Gentlemen & lady -
I've parked my 2000 Insight for the winter and will be pulling its ailing pack this weekend to begin analyzing/characterizing the subpacks/sticks to determine their health.
I'm fortunate to have a back-up car, so I'm under absolutely no pressure to get things done particularly lickety-split. If it's sorted out by early summer, I'll be tickled.
I got this Insight for a good price, knowing the pack was "gone", with the IMA & "check engine" lights on and code P1449 stored.
After messing around with things a little bit (resetting the codes to see if it would in fact recharge and provide assist/regen functions -- it would, for a while), I "shut off" the pack via the big "ON/OFF" service disconnect switch on the battery access panel. I then drove the car from July through November, minus IMA/hybrid functions, and still managed 80+ MPG (US) regardless. Yay for lean burn, good aero & tall gearing.
I got myself a used Super Brain 989 on eBay from a reputable seller, and will cross my fingers that it'll handle this task without expiring prematurely.
Matt: thanks again for the comprehensive write-up and patient, helpful responses to those who asked for more info/clarification. I see more than a couple of people have benefitted from this so far.
FYI, I'm going to document my battery pack adventure here:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ght-19975.html