[flw1950]

Hi just joined your site and have done alot of searching on the site before asking this question. I bought a 2000 about a month ago. I live in North Carolina and the car was in Ohio. I flew in to Dayton ohio and picked the carand drove backto North Carolina. When I pick up the car the battery charge was close to 100 percent. During the trip home I thought I headrd a pop in the IMA battery area and since The battery never shows more than 75 percent on the gauge. I had to replace the 12v battery after a week. Is this normal and just my driving habits or something I need to worry about. I am getting about 55 mpg with my current driving style. My daily drive is about forty miles with hills both direction. Love the Insight , hope I am just being paranoid.

 

[minako]

That is very strange... How long have you had the new 12v battery now? You haven't had to change it again, right?

Also, judging by your mileage, I assume you have the CVT? Try to find a nice flat area where you can just drive at a comfortable speed without using Assist or Charge. See if the battery starts charging itself over 75%. It might take a while, but if you are patient enough you should see the battery charge slowly climbing.

 

[flw1950]

No I have not had to replace again. And it is a five speed

 

[minako]

Ok... I suppose the hills must be pretty steep where you live! Try doing what I suggested - find a long flat stretch of road and just drive along without using assist or charge. See if the battery indicator goes above 75%. Good luck!

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hi flw1950 and welcome to the forum :!:

In addition to the other good replies:

If IMA SoC (State of Charge) is important to your then try the headlight's on "trick". Yup :!: Its that easy. Just turn'em on.

But remember SoC varies for _many_ different reasons and until a Honda programmed limit is reached its _normal_. The _red_ IMA light will illuminate while driving when you reach one of these limits.

If you haven't already, may I recommend reading:

Recals, Forced Charge, IMA Battery & thermal mgmt - long
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=750

for more than you probably want to know about the IMA system.

HTH!

 

[flw1950]

First, Thanks Minako and John for the help. I tried the headlites on trick this morning and was careful not to over use the assist. and when I got to work looked like I had around 12 bars on the SoC or about 65 %. So do you think I should try a reset. I just am concerned that it never go to 100% on the SoC. Also is there a test for the fans on IMA I could do. I was thinking maybe that thing were not cooling properly and that was keeping it from get a full charge. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

 

[james]

Another thing you could try is to downshift on the uphills. With practice you can usually find a gear/speed combination that will let you go up the hills without using the assist. Then let it charge on the downhills, and see if that brings your battery all the way up.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Reads like its going in the "right" direction. Try adding James's technique too. And the headlight "trick" alone could take two or three days of "normal" driving for the full effect.

Also remember that 100% SoC is undesirable since there's no more "room" for regenerative braking to store its energy. And that last bar on the SoC gauge will _rarely_ illumunate. Its apparently part of its programming _and_ SoC management. The only times it has been posted to come on is on loooong downhill regen runs. Which is the only time I've also seen it in my Insight.

An occasional reset won't hurt, but remember the old southern backwoods phrase; "if'n it ain't broke don't fix it !"

HTH!

 

[flw1950]

Thanks Guys for the help. I went ahead and did a reset and have change my driving style. I have found that if I ignore the shift light and make 90% of my commute in fourth gear the SoC stays close to 100%. Also now that I am not either charging or using assist I have been getting much improved milage, around 60 mpg. Who knows may with some practice and a lighter foot maybe I will get 70 mpg. Again thanks for the help.

 

[james]

Shift into 5th on the downhills! And stay in it on the flats as long as you can.

 

[xqqqme]

Also remember that 100% SoC is undesirable since there's no more "room" for regenerative braking to store its energy. And that last bar on the SoC gauge will _rarely_ illumunate. Its apparently part of its programming _and_ SoC management. The only times it has been posted to come on is on loooong downhill regen runs. Which is the only time I've also seen it in my Insight.

FWIW, the equivalent gauge in the Prius (and I'm not suggesting that the instrumentation in the Prius would necessarily be set up the same as it is in the Insight) does not show the span from fully charged to fully discharged. Rather, it's some "slice" of the middle range of charge. When the upper bar is lit, the batteries are not actually fully charged and, similarly, when all bars are gone, the batteries are not actually fully discharged. Apparently, what Prius drivers are seeing is a "close up" of the typical range of SOC during normal operation.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Yup :!:

The Insight's SoC gauge is similar.

And while you can "force" a 100% _displayed_ SoC, the batteries shouldn't be _at_ 100% of their rated capacity. And when you do get there you will see that CHRG will no longer happen nor can you "feel" it when braking.

See:

Recals, Forced Charge, IMA Battery & thermal mgmt - long
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=750

Your xqqqzd.

HTH!