I have a 2004 HCH displaying P1600 and P1433 DTC codes (failing battery). I have heard that grid chargers can fix this issue. The charger from Hybrid Automotive seems to be the best one at the lowest price:

http://hybridautomotive.com/gc/

Has anyone here installed one in their car? I'm curious to hear about results before shelling out $400 for one.

Thanks!
Steve

 

Steve,

I built my own grid charger based on Mike D.'s plans at 99mpg.com for less than $100. These plans are at least part of the basis for all commercial grid chargers out there. Hybrid Automotive brand grid chargers are VERY popular with the Insight crowd on Insight Central. If you're willing to spend that kind of dough, AND your pack is not too deteriorated, you should have no issues with their grid charger. Even if your pack is bad, and it doesn't respond, you will have a quality piece of hardware for future use.

Based on my own experience with 4 HCH2 packs and grid charging, I violently recommend you also get the discharge option. Grid charging is good. Grid charging + discharging is way better.

Hybrid Revolt and bumblebee - the two primary suppliers of aftermarket batteries, support periodic (quarterly) grid charging to maintain balance and extend life. Cell imbalance within the pack is the main reason for failure; more specifically, extended operation while significant cell imbalance exists is a the primary reason for failure. Periodic grid charging helps eliminate cell imbalance.

IMHO, the NiMH Honda IMA battery systems are not maintenance-free. Honda's IMA maintenance is, "don't let it sit too much and bring it in for battery replacement when the IMA light comes on."

Good luck!

Steve

 

I got one. I use it once a week. I plug it in sunday night and un plug it when I go to work in the morning. NOTE you must unplug the cable going to the ima battery before you start it or it will throw a cel & ima light as soon as you pull out of the driveway.

 

I'm thinking about getting one too. I have P1433 for my 05 HCH IMA Battery. Besides the great gazoo, anyone else use one?

 

There are scores of people with them over on Insight Central, where Hybrid Automotive is a sponsor. They are made from quality components, many of which I have used for the grid chargers I've built. If it's in your price range, you can't go wrong.

 

Note to anyone who reads post from SKeith above. He is an admitted authorized reseller/installer of the product he recommends and is financially compensated by HA for his recommendations for the cheap plastic green chargers that melt in the sun and use cheap Chinese meanwell power supplies. Full disclosure is in the best interest of forum readers.

 

LOL. You're funny. I am an authorized installer of HA grid chargers. that means nothing more than my name appears on a list, and I get a small discount. I have installed two. One I purchased at a $40 discount and passed that discount on to a friend. The other was before I was an authorized installer. I was contacted by someone local to me based on my posts on another forum. He made the decision to purchase it himself.

I much prefer people to buy it themselves, and install it themselves - they learn more about their car and how things work. I don't really like doing it.

In case anyone is confused. I have never received any money from my endorsement of any product on any website by any manufacturer or organization. Period.

To reiterate, if MV offered me $100 just to type their name, I wouldn't do it due to technical issues with their equipment, flawed processes, harmful recommendations and recent issues with people having their fans running full blast after installing MV chargers (indicative of an equipment fault or bad instructions).

I freely recommend HA due to their design and consistency with the best practices established by the pioneer in the field.


I feel special now that I have a stalker... thanks...

 

You recommend HA, because they compensate you to do so AND you are listed on their website as a means for additional labor income to line your pockets.

Why else would someone so adamantly recommend a cheap plastic made in china charger using cheap chinese meanwell power supplies, more difficult install, no docking port with locking dustcap, no powder coated charger case, no SOOW oil/water resistant commercial grade industrial 600v 18ga copper wiring, no intermediate cable with CPC locking connectors, no LED ball bearing cooling fan, no programmable charge scheduling w/ internal built in nickel metal hydride rechargeable battery that will retain charger settings even when unplugged, no automatic schedule shut off. Up until recently, HA had no on/off switch! LOL

Apparently HA changed designs to cheap plastic cases and starting having them mass produced in China and can now afford an ON/OFF switch with their lower build plastic case cost.

HA also has a puny 2A 12v power supply, their high voltage supply will max out at only 200v. The maxx volts system manufacturing techniques use crimping, soldering and custom printed heat shrink on gold connections while the HA units use simple crimping and auto parts store connectors that can easily pull out and short.

What I never understood is why they are priced higher than the MV systems, until I realized they have to pay their authorized resellers/installers commissions which makes the consumer get an inferior product at a higher cost. Its a bad deal for anyone considering a HA charger and its why they are so far down in ebay's search results for IMA charger as nobody smart is buying them.

 

Asked and answered multiple times in multiple threads. Nothing relevant in your post. If $40 motivates you to compromise your ethics, don't judge me by you.

 

Are there instructions somewhere how to connect a grid charger to the HCH-I? Where to plug it into the harness?
Peter