Hi guys im new to the forum here. I have an 05 HCH and ive had this reoccurring problem that is getting worse and worse for my car. Just a quick insight on the car IMA and CEL are both on, it is a 5 speed with 320,XXX miles.

I will be driving down the road and the battery light will come on. usually if i just turn the car off and back on it will restart itself, but sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't reset and the battery light stays on after so long the radio will start to go in and out, then the instrument cluster will turn off, the lights will dim, and the 12v outlet will go out. Somehow the engine will always stay on. After driving for so long the car will die out completely. Usually if this problem happens I can jump start it and it acts like nothing happened.

The past couple times have been the worst. The car would go through the same symptoms but the car would act like its starving for gas bogging down real slow then acting like it would speed up but then bog down again and then just dying. both of the times this has happened the car wouldn't even start while being jumped. BUT the next morning i would go out to start it up and it would start up 1st time no jump at all.

if anyone has any ideas on what could be wrong please comment!

 

Possibilities:

1) Your 12V has failed or is extremely weak. Full discharges of lead-acid batteries damage them, particularly if they're old.

2) your IMA pack is so out of whack, the DC-DC converter refuses to operate causing your 12V to drain.

3) Your DC-DC converter has failed.

Recommend replacement of your 12V and see what happens next.

The car off/on game is just masking the underlying problem. Quit it.

Steve

 

What about the IMA light? That is on too, right?

If the IMA is failing the car will refuse to charge the 12V through the dc converter from the IMAs charge. However, if the car is rev'd above 3k rpm (I forget the exact number) then the car will engage the dc converter and start charging the 12V battery, and the red light will go out. You can tell if this is what is happening to you by pulling over when the red battery light is on, putting it in neutral, and slowly increasing the revs. If high revs cause the light to go out, and low revs cause it to come back, this is your issue.

If the IMA and CEL indicators are not on then perhaps you have a loose ground or something of that nature. However, a failed IMA is vastly more likely.

 

He indicated his IMA light is on.

I do not believe you are correct. Without it being in bypass mode, the tap voltage disparity can prevent the DC-DC from working at all. Once the pack is bypassed, it will charge in the 1500-3500rpm range. Outside that range the IMA motor puts out too little or too much current for the DC-DC to work, and the red light comes on.

 

Yes, he did. My bad.

All I can say is that when my last IMA went bad it reached the point where the red 12V battery light would come on every time the car stopped or even slowed down too much. Getting the RPM above 3k (2k? I don't recall the exact number) would cause that warning light to turn off again. It wasn't necessary to do anything to the pack, just step on the gas. It must have been charging enough on average, as the car never rolled over and died from a fully drained 12V.

 

I have a 06 hch my battery keeps draining I took it to AutoZone and dey gave me a new one drove around for a day fine and next day dead I charge it go around the block and it drains I jus have a red battery light on no cel

 

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