

One thing people must understand is that time is capacity. Amps * Hours = Amp Hours.

If you can charge your battery up in only a couple of minutes from empty, you can be rest assured that your capacity is low. The LONGER it takes you to charge your battery up, the healthier it is and the more capacity it has.

[scootr06]

Eli...Steak & Lobster on me, many Thx for the info. Could I assume then that the IMA lite is the (only) definitive way to acertain a battery problem? Last time the battery was not acting normal for a couple weeks, then finally the IMA lite came on.

[Eli]

It is more or less, unless you're intimately familiar with the car and how it's supposed to behave and/or have some of the advanced instrumentation available.

Rapid swings in SoC are a sure sign of battery problems though.

[scootr06]

There’s really something fishy with my battery. Per Eli’s advice, I’ve been driving more than normal lately, and the battery is exhibiting behavior I’ve never seen before:
- Upon 1st starting out on a trip, battery’s @ ½. Shortly thereafter it drops to 1/3 and the 4 bars show up on the charge gage
- Drove about 35+ miles several times at 70-75mph, battery charged to about 7/8. However, it did not top-off at the full mark like it used to. It has never fully charged since this problem started on my initial post, no matter how far/fast I drive?
- Battery has never dropped to ½ mark while sitting in the garage overnite? It does this 2 out of 3 times.
- I don’t remember this style of behavior last January ’11 when Honda replaced it after trouble lite light after about a month.
- There’s currently no trouble lite (yet).
- Getting full charge on decelerating/braking, full dschg on heavy acceleration

Like all of us, I watch these gauges like a hawk, and have become very familiar with what’s relatively normal. I just have a gut feeling that something’s off kilter. How bad does problem have to get before the IMA trouble lite comes on? Any ideas out there appreciated.

[thedhgroup]

Originally Posted by scootr06

Any ideas out there appreciated.

Next time you drive for a decent distance (10 miles or more) put your lights on. Even if it is daytime. The SOC should top out at 19 bars.

[E27006]

Nothing wrong with the car in my opinion. The symptoms you describe have been explored before on IC

They replaced the battery pack, the new pack is probably 5 times the storage capacity of the old worn out pack.

You need to perform an IMA reset, with ignition off, pull fuse 18 (function IMA system backup) for a minute then replace it.

Start car and IMA system will calibrate to the new pack by charging and incrementing the S of C gauge from empty state.

You may wish to rev the engine at 3500 rpm to assist the calibration charge process.

[scootr06]

Will try pulling the IMA fuse #18 for reset. Before I do, found this old post from 2007, could it possibly be the 12 volt battery? Mine is 4+ yrs old....

hawkgt647
03-29-2007, 07:36 PM
Try doing a IMA forced charging:

1. Remove the 40A EPS fuse (No. 15) from the under the hood fuse box, then start the engine. The EPS warning light on the dashboard will come on because the EPS fuse is missing. The warning light will go off when the EPS fuse is reinstalled.
2. Then, run the engine at 3500 rpm for 5-10 minutes. Watch the Battery Level Gauge for movement.
3. It's done when the IMA Battery Level Gauge shows fully charged.
4. Reinstall the 40A EPS fuse (No. 15).

Or is it possibly just an aging 12 volt battery causing this problem? Something to consider.

[Willie Williford]

With any electrical problem you describe the first thing is to make sure the 12V battery is good. Don't just take a voltage reading on the battery, do a load test.
The 12V battery is what activates the IMA system.....Period.
HTH
Willie

[scootr06]

I think problem solved - found picture of fuse panel @ http://99mpg.com/mima/install/instal...elonewiringte/.

First disconnected neg terminal on 12v batters, SoC gage was at 0 - ran down road at 3500, battery went full. Dischg was fine, but no charging? Pulled the 7.5 amp fuse under dash for 10 seconds - bingo. Thx for all the help.