Chapters / Timestamps 0:00 Intro to 2000 Honda Insight IMA Restoration 4:37 Testing old IMA Sticks with voltage testing 7:46 Load testing IMA Sticks with Harbor Freight load tester 13:02 Unboxing or Bumblebee Battery Box of Untested Used Core Sticks 14:35 Testing the Bumblebee Battery Box of Untested Used Core Sticks 16:33 Balance Charging IMA Stick with Hobby charger 20:10 What to expect from used Hybrid batteries 25:31 What Bumblebee Sent me By Voltage 29:40 Why Grid Charging is the best option 33:07 Balancing IMA sticks 36:05 Pairing sticks for better BCM tap voltages 38:15 How to reassemble an Insight IMA Battery pack 47:42 Installing a IMA pack into a 2000 Honda Insight 49:05 Testing Bumblebee Battery used sticks in car
@Ben Huttash ...where to punch the screw ? ... there are two rings between the cells and a tiny slit distance in between them, less than one millimeter, it gives a bit, but not much, feels like individual cells are weld solid, or bolted with some sort of a custom jig between cells ... removed a bit of the shrink wrap between those two cells, next to each other ...can see metal, can't get any conductivity between positive top & the bottom/case(?) negative of the single cell ...what gives ?
All these cars can be saved. My used batteries from bumblebee seem to work just fine. I still have done a charge and discharge cycle on then. I have gridcharged them a couple time trying to maintain some sort of preventative maintenance to kept them going strong.
@Ben Huttash thx Ben, there isn't much wiggle room between the cells, not enough to put a 2-3mm dvm probe tip thru, other than forcing the space between cells to open with a screwdriver or other tool ...concerned about breaking the weld & rupturing the bottom/top of the cells ...how did you do it ?
I found a video on UA-cam where a guy put screws through plastic clamps and I copied it. I use drywall screws in pre drilled holes in cheap plastic spring clamps and then clipped onto the head of the screws.
I got more coming. Trying to get it running tip top. I literally just got home from a highway run and hitting 90 mph on accident. Chasing down some intermittent ignition problem that causes the green light shaped like a key and the CEL light to flash. Still on 5 year old gas though so might turn out to be nothing. One thing for sure though is the more I drive it the more power it regains despite the old gas.
There is a Lithium ion conversion, it’s a kit that gives you a new battery management system and also communicates with the rest of the car’s computers. It’s cheaper then a new battery from Honda but more then I can afford right now. This kit lets you install li ion batteries into the same battery housing that the original NiMH uses. So after it’s assembled it bolts right in like the original battery does. I was reading about it on the insightcentral.net forum. I think they call it “LTO.” It a really neat project that was developed by a couple insight drivers and beta tested by a very large number of insight drivers.
Pretty good video ,but the bashing of other want to be mechanics people who are trying to fix their cars you know that may not have the experience if at all, is really uncalled for,that's the only thing I hate about your videos
You know. I feel a little bad about it. My frustration is that my neighbor who I bought this car from is living off of social security and the money he spent on the car represented real money that he could’ve put someplace else for repair that was never gonna work. I didn’t mean to be all shitty but I was. I do feel bad about coming down so hard in this video.
Chapters / Timestamps
0:00 Intro to 2000 Honda Insight IMA Restoration
4:37 Testing old IMA Sticks with voltage testing
7:46 Load testing IMA Sticks with Harbor Freight load tester
13:02 Unboxing or Bumblebee Battery Box of Untested Used Core Sticks
14:35 Testing the Bumblebee Battery Box of Untested Used Core Sticks
16:33 Balance Charging IMA Stick with Hobby charger
20:10 What to expect from used Hybrid batteries
25:31 What Bumblebee Sent me By Voltage
29:40 Why Grid Charging is the best option
33:07 Balancing IMA sticks
36:05 Pairing sticks for better BCM tap voltages
38:15 How to reassemble an Insight IMA Battery pack
47:42 Installing a IMA pack into a 2000 Honda Insight
49:05 Testing Bumblebee Battery used sticks in car
I’m loving this series! I’ve started to binge it this evening.
Hell yeah! I love a stick-level success story.
@Ben Huttash ...where to punch the screw ? ... there are two rings between the cells and a tiny slit distance in between them, less than one millimeter, it gives a bit, but not much, feels like individual cells are weld solid, or bolted with some sort of a custom jig between cells ... removed a bit of the shrink wrap between those two cells, next to each other ...can see metal, can't get any conductivity between positive top & the bottom/case(?) negative of the single cell ...what gives ?
Great job congrats, I am working 2005 honda civic hybrid my self, there fun I am in CA
All these cars can be saved. My used batteries from bumblebee seem to work just fine. I still have done a charge and discharge cycle on then. I have gridcharged them a couple time trying to maintain some sort of preventative maintenance to kept them going strong.
@Ben Huttash thx Ben, there isn't much wiggle room between the cells, not enough to put a 2-3mm dvm probe tip thru, other than forcing the space between cells to open with a screwdriver or other tool ...concerned about breaking the weld & rupturing the bottom/top of the cells ...how did you do it ?
I found a video on UA-cam where a guy put screws through plastic clamps and I copied it. I use drywall screws in pre drilled holes in cheap plastic spring clamps and then clipped onto the head of the screws.
This is the video I copied for the clamps. ua-cam.com/video/a_08GWWQYXs/v-deo.html
awesome, thx @@BenHuttash
Do you have a video about grid charging?
have you disassembled an ima stick to check the 6 individual 1.2V cells ?
I poked through the heat shrink and tested the individual cells with a multimeter and charged a few that were way out of balance individually.
Subscribed for more Insight surgery!
I got more coming. Trying to get it running tip top. I literally just got home from a highway run and hitting 90 mph on accident. Chasing down some intermittent ignition problem that causes the green light shaped like a key and the CEL light to flash. Still on 5 year old gas though so might turn out to be nothing. One thing for sure though is the more I drive it the more power it regains despite the old gas.
They need to make lithium packs for this car and be done with those old nimh battery types that have issues
It would be so great if the insight could be upgraded to lithium ion. I guess the charger would need updated.
There is a Lithium ion conversion, it’s a kit that gives you a new battery management system and also communicates with the rest of the car’s computers. It’s cheaper then a new battery from Honda but more then I can afford right now. This kit lets you install li ion batteries into the same battery housing that the original NiMH uses. So after it’s assembled it bolts right in like the original battery does. I was reading about it on the insightcentral.net forum. I think they call it “LTO.” It a really neat project that was developed by a couple insight drivers and beta tested by a very large number of insight drivers.
Pretty good video ,but the bashing of other want to be mechanics people who are trying to fix their cars you know that may not have the experience if at all, is really uncalled for,that's the only thing I hate about your videos
You know. I feel a little bad about it. My frustration is that my neighbor who I bought this car from is living off of social security and the money he spent on the car represented real money that he could’ve put someplace else for repair that was never gonna work. I didn’t mean to be all shitty but I was. I do feel bad about coming down so hard in this video.
What I am saying is that I could have and should have acted with more grace. One of my dad’s friends called me out in person also.