erics

Daughter's subject vehicle had check engine light on. I did diagnostics and, P010A came up. This, with three bars on the IMA battery indicator.

I erased the trouble codes and heard one, maybe two clicks from the IMA battery compartment.

Lo and behold, the battery indicator now shows full bars and all APPEARS well.

IMA battery is out of warranty as it is approximately 7 years old. Has anyone run into this rather strange situation before? I realize the battery is close to its lifespan but still . . .

Much Thanks,

Eric S.

ezone

That one doesn't seem to be in the list of possible codes. Try again?

Normal.
The display on the dash shows a calculated state of charge, not the usable capacity remaining.

Your car could have a worn out IMA battery with 10% of the usable capacity left and the dash display shows full.....but if you mash the gas pedal a time or two that display might drop right down to almost nothing real quick.

erics

Much thanks for your response.


P010A is a code for a "deterioting IMA battery".


She has no other apparent problems other than the fact that when I last drove her car, the "auto-stop" feature did not enable (prior to this day). This is consistent with a deteriorating IMA battery . . . YIKES.


I am not intimately familiar with these buggies but I have "turned wrenches" for 50 years. I need to re-read your response as I thought the "full bars" indicated as was well.

ezone

The car could be in need of a IMA battery replacement, but the code you posted not in the list of possible codes for that car.

I'm just looking to clarify this code before going further....A scanner that reports a false or incorrectly interpreted code can make you pull your hair out in a hurry.

You sure it isn't P0A7F?

erics

My error. The first time I scanned her ECM, P010A AND P0A7F came up. Yesterday, only P010A (mass air flow sensor) came up.

ezone

P0A7F is a "code of death" as we call it in the shop, needs the IMA battery replaced. No further diag needed.

P0101 would be one of the MAF fault codes, there shouldn't be an "A" anywhere in that code.
MAF range or performance fault.
Did this code return after erasing it?

erics

Firstly, thanks for your continuous response.



No, but I think it is simply a matter of time. I do not remember ever cleaning her sensor so maybe that will solve this particular problem.


I did a Google search on these and (as you confirm) P0A7F indicates a deteriorating IMA battery. P010A came up as some problem with the mass air flow sensor or circuit.


The IMA battery is another issue. Her IMA battery was replaced (under warranty) in 2011 and that warranty has expired. The car has 150K miles and is running very well but, replacing the battery is not cost effective at this time. We are shopping for a newer Civic this week.

ezone

Could be set if a lube place tried to open the air box with the engine running, or maybe the rubber coupler got folded and now it's got an air leak. Might be something like a leaf or a bug stuck in the MAF sensor. Just thinking of possibilities....

If the code was P0102 or 103 maybe someone unplugged the sensor with the key on or engine running.....

erics

Thanks for the tips/hints. I'm the only one who has worked on her car since around 2010 when we purchased it used with 50K miles. Local dealer (great) did IMA battery replacement and software update under warranty.

I'm off to buy some sensor cleaner and will call it quits after that.

erics

A small update to the original post. We now have the daughter's buggy at our house and she is "borrowing" my wife's 2012 Fit. I scanned the OBD II and it reported POA7F. I erased the codes and all APPEARS well although I do know better.

She failed the Maryland emissions test BECAUSE the instant the tech sees the check engine light on and POA7F comes up, they automatically stop all work and simply (very nicely) fail the car. I am fairly certain (not 100%) that if they had continued on with the actual emissions testing, the buggy would have passed. Unfortunately, Maryland rules are writen in stone.

I scanned the car again last night and erased the POA7F code. It did not reappear and I am tempted to take the car back to the emissions station for a retest.

If I disconnect the hybrid battery via the circuit breaker, will this prevent any hybrid codes from appearing?

I do realize the hybrid battery is very tired but the replacement cost is approaching the value of her buggy.

ezone

You erased codes....go back in with the scanner and check your readiness monitor statuses. You can't get an emissions test until all or at least most of those monitors have run and passed. Check your local regs for info on how many monitors can be "not run" and still test, it will probably be just one or two.

erics

"go back in with the scanner and check your readiness monitor statuses."


Sorry, I don't know what you mean by this.


Anyway, I "played" with this car for an hour or so last night, cleaned the mass air flow sensor (it looked pretty clean anyway) and kept erasing the code(s) as they came up. Finally, all code(s) did not reappear and, of course, the check engine light was not on.


I took her car to the emissions testing facility this afternoon and the buggy PASSED.
We now have two years till the next test. For sure, I firmly believe we have a deteriorating IMA battery situation but, at least, the pressure is off for two years.

ezone

Not important now, you got it to pass the test....

For an explanation, see this link: https://www.obdautodoctor.com/scantool-garage/obd-readiness-monitors-explained

Basically, when you erase engine codes all of these monitors (tests) are reset to "not run" and that's a tip off that someone recently erased the memory of the ECM or PCM. "Drive cycles" have to take place in order for the PCM to enable and run the self tests on certain systems.

Most 'plug in' emissions tests will automatically fail a car if an insufficient number of those self tests have run and passed. Testing rules vary depending on your area. HTH

erics

When my daughter had the car, she automatically failed the emissions test (Maryland) because the check engine light was on. I legally took possession of the buggy and erased the code with my OBD scanner and successfully passed the emissions test.

And now, several months later, and to make a long story short, I removed the "normal" battery from the 2006 Civic Hybrid and then reinstalled it that same day. This apparently clears all codes within the ECM (?). To date, NO check engine light has re-appeared and the buggy appears to be functioning normally. I do realize that it is only a matter of time before the light comes back on,

Colin42

You're lucky you guys just have a visual check for the check engine light.
When the battery is disconnected or loses charge, the pcm's memory gets erased because there's no power.

Up here for etests we actually plug in to the obd2 port and check that there's no codes and all of the monitors are "ready".
Doing what you did causes all the monitors to be set to "not ready".
When this new etest procedure came up we had alot of people disconnecting their batteries, and then reconnecting and coming for their test expecting to pass since the light was off. They thought they were so clever. I enjoyed telling them they failed.

You should invest in a scanner so you can read/erase codes, see live data, etc. The Bluetooth ones are like $20 on Amazon and you pay $5 for an app.

erics

Well, to make a long story short, the IMA battery finally gave up the ghost and we ended up donating the vehicle to our local NPR station.

As a side note, I still have all the manuals that came with the car if anyone needs them for simply the cost of postage.

Eric S.

Boosted1.6LVtec

I Have a 2013 Civic Hybrid and Mine had some codes on it as well... IMA thing had went bad and my big 144v battery will sometimes trickle charge but not like it supposed too

The other day it finally started to run rough and misfire, with Blinking Check Engine Light, so I have PARLED It EVER SINCE... Need to fix the part that is bad on it if you could help.. Please and Thank You! Driving me nuts! and My code reader wont give me what part i need an info is limited online for some odd reason?!

CODES:1-8
1/8- (83-11)"ABS" No DTS Found.
2/8- (61-11)"ABS" No DTC Found.
3/8- (P0300)"Mod $0E" Random Multiple Misfires.
4/8- (P0301)"Mod $0E" Cylinder 1 Misfire.
5/8- (P0302)"Mod $0E" Cylinder 2 Misfire.
6/8- (P0303)"Mod $0E" Cylinder 3 Misfire.
7/8- (P1440)"Mod $04" IMA System Problem.
8/8- (P15A5)"Mod $04" Motor Current Sensor Circuit Malfunction.

Thank You!