[IMAhybrid]

Got an IMA light on Sunday (with blink code 78 ). The battery gauge is a a single bar and isn't charging or discharging. Still started from the IMA system, and still autostops (I think). From what I've been reading here, it'll still be ok to drive unless I get the red 12v battery light.

I was planning on going on a short road trip this weekend to visit my dad ~4 hours away, do you think the car will be ok for the trip? I have a battery tender for the 12v I can bring (and the car is hooked up now). I have read here that I could be ok for several months if I don't drive it too hard, which sounds good; but I also read I only have about 15 minutes of drive time once the 12v light comes on, which would be no good on a 4 hour trip. I was going to ask if I should bring a back up 12v with me, but an extra 15 minutes really won't do much good. Also, I have a "lawn and garden" battery as my 12v, not a regular car battery, would this shorten the "15 minutes" I'd have after the 12v light comes on?

What is it that makes the 12v light come on? I have read about people driving with out IMA packs in at all, and that there is no alternator, so.... How does that work?

If I get a new IMA battery, it will be #4 for this car, with the last replacement about 2 years ago, just squeaking in under warranty. I'm starting to think that my driving habits (very short 5~mile commute, semi-regular week long stretches of not driving it, plus the Florida heat) are just not suited to a hybrid (bad for batteries) anymore, and while it would suck to not have assist, it sure would be cheaper to just do without it.

I also got blink codes 72 on the CEL, 23 on EPS, and 61 on ABS. Is there a list somewhere with all the codes, not just IMA?

 

[Eli]

Got an IMA light on Sunday (with blink code 78 ). The battery gauge is a a single bar and isn't charging or discharging. Still started from the IMA system, and still autostops (I think). From what I've been reading here, it'll still be ok to drive unless I get the red 12v battery light.

Correct.

I was planning on going on a short road trip this weekend to visit my dad ~4 hours away, do you think the car will be ok for the trip? I have a battery tender for the 12v I can bring (and the car is hooked up now). I have read here that I could be ok for several months if I don't drive it too hard, which sounds good; but I also read I only have about 15 minutes of drive time once the 12v light comes on, which would be no good on a 4 hour trip. I was going to ask if I should bring a back up 12v with me, but an extra 15 minutes really won't do much good. Also, I have a "lawn and garden" battery as my 12v, not a regular car battery, would this shorten the "15 minutes" I'd have after the 12v light comes on?

Yes, it likely will shorten the drive time if the 12V battery light does come on. However, you will probably be OK. It usually takes a few months for the IMA battery to reach "critical" once it stops being charged.

What is it that makes the 12v light come on? I have read about people driving with out IMA packs in at all, and that there is no alternator, so.... How does that work?

The BCM/MCM control the DC-DC converter, which converts the high voltage generated by the battery/IMA motor into 12V to maintain the 12V system.

If I get a new IMA battery, it will be #4 for this car, with the last replacement about 2 years ago, just squeaking in under warranty. I'm starting to think that my driving habits (very short 5~mile commute, semi-regular week long stretches of not driving it, plus the Florida heat) are just not suited to a hybrid (bad for batteries) anymore, and while it would suck to not have assist, it sure would be cheaper to just do without it.

That is correct. A grid charger will mitigate these problems and keep your IMA battery healthy.

I also got blink codes 72 on the CEL, 23 on EPS, and 61 on ABS. Is there a list somewhere with all the codes, not just IMA?

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum...0-2006-insight-service-manual-pdf-others.html

Download the 180mb file.

 

[gilbertguy]

Got an IMA light on Sunday (with blink code 78 ). The battery gauge is a a single bar and isn't charging or discharging. Still started from the IMA system, and still autostops (I think). From what I've been reading here, it'll still be ok to drive unless I get the red 12v battery light.

It is no longer charging your IMA battery, with only 1 IMA battery bar it will continue to start the car via IMA for a few weeks but once what little power left in the battery is gone the 12V will take over and begin starting the car like a conventional system.

Also the the IMA motor/generator should be keeping the 12V battery charged up, if you go over 3500 RPM the system will cut off the charging to protect the 12V system and turn on the RED 12V battery light on the dash.(I think the RED Brake light comes on also) This will last for about 30 seconds and as long as the RPM's are back down it should turn off the RED 12V battery light and things return to normal.

Have you tried disconneting the Negitive 12V terminal for 10 seconds, then reconnect it and then start it up and hold the RPM at 2500-3000 RPM while the system recalibrates. Do this 3-4 times in a row and it should pump more power back into the IMA battery but remember that this is just a temp fix and the codes will come back without a grid charger.

 

[IMAhybrid]

Thanks for the quick replies, I feel better about taking the Insight this weekend. If I get stranded, I'm blaming you all

 

[eq1]

I agree with the previous poster - reset the IMA (pull negative off 12 volt batt), then after it does its recalibration thing, try rev-charging it by holding rpms just above 3000... In my car 3000 rpms will dump a 10 amp charge into the HV batt until it reaches 75.6% SoC... You may see 4 green bars of charge, but not always. Just keep it right at 3000 and you should be fine...

 

[Eli]

I agree with the consecutive system resets and as far as I know, I was the first one to suggest doing this procedure. However, I disagree with the necessity to rev the engine to 3,000RPM during the relearn with a weak IMA battery. That's exactly the opposite of what you want to do. Revving to 3,000RPM is only necessary if your battery will charge up to 4 bars - at which point the automatic background charge will stop, so you would have to rev the engine to continue.

If you just pull the negative battery cable and then let the car idle, it will input 6A. With a weak IMA battery, you want to input charge at as low a rate as possible. High voltage on a voltage tap is what triggers the positive recalibration, so you want to avoid the voltage spike associated with higher amperage input.

I've got a mountain of data showing that at 8-16A, my weak test pack does a positive recal as soon as the voltage hits 168V+ for 2 minutes. This happens very early at those rates, and thus only allows me to input about 0.9-1.4Ah. This sometimes results in a P1447 IMA light due to low capacity.

However, at 3-6A of charge, I can input over 3.0Ah and no IMA light is triggered. Doing a 6A "idle" relearn 3-8 times in a row with a 5 minute rest between each one would be more beneficial, IMO.

 

[eq1]

That sounds like a good plan... I forgot that, if the relearn process learns that your battery is low, then it should charge automatically, up to a point...

 

[MN Driver]

...
However, at 3-6A of charge, I can input over 3.0Ah and no IMA light is triggered. Doing a 6A "idle" relearn 3-8 times in a row with a 5 minute rest between each one would be more beneficial, IMO.

I'd like to add one thing, if you have a 5 minute rest, it might be best to drive the car into auto-stop for that 5 minutes and to allow the pack fan to run to cool any cells that got full and are hot before doing the next idle relearn. 20 minutes might be safer. Then again, I'm speculating a bit here based on what I've seen pumping 7 amps into unbalanced sticks where the uncharged cells are around room temp and the cells that are already charged get very hot. If the pack is in balance, I'd say it's fine but the chances of everything being in perfect balance IMHO are slim.

Edit: Auto-stop instead of the car being off because the fan will run if the battery is warm only if the ignition doesn't get shut off.

 

[gilbertguy]

Good point Eli on not holding at high RPMs for a weak pack, just let it idle after doing the neg 12V reset.

 

[Willie Williford]

MN driver.
In my experience, the IMA battery fan WILL NOT run unless the engine is running. In auto-stop it shuts down.
I have a hi-low "fan on" indicator light installed, as well as a fan over ride switch that allows the fan to be run with the ign in the second click.(Not running) If you have an OBDIICC in use the F will be shown when the fan is running.
HTH
Willie

 

[Eli]

Good thoughts MN Driver, and I agree. Unfortunately in practice, it doesn't seem to work. The stock cooling system is only activated if the whole pack is 100F+. AFAIK the PTC strips aren't used to turn on the fan, they are just a "go/no go" reading.

I use the OBDIIC&C to control the battery fan, and it definitely does not shut off during auto-stop if it's been commanded "ON" by the OBDIIC&C.

I'm really looking forward to V0.04 and being able to have the fan come on at a settable or pre-determined point, for example 80F.

 

[MN Driver]

Good thoughts MN Driver, and I agree. Unfortunately in practice, it doesn't seem to work. The stock cooling system is only activated if the whole pack is 100F+. AFAIK the PTC strips aren't used to turn on the fan, they are just a "go/no go" reading.

I use the OBDIIC&C to control the battery fan, and it definitely does not shut off during auto-stop if it's been commanded "ON" by the OBDIIC&C.

I'm really looking forward to V0.04 and being able to have the fan come on at a settable or pre-determined point, for example 80F.

Possibly waiting 20 minutes or so before the next 'charge run' would cause those hotter cells to dissipate their heat inside the enclosure and possibly trigger the fan on the next go around? It's all different with the right OBDIIC&C software though because then you can just have the fan on at a better point as you said.

 

[IMAhybrid]

Made it to my dads just fine. Didn't reset anything before I left. The pack went up to 3 bars over about 2 hours. Averaged ~58mpg, but was going ~75 mph

 

[IMAhybrid]

Also made it back home safe, but this week my 12 red battery light is on, both with and without it having been plugged in to the battery tender. I drove around the block and put it back in the garage and look the CRX instead. :-/

 

[Eli]

The 12V battery light coming on means that the DC-DC has been disabled due to your battery becoming too discharged.

Resetting the systems multiple times in a row could breathe some life back into the battery, but Death does appear to have come to take your pack.

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