We were gone for 6 days over the holidays and when we returned yesterday the 06 hch would not start just a single relay click from under the hood. I put a battery charger on the battery under the hood and let it charge for about 3 hours and tried it again and got the same click. I noticed that the ima indicator was showing no bars. I pulled the 12 volt battery out and took it to 2 different auto parts stores and they both said the battery was good.
My question is when the ima battery is unable to start the engine does the 12 volt battery start it in a conventional manner ie starter relay and starter motor? I'm wondering if the starter relay has gone bad. The car has 52k on it and is garaged and has had a pretty easy life. Also is there a way to externally charge the ima battery?

 

The IMA battery will always initially show no charge after the 12V has been disconnected (or died). I would still suspect the 12V, or something in the 12V circuit.

Try charging the 12V overnight unless you can afford to buy a new one just to see if a new one works. I personally like to disconnect both cables when charging as this isolates the battery. It's not unusual to have to replace the 12V after 52K miles.

If the fully charged, or new battery still doesn't work check your cables. I recently had to replace my negative cable because it was badly frayed where it connects to the transmission housing. Of course I live in the NE where salt/corrosion are a fact of life. But check all cables for fraying and tight connections. Actually you should do this whether you replace the battery or not.

Also look at your fuse box layout and try reseating any relays that look like they may be in the ignition circuit. Do this while the 12V battery is disconnected.

It sounds silly but try rocking the car in P and moving the shifter to check the N switch. If it was a standard shift I would suggest pushing harder on the clutch to make sure that switch is made also.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

Good luck...

 

The ima battery had no charge even before I disconnected the battery. I'll say that my ima battery has been acting flaky lately that is up and down on the charge similer to what others have discribed with weak/ failing batteries.
I went out to try again to start after futher charging. When the key is put in the start position The starter motor relay clicks but there is absoulitly no diming of the dash lights to indicate the starter motor is drawing current. I followed the battery cable to chassis ground and it is solid, The 12v hot lead goes straight to the starter which is located under the intake air snorkle and it is solid. I now know the starter relay is located in the starter. I put a long screwdriver on the end of the starter and gently taped the other end of the screwdriver with a small hammer hoping it would possibly reset the relay contacts, no joy. I'm begining to believe the starter motor is bad.

 

That is exactly what happens, but at 50K on my 2003 HCH it only happened in the dead of winter when it was about 0 degrees F. I'm guessing the conventional starter has never kicked in for you in NM.

I used to do this too, but only on cars that always used the starter to get the motor running, to try to "shake something loose". On the hybrids that starter is used so infrequently I just have a hard time believing they can go bad. But who knows?

FWIW, I recently changed my 12V because I had this weird thing when I would turn the ignition there would be a 1 or 2 second delay before the motor would turn over and once after I sat in autostop for about 5 min the car wouldn't restart until I reseated the neg cable. The funny thing is I put the load tester on the battery and it held at over 12V for more than ten seconds. I replaced the battery anyway and haven't had the problem since. And I gotta believe trying the battery first would be cheaper than trying the starter.

Try tapping the starter again directly with the hammer if you can get on it. And try rocking it while you try to turn it over. Maybe the solenoid is just stuck if it's never fired before.

Your IMA battery might indeed be going, but even with a dead IMA battery the car should still turn over and start.

Good luck...

 

Update, I removed the air intake snorkle assembly to get a better view of the starter. I put my fluke meter + on the large terminal of the starter and - to engine ground a solid 12.5 volts. I then wiggled the large cable attached to that terminal and to my suprise the insulator block the holds the stud that the cable attaches to was loose on the starter. I tried to loosen the nut on the stud and most of the insulator block started turning. I knew that something was seriously wrong with the insulator block so turned it until it was free and pulled it away from the starter motor. I saw in addition to the motor internals a grass hopper leg. It must have been this way for awhile. I disconnected the battery and removed the starter. Tomorrow I'll be on the hunt for a starter motor. I have a feeling it aint gonna be cheap.
Thanks,
Mark

 

That's a weird one. But at least it looks like you found the problem.

I think you might be right about cost though. From Majestic Honda:

Part No. ------- Illust.# ------- Description
31200-RMX-004 -- 001 -- STARTER MOTOR ASSY. (SM-71003)(MITSUBA)

List Price -- Our Price
569.02 ---- 398.31

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...+%28MITSUBA%29

Majestic Honda is usually the cheapest new parts. And there are different part numbers for the 06 Civic DX and LX.

Good luck...