A Beater of an Insight

[lovemysan]

Thats a neat car. Is that a WAI or HAI of sorts.

[GasSavers_DaX]

I think you got a great deal. I would personally leave the rad support alone - it's not bent that bad.

For the brake lights - check down by the pedals. It's common on Civics for the little rubber bumper pad that actually contacts the brake switch to come apart and fall off. When this happens, the switch is always closed. You can either buy the replacement part or do something ghetto like I did and just use electrical tape and some cardboard and make a new pad.

Hope you sort the car out and enjoy it.

[GasSavers_Red]

Originally Posted by Wazabi Owner

I've been waiting for you to say that. Then when you post a question, you get a barrage of flames telling you that you should of searched it first.

cut and past this EXACTLY, quotation included

"battery AND cable"

This will get you headed where you need to go even though it may not be your exact problem, it gives you a little "Insight" on how their special search engine works.

Thanks Wazabi, those terms actual came up with something useful From a developers stand point phpBB is one of the worst community software apps out there along with all its phpNuke derivatives. IPB and vB are a million times better.

[GasSavers_Red]

Originally Posted by lovemysan

Thats a neat car. Is that a WAI or HAI of sorts.

Nope, just how the stock intake routes. Its not close to any heat sources which is strange. The radiator is located on the drivers side near the air box. The only thing in the general region of the pick up is the cooling fan for the evaporator.

[GasSavers_Red]

Originally Posted by DaX

I think you got a great deal. I would personally leave the rad support alone - it's not bent that bad.

For the brake lights - check down by the pedals. It's common on Civics for the little rubber bumper pad that actually contacts the brake switch to come apart and fall off. When this happens, the switch is always closed. You can either buy the replacement part or do something ghetto like I did and just use electrical tape and some cardboard and make a new pad.

Hope you sort the car out and enjoy it.

Thanks Dax, I think its more curb damage than anything else.

[GasSavers_Red]

Todays stuff, only had about an hour or so before the rain started back up again but I got a few more things verified/done.

Starting issue, went back to Autozone they load tested the battery and it checked out fine. So I plugged it back in, no start. Hook up the Jeep and it starts, just won't idle. Going off the info that Wazabi pointed me to, I checked out the grounds. Insights have about 5 majors ones.
B- to chassis
Engine to chassis
Tranny to chassis
ECU to chassis
EPS to chassis

The engine to chassis one fell apart in my hand when I touched it, and the tranny to chassis looks more like steel than copper. I'm going to hit up the local auto places and see if I can find some good replacements. Hopefully they'll have something other than the usual grounding braid. If so, I'll pick up some 4 gauge wire and terminals and build a grounding chain. I'm hoping with new grounds my starting problems should go away.

Did get a check engine P1162, #1 O2 sensor malfunction. I figure that with the current state of my grounds it could be a false error.

Once it starts and so long as it runs above 1500 rpm its pretty smooth for a 3 banger. Even with over 200k on the clock.

Found a broken broom stick lying around that was big enough to hold the hatch up. Pulled out the cargo cover since it was wet ( it had been sitting in the rain uncovered prior to me buying it ) to dry. If Rommie didn't have the HV Pack it would have an amazing amount of trunk space. I also pulled the rear storage bin out. You can see my other "find" in the pic



Also found out I have a 6 disc CD changer with no cartridge.

Wazabi, you were right, my front tow hook was in the tool bags in the back. The spare tire is amazingly light. It couldn't have weighed more than 10 lbs if that.



Once I pulled everything out of the back bin, I found that Rommie was equipped with an unusual "fish tank". A very smelly fish tank. Thank god that the Insight is made out of aluminum else I'd probably be looking at a replacement floor panel. With no drain bung, manning the bilge pumps, I pulled out around 2-3 gallons worth of water out of there.

With all that water I found, I hope that the HV bin is dry inside. Waiting on the service manual before I crack it open to see. Since it did start today, I got a few bars on the battery pack and no fuses popped, I'm either super lucky or the bin is dry. Hoping for the latter.

Wazabi, do you know if the rear quarter windows ever came tinted? My passenger side is tinted (OEM looking) and the hatch looks like it has some kind of aftermarket tint since its peeling off. Looking at Majestic Honda's parts listing I can only see an untinted part (PN 209833).

[GasSavers_DaX]

Easy fix for the water problem - hammer a phillips head screwdriver through the floor pan to act as a drain. The small hole won't cause any issues, and will allow water that accumulates to drain. I have done this "mod" to nearly every car I have owned.

[GasSavers_bobski]

Originally Posted by Red

With no drain bung [...]

Upper middle of the last pic, next to the leg of the spare tire support. That round indentation is a drain plug... It's just caulked down and painted over. Every Honda/Acura has them strewn around the car, though I don't think they're intended to be opened under any halfway normal circumstances.

[GasSavers_Red]

Well I'd like to use a semi-normal drain bung instead of drilling a hole ideally. Owning this Honda is weird. With the Jeep I wouldn't have given it a second thought, punching a hole in it for a drain but for some reason I can't do it the Insight.

[BumblingB]

Chances are it was an aftermarket tint, I drove an Insight the first week they were released in Texas in 2000 and they weren't factory tint there. One of the highly recommended mods for an Insight is tinting the windows. Heat is real bad for the batteries - though that's common sense for most. Originally the battery pack recall was for "hot states" only. My car spent it's life in Alabama then came to Florida via a used car dealer from an Alabama auction. It only traveled 60 miles but Alabama wasn't included in the recall - I was lucky though because I have a Florida address. Didn't matter the car spent it's whole life in Alabama.

If you had less miles there is a way to throw the required codes you need to get a new BCM, MCM, & pack.

Hopefully it is a grounding problem. If you have a problem finding the correct wires which I know you will - try a stereo shop. They can build you the cables you need though it sounds like you have a foot in the door already for building your own .

Good job on the changer, I forgot to mention to look for that. The rear area has a HUGE amount of space. When I reroofed one of my houses you should of seen all the rolls of tar paper I fit in there (new Mr. Wazabi Owner, if you're lurking - that's what the black marks on the rear cargo floor carpet are ) .

On the O2 code, make sure the gas cap is on real tight too. I've thrown that code and it ended up being a predecessor to the battery code - still it may of been a freak thing, the O2 sensor never went out. When the time comes for the pack to go bad I suspect Honda will work with you on replacement. There may be some out of pocket expenses but I have a feeling they might foot a good portion of the bill. There are quit a few tips on how to deal with un-helpful dealers. Study up on how to get your battery codes with a paperclip as you can't read them with OBDII reader. The codes will be listed in detail once your factory shop manual comes in.

BEWARE - you can still get aluminum corrosion on Rommie. Don't fret drilling a hole in the plug, you can still replug with a dab of RTV. No worries, think the car has been through worse and its for "the greater good".