[DeTomaso] NPC - Hybrid Battery

Curt Hall cuvee at sbcglobal.net
Sun Mar 11 14:44:25 EDT 2012


Cool story!
 
Now I don't feel so bad driving my Gross Polluter! lol But then again I really never felt bad to begin with.
 
Back to my cave

--- On Sun, 3/11/12, Bjoern Flesland <bflesland at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Bjoern Flesland <bflesland at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] NPC - Hybrid Battery
To: "Will Kooiman" <wkooiman at earthlink.net>
Cc: "De Tomaso List" <detomaso at realbig.com>
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2012, 3:24 AM


Very interesting story Will.
Did you have to stop and recharge batteries on that long trip when doing 80,3 mpg? 
Or do they charge when you drive?

Cheers Bjoern

Sent from my iPhone




Den 11. mars 2012 kl. 06:48 skrev "Will Kooiman" <wkooiman at earthlink.net>:

> This has zero Pantera content, but it is interesting nonetheless.
> 
> 
> 
> I just replaced the battery in my 2006 Honda Insight.  
> 
> 
> 
> The Insight performs pretty much like any other compact car.  It accelerates
> slowly, but it isn't dangerous.  It has plenty of room for 2 people, and
> barely enough for 2 people and a Basset Hound (Max).  It's fun seeing what
> mileage is possible, but beyond that, it is just boring.  Make that BORING.
> 
> 
> 
> For the first 70,000 miles, it was easy to get over 70 mpg on the highway.
> My personal best was 80.3 while driving from Dallas to Little Rock.  Imagine
> driving from Dallas to Little Rock, back to Dallas, and halfway to Houston
> before stopping for gas (10.5 gallon tank).  I stopped short of half way,
> but I think I could have made it.  It was late and I was tired, so I decided
> not to push it.  When the low fuel light comes on, you have 1.5 gallons -
> and you can still go 100 miles.
> 
> 
> 
> At about 70,000 miles, we noticed the mileage dropping.  It took longer to
> charge the batteries, and they drained faster.  For a while, it was tough to
> get over 70mpg.  And then it was tough to hit 65mpg, and then the low 60's.
> All of these are steady state, 70mph, interstate figures.  In town was 5-10
> mpg lower.
> 
> 
> 
> At about 165,000 miles, the check engine light came on. The code said the
> battery had failed.  We drove it another 10,000 miles while we waited for a
> new battery (more about that later).  With a dead battery, the best it could
> do was about 55mpg.  It was also borderline unsafe.  0-60 times were
> measured in the fortnight.  Once it was going 70mph, it was okay, but
> accelerating into traffic was frustrating.
> 
> 
> 
> So, there you have it.  For our Insight, the battery lasted 165,000 miles.
> Colder climates should fare better.
> 
> 
> 
> I should point out that 70mpg was rarely our tank average.  It's difficult
> to average 70mpg for 700 miles.  Once you include city driving and starts
> and stops, the tank average drops.  From 0-70,000 miles, our tank average
> was usually in the mid 60's.  From 70,000 to 140,000, it was in the mid
> 50's.  From 140,000 to 174,000, it was in the low 50's.  It has never been
> lower than 52 (or maybe 51.5, I don't recall exactly).
> 
> 
> 
> Now about the replacement.
> 
> 
> 
> When hybrids were new, a replacement was a dealer-only option.  It ran about
> $4,000, or so I'm told.  Some batteries were replaced for free in hotter
> climates. The heat kills batteries.  If you factor in the battery
> replacement cost, the hybrid was still cheaper than a similar compact - but
> not by much.  You can burn a lot of gasoline for $4,000.
> 
> 
> 
> The Insight battery isn't the voodoo the media made it out to be.  It has 20
> battery "sticks".  Each stick is composed of 6 D-Cell batteries that have
> been soldered and taped together.  The solder reduces resistance.  The
> website said they were welded together, but I'm assuming they mean solder.
> The batteries are nickle metal hydride, similar to what you would find in a
> radio controlled car.  The only difference is the size.  RC cars use AA
> batteries, I think.  When the sticks are installed in the pack, they put out
> 144 volts.
> 
> 
> 
> Fortunately, the tree huggers figured out how to replace the sticks.  They
> are enthusiasts, not unlike us.  Okay, they are nerdy enthusiast, but you
> get the picture.  There are websites that describe how to replace the
> sticks, but I opted to have a professional do mine.
> 
> 
> 
> I got mine from here:
> http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com/insight/index.html
> 
> 
> 
> They sent me a new module. I swapped it out in about 2 hours.  FedEx will
> pick up my old battery on Monday.  Once the shop receives my old module,
> they will give me credit for the core charge.  And they will RECYCLE the old
> batteries.
> 
> 
> 
> The replacement cost varies depending on what's wrong.  Sometimes they can
> rebuild the pack and only replace the defective sticks.  Since mine was so
> old, I didn't think there was any sense trying to replace the worn out
> sticks.  I bought the BetterBattery (on the website) for about $2,000.
> 
> 
> 
> I took it for a drive today, and the difference is amazing.  It used to make
> more noise and acceleration was terrible.  It's interesting how you start to
> accept things as normal when they change gradually - like the story about
> boiling a frog in water.  I drove about 15 miles, in town, and averaged
> about 70mpg.  For a while I was in the 90's.
> 
> 
> 
> At any rate, that's my story.  The rest of the Insight is in pretty good
> shape, so we're going to push for another 175,000 miles.
> 
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