Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Hybrids
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 04-12-2011, 03:00 PM   #11 (permalink)
5 Gears of Fury
 
War_Wagon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Vancouver B.C., Canada
Posts: 1,230

Spunky - '90 Honda Civic CX
90 day: 35.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 175
Thanked 176 Times in 137 Posts
Ok, thanks for the IMA info. When nothing was showing any charging going on I was starting to worry. I am still going to assume that the IMA will need to be rebalanced/replaced and get some money set aside for that - that way if it does not need to be done it's like a bonus.

As far as modifications go, once I get everything working as it should and fix a few small issues (worn side bolsters on the seats, the power window switch on the dash is cracked and doesn't work for the passenger side etc), I am just going to start with a Scangauge and learn how to drive it. Is there any point to lowering these cars, or are they pretty much where they should be in that department?

__________________
"Don't look for one place to lose 100 pounds, look for 1600 places to lose an ounce." - Tony DeFeo
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 04-12-2011, 04:25 PM   #12 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Earth
Posts: 5,209
Thanks: 225
Thanked 811 Times in 594 Posts
[QUOTE=War_Wagon;231167]...the power window switch on the dash is cracked and doesn't work for the passenger side etc...

There's another switch (confusingly labeled "Main", which for a long time I thought must be an emergency electrical shutoff) that controls this. Try it both positions before tearing things apart...

Quote:
Is there any point to lowering these cars, or are they pretty much where they should be in that department?
I think it's already about as low as you want it, unless you do all your driving on smooth pavement and never see snow. (That's one of the few real drawbacks of the Insight: more than about 5" of snow, and it starts trying to play snowplow, but just doesn't have the power.)
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2011, 01:15 AM   #13 (permalink)
2000 Honda Insight
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 57
Thanks: 5
Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts
Great find! Excellent price, I'm looking at twice the price to buy a car less functional and needing two body pieces replaced(although easy bolt-on pieces but still extra expense) and I'm thinking about passing on it unless I can haggle it down quite a bit, I sent the guy an email with questions and told him to call, he sent an email back vaguely answering my questions and not giving me a phone number, I'm not going cross-country for a car if someone won't talk to me. You got very lucky with that price, awesome!

Do you have a ScanGauge or a code reader? I had a code that was set but it didn't turn on the check engine light and came back immediately after clearing it, car drove fine but I also lost the autostop.

You can test to see if the car would restart itself after a normal auto-stop but the car is just inhibiting itself for going into it. If you stop at a stop sign, give the clutch a reverse stab in 2nd gear to stall it and push the clutch back in right away, as soon as the oil and battery lights turn on because the car realized it stalled, put it in 1st gear. Does the engine restart? Also the car doesn't auto-stop if you have the climate control temperature too far out of range or not in econ mode. Do this, drive until the car is showing 6 bars on the temp gauge, hit the off button on the climate control, and when you are slowing down put it in neutral before you drop below 20mph, normally it will auto-stop. Climate control likes to disable auto-stop, especially if its set to 60 or 90, if its below 45 degrees out and the climate control isn't completely off, or if the econ mode isn't selected.

Hope this helps.

nimblemotors, "looks to be in excellent condition, bodywise at least.
I would really suggest you convert it to all-electric, don't bother trying to get the engine working etc. just ditch it all, and put a DC electric motor in it."

The OP just bought a donor Insight in my price range. The thing is, the car he bought, as far as I can tell its probably working just fine, just with a few extra H's to it than a normal one. I just need to find one in the states for this much, or even a little more.
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to MN Driver For This Useful Post:
War_Wagon (04-13-2011)
Old 04-13-2011, 02:34 AM   #14 (permalink)
5 Gears of Fury
 
War_Wagon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Vancouver B.C., Canada
Posts: 1,230

Spunky - '90 Honda Civic CX
90 day: 35.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 175
Thanked 176 Times in 137 Posts
Thanks MN, I will try out your suggestions to see if the auto stop works. I do not have a Scangauge yet, but I will get one as soon as I free up some funds by selling off some of the fleet!

I don't get what you folks mean about the extra H's?
__________________
"Don't look for one place to lose 100 pounds, look for 1600 places to lose an ounce." - Tony DeFeo
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2011, 03:32 AM   #15 (permalink)
2000 Honda Insight
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 57
Thanks: 5
Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts
"I don't get what you folks mean about the extra H's?"

For example: Right behind your drivers side tire and in front of the door right above the crease. Look for an H. Compare the picture of your Insight to another Insight and you'll understand.

I'm trying to find the 9th one that RobertSmalls mentioned. I'm only seeing 8. I'd find 9, but you are missing one under the hood that's on the plastic engine cover that's designed to make the engine look larger than a rabbit to convince people you show the car to that it has a cylinder displacement larger than a standard sized bottle of oil.

I hope the fusebox diagram is in the owners manual or if you don't have a manual, you might want to print out the diagram of fuses. There should be a sticker on top of the bigger fusebox that is right between the drivers side strut and the coolant reservoir.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2011, 05:21 AM   #16 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
euromodder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Belgium
Posts: 4,683

The SCUD - '15 Fiat Scudo L2
Thanks: 178
Thanked 652 Times in 516 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by War_Wagon View Post
I don't get what you folks mean about the extra H's?
Your car apparently has a few more Honda "H"-logos stuck on compared to a stock car.

Could #9 be the licence plate holder ?

Great find though.
They are extremely rare in Europe.
Autoscout24.eu lists only 1 for Europe, and the list price is a whopping 10900 Euro / 15800 USD !

http://www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=v4wsjijzrwgd

The previous one I found on there was in Russia, and it wasn't cheap either.
__________________
Strayed to the Dark Diesel Side

  Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2011, 08:48 PM   #17 (permalink)
5 Gears of Fury
 
War_Wagon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Vancouver B.C., Canada
Posts: 1,230

Spunky - '90 Honda Civic CX
90 day: 35.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 175
Thanked 176 Times in 137 Posts
Oh, I get the "H" thing now. The ones on the fenders have body colour paint in the back of the logo so I thought they were factory. There's 4 on the wheels, 2 on the fenders, an H decal on the hood, and one on the back. That's 8, so now I want to know where #9 is too!

Unless he is referring to the H on the sticker on the rad support.

PS Euro, for $15800 you can have mine, I'll deliver it in person ha ha
__________________
"Don't look for one place to lose 100 pounds, look for 1600 places to lose an ounce." - Tony DeFeo
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2011, 12:49 AM   #18 (permalink)
2000 Honda Insight
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 57
Thanks: 5
Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts
I suppose the steering wheel logo would be number 9 but I thought he was going by the pictures, which you didn't have any showing the steering wheel so I didn't count it.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2011, 02:06 AM   #19 (permalink)
Pokémoderator
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
Thanks: 439
Thanked 530 Times in 356 Posts
War_Wagon -

I must say she's a beauty. If you don't *need* the battery to run the car, I would just run it as-is. If the MPG is still good with a bad battery, then take your time to save your pennies and research the best price for a new battery.

CarloSW2
__________________

What's your EPA MPG? Go Here and find out!
American Solar Energy Society
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2011, 02:21 AM   #20 (permalink)
5 Gears of Fury
 
War_Wagon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Vancouver B.C., Canada
Posts: 1,230

Spunky - '90 Honda Civic CX
90 day: 35.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 175
Thanked 176 Times in 137 Posts
Thanks CarloSW2, I was thinking the same thing. Once I sell off some other cars I should be able to get the battery sorted if it does need one. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that I have to make a trip through the mountains every few months, and I don't know if an Insight just running on the 1.0L would be able to hack a climb like that. I also want to go through the Rockies on a road trip this summer and I must admit the whole 11 year old hybrid thing has me a bit worried about getting stuck in bear country!

__________________
"Don't look for one place to lose 100 pounds, look for 1600 places to lose an ounce." - Tony DeFeo
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com