Lately my Auto Stop has not been working. All the required conditions are met: engine coolant up to normal temp; IMA battery completely charged, A/C is in Econ/Off mode. But when I come to a stop the engine keeps running.
It was working this summer and then suddenly stopped working.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

There's a long list of conditions that have to be met for auto-stop to work. Check engine light not on, climate control not set to windshield + feet, ambient air temperature sensor reading okay, throttle not depressed, neutral switch not broken, 12V loads not excessive, etc.

I think you'll need to find that list and verify the proper operation of each item on it.

I find the fickle nature of auto stop very annoying, and I would recommend a forced auto stop switch. It would let you enter AS with the A/C or heater on, in any weather, and at any speed.

 

You failed to mention if you have a manual shift or CVT.

 

i'd check a simple one first: the brake switch on the brake pedal. Honda has notoriously had problems with these going out and its a cheap 7 dollar part thats easy to replace yourself. I'm already on my second replacement on my civic, my odysseys had one replaced, and my mother in laws CRV had it replaced.

 

All the above. The conditions necessary for auto-stop to function are listed in your car's manual if you have one.

Mine is a Civic, but I think the conditions are pretty much the same.
If it's an automatic, for "Auto Idle Stop" to work these conditions must be met:

*engine coolant nearly up to normal operating temp.
*shift lever is in D or N
*you are not pressing on the accelerator pedal
*IMA battery is charged enough to operate the system
*ECON mode is selected and outside temp is above freezing, or fan speed control dial is OFF
*there is adequate vacuum reserve for the power brakes.
When these conditions are met after the vehicle speed has exceeded 10mph the engine will shut off as you are braking to a stop and the vehicle speed goes below 5mph.

The engine will start again when you release the brake pedal. It will also restart, even if you are still pressing the brake pedal, under these conditions:
-you move the shift lever from D or N to R or L
-you press the accelerator pedal
-you are on an incline, and the vehicle begins rolling.
During autostop the IMA charge and power brake vacuum reserve are monitored by the system. If the vacuum reserve drops below an optimal level the engine will restart to replenish the vacuum supply. If the IMA charge drops below an optimal level and the shift lever is in N or P the engine will restart to recharge the IMA battery.

*The autostop function may not activate if the IMA battery temp is too hot or too cold*

If the car is a 5-speed, in addition to the above conditions, there are some differences mentioned:

~Auto-stop occurs when the vehicle's speed is below 19mph and you are pressing on the brake pedal to come to a stop.
~You depress the clutch pedal.

~ The engine will restart again when you depress the clutch pedal fully and move the shift lever to first gear. It is recommended that you move the shift lever to N and remove your foot from the clutch pedal while you are stopped. Sitting with the clutch pedal depressed and the shift lever in gear will cause the engine to continue running, defeating the autostop function.

(Typed from the Civic '04 owner's manual with some abbreviation of text. I don't know how much the Insight may vary, so check with your owner's manual on this.)

PS: the suggestion on checking the brake switch is very good. Not mentioned in the manual, but it would definitely be a factor that would come into play.

 

Thanks.
How do I check the brake switch? (I'm not car-mechanically minded.)
I have a manual shift. yes, I have my manual and have read it. All the conditions are met. Normally, my car easily goes into auto stop. It is one of the joys of having an Insight. So I am very familiar with how and why it goes into auto stop. Hence the concern when it doesn't.
The other thing that is odd, which I think is connected, is that when I do run the car in Econ/AC On, with the temp at 68, sometimes it blows hot air (and I don't mean when I come to a stop - which of course will happen running in Econ), I mean while the car is driving. And, when I do come to a stop and normally the AC stops running when the car goes into auto stop, now, since the car is not going into auto stop the AC doesn't stop running. (except of course when it decides to stat blowing hot air when it is not supposed to ).
So, all in all I am very puzzled and am worried that maybe my whole AC system is breaking down.
The other thing that is also happening is that I am suddenly using my Assist ALOT and running my battery down ALOT. Normally, the way I drive is fairly conservative and utilize my Assist very little - my battery gauge stays full most of the time. ( I did have my battery replaced about 4 years ago - at Honda's expense of course).
Thank all these things are connected or no?

 

I wonder if it's a temperature sensor that's gone bad (see Matt's post above: he mentioned the ambient temp sensor).

The battery is probably running down more because the car is trying to power the AC system all the time.

It sounds like the symptoms are connected.

Update...check this info from insightcentral:

http://www.insightcentral.net/KB/faq...ues.html#NoAIS

 

Gairwyn,
Thanks for your research. I have run that self-diagnostic function to see if the air temp sensor is disconnected and it is!
So, I had a look under the hood and the pink wire of the sensor is clean broken off. There is only a very small piece (1/4 inch) sticking out . The green wire doesn't look to be in such good shape either.
My question now is: Is this a job that has to be done at a dealer ?

 

Honda can probably sell you a replacement pigtail (female connector + a few inches of wire) for a reasonable price, and your neighborhood mechanic or a guy with a soldering iron and some electrical tape can install it for you.

I just checked my spare parts pile. I do have a spare ambient air temperature sensor with good pink and green wire - cheap. Email my username @gmail.com if you're interested.

Or you could solder a 1.2Kohm resistor from pink to green and have auto stop year round, but lose automatic climate control.

 

Awesome! I hope everything falls in place, and your car gets back to normal for you.
Let us know how it works out.