Thanks again. I hate spending the bucks, but the other charger is almost twice as much...and I think I would rather have something slick and that I couldn't screw up as easily. I presume this is a good investment....
Wouldn't it be a great idea if somebody, let's say a local quickie-lube shop, would offer this kind of service. One would drive in every month or so to have it done. Hmmm...since it takes some time, I guess there is an advantage in doing it myself.

 

When I said over-priced, it's only because I'm a cheap bastard. The Hybrid Automotive grid charger has made many Honda Insight owners very happy. It's a quality piece of hardware, and I expect with all the labor and extra materials, he's not making a ton on each one.

Grid charging was started by Mike Dabrowski, and his final design was bought and is now sold by Hybrid Revolt. It's $800. It's a pretty amazing piece of hardware, that can complete a grid charge much faster because it has a second 700mA power supply boosting the current, so for the first 5 hours or so, you're pumping in 1050mA with a taper charge of 350mA. It automatically senses when to cut back, so an overnight grid charge (~12 hours) is very possible with that charger. The typical 350mA grid charger that was at least partly based on Mike's original design will take 24-32 hours to truly complete a topping charge, so it's a weekend project for sure, particularly if you want to run a discharge cycle.

The time involved in SAFE grid charging makes it a prohibitive effort for most shops unless they want to specialize and have customers willing to drop their cars off for several days at a time. By the time a shop is done with all the labor in accessing the battery, periodic monitoring, etc., you've probably paid for a Hybrid Automotive grid charger by the time you pick up your car.

If you want to go to the effort of becoming heavy DIY and trading time for convenience, then you can save a lot of money. If you want a plug-and-play solution that's hard to screw up, then Hybrid Automotive is your best bet...

PLUS... IMHO, Honda IMA systems require maintenance. The Battery Control Module can only do so much to keep a pack in balance because it can only monitor the 11 stick pairs. If a single cell or cells starts to lag in a stick, the BCM can do nothing about it. Basically, it's "drive it enough to keep the battery healthy and bring it in for replacement when the IMA light comes on," when it truly needs periodic maintenance, just like changing your oil or CVT fluid.

When it finally comes time to drop in a new battery that's not under warranty, You should look to Bumblebee or Hybrid Revolt. Both supply higher capacity packs for several hundred $$ less than Honda with 3 year warranties, and they are higher quality. They both support periodic grid charging to maximize battery life even on their packs that are under warranty.

By getting a grid charger now, you are laying the foundation for future battery health. HOWEVER, installing a grid charger harness on your "new" Honda battery will likely void that warranty as it does require replacement of stock components. Personally, I would do it now to maximize the life of the new battery likely well beyond its warranty period and further delay the eventual out of pocket replacement, but that's your call.

Steve

 

Wow, Steve...I really appreciate the info.

Ironically, I walk to work, my wife and I together put in only ca. 5K miles per year on the car. I have to decide how much the investment in the charger and doing the charging is really worth to me.

If Honda won't replace my battery under extended warranty, the charger with discharge capability seems a good gamble rather than replacing the pack now--and Bumblebee is just across town from me, I live in Portland, in the event I do need a new battery. I spoke with them, and they sound like good folks.

And the car sits idle for at least 1-2 days per week, so charging time shouldn't be a problem.

I really appreciate the info...!

 

You're very welcome. Low miles and frequent sitting are likely what contributed to your premature failure as the Pacific Northwest is one of the mildest environments for batteries (as long as you keep them dry).

If you plan to keep the car, a grid charger is very necessary IMHO. With the frequent sitting, you would probably get benefit from just an overnight charge (~8-10 hours) once a month with a topping charge every third month (~24 hours).

 

For anyone following my thrilling adventure...here's the latest. We live in rainy Oregon. As we were driving out to the dealer yesterday to leave the car for diagnostic, I noticed the inside of the rear window was covered with water..like the inside of a shower door. I squeegeed it down a bit. There was no indication of any specific leaks coming down, just like heavy condensation. The trouble lights all were off, and the battery was charging just fine.
The dealer reports the battery tested out fine. However, the back seat was wet, and there was some moisture in the back-seat carpet. Some contact under the back seat were wet. They dried them out and said everything tested out OK.
They wanted $320 to do a water-leak test, and I decided I'd just try to check it out myself, or use a body shop. I'm not seeing any obvious source of a leak, but am going to be checking the carpet often. I wonder if this might just be a matter of my being cheap and turning the A/C off when running the heater, when I might need to dehumidify the car more thoroughly than my occasional use of the defroster.
I'm still very tempted to get that grid charger...

 

Question for the dealer: If your battery is fine, why did your IMA light came on?

The ECU retains the history of codes. What was the code?

You should insist your battery be replaced.

Steve

 

I think I'll call or email and ask what the codes are. He said the battery checked out fine, it was a short caused by the moisture. I do know that the IMA is acting as it should now.

And I don't, alas, have a code reader. I should look into getting one.

 

Oh...just checked my emailed report from the service dept.:
A. CUSTOMER STATES IMA LIGHT IS ON PLEASE ADVISE (PERFORMED INSPECTION.

RETRIEVE DTC P15A5 AND P0A3F WITH HDS. FOUND CONNECTOR C901 WET AND

CASUING DTC TO COME ON. CLEAN AND DRY CONNECTOR. FOUND WATER IN THE

REAR BACK SEATS CUSHINONS.)

 

Okay. Those are not battery codes, and the descriptions of those error codes suggest they could be tripped by a moisture-related short.

It's not just the battery that's at risk. Everything behind that rear seat is spendy, and moisture could kill them. Don't be so cheap... Run the defrost a little. I get you though... I can afford to be miserly in AZ.

HIGHLY recommend this OBD-II bluttooth reader. It's worked on a 95 Ford Ranger (it shouldn't except that Ford used a proprietary version of an ODB-II compliant standard before others implemented it), a 2001 Alero, 2X 2006 HCH2 and 1X 09 Fit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA1EF0FF3686

(I have 2... one for each HCH2)

Torque Pro - so much better than Lite...

http://torque-bhp.com/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...l.torque&hl=en

If you're an iPhone user, I'm sure there's something that will at least work for reading codes.

AND... as soon as that battery goes out of warranty, get a grid charger. At its age, you might consider getting one anyway and voiding what little warranty remains to avoid buying a new one shortly after warranty expires...

 

Alas...I do have an iPhone. Good news is that tigerdirect is having a good deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA0U00AF0345

I guess I need to do some shopping...and keep my car dry.