Thanks Gairwyn!

I think I found the fly in the ointment per say.

I went onto the Honda OwnerLink website tpnight and the Honda site comes up with the original 2004 Civic IMA warranty info posted on 9/3/03.

The IMA warranty posted there is 8/80 with no consideration to AT-PZEV

It would seem like unless you are in the know about the warranty update that happened a week later on 10/5/2003 that extends the Civic IMA warranty for AT-PZEV to 10/150 - everyone's computers would all naturally come up with the original 8/80 info.

Basically a data glitch.

I will print out the Honda news bulletin and see if my local dealer can look into honoring the revised Honda warranty. No wonder their computers were coming up with the 8/80 warranty when I took it in.

This helps alot. you are awesome!

 

Being I am in Virginia, 5 spd manual tran, ULEV, 99K+ miles I have more than enough strikes against me to get rejected by the Honda dealer for warranty work on the IMA battery. Another strike might be not being the original owner. It would be great to see the statistics (avg and "1 sigma" in miles to IMA battery failure (as measured by the car and/or stated/collected by the Honda dealers) for 2003-2005 models (other posts indicated Honda slightly changed the battery for 2006 and later models by adding extra cells and changing the control system/program to extend battery life by changing the end points on battery use at the expense of gas mileage). I'm sure Honda has the data. Was it a good business decision for them to extend the warranty to 10/150K in certain states in order to get the "certification" in those states?

Well the dealer price of $30 for a relay is probably consistent with the price of $60 for an on/off clutch switch.

I am just thankful the car I have is sort of a hobby item for me right now (until someone in the family needs a replacement anyway). This is certainly less stressful than if it was my everyday car that I had to depend on each day.

There is info on AC items over on the Honda Tech forum if you end up having to go beyond the relay replacement in the AC system to diagnose your problem. My current intermittent AC problem seems to go beyond just depleting the 12V overnight.

 

My AC not working was entirely related to the IMA charging/assisting/etc not working due to the blown 100 amp fuse on the 144V battery. Fixed the fuse...fixed the AC( evidently the control electronics kills the AC if the 144v battery charging is not working,...who would have guessed given the AC compressor is run off the 1.3L ICE and the driver could just as easily turn off the AC to get more power if needed. Maybe they wanted to incentivize us to fix the IMA by turning up the heat

 

Dear friend

I know two years is passed from the time you posted this issue, but right now, I'm facing the very same issue. I hope you can help me with it, and I hope you can update the information about your experience. Here is my complete thing:

I have a 2003 HCH. 5 months ago the IMA battery light came on, I went to dealer and was told that IMA battery was overheated. I replaced the battery with a refurbished one. Everything was great for 2-3 months. But 2 weeks ago, the check engine, IMA and 12Vbattery lights came on and the hybrid battery was not charging (there were no drive-ability issue). I brought the car to auto zone and got the error codes: p1570 and p1600. I continued driving it for a while, until one day I couldn't start the car. I jumped the battery and suddenly both the IMA and 12V battery lights went off, the hybrid battery started to charge, and only the check engine light remained on. Then, I replaced the 12V battery with a new one, and for a week, the check engine light was gone too. 2 days ago, all 3 lights came back on again. I'm not sure if the problem, is DC to DC convertor, or MCM or ...?

 

You might want to try the process that is described over on InsightCentral forum (2000-2006 Insights have the same IMA battery) for reading the error codes using the Blinking Lights technique (it is a sticky). Be careful to short the correct connections in the OBD connector or you will blow a fuse or maybe worse. Once you have the exact codes/subcodes someone there may be able to help you. Be sure to post in the Other Hybrid thread since you have a Civic, not an Insight.

I suspect you have a bad IMA battery that is getting an error code (overheating) that is a safety issue and the car is shutting down the DC-DC converter that charges the 12V battery via the IMA battery/system. When you replaced the 12V battery you reset the codes and the new 12V had enough of a charge to last about a week. Did the red light on the dash showing the 12V was not charging come on? Finding out what the 1570 code means is the key. It probably means a new IMA battery.

I understand the Honda IMA replacement batteries are short lived since they are being produced using old/recycled stock sticks/cells. There are a couple of vendors on the InsightCentral site that sell supposedly much better IMA batteries ($2000+). At least some of those vendors use new sticks/cells that are 8.5 Ahr vice the 6.5 AHr of the original/Honda replacement. It seems that have a pretty good couple of year track record.

I/we am still babying along my 2003 with the original IMA battery (has low capacity). Installed the Calpod switch that allows control/turns off of the Assist. By not using the Assist (or at least limiting use) the IMA/CEL lights stay off (at least so far). This only works for a manual transmission car.

You might also look into installing a charger/discharger system to re-balance the cells in the IMA battery. Lots of info on the InsightCentral site. Cell/stick imbalance
evidently is one of the main causes for IMA/CEL lights and depending on the condition of the IMA battery can be "brought back" using a slow charge (300ma) charge and discharge process. I have not gone that route yet.