[northrupr]

I don't want to sell my Honda Insight (2000).
I'd put $1000 down on the "Better Battery" that everyone on this forum raved about, and it went down some hole on Staten Island that may have been washed out to sea recently. Lucky for them I live 2k miles away.

Has anyone purchased a hybrid battery from any of these companies?

I see Bumblebee Batteries Limited Liability Corporation is a sponsor / supporter of the forums, which for me means two strikes against it - one for being a limited liability company, as I'd like someone to sign their life to me, two because the forum may be biased towards them for their support. They're also very, very new - no credibility. However, I do like their claims.

GreenTechAuto seems to be a functioning shop in California, with some negative and some positive reviews. They are not BBB accredited. They claim to ship the batteries out the same day you pay, which is certainly better than the 'Better Battery' scammers did. They also offer a new battery, with a 36 Mo warranty. But it's not clear whether it is for a 2000-2006 Insight or the new one.

Re-Involt is interesting; I think they're a shop in NC. They claim they're training mobile installers nationwide. They also re-make your battery, with new cells; I've heard price estimates of $2,400-$17,000, for Prius batteries (the latter quote is absurd), here: Re-Involt, 3d party NHW11 battery source | PriusChat.


Anyone dealt with them? Bought a battery, put some miles on it?

I understand a lot of people are DIY now, but I've got shaky sweaty hands and don't want to end up crispy around the edges. I also think it's difficult ordering in small quantities from anywhere in Asia, and hard to nail a specialty battery that could easily end up not being quite right.


Also, having had my battery unplugged for months now, I can say that
1) It works fine, not even that underpowered, at least compared to my old MB diesels.
2) The sulphur (rotten-egg) smell that happens when you floor it for a while is not because of the battery - probably some fluid spilling out and burning due to pressure in a line, like the transmission fluid.
3) I can't get it inspected, because of the engine light; I live in an emission-testing area of Texas (even though it passed the actual emissions EPA gauge, some lobbyist must have succeeded in adding the computer codes+lights to the regulation). :x

 

[3-Wheeler]

Hi,

Well, you can certainly try grid charging the existing battery to see if that helps. It certainly helped mine several years back.

Check out the link below about how to add a trickle charge cable to the battery.

Picasa Web Albums - Jim - Battery Trick...

Jim.

 

[Willie Williford]

Well it's obvious that you haven't been reading any of the posts here at ICN, from your join date. If you have, you wouldn't be asking some of those questions.
I bought my battery from BBB. No complaints, over 8,500 miles so far.
SO what is your CEL indication?
Many problems with the IMA system has been answered here at ICN.

Do what you want, you probably will any way.
(Off my soap box)


Willie

 

[Eli]

Feel free to give us a call, we'd be happy to discuss your concerns.

 

[northrupr]

That looks interesting.

The quote from Re-Involt was $2595 for a 3yr warrantied new 8amp battery, plus about $250 to ship ~100lbs to Texas; I may go with that, but my time might not be so valuable that I couldn't rig a trickle charge.

I'd read a lot of posts about balancing the charges, trickle charging, don't let it go below 40%, battery 'memory' but I still get back to thinking - if you floor it, or let it charge while braking for a long time, isn't that a bigger factor in the wear-and-tear than imbalances, etc? I hear claims that 'these batteries should last 30 years,' but the reality is they last more like 4-6, and it seems it's because they're in a car, being discharged and charged very rapidly, and there's no way around that for a hybrid driver.

But I'm a molecular biologist, not an electrical engineer..

 

[northrupr]

I get it, you're a senior member, etc.
I have been reading plenty of posts.

It's obvious you don't know what the Better Business Bureau is, but apparently they sold you a great battery.

I forget the code, but it was a bad one, not an easy fix, not under warranty.

Not one of these companies is BBB accredited.
If you were referring to the Better Battery, sold by hybrid-whatever, they went out of business. There were a lot of angry posts about it, back in the summertime.

 

[Eli]

We'll happily match the $2595 price and ship you a battery today. (In case it doesn't come through, that was sarcasm - our price is already much lower than that )

Willie has a BumbleBee Batteries(BBB) MaxIMA battery.

We are working on becoming BBB(Better Business Bureau) accredited.

 

[highwater]

I see Bumblebee Batteries Limited Liability Corporation is a sponsor / supporter of the forums, which for me means two strikes against it - one for being a limited liability company, as I'd like someone to sign their life to me, two because the forum may be biased towards them for their support. They're also very, very new - no credibility. However, I do like their claims.

Bumblebee may be "very very new", but the guy behind it has been around here for a "very very long time", as in way before sponsorship. I'm glad he's here and won't have any problem ordering when my battery goes kaput.

Randall

 

[highwater]

Also, having had my battery unplugged for months now, I can say that
1) It works fine, not even that underpowered, at least compared to my old MB diesels.
2) The sulphur (rotten-egg) smell that happens when you floor it for a while is not because of the battery - probably some fluid spilling out and burning due to pressure in a line, like the transmission fluid.
3) I can't get it inspected, because of the engine light; I live in an emission-testing area of Texas (even though it passed the actual emissions EPA gauge, some lobbyist must have succeeded in adding the computer codes+lights to the regulation). :x

While I'm on "my soapbox", if you would come in here a little more humble and not so know it all, you would be more apt to extract some good info form the guys that have already posted in this thread. Some of the best have already been heard from above.

Take a picture of those fluid lines on your manual transmission 2000 model. I would like to be able to find them on mine.

I have already personally helped one Dallas area Insighter get past his inspection failure, due to the codes.

When you get to the point of asking questions, instead of proclaiming all faults, we might be able to solve all your Insight problems.

Randall

 

[Willie Williford]

Randall:
And I will deliver your battery for "gas only".

Willie

 

[jeff652]

Take a picture of those fluid lines on your manual transmission 2000 model. I would like to be able to find them on mine.

When you get to the point of asking questions, instead of proclaiming all faults, we might be able to solve all your Insight problems.

Randall

I suspect a leaky valve cover gasket and/or head gasket.

Those transmission lines can be hard to spot, they are usually right next to the muffler bearings and blinker fluid reservoir

 

[Jivko57]

Hi, batteries lasting for 30 years :that probably will be in the far future or in heaven. from experience, any rechargeable battery starts deteriorating from day one. In the best cases it has some life left after 8-12 years of use, in other cases it fails in a couple of years. Seems hot climates (big temp amplitudes) accelerate the degradation...

a charger worked wonders for mine in the last couple of years. Previous owner replaced it in 2008 and in the end of 2009 it was clinically dead. the charger kept it on "life support" through 2011 and 2012....

there are two oil lines on the engine ,that are very close to the oil filter , I bought both some time ago, but turned out they were OK....seems they do not fail often.... for the manual tranny fluid lines would take Jeff's advise .

oil leaks on the engine : mine leaks from every where. the good part is it is so encapsulated in oil and gunk , no corrosion can happen there....


I read the rotten egg smell is often a sign of a bad cat . not sure where was the post . probably a different auto forum.

 

[samwichse]

Bought my battery from BBB after a previous experience buying an OBDIIC&C kit from Eli, he gave a realistic timeline and everything arrived as promised and the battery seems to work great. Can't tell you if it improved gas mileage or not since I moved closer to work at the same time and my route is now all stop and go (old route was 2.5x as far and all highway). I will say that when my gauge reads full, it will continue to soak up charge for a long time, and when I drain the gauge to empty, the battery will keep giving assist for a long time there as well... so the capacity is definitely higher than the stock one's was.

So two transactions I've had with Eli, and I would definitely do a third (though unless he starts reselling some cool gadgetry, I hope I don't have to for a long time ).

Sam

 

[dwrede]

I am very happy with my MaxIMA battery and the transaction by Bumblebee Batteries was great. One of the main reasons I went with Eli. He has been a long time contributor on here, long before he stepped up to fill the gap when we lost our other battery replacement resource. You can tell these guys on here love these cars and they are committed to keeping them on the road. He wanted the best for his and did the research to produce a good product. Yes this product line may be new for his business. But I felt from all his contributions on here, I knew more about him than any other source. 210K now, and continuing like new. And, I have seen an increase in my mpg.

 

[TopFuelTim]

You will have a hard time finding better than Eli

To Northrupr - You won't find a much harder worker than Eli. I bought my first OBDIIC&C gage from him earlier this year, and just ordered my second (my son nabbed the first one from me). The workmanship on the OBDIIC&C gage is excellent. I also recently ordered 20 battery sticks from him. I am just happy that he will still take time to do the OBDIIC&C gage, as he is extremely busy with BumbleBeeBatteries (BBB).

He communicates well, and does what he says he will do. He has given me a lot of valuable advice via the forum, helping me keep my fleet of three going. As for LLC, come on man, give him a break. He is already putting out a MAXimum effort to get his business going, there is no point in giving up his home and all his possessions too if something goes south that is beyond his control.

My 0.02 worth,
Tim Glover

 

[3-Wheeler]

......I'd read a lot of posts about balancing the charges, trickle charging, don't let it go below 40%,

The car in stock form, has no way of informing you about the true charge of the battery. Yes the SOC tries to, but does not work that well.

The BCM does not normally allow the battery to get below a voltage level that would hurt the battery however.

... battery 'memory' but I still get back to thinking - if you floor it, or let it charge while braking for a long time, isn't that a bigger factor in the wear-and-tear than imbalances, etc?

If you floor the throttle and use up the rest of the battery charge, the BCM still imposes a limit on just how far the battery is allowed to discharge, so you can't damage the battery based on that.

.... but the reality is they last more like 4-6, and it seems it's because they're in a car, being discharged and charged very rapidly, and there's no way around that for a hybrid driver.

The longevity of the battery is based not on years of use, but the environment in which it sees.

For example, anyone in the southern states will see higher ambient temperatures, and this is much harder on batteries than anything else in my opinion.

Next is how well the battery stays balanced, and this includes if the battery sits idle or the car is driven normally.

I can't tell from your signature where you are located however.

Jim.

 

[joeaax1j]

I'll second the general sentiment here. I haven't purchased a replacement battery, yet. Honda replaced my battery in 2007 under warranty. And I'm using Mike's grid charger to keep it going. However, if I was going to purchase a battery, I would start with Bumble Bee Batteries. I've purchased from Eli before and he was here long before he got into the battery business.

-Bryan

 

[binder]

I see Bumblebee Batteries Limited Liability Corporation is a sponsor / supporter of the forums, which for me means two strikes against it - one for being a limited liability company, as I'd like someone to sign their life to me,

It's a Limited Liability COMPANY, not corporation which tells me you have no idea any aspect of business and are an idiot for wanting to purchase from a business that is a sole priopriator.

As a little insight, before you knock a company for taking away a personal liability and placing it in the hands of the company (protects not only the owner but also the customer, THAT MEANS YOU) I would suggest reading more about it. Do you shop anywhere else in the US? walmart? do you purchase gas? Those are all corporations that no individual person takes liability in. If they did when a product was a lemon you would only get the amount the person is worth and not the insurance provided through the company.

I have nothing important to mention about the batteries. It just annoyed me to see a person talking about about an LLC when it's actually safer for the consumer. America and it's lack of education.

 

[Rush]

I second what Willie, Randall and Eli say - I have a MaxIMA new pack also, and love it.

Eli has been on this forum for years, I think that he has the highest number of posts of anyone. Granted he does say 'I agree' from time to time, but the majority of his posts are full of valuable information and comments.

Besides he has 3 Insights...

 

[theaveng]

Check out the link below about how to add a trickle charge cable to the battery. url=http://picasaweb.google.com/threewheeler100/BatteryTrickleCharging#]Picasa Web Albums - Jim - Battery Trick...[/url]

One of the photos says "Battery being charged at 151.7 volts and 157.6 mA, using full wave bridge and Variac. This setup needs more attention than constant current setup." That's not really a trickle charge then, because a trickle charge operates at 1/20 C and can be left on the battery indefinitely.