Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Hello
I recently bought a honda civic 2008 hybrid and it have IMA, chevk engine and other lights turned on in dash. I need to remove them without going to any autoworkshops. Thanks in advance. Have a G’ day.

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Is it too late to get your money back? That's my official recommendation. I've owned two of that model and 3 other Honda hybrids.

Assuming you're in the U.S., O'Reilly will check your codes for free using Bosch brand code readers that are very effective at reading hard-to-read hybrid codes.

You can also "blink" the codes with a paper clip (counting out CEL and IMA light flashes separately):

http://99mpg.com/categories/insight/readingtheblinkcod/

Note that if you don't have U.S. spec car, the above may not work for you and might cause damage.

Given the horrifying reliability of the 06-08 HCH IMA battery, the most likely way you're going to get the lights to go out is most likely replacing the IMA battery.

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

ThaNks for the information. I am from Australia and desperately need an obd2 scantool, what would you recommend for an HCH 2.

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Most generic OBDII scan tools can read most Honda codes. If it's truly an OBDII car and not EOBD, JOBD or ADR 79/01 & 79/02, it should work.

Honestly, if the pin shorting option can work for you, that's the cheapest and most effective as it actually reports the subcodes.

So, you can't get your money back?

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Blinking method can help finding the codes not removing it right? I need to remove them.

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Disconnect your 12V for 2 minutes. That will remove them. They'll likely come right back, but disconnecting the 12V wipes all codes.

It's essentially the same as clearing the codes with a reader.

Note that any reader with the clear codes function will work. Even the super cheap ones. They don't actually clear the codes themselves, they tell the car to clear its own codes.

This path your choosing seems odd. You likely have a goal beyond "removing" the lights, but you're probably not going to get there.

What's your goal with "removing the lights"?

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Let me explain it to you.
recently i have ordered another battery for my HCH 2008 and i am curious if it arrives and i fix it in will there be any error in odo? Or it will go away by itself. My goal is not to visit any workshop because they charge too much. I.e. 150 AUD for just removing check engine and IMA lights from dash. I will invest that much or some more money on a scanner tool instead of going to a workshop just for this.

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Thanks. Had you started with this, I would simply have told you that you don't need one. The first steps of the process for replacing the IMA battery included disconnecting the 12V battery and reconnecting it after the IMA battery is fully installed. This will clear all codes. Attempts to clear the codes without fixing the underlying problem will almost certainly cause all codes to return if not immediately, then very soon.

By "odo", I assume you mean odometer. The odometer is what keeps track of the total mileage of the car. There should be no impact to the odo.

To state it another way, IF the cause of your error lights on your instrument cluster are because of a failed hybrid battery, then they will all go out assuming you have "ordered" a good battery for the car.

The lights will not go out if:

1. you install a bad battery
2. you install a good battery improperly
3. something else is wrong

Questions:

1. What prompted you to "order" a new battery?
2. How did you diagnose the problem as the battery?
3. Where did you source the battery?

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

Answers to questions are as under
1: i have been to a worksop here and as he read the codes he told me to replace the hybrid battery(i need such tool so that in future i do not need to go to any workshop and they rip me off for just telling me this around 150 dollars). My car have done around 255000kms on odometer.
2: workshop guy told me by scanning the car.
3: i just searched over the internet and found a wrecker with a honda civic 2010 battery with 76000kms done, so i ordered it. fingered crossed lets see.
I would be glad if you find me that scanner, i have seen guys from youtube reading and removing these errors using Actron autoscanner cp9175 which is discontinued now and i am not sure if the newer models will work the same. I have emailed their customer service, lets see..

Re: Appropriate and economic scan tool for HCH 2008
 

1: workshop guy told me by scanning my car that i need to replace the battery.
2: by scanning through workshop
3: from a wrecker, battery of a honda civic 2010 with 76000kms.