[Guest]

I've got 2004 5 speed with 2500 miles on it. The battery charge meter is always one bar short of being full. It has never had that last bar lit.

The meter seems to work fine otherwise. It shows to what degree the battery is discharged. And it shows to what degree the battery is charged as it is charging.

I've not had a recal yet.

Anyone experience something similar?

Anyone think this is a problem?

Many thanks!!

 

[Holicow]

I have had my 2000 for about 9 months now, and 10K miles. It always shows the meter one bar from the top. Even when I had more recals as the result of a failing 12v battery, it would not charge to the top.


Except......about a month ago I had a recal (first in several months) and it charged all the way to the top, and I could get it back to the top using regenfor about a day. Now, it is back to "one-bar shy" and there it stays.

 

[boogetyboogety]

Sounds good to me...

My SOC has always been one bar short with one fun exception: We drove up Pikes Peak on our first long trip in the Insight, and on the way down, using L judiciously to slow down, tapping the brakes now and then as needed, and getting 150 mpg for miles and miles... the last bar lit up and stayed lit until we got to Colorado Springs. Kinda like the airbag: I never see it working, but I trust it's there when needed... :lol:

 

[kapps]

The only time we ever get the top bar lit up is after a recal as well. Even with a full charge indicated, the battery is really only 80% charged so everything is protected incase of problems. I believe all Insight's run at one bar shy in normal driving.

 

[Delta Flyer]

I get the full-charge, but rarely - like being debt-free.

 

[rwarn17588]

I, too, have been one bar from the top except one time -- it was when I was freeway-driving on a warm day for a few miles, so the gauge was near the top anyway. I coasted into an exit ramp a bit fast and had to squeeze the brakes a little extra hard before a stoplight. The regen from the brakes nudged the battery gauge all the way to the top. I did a double-take while at the light to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

My Insight has been running well, so I wouldn't worry much about it if the level is consistently high, if not all the way to 100 percent.

 

[Tim Maddux]

I have seen the 100% full mark in two situations. The first situation was like others have reported in previous posts, and was also the first time I ever saw it was after I'd owned the car for 2 years. It went to 100% full during a continuous downhill regen after draining the battery on a long uphill. The second situation was during a cold NE winter with about a month of single-digit (F) temperatures; I suspect the batteries were being given a lot of forced charging to warm them up.

 

[james]

I see it quite frequently, but then I drive a lot in the mountains. Takes about a 2000 foot descent to get it charged all the way up, and in fact it will show some charging for a while after the last bar is lit.

I think the reason those of you in flatter areas don't see it much is that the recharging from the engine stops before the battery reaches its full (that is, 80%) charge, so that it will a) have some room left to recapture the next braking; and b) let it go into lean burn mode a little sooner.

 

[Willie Williford]

I don't mean to start an argument, but according to my research, experience, and consultation with the Honda Techs using the Honda diagnois tool, when the IMA "battery gauge" shows "full" it is actually at 72% capacity.

(See my prior post on Turbocharged Insight/IMA battery replacement)

 

[Guest]

Hi Willie:

___I think most people that have read up on their Insight’s know that our NiMH packs longevity depends on a less then 80% charge for longevity but it is the few occurrences when our Insight’s achieve an all 20 bars lit (this is still less then an 80% SOC) that is interesting. I have seen it a few times as I am usually at 19 but every once in a while at 18. I was down 13 bars once in a 30 mile traffic jam with extreme use of forced autostop but that was a once a year type drive ... While at 19 bars lit and at speed coming into a very long slight downhill coast (almost ½ a mile) to a toll plaza at I294 and I55 here SSW of Chicago, I can light up 20 bars with a 5th gear coast regen about once a month. The cold morning initial drives have also livened up all 20 bars as the pack is being warmed from a forced charge.

___Anyway, 19 bars lit most of the time is perfectly normal w/ the odd 20/20 lit being the rare exception.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:3eevhmzh][email protected][/email:3eevhmzh]

 

[james]

Willie, that squares with my observation that on a long downhill, it will show charging for some time (a couple of minutes or so, usually) after it shows "full" on meter. I think it changes the charging logic, though: only about 5 bars, and not increasing with braking.

 

[3509]

I get it fully charged every time, but then I coast and brake down a 13 mile 5500 ft. vertical drop - it usually fully charges about 1000 vertical feet from the bottom.

Seth

 

[flunkysama]

My theory is that one bar/tick short of full means the BCM looking at current in and current out thinks the battery is fully charged. But you don't see all bars/ticks lit unless the BCM sees an indicator that the battery is fully charged like a change in deltaV or an increase in heat during charging. Proabably same indicators it uses to end a Recal.

 

[figgy]

Just register me as another person whose bars are virtually always one tick shy of fully lit.

I do have all the cups in my cupboard, however.