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Trickle Charge and Hybrid Battery Maintenance

Joined
5 October 2016
Messages
23
Does trickle charging the car also trickle charge the hybrid battery?

If not, then how fast is the so called vampire drain on the battery when it is stored for the winter? Will sitting in the storage for 5 months potentially damage the hybrid battery?

Thanks
 
There may be no relevance whatsoever, but I recently found my small digital Cannon camera [it's about 2 years old] hiding in the back of a drawer. Not been used for at least six months, if not a lot more. Turned it on expecting a low battery warning, but the battery "bars" show a full charge.

I think battery tech has come a long way in recent years.......
 
Probably best to ask your dealer, but what I heard from the service dept at my Acura dealer was that the trickle charge does not charge the lithium pack, and that the car needs to be started about once a month to maintain the big battery. Hopefully you can access your storage and start the car to let it warm up someplace indoor but with good airflow.
 
Does trickle charging the car also trickle charge the hybrid battery?If not, then how fast is the so called vampire drain on the battery when it is stored for the winter? Will sitting in the storage for 5 months potentially damage the hybrid battery?Thanks

I think if you do a search you'll find these points have all been covered.
Or you can go here and get all the info offered by Acura : http://acurazine.com/forums/second-...17-acura-nsx-information-links-inside-947549/
 
As JD Says, specifically the information you're looking for is on pages 343 (High Voltage Battery info) and 414 (Vehicle Storage info.)
No, the 12v trickle charger does not charge the high voltage battery.
Also, Acura says the car needs to run for at least 30 minutes every 3 months.
(How much the battery's life is shortened due to low charge after 3 months is unknown - Acura could have build in quite a large safety margin for all we know.)
 
As JD Says, specifically the information you're looking for is on pages 343 (High Voltage Battery info) and 414 (Vehicle Storage info.)
No, the 12v trickle charger does not charge the high voltage battery.
Also, Acura says the car needs to run for at least 30 minutes every 3 months.
(How much the battery's life is shortened due to low charge after 3 months is unknown - Acura could have build in quite a large safety margin for all we know.)

Thank you so much, especially for pointing me to the specific pages in the owner's manual.
 
As JD Says, specifically the information you're looking for is on pages 343 (High Voltage Battery info) and 414 (Vehicle Storage info.)
No, the 12v trickle charger does not charge the high voltage battery.
Also, Acura says the car needs to run for at least 30 minutes every 3 months.
(How much the battery's life is shortened due to low charge after 3 months is unknown - Acura could have build in quite a large safety margin for all we know.)
Yep. We were told the same thing. I can't imagine buying this car and not driving it for three months!!
 
In the hybrid world a gridcharger is a very recommended tool. Honda never had one for any model.

As some people store their cars they will be the first ones to run into any potential problems not using/charging the battery. We will see in the future...

The worst thing you can do is starting it right up after a period of long storage. It's common sense among hybrid people to charge and balance the hybrid battery BEFORE you start the car. It's also well known that a hybrid car likes to be driven daily. And it's also known that the battery can get out of balance over time.

Having such a long of experience with hybrids I don't understand why Honda doesn't offer a gridcharger as an option esp. for a car in this price-range. The relabelled CTEC battery charger for the 12V battery is way overpriced for what it is. For that price you could expect it to charge the hybrid battery as well.

BTW how long is the warranty on the hybrid system of this car?
 
In the hybrid world a gridcharger is a very recommended tool. Honda never had one for any model.

By a gridcharger, do you mean a charger port that connects to J1772, type 2, 110/220V, Chademo or whatever type, that charges the hybrid battery. Thus, making it a PHEV like the 918 Spyder? I do agree that it will be the ideal solution, and would be nice to have a larger battery capacity as well.

The reason why I started this thread and got curious about this, was because I was at a car meet and heard that the Ferrari LaFerrari has the same issue with long-term storage. I would assume the P1 would have the same problem as well. Don't think anyone would suggest the owner of LaF and P1 to just go drive their cars year round.

Now that Ferrari has also indicated that they will go hybrid with their other more common production models. I wonder how they are going to address that issue. Perhaps making them PHEV is the solution.
 
By a gridcharger, do you mean a charger port that connects to J1772, type 2, 110/220V, Chademo or whatever type, that charges the hybrid battery. Thus, making it a PHEV like the 918 Spyder? I do agree that it will be the ideal solution, and would be nice to have a larger battery capacity as well.
Yes, a gridcharger is a tool to charge and balance the hybrid battery. The output voltage has to be corresponding to the hybrid batterys voltage. Yes, it's some kind of PHEV but the battery capacity limits EV mode.

The reason why I started this thread and got curious about this, was because I was at a car meet and heard that the Ferrari LaFerrari has the same issue with long-term storage. I would assume the P1 would have the same problem as well. Don't think anyone would suggest the owner of LaF and P1 to just go drive their cars year round.
Does the LaFerrari already has an issue with the hybrid battery? The fewer a car gets driven the higher the risk of a failure of the hybrid battery. The no. of longer storage periods are like 'lives' in PacMan.

Now that Ferrari has also indicated that they will go hybrid with their other more common production models. I wonder how they are going to address that issue. Perhaps making them PHEV is the solution.
That's why I asked about the warranty. The car maker can't force a buyer to drive the car regularly. If you mount a gridcharger you even risk warranty. For long term owners it matters. Not so the next 8 years but after that.
 
Well How about this for existing owners to weigh in on?!

I had a upsetting issue with mine over the past weekend (11/11) and not sure why... yet
It had sat from previous Sunday function I attended, so SundayPM to Saturday PM or ~ days.
I was planning to take it to a car function on this Sunday (11/12) in AM
I got a new iPhone 7P mid week and was setting it up for Blue tooth and Car Play (in acc. mode) and at some point car seemed to go dead. A bunch of weird sounds started in assorted areas ( engine bay , under front hood etc., trunk latch also maybe)
Windows were full up (not sure why) so doors would not close.
The start button started blinking Bright /dim in red and car would not start.
Truck was closed and would not open. It was ~10 PM and I could not fond a help line for ACURA. Only 24/7 line found and called is just for towing.
I could not find my still in box somewhere NSX battery charger to see if it would help.
So I disconnected the neg on 12v battery for ~ 20 min. to see if I could get a reboot of sorts.
NADA, but the start button was no longer blinking red.
I went in and to try start and button was white but only temp and fuel gauges perimeter lighting was about 1/4 of lower perimeter illuminated and kinda dim. everything else dark.
I was concerned it somehow went to emergency lock down mode (due to my assorted attempts of starting with fob in hand for a while etc) and there was no guidance (I could find) how to recover.
The section on what if unexpected happens did not address my issue(s)



I finally gave up around midnight figuring I'd take the '02 to the car function Sunday AM and went to bed.
Woke up at 2:30 with brain storms so went back to the car. Since manual showed how to connect for jumping, why not just connect a charger to see what I get.
Got out one of my smart charger/maintainers (quite simialr to our $330 unit). It made some weird sounds, (like a relay click (in charger) I never heard before and just said Charging. Usually it analyzes and then reads charging 12V and battery %. So thinking the car needed more than the 3 amp max this one does, I got out a High Power and also smart Battery chargers and hooked it on the battery set it on 40 Amps rate limit. It started charging at 40 for a few minutes then shut down with an error code. I disconnected it, reset it and set to 20 amps. It hung in OK so I eventually left it and returned to bed.
Got up at 6:30 to check things. Charger was now at ~4 amps. I disconnected and tried to start the car an did ! but it had a few warning messages such as lost power, anti theft needs to be reset, and the transmission is re-calibrating!
About 10 minutes or so later all seemed well so I took it around the block and no issues.
Took it to the function and back OK too.


Bottom line is 12 V battery died. But how after only 6 days of sitting unused.?
Maybe there is a huge and unknown parasite drain? I'm quite confident I did not leave any thing on on or open. And if I did (such as trunk/engine area for cool down, the light is an LED and I believe it shuts off after a while on its own. If it needs to be tended, then that should be pointed out and the tender accessory bought should have been included. I will post anything found explaining this but who knows if and when that will occur.



I have since found the NSX charger and it is connected.


we'll see what answers dealer comes up with based on info provided.
pending that, or me leaving car with them...
I figured I'd post this to see (or warn) if any others have had same finding.
Anyone leave car unused for a week or so w/o issues?
 
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Yep. We were told the same thing. I can't imagine buying this car and not driving it for three months!!

Also another Owner, I was told by the service Tech and Clement. The car is started by the High-voltage batteries. If they go completed dead, it will not start no matter what and will need to be towed to service. if they cannot get it started it will go back to PMC. The 12v battery is only in the car for the accessories.
 
The car IS in fact started (turned over) by the High Voltage batteries (which we can't charge) spinning the rear EM which starts the ICE. But the equipment such as relays and logic utilized to connect/engage those batteries to energize the EM require the 12 v battery power source, so it must be in proper charge.
 
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Honda designed their hybrids the way the car starts with the 12V and with a small starter motor (only) if the IMA battery fails to start the engine. The 12V battery is there to stabilize the 12V circuit and gets feed from the IMA battery as there is no alternator. The 12V system feeds everything onboard including electric power steering. If the IMA battery fails the car has a chance to start but if the 12 V battery won't get charged you only have a limited range. If the 12 V battery fails the car won't start at all as in any other car.

I'd not understand if Honda changed the design (no starter).
 
Yep. We were told the same thing. I can't imagine buying this car and not driving it for three months!!

That's because you are in FL vs North East or Further up.
winter will give me an excuse to drive my neglected RL or Dodge Ram 4x4
 
Honda designed their hybrids the way the car starts with the 12V and with a small starter motor (only) if the IMA battery fails to start the engine. The 12V battery is there to stabilize the 12V circuit and gets feed from the IMA battery as there is no alternator. The 12V system feeds everything onboard including electric power steering. If the IMA battery fails the car has a chance to start but if the 12 V battery won't get charged you only have a limited range. If the 12 V battery fails the car won't start at all as in any other car.

I'd not understand if Honda changed the design (no starter).

There is no starter.
 
I erroneously thought that the McLaren P1 is a non-plug-in hybrid. It turns out that the P1 is also a plug in hybrid. So, this long term storage problem is perhaps more unique to the NSX and LaFerrari than the P1 and 918.

Perhaps pulling the car out of winter storage and just run it at idle is the lessor of the two evils? Maybe get some electrical fans to help cool the motor?

In my case, I will likely run the car in winter anyways, when the conditions allow and with proper tires of course. Worse case, I can probably do a midnight cruise up and down the multiple level underground garage.
 
Per the manual about a 30 minute idle ( in ventilated area... like garage doors open) is adequate and what I plan to do.
of course if the weather and roads permit, maybe a drive is in order.
Buy here in N/E (CT) , they have most roads coated with chemical treatment (CaCl etc else salt) which even just residual on dry'ish roads leads me to maybe holding off. the chemical is suspect for brittle failure of some brake pad guides on my '05 RL. The Ca Cl plus high temps ( Brake parts) can lead to brittlement of S/S evidently. After much investigate for weird brake noises, loss of some of the guide tabs caused the pads to rock and rattle when engaged plus wear uneven. These (Bremo Brake mfg'd for the RL) plates and thin securing allen bolts could not be replaced so the end result was two complete new (and pricey since Bremo's) calipers required for what should have been < $20 in parts. At least ACURA split the costs with me. However, that experience has me second guessing any Toy drives in winter unless I'm sure chemical residue won't be an issue.
 
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