[JustAmber]

There was an auction in my area and I purchased a 2001 Insight,auto, 230K.
I know nothing about the vehicle so I was hoping someone could help me. Upon test driving the car, I noticed where the battery level was it was showing no lines at all. The battery icon was on and the check engine light as well. Like I said I have no knowledge of hybrid or hybrid systems so I figured it was okay just charging the battery.Later the IMA light came on.

I began my trek home and all of a sudden the dash lights started to dim. Then random lights starting coming on in the dash so basically every light was on. Next the air shut off, then the radio. It started feeling like it was shuting off so I pulled over to the side of the road and called for a tow truck. I put the hazards on but after 30min of waiting for the tow truck those barely worked as well.

I was hoping someone had some knowledge on what I need to do or what the problem may be. I don't know what parts I need or anything. I can't justify taking it to Honda and have them nickle and dime me so if anyone has had or similar experiance please let me know what to do!

 

[TRI]

It looks like you have no 12V because the 12V battery got empty because it is bad or did not get charged by IMA. I'd have a look if the IMA battery switch in the trunk is OFF. It should be ON. Next pull the codes and see what they point at.

What did you pay?

 

[JustAmber]

Could you dumb it down for me. I don't even know where to look.

I paid 3000 for it. I thought it was a good deal considering my commute of 125miles roundtrip daily

 

[TRI]

Get a service manual first, it's really worth it. This car is not like other cars out there.

 

[JustAmber]

Get a service manual first, it's really worth it. This car is not like other cars out there.

I know thats why I wanted it. Just got off the phone with Honda. They say it is likely the IMA Battery. Where is that located?

 

[TRI]

Where is that located?

In the trunk. Remove the carpet. The silver box is the heart of the IMA system. Read the safety instructions first before doing anything with it.

 

[JustAmber]

Thanks for your help! I think I am just going to sell it. Shortest time frame of an insight owner Amber- owner for 3 days. Car driven for less than 10 miles. LOL!

 

[joecvt]

Thanks for your help! I think I am just going to sell it. Shortest time frame of an insight owner Amber- owner for 3 days. Car driven for less than 10 miles. LOL!

Before you think about selling it, why not post your location so possibly a person who owns an Insight nearby may offer to take a look at it to see if it is a simple fix or not.

In its current condition, it willing likely be difficult to recover what you spent on the car if you try and sell it. Have you spoken to the previous owner yet about the problems you had since driving less than 10 miles?

Even if the sale is AS-IS, if the previous owner describes the car as good working condition without any issues, it should be able to perform that way in less than 10 miles. If the previous owner informed you of such problems and you bought it anyway, there would not be much that you can do in wanting to return it.

Hope that helps.

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

 

[MN Driver]

Thanks for your help! I think I am just going to sell it. Shortest time frame of an insight owner Amber- owner for 3 days. Car driven for less than 10 miles. LOL!

What seems to have happen is your car from auction has probably sat around long enough to damage the high voltage pack for the hybrid components of the car. If the high voltage components shut down because it sees the high voltage battery has an issue, the car turns off the DC-DC converter which is basically similar in function to an alternator on a normal car. Since the car shut that down your 12 volt battery slowly drained itself.

To try and find the battery switch, pull the carpet from the back, the big silver box has a small cover in the center with two screws, it has a switch that resembles a circuit breaker. I doubt it was turned off but it's worth it to check. Some people have reported that replacing the 12 volt battery(or at least charging it if it's still good) and just turning that switch off will let them drive the car without the battery. Some others have said that you can pull the battery control modules connection as drive it as a standard car without the hybrid capabilities.

So you could consider that. ...chances are the high voltage battery needs repair, we have a vendor here who does that, this link is the website to the company. Hybrid-Battery-Repair

Consider your options, you might really like this car once you've got it operating and in my opinion, it won't take much to make it drivable again.

 

[RobertSmalls]

Well, if the car has been sitting for months, it seems the right thing to do is: switch the HV battery "off" before driving any further, remove and test the 12V battery and replace if needed, inspect engine ground wires, and apply a grid charger/balancer before switching the HV battery back on.

 

[Jivko57]

Good day,

I was in your shoes 6 months ago but got a little more luck that night.

First Remember what was written with big gold letters (could be red) on the cover of the
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

"DON'T PANIC"

So as the other members above mentioned your problem might be due to the car has sat down at the lot for while.

Or the IMA battery started dying and the previous owner taded it in for another car..

Anyway this happens and is not such a major catastrophe.

You will need to do some staff in order to get idea of the problem and once you have enough information you can make much more educated decisions, like weather to repair , replace or sell altogether..

the last step : the major batter refurbishing with the battery repair guy is less than a thousand bucks

But there are a lot of much easier and free steps that you can make your self.
Your IMA battery might be in much better shape than you think (and that the car thinks)

1st would be to take out your 12 volt battery and to charge it.

2nd - check the 2 fat ground wires that connect the engine and the chassis of your car. These wires are prone to rotting and once disconnected your IMA battery charges slower or does not charge at all. Some people on this forum made big repairs and later found out about the wires which are 5 bucks at any auto store..
Thanks to their postings here others got away cheaper...

3. Check the switch of the IMA it is under the carpet in the trunk and there is a small pate with two 10mm bolts coveting it. It might be in off position (however if it is in off there probably must be some good reason for that
(suggest you do not open the big cover at all unless you are some high voltage expert and you know what are you doing)

4. after you recharge the 12v battery you put it back on, if you charged it while it was in the car, then you will have to disconnect the negative wire for a minute.
and then reconnect it

5. do a IMA battery relearn - it is well described in this forum and basically you run the car with 3500 rpm for 5-10 min and wach how the battery indicator of the IMA is filling up. (every time you disconnect the 12v battery the IMA State of Charge indicator goes to 0 and then the system reevaluates and recharges itself (when it is in order)

these are some basic steps that you can do yourself and it costs almost nothing.

once you go through that, please post your findings here..


My IMA was dead at the time I bought the car but I was luckier it came to life on the next day...

 

[JustAmber]

Thanks everyone for all your help!! I got it going again....it was the battery under the hood. Funny how simple something can be to cause such a major issue. This website has been the best!!! Now the new issue...the a/c fuse keeps blowing. Do you think it may just be the relay switches?

 

[Jivko57]

Most probably you have a bad component in the electrical part of the a/c which is causing a short or something close to short, something that is drawing too much power, unfortunately I have no experience at all in that area...