Long story short, it was being noisy and then I began smelling a rubber smell, I assumed it was a belt going out. Sure enough, the serpentine belt broke and it began overheating around the corner from my house. So before replacing the serpentine belt we started it and the car started fine without it, was quieter than it had been in a while. Replaced the serpentine belt and now it won't start. It was making a clicking noise and then a whirr and then nothing. Now no clicking noise, just a whirr. It died with no IMA battery charge, I suspect that maybe the battery is too weak to be able to start the dead IMA battery. Going to get a fresh battery today to see if it helps, but what else could it be?

Should I be able to manually rotate the serpentine belt while the car is off?
What kind of noise would it make if the water pump was seized?

 

Mrs. Shambles.
I own this exact car and am well versed in its operation. If your serpentine belt broke and with your explanation of burning rubber, to me indicates something is locked up within the belt drive system. Your IMA system is not integrated into your start system that I am aware of and only your traditional 12volt car battery starts the engine. Your Hybrid batter powers your electric motor between your engine and transmission.

I would suspect that your water pump, air conditioning compressor, or your alternator has seized on your vehicle. I would try and jump start your vehicle from another vehicle and observe your belt drive system to see what component is locked up. If you want to send me a video of what's going on so I can hear the noise please PM me and I can provide my email address.

Follow on questions:
1) is the "Wirring" sound coming from the front of the engine (passenger side, closer to the headlight) or sound like its coming from underneath the engine)
2) Can you see the water pump turning? Its a big copper colored pully
3) Did it overheat before the belt broke?

v/r

-Chase

 

For someone "well versed in it's operation," you're quite mistaken on two very significant points:

1. In normal operating conditions, i.e., when there is not an IMA fault, the IMA battery spins the IMA motor to start the gas engine. In the event of an IMA fault that prevents IMA battery/motor ICE start, there is a backup starter that will crank the engine using the 12V battery.
2. This vehicle does not have an alternator. It uses a DC-DC converter to charge the 12V system with the high voltage DC system.

I concur with your assessment that something has locked up.

Remove serpentine belt and manually turn all components. Water pump, A/C compressor and tensioning pully should all turn freely.

Though I suspect that given this is nearly a year old post, this issue is no longer active for this user.

 

Keith,
Thanks for the input. As I said well versed (engines), not subject matter expert, perhaps I should have been a little more transparent. I am a Maritime Engineer and specialize in Diesel Propulsion specifically Cummins and EMD Motors....I work on things that produce 4000+ HP. They are generally easy to find problems on. This little fart can (civic hybrid) is something I just play around with. I was a honda tech in the early 2000's right as these things were coming out. But, I digress.

I didn't pay attention to the date stamp as it was the first thing that popped up on my thread. I appreciate your candid feed back and knowledge on the vehicle. Hopefully they figured it out. I know I learned something. Would love to pick your brain on a few things with the vehicle (2003 honda civic hybrid, M/T) if your interested and have the time?

 

Quoted for reference

When you make the statement you made, it doesn't imply, it asserts. You claimed "well-versed in its operation" - in no way relating to your general expertise, which is clearly substantial and well beyond my own, but specifically to this exact year and model. Regardless, you were trying to help. I could have sounded less dickish. My apologies.

If you have issues/question with the HCH, probably best to start your own thread. I can provide feedback as my skills permit.