[cmb]

I had heard that when the tiny Honda starter battery that Honda put in the Insight dies, Honda will just throw in a regular Civic battery.

Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, has anyone replaced the stock battery with a deep cycle or such?

 

[Aaron Cake]

Many people (including myself) have replaced the battery with something more suitable. Check out the Modifications section and either search, or just scroll down.

 

[Guillermo]

Although the 12V battery is the starter battery in very cold conditions.
It's mostly the accessories battery that powers the radio, computer, fans, power windows, power locks.. etc. on a daily basis.

12V OEM Insight battery costs $150
12V Civic battery costs $70
Other lighter 12V batteries cost even more.
Your choice.
Prices in Canadian dollars.

 

[cmb]

thanks guys. sorry i didn't do a search well.

i am thinking of going with a Optima deep cycle YellowTop in the Civic replacement model.

it's heavier than the INsight's OEM, but it is spiral cell technology, so no maintenance, no spill, no tip, gel self-contained, and more CCA and far more AhHRs.

they're out of stock at most of the suppliers I'm checking with though.

 

[Guillermo]

i am thinking of going with a Optima deep cycle YellowTop in the Civic replacement model.

The 12V Insight battery never gets deep cycled unless you listen to the radio with the car off for long periods of time.

 

[cmb]

I need a deep cycle, because often, some of my cars sit idle for the winter, etc.
Optima batteries also hold their charge solid for 6 months to a year idle, depending on the model. They also last far longer than any conventional battery.

But who knows...I'll have to do more research.

 

[Aaron Cake]

If your car sits idle during the winter, disconnect the battery. Leaving ANY lead acid battery in a discharged state for any length of time will shorten the life of the battery drastically. Optima is no exception.

CCA is a useless rating in most cases, especially in the Insight since the 12V battery so rarely is used to turn over the engine. Even when it is, the starter and engine is tiny, and takes only about 180A or so.

 

[cmb]

Thanks for the info.

My cars don't exactly sit for the whole duration of winter. They come out to play when the sun is shining and the roads are dry.

They can sit for a while though.
Optima claims a long idle time without any damage to the battery or effect on life.

What I was considering is using some trickle chargers to keep them topped up throughout the winter.

 

[Rick]

If you've got the original Furukawa battery then it's deffinitely a good idea to get it checked out. The average life we seem to be seeing is about 3 years. The cheap and easy replacment is a civic size battery. I for about a year ran a small 13 ah Hawker Genesis battery that eventually died on me, but it was a very old stock battery. I've since played with it and have actually been able to bring it back to life some (though not enough to trust to start the car). The problem is that battery hardly ever gets used in a normal type starter battery cycle. It's always constantly on a trickle charge from the DC/DC converter so that's what kills it. In theory sealed AGM type batteries should last longer for this type of use. I've currently got a Civic Sized Optima in my car. Not cheap, but it looks cool.

 

[Aaron Cake]

"Idle" time assumes sitting fully charged, in which case there are no issues. Letting a PbA battery sit even slightly discharged will cause tough sulphate deposits, which will seriously effect capacity.

 

[The Citrus Smoothie]

On the replacement battery issue, I would like to throw a wide ball - is it possible to put a 'wrong type' of 12V battery in our Insights?

I should explain my non-technical speculation; firstly, as you may know from other posts, myself and others have an intermittent problem with the engine stalling during autostop. This has only occurred on my Insights where the original 12V has been replaced (possibly coincidence). Secondly I also recall a phone call from the chap to whom I had sold my Citrus Insight, claiming the 12V battery I had installed (recommended by a large motor shop chain) was 'short circuiting' the car (presumably dealer diagnosis).
Is it possible a wrong type of 12V battery could affect normal operation of the IMA electrics?

 

[Rick]

I think the issue with the 12 volt and the car not comming out of auto stop is a combination of things. Durring auto stop the DC/DC converter can sometimes shut off. If the 12 volt is weak enough and the DC/DC does not kick back in to keep it adequately powered then the comptuers will loose the power to keep them running. It is possible a battery developed an internal short which would cause some problems, but in this case the DC/DC should just be working over time to keep it charged.

BTW, I should mention. There is an Acura battery which is the same dimensions as the Civic battery. It's a little bit more expensive, but it has a longer warranty (I think it's a 4 year free replacment, but don't hold me to that).

 

[Insightful Trekker]

<snip>

Secondly I also recall a phone call from the chap to whom I had sold my Citrus Insight, claiming the 12V battery I had installed (recommended by a large motor shop chain) was 'short circuiting' the car (presumably dealer diagnosis).
Is it possible a wrong type of 12V battery could affect normal operation of the IMA electrics?

All 12v lead acid batterys _can_ fail in a "short circuit" mode. But its the least frequent type of failure. And can result in an alternator meltdown due to abnormal high continous output. Not sure how the DC-DC converter will fair under similar conditions. I believe it has a thermal limit sensor that will set a code and "save" it from meltdown. So yes its "possible".

As to your second question, no. As long as "wrong type" is simply a different sized case or amp hour rating.

HTH!

 

[cmb]

What is the AmpHr rating of the Insight's stock battery?

 

[rsalmon]

oem 12v battery replacement

see this thread for the replacement 12 volt battery

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2447&highlight=

 

[cmb]

Thanks! so 35 AhHr eh?

I might've found a good replacement.
I'll try it out, soon as I get a chance and update.

 

[cmb]

Well, I ended up going with an Optima Yellow Top, since the shop I initially ordered it from, actually got it in. (I was told that most suppliers didn't have them in stock and I'd have to wait.)

The Yellow Top isn't actually much heavier; slightly, but not bad.
Works fine and is a perfect fit. The Yellow Top is also 41+ AmpHrs, so an improvement there.

I had found a 31 AmpHr deep cycle gel battery that was actually a bit smaller and lighter than the stock Insight battery, but it had different terminals, and I'd have to do some modifying to hook it up.

 

[Rick]

You couldn't find the Civic sized optima? Pep Boys usually has 3 or 4 in stock near me.

 

[Willie Williford]

And the old 13AH Hawker "keeps on truckin"...........& working.

 

[Aaron Cake]

Careful about the Optimas. In the last few years, quality has gone way down after the company started making batteries for the discount stores...