My Battery Died

[Cobb]

Yup, 16 degree weather and a week of sitting did it. I was driving the geo metro to shake it down as my back up car and enjoyed the hot heat it produces within a few minutes of running. With the onset of frozen weather from the sky I wanted all the bells and whistles of the Hinda to help me get around. I went to key the remote and I heard a noise from the door, but it was still locked. I tried again, same thing. I used the key and somehow all the doors magically unlocked. Maybe I screwed up my flip kay mod?

I loaded up the car and swapped crap between the two. I went to start my Insight up to clear the snow and ice off of it from the brief snow the other day. The dash did not light up blue. When I inserted the key no beep noises. Then when Iturned the key I heard a tapping from the rear, a few dash lights flickered and the air bag light below the radio.

I got my jump started out, popped the hood, hooked it up and it started right up from the hybrid battery. So far it seems fine, but when I get a chance I am going to try the group 51 battery. Id like a u1 to fit since I have a few of those.

[catsight]

I was going to make a quick trip to the grocery store last evening, turned on the ignition, was putting on my seat belt, and the engine kind of burped, then slowed and shut down. A yellow background message came on the info screen which said something about a charging problem. Then, everything began turning off.

I called my dealer's service department and, first, they told me to get the car over there. I explained again that it was not running. Then, they suggested I get it towed over, but they had no loaner cars (and I really don't know how I'd get there by public transportation -- which I should have considered before purchasing from this dealer, but I figured brand new car, not an issue. Ha!).

So I decided to try getting a jump in case the 12 V battery was weak or something. Well, that did not work out: Jack Rabbit came and was going to use one of the portable jump units to give the battery a boost, but turned on the car first. This time it reacted slightly differently: The engine sound was louder and very breathy; still would not stay on. But the guy tried to start it 3 times; each time it did start, then turned itself off within seconds and the message came on. For me, it had gone dark and stayed off with not even clicking the second time I'd tried to start it.

Now I have to find out when the dealer has a loaner for me, then get it towed. Ack. But that has to be after today's leaf work as tomorrow is last yard waste pickup until March.

What's really bothering me is that now I'm beginning to not trust this car. It's freaking brand new! I bought it for good mileage, and I'm not even getting into the 40's (I don't do all that much freeway mileage). I also bought it because I'm undergoing time critical medical treatments and I had to have dependable transportation. Well, that's not looking so good. And, now, I was getting ready to drive the 900 miles to the Midwest for the Christmas holidays -- what if this happens on the way? Not a good time of year to have no heat....

I thought I only had the snow tire problem to worry about!

Conditions: Saturday night and Sunday, big rain storm followed by sharply colder weather (down to mid-teens overnight, just below freezing during the day on Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday. I also had been putting the yard to bed for the winter and had not driven the car since Saturday.

Anyone else having battery problems anything like this?

[Cobb]

Yeah, its too small. I disconnected the power steering a few months ago and that helped to reduce neg recalls and improved the mpg a few. I should of bought a new bigger battery then. I had a big groupo 27 battery in the trunk for the sound system, but removed it for a smaller one for another project. Id lot to put it back or just relocate it. Id love it if Mike D2K can sell a few "12" volt battery replacements using prius packs.

I am suppose to get a 50 dollar off 100 dollar purchase coupon from advance auto in a few weeks, I am using that to buy the battery.

[Jayemtee]

Cobb, is the 12v battery showing a lower voltage on your ScanGauge? What was it showing previously previously and what is it now?

[Cobb]

My scanguage is in my geo. Since its a 99 and has odb2 I thought Id see whats going on under the hood.

Last I used it in the insight it read around 14 volts the first 2 hours of a trip, then rested at 12.6 volts with no accessories on.

[catsight]

My 6-week old Insight 2010, 7-week old as of tomorrow, is still at the dealership. They have not been able to figure out what's wrong with this car.

At this point, I'm nervous about driving this out to the Midwest given the heavy storms which have shut down freeways for hours and hours. And if the electric is out, there's no way to stay warm (yes, I always carry a blanket, but I think I might need more than one for a long stay in the Insight, plus a portable radio, flashlight, and extra batteries!). Starting to look like I may not be making it for Christmas. Getting very tight as is.

Sounds like no one has heard of any problem like this one. The 12 volt works, but something somewhere causes the car to shut itself down.

Will post when I know what's wrong with this puppy.

[Cobb]

Id ask for another car or at least a loaner. Id register a compliant with the Better Business Bearu. They should have it fixed in a week or less. Sounds like a computer issue. Its a nice car, but the 12 volt side needs a bigger battery,

Funny thing I never got a message about the battery. I just barely got a light or 2 in adidtion to the air bag light to come on and a tapping nose from the back.

I notce when I have the radio on loud it just does rolling negative recals. I cant work on it til this weekend. Going to see whats the biggest deep cycle battery I can scram into the area, then get an identical battery to mount in the trunk for the sound system. Looking at AGM since they have a slightly higher state of charge.

Whats interesting my eye on the battery still shows ok, but I can see a noticeable different in brightness before and after I start the engine with my lights on before and after hand.

[Cobb]

Well, I wanted to see if a deep cycle nf22 would fit, but the battery barn was closed yesterday. I used a 20 dollar off coupon and bought a group 51 battery at advance. Below are photos of the side by side. Notice the uneven levels of fluid in the battery. It was a snug fit, but doable. Funny thing was the car started from the 12 volt starter. It startled me for a second. Since it has worked fine. My MPG went from just hitting 47 doing constant regens to 62 in this cold weather.

The conversation at the auto store was interesting too. Guy asked if I had a civic. I said, yeah how did you you? I sell 10 of these a day to civic owners when the weather drops below freezing. See you in 2 years he said.

Ha, ha, ha, ha.







YouTube - Battery replacement

[Cobb]

Ive been driving around with the new battery. Itsa amazing how my fuel economy jumped. I went from barely hitting 47 to 62mpg. Its amazing the "balls" the ima battery has now. When it reaches 50% on the screen it seems to be able to assist for miles before it regens when you level out. Also the regen seems to behavior like it should. It cuts out when accelerating to nutral and in some cases assist, then when you let off the throttle, then ot reverts to regen.

Wouldnt it be something if our wacky ima behavior and slightly above average mpg is related to a small/dying 12 volt accessory battery???

I cant wait to get a second one for the rear for my subs and hook them in parallel. I miss my subs, but interested in any added benefits to a double capacity of the charging system.

Yeah, that battery is toast too, this cold snap kilt them.

[Jayemtee]

It looks like you took out the battery pan. So what is the battery sitting on? Is it sitting on whatever it happens to contact down there? Do you have a concern of it chaffing on whatever it is touching?

It also appears that you employed mother nature to hold the battery down with gravity. Is that correct?

I dig those performance results. So now that your Insight likes the battery, has it used the 12v starter again?

Any regrets or curiosity about not getting a Deep Cycle battery?