Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Honda said yesterday it would recall 36,700 of its 2006 and 2007 Civic Hybrid models to replace a key component of the Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system.

The part to be replaced is the DC-to-DC converter, which adjusts the voltage of power moved among different components of the hybrid system.

The company said the existing converters in the affected Civic Hybrids could fail, which might lead to engine stalling and headlight problems.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

No crashes or injuries have been reported in connection with the problem, but Honda will replace tens of thousands of converters to avoid any potential for such failures.

Recall notices will be sent to owners of 2006 and 2007 Honda Civic Hybrids starting March 18.

When they receive the notice, owners should schedule an appointment with their local Honda dealer to have the converter replaced at no cost.

Owners can also determine whether their vehicle has to be repaired on Honda's website or by calling 800-999-1009 and selecting Option 4.

[Honda]

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Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Aug 27, 2014

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69 Posts

Discussion Starter · #1 · May 6, 2015

Hi, I have aproblem with the DC to DC converter. The IMA light has been on in my car for a while, so I have been running on the gas engine with no problems, until a couple of days ago when the battery light, the Brake light and the check engine light came on. When I started the car I noticed that its done with the starter not with the IMA, so from reading previous post I learned that the 12V battery is charged with the DC to DC converter.
Well it seems that its not charging the 12V battery as the car died yesterday and have to get the battery recharged to be able to run the car.
What help can you guys give me as to how to check the DC to Dc converter or, is there a fuse I should check?.
By the way I am replacing all the batterie sticks with some refurbished ones from Hybrid revolt, but not sure if I should charge them and recharge them a few times before I do this, or just replace them and charge them with the grid charger. They sat in a box for a year.
Any help I can get from you guys is greatly appreciated.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Dec 26, 2005

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13,925 Posts

There is nothing wrong with the dc-dc converter or fuses.
Your ima battery is now so bad that it cannot work the system correctly so you dc-dc shuts down.

You need to replace your sticks asap if that's your plan, or cycle your current pack to see if it will revive. (You may have left it a bit late for your current pack.)

Cycle the whole pack a couple of times using a simple grid charger and simple load.
This will take several days but may bring the old pack back to life.
Masses of info on here about this stuff.

If that doesn't work then rebuild the pack using your new sticks and again cycle the whole thing a couple of times before using it in the car.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Aug 29, 2014

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2,930 Posts

Alternatively, try this.

Pull number #16 fuse under the dash for 1-2 minutes.
Put fuse back in.
Start car and immediately rev the engine to 3-3.5k rpm and hold it until it stops charging the battery.
If the brake light and battery light persist, repeat above instructions.

The problem here is, the IMA battery has self discharged so low, it's not clicking the relay to activate the DC-DC converter. I had this problem when I bought my CVT, the previous owner let the car sit for so long it had self discharged probably to flat. Just do the above instructions and let me know what happens.

Joined Sep 13, 2007

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211 Posts

more likely it is so far outa balance that the BCM will not charge it further because charging it appears to the BCM as damaging to the sticks which are at high voltage already, which it is.

i took my IMA pack out first thing when i got my car and reconditioned it before i even tried to drive it. mine was in the same condition as yours. IMA shut off, 12V battery not charging and illuminated, with IMA and CEL both on.

when you get the battery out then you can rewire it to allow you to work on it on the bench so you can evaluate the capacity of each stick and then you can recondition the pack and decide if you need to replace individual sticks that are too far outa balance or buy a new pack.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Aug 27, 2014

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69 Posts

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 6, 2015

Thank you so much for yur help. I will be tryin the recomendation from Balto and let you know.
I do believe that the battery pack is way to depleted, so I do need to recondition the batteries. I bought a battery charger/discharger and will start the process this weekend. My question to you guys is: Once I charge and discharge the sticks three times and select those stick that hold better, should I put them back in the pack charged or discharged? I asked because I will plug them to my grid charger.

I really apreciate all your guys help. I was at a loss yesterday and now I have a better picture of what to do. Thank you

Joined Sep 13, 2007

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211 Posts

you will know nothing about your battery from grid charging it. you have to get the battery out on the bench and test it by monitoring the stick voltages as the battery is discharged into a dummy load through a watt meter so you can measure individual stick capacities.

knowing individual stick capacity is the biggest thing to learn about your pack, and then you wanna know how the internal resistance of each stick compares to the others in the pack. then the last thing to learn is self discharge rate but that takes a long time to determine so just finding the sticks with low capacity and hi internal resistance are the two big things you do by getting the pack out onto the bench.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Feb 19, 2009

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1,074 Posts

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Nov 17, 2007

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621 Posts

I had the same indications a few months ago when my IMA pack went bad. I pulled the pack since hauling around dead weight with an underpowered car is honestly not very safe, at least not in Oklahoma City.

In order for the DC converter to function, it needs the power input from the motor/generator. Rather than post all those details in redundant fashion, just search for IMA bypass. It's not a difficult process.

I've been running my car this way for several months without any problems and I'm still able to get fuel econ averages in the 50's, in town. When time allows, I will do some stick-level testing to isolate/remove/replace the bad ones and have a hybrid again.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Aug 27, 2014

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69 Posts

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 8, 2015

Ok, I did the IMA bypass and the car is running fine. The battery light and brake light have been off and the car runs fine. My goal now is to work on the battery sticks and find the best 20. I have seen several sites on how to do this but since you guys are pretty good at it. Can you send me a good link either here or in Youtube?.
A friend of mine recomend me that to start I should get a load tester. after the first charge, conect it to the the load tester, and measure the voltage difference in five seconds. This procedure will give me the Internal resistance.
Thank you all for your help.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Nov 17, 2007

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621 Posts

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Oct 9, 2014

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3,415 Posts

Ok, I did the IMA bypass and the car is running fine. The battery light and brake light have been off and the car runs fine. My goal now is to work on the battery sticks and find the best 20. I have seen several sites on how to do this but since you guys are pretty good at it. Can you send me a good link either here or in Youtube?.
A friend of mine recomend me that to start I should get a load tester. after the first charge, conect it to the the load tester, and measure the voltage difference in five seconds. This procedure will give me the Internal resistance.
Thank you all for your help.

IMHO, save yourself the wasted man-days of your life... pursue pack grid charge and discharge before you ever pursue stick conditioning.

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Jun 17, 2012

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3,661 Posts

If you're interested in such things as pack disassembly & working at the stick level, you can pick up some info from posts above and the several folk who enjoy that. Many have had great success at weeding out the bad sticks and matching up some good ones.

Someone like me who is not so skilled prefers the 'whole pack' method. I nursed a couple years and many miles (15k or so) out of an ailing pack with grid charging/ discharging. I use the equipment for general 'pack maintenance' now.

Joined Jun 2, 2016

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2 Posts

I have the same issue...

There is nothing wrong with the dc-dc converter or fuses.
Your ima battery is now so bad that it cannot work the system correctly so you dc-dc shuts down.

So does this mean that the DC/DC Converter needs to be replaced? Or is it still okay and just saying "there is a Problem"?

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Mar 20, 2010

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4,012 Posts

The DC -DC is fine. Your IMA battery needs to be replaced, grid charged, or disconnected from the BCM.

Joined Jun 2, 2016

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2 Posts

The DC -DC is fine. Your IMA battery needs to be replaced, grid charged, or disconnected from the BCM.

Whew!! I knew the IMA needs to be replaced (it's got over 200k miles on it and is my second one), but didn't know I should have disconnected it until today...better late than never, right? I'm just glad I haven't done irreparable damage to the DC-DC converter.

Joined Aug 31, 2017

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23 Posts

12v Battery not charging. Battery symbol on and word "BRAKE" is

12v Battery not charging. Battery symbol on and word "BRAKE" is on instrument cluster.

So after reading this I am questioning if I simply need to charge and recharge my IMA battery. I did some tests with the following manual and the tests indicated that I needed to replace the DC-DC converter. I will include the photos of the diagnostic procedure for the better of all insight users.

#Battery#ChargingProblems#12VoltBatteryNotCharging

Honda civic hybrid dc dc converter

Joined Oct 9, 2014

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3,415 Posts

Joined Aug 31, 2017

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23 Posts

Why can't I post more than 5 photo's? Fml haha come'on!

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Joined Aug 31, 2017

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23 Posts

Here are the last of the photos for the diagnostics.

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Joined Aug 31, 2017

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23 Posts

Actually this is the last photo.

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Can a Honda Civic Hybrid run without IMA battery?

The short answer to this question is “probably”. Your IMA light is most likely telling you that the hybrid battery is in need of maintenance. As long as your 12V battery light is not on, your car will most likely continue to operate without causing long-term harm.

Do Honda Civic hybrids have alternators?

Your car does not have an alternator. Instead, it has what's called a DC-DC converter. It takes high voltage DC from the car's hybrid system and uses it run the car and charge the 12 volt battery.

How do I know if my Honda Civic hybrid battery is bad?

First, you'll probably see a sharp decrease in your miles per gallon (MPG). If you're having to take more frequent trips to the gas station, your battery may be reaching the end of its lifespan. Second, your battery simply may not be holding a charge as long as it once did.

Does the Honda Civic Hybrid run on electricity?

Yes, the Honda Civic hybrid is an electric car. Like all hybrids, the car runs on both gasoline and electricity. The 2023 model has a pairing of two motors in addition to a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine. The majority of its torque and 181 horsepower are from the electric motor system.