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37 Posts
So here is the past year:
1) After having a tranny input bearing replaced a year ago, synchro-meshing down to second from third seemed tough. Owed it to old clutch (about 170k miles at that point). Told I would need a clutch within a year. (HAH! 15 months and counting, LOL.)
2) Two months ago, I forced a shift from third into second, with a grind, as the car was really slow and I had traffic coming. After parking the car, the next time I started it, the IMA light came on.
2) Immediately, there was no charging or discharging showing on the gauges.
3) Very shortly (that day? next day?), charging and discharging appeared restored, according to gauges.
4) After about a month, the IMA light turned off.
5) Car was sometimes sluggish. For the next 8 weeks, the voltage meter was wild. Sometimes down to one or two hash marks, then boom, I look again and it would read all the way to the top in a minute or so. Sometimes it wouldn't get above 60 %, no matter how much I would brake to charge. Also, sometimes the charging and discharging on each of those meters read only half the way on the hash marks, and other times all the way.
6) About a month ago, engine light came on. I owed it to clogging PRG port, and tried in vain to find a store selling enzyme fuel treatment, as this always worked before. Can't find any. (That stuff is awesome to treat the ethanol issue.) Light still on today.
7) Over the past month, voltage, charging/discharging meters were still volatile.
8) Three weeks ago, the IMA light came back on.
9) Two weeks ago, the charge level meter pegged at the top and the discharge, charge meter stopped working. The car started shifting better from third into second. The car was at that time and forever after dogging it, as opposed to sometimes driving fine, sometime dogging over the past two months.
9) Last Thursday, after driving 120 miles, went to lunch with voltage pegged, then came out afterward, easily started the car, but the voltage was down to one hash mark. I drove home, and along the way checked at various times the wipers (always fast), the A/C (fine, strong), the radio (fine) and all three together (fine). Voltage meter has since been stuck to one hash and never budged. Parked it when I got home, listened to the radio for a few minutes with the car off, then restarted no problem. I started it Friday - fine - but did not drive. Car sat until today, as I had a dentist appointment today (Tuesday) and it started fine and drove fine besides the usual bucking from the PRG clogging because of ethanol. But when I first started it today, for a second the charging meter came on, up to about three or four hash marks, then never worked again for the next 20 miles to and fro.
I have not yet checked it with the local dealer because, frankly, almost every time I pay a mechanic to work on this car, they mess up something, including the dealers. (Too bad my wife's SAAB mechanic won't work on this. He's terrific). So no codes yet, but I will see what parts store may give them to me.
After reading here, I checked the three negative grounds: At the battery terminal, fine; the top under the air intake manifold, fine (I replaced it with a naked braided strap, instead of the spec insulated wire, which kept breaking); but the ground under that replacement is broken clear away.
It's a 2000 manual shift in decent shape and 190K miles. I would hate to buy new hybrid batteries and then have a mechanical issue occur and not find the part and be stuck with a new battery pack on a dead car, so I am tempted to do the bypass. But I have read a lot of conflicting things here about which way is the proper way to bypass the pack (without removing it). Moreover, do the symptoms even require me to do a bypass? The car is obviously dogging it, but it is driving, starting, wiping, A/Cing fine, and I am hoping I can just plug a voltage meter into the cigarette lighter and keep an eye on my starter battery voltage. Radio and wipers still work fine. No need for a/c this a.m.
I am not sure if Rhode Island here will allow a tail pipe emissions test, or require a code reading test. Test is due in May.
So, any thoughts? Do I just need a demon exorcism?
1) After having a tranny input bearing replaced a year ago, synchro-meshing down to second from third seemed tough. Owed it to old clutch (about 170k miles at that point). Told I would need a clutch within a year. (HAH! 15 months and counting, LOL.)
2) Two months ago, I forced a shift from third into second, with a grind, as the car was really slow and I had traffic coming. After parking the car, the next time I started it, the IMA light came on.
2) Immediately, there was no charging or discharging showing on the gauges.
3) Very shortly (that day? next day?), charging and discharging appeared restored, according to gauges.
4) After about a month, the IMA light turned off.
5) Car was sometimes sluggish. For the next 8 weeks, the voltage meter was wild. Sometimes down to one or two hash marks, then boom, I look again and it would read all the way to the top in a minute or so. Sometimes it wouldn't get above 60 %, no matter how much I would brake to charge. Also, sometimes the charging and discharging on each of those meters read only half the way on the hash marks, and other times all the way.
6) About a month ago, engine light came on. I owed it to clogging PRG port, and tried in vain to find a store selling enzyme fuel treatment, as this always worked before. Can't find any. (That stuff is awesome to treat the ethanol issue.) Light still on today.
7) Over the past month, voltage, charging/discharging meters were still volatile.
8) Three weeks ago, the IMA light came back on.
9) Two weeks ago, the charge level meter pegged at the top and the discharge, charge meter stopped working. The car started shifting better from third into second. The car was at that time and forever after dogging it, as opposed to sometimes driving fine, sometime dogging over the past two months.
9) Last Thursday, after driving 120 miles, went to lunch with voltage pegged, then came out afterward, easily started the car, but the voltage was down to one hash mark. I drove home, and along the way checked at various times the wipers (always fast), the A/C (fine, strong), the radio (fine) and all three together (fine). Voltage meter has since been stuck to one hash and never budged. Parked it when I got home, listened to the radio for a few minutes with the car off, then restarted no problem. I started it Friday - fine - but did not drive. Car sat until today, as I had a dentist appointment today (Tuesday) and it started fine and drove fine besides the usual bucking from the PRG clogging because of ethanol. But when I first started it today, for a second the charging meter came on, up to about three or four hash marks, then never worked again for the next 20 miles to and fro.
I have not yet checked it with the local dealer because, frankly, almost every time I pay a mechanic to work on this car, they mess up something, including the dealers. (Too bad my wife's SAAB mechanic won't work on this. He's terrific). So no codes yet, but I will see what parts store may give them to me.
After reading here, I checked the three negative grounds: At the battery terminal, fine; the top under the air intake manifold, fine (I replaced it with a naked braided strap, instead of the spec insulated wire, which kept breaking); but the ground under that replacement is broken clear away.
It's a 2000 manual shift in decent shape and 190K miles. I would hate to buy new hybrid batteries and then have a mechanical issue occur and not find the part and be stuck with a new battery pack on a dead car, so I am tempted to do the bypass. But I have read a lot of conflicting things here about which way is the proper way to bypass the pack (without removing it). Moreover, do the symptoms even require me to do a bypass? The car is obviously dogging it, but it is driving, starting, wiping, A/Cing fine, and I am hoping I can just plug a voltage meter into the cigarette lighter and keep an eye on my starter battery voltage. Radio and wipers still work fine. No need for a/c this a.m.
I am not sure if Rhode Island here will allow a tail pipe emissions test, or require a code reading test. Test is due in May.
So, any thoughts? Do I just need a demon exorcism?
