2000 Insight - TLC and ecomodding build

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by cowmeat

Jeez man, you almost make me miss my Insight

That's going to be an epic tank if you can keep that up!

Throwin' down the gauntlet.

[Natalya]

Welp. Time to buy a new G1.

[samwichse]

Dang, my best round trip to work is only 92mpg. But I also have to go through ~25 stop lights each way. :-/

That's some great work there!

[Daox]

Originally Posted by Ecky

About 2 weeks ago, I ordered a 50w and 150w heating pad for the transmission and oil pan respectively. I'd have gotten bigger ones, but a 250w was twice as expensive, and the 500w was too big for the pan.

Kat's 24050 50 Watt 2"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater

Kat's 24150 150 Watt 4"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater

Permatex 81160 High-Temp Red RTV Silicone Gasket, 3 oz.

They come with a sticky surface, but the instructions recommend that gasket material be placed around the edge to seal out moisture and oil.






50w and 250w are probably about right, anyway. On the same outlet I also have a 400w block heater, 12v trickle charger, and the extension cord I pushed through the firewall, which I use for either grid charging or to preheat the cabin with an electric space heater. The space heater has a 750w setting, and when combined with trickle charger, block and pad heaters, total draw is ~1500w.

Have you noticed any difference after installing these?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Daox

Have you noticed any difference after installing these?

Since moving into town, I haven't had the opportunity to preheat, most of my parking is on-street.

[Ecky]

A few updates:

My current tank average is awful, because of many short city trips, so I purchased components to build an ebike. I'm guessing it will have a larger impact on my economy than anything I could do to the car.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post545075

~

The last few times I've driven my car, I have very occasionally smelled a very faint "electrical" smell, which concerned me. I decided to pull the battery out and inspect the cells for any leaks. When I opened the IMA cover, I found this:








A ball of cotton, some fecal pellets, and what I'm guessing is some urine. I haven't yet found any chewed wires though, thankfully.

Removing the battery wasn't nearly the task I expected it to be. Without looking at any guides, I had it out of the car in about half an hour.






I decided to pull the DC-DC converter too, since I potentially have business with it. It requires removal of the battery to access.




Removing all of the battery cells one by one revealed no obvious leaks. I may check again in a few weeks if the smell persists or grows stronger.




Meanwhile, here's the interior of the DC-DC converter:




Mosfets:




Diodes:




I had only ordered one of each, and I'm thinking replacing one in a parallel circuit probably isn't a good idea. There are a total of 8 mosfets, and 6 diodes. The diodes are $3.53 each and look like they'd be easier to replace than the $10 mosfets, so I might just skip the mosfets for now.

It occurs to me that another piece of "low hanging fruit" would be to get a more efficient 12v battery next time I'm in need of one. I have a Honda branded traditional lead acid, the equivalent of the one the car came with, and I understand newer AGM batteries and lithiums have better charging efficiency.

[MetroMPG]

Ah, photos of Insight batteries in the living room. Brings back memories.

[Ecky]

Apparently when I put everything back together, I forgot to plug one of the cables back in inside the DC-DC converter. So, no 12v charging right now. I'll have to pull it all apart again tomorrow.

[ECO-AKJ]

As we like to say here at the shop I work at: "At least you know where the velcro is!", meaning it should be simpler the second time around!

[Natalya]

That's happened to me before. Such a wonderful feeling!!