2000 Insight 5 speed repair & build thread

[MetroMPG]

Nice find on that loose connector. Better than gremlins in the electronics.

[Daox]

While pushing the Insight back into my driveway a week ago, I noticed that the right brake light or running light is out. I assume they're the same bulb. I know a bunch of you guys ended up getting LED bulbs. How are they working out for you? Have you had any issues with bad bulbs or problems they cause? Can you recommend a good bulb? Thanks!

[Daox]

So, I'm still attempting to track down the issues with this engine not running great. As I've mentioned I still get bucking at high loads during lean burn. I also get surging power while accelerating. Its not huge, but its definitely noticeable. I haven't done a ton of research on IC, but here is my current culprit list:

1) Ignition coils
These have rusty laminations and are starting to pull away from each other just a bit. I'm sure this weakens the magnetic field. I just don't know how bad it really effects things.





2) Rust blocking the injectors
Since I had issues with my fuel lines, its quite possible that I got some rust in the fuel lines and its blocking the injectors. I think that this isn't the case because it doesn't misfire or hesitate or anything odd at high engine loads, so why would it at low loads.

3) Low engine compression
Its quite possible a previous owner ran the engine low on oil. I haven't done a compression test on it to see what kind of condition its in. I'm not quite sure the correct procedure to do this, but I imagine I have to disable the IMA so it doesn't spin the crud out of it while testing.



Things I have done:
- New 12V battery
- Cleaned up 12V ground connections
- New correctly indexed spark plugs
- Cleaned EGR plate
- New EGR valve


I'll probably post this over on IC too to get input, but anything would be helpful. Thanks guys!

[MetroMPG]

Too bad there's nobody on here with an Insight nearby, so you could potentially swap parts to figure it out.

[Daox]

I did the second mod to the Insight this past weekend. It has been very warm compared to most Januarys, so I went out and installed a clutch switch. Its not my own fancy 3d printed shift knob style, just a quick toggle that I put in. Its just hanging by my shifter right now.

For those who don't want to cut wires to the brake switch, I did as NoD did. On the B connector on the ECU, I pushed a wire in the back side of pin 14. That wire runs to the toggle switch, and then from the toggle switch it goes to a ground. This is IMO much easier than cutting and soldering wires.



For those who won't know, the clutch switch modification stops the car from using electric assist and regenerative braking. This is helpful when you are climbing hills and don't want to drain your pack. When your pack is drained, the car automatically forces regeneration to recharge the pack which can kill your mpg. However, you need to enable it when you want to use regenerative braking.

I took a spin with the mod over the weekend, but yesterday's trip home was the first real test. My trip home is mostly uphill and it really drains the battery typically. Yesterday was great though. I used assist a bit here and there, but arrived home with a nearly full pack which was even nicer for this morning's trip where I didn't have forced regen like normal. The trip to work today raised my average from 55.4 to 55.9 mpg.

[NoD~]

Ha! Glad my modding had some value! Surprisingly, I've never had a problem with it, even though it's just "crammed" in there. Just hate cutting into harnesses if I can help it.

Since I'm mostly city driving, I find the switch the most useful when my battery is nearly dead and I don't want to allow it to get to the point where it force regens, so I just go IMA-less with it until I can get to the charger. (I'm one of those "bad examples" where I grid charge almost exclusively when the battery is near dead. My theory is: Your car is gonna charge the battery using fuel, so why not use cheaper electricity from your home instead? Just time it and/or monitor voltage carefully.)

[Daox]

Yeah, I don't like cutting if I don't need to either. I tinned the wire, then jammed it in there. I'm sure it'll be fine for a while.

When you charge overnight, how does the IMA charge indicator show when you start it up in the morning? I would imagine it doesn't know its been charged, so it takes a while for it to realize that?

I really like the idea of being able to top off overnight. It wouldn't be hard at all to automate it with an arduino to make sure it doesn't overcharge. I just don't know how the BMS would deal with it.

[NoD~]

I pull the fuse under the dash (can't remember which one off the top of my head, I keep the fuse puller on it full time... know it's out when the "ding ding" stops when the key is inserted and when I put it back in, it kicks on my SGII) and then put my key on to just before starting the engine for a minute or so. It'll charge for maybe a minute, then kick it to full bars (despite where the charge might actually be). Then, usually get ~3 days of full IMA use before recharging again.

[HyperMileQC]

Hi Daox, I had the same problem with my first Insight, the cylinder #2 Ignition coil pack was getting very rusty and suddenly failed on me, I bought one from the dealer, installed it and instantly the car was nicer and less rough while idling or lean burning. Im sure I would have changed all three of them and it would have been better.

On my red Insight now my coil packs are all in good shape and the spark is very good I measured it and I get around ~35k volts. I would recommand that you change your coil packs if you really want it to run like a champ, all the injection, ignition and air control system are VERY important to get astronomus MPGs on these cars.

Also for the grounds, be sure to check for the little power steering rack & pignion ground, its a little bit tricky to get to it but this ground is also very important. Make sure it is in good shape, on my two Insights it was broken and I repaired the grounds and upgraded it.

[Daox]

Thanks HyperMileQC. That convinded me. I ordered a new set of 3 ignition coils last night. I truly hope that clears up the problem completely.