2007 Honda Civic Hybrid, IMA has gone bad, and regular battery keeps dying
 

Hello all,

I'm not the best with cars, but I can't find any mechanics who seem to know what they're talking about when it comes to Hybrids. I bought the car used back in 2012 with about 100,000 miles on it. I've since put on about 34,000 miles since 2012.

About 18 months to 2 years ago, the IMA started showing issues (not holding a charge, triggering the check engine light). I couldn't afford a brand new IMA, so I got a used one for about $1000. I installed it myself with the help of my dad, and it started exhibiting the same issue. The seller replaced the IMA for me free of charge since it was within 30 days, and within two weeks, the second replacement started showing the same issue. I decided to just ignore it since I didn't think it was worth the trouble. The car still drove fine, it just had issues accelerating from 0 since the IMA wasn't helping as much.

Fast forward to last October, and now I'm having issues with the car's regular 12V battery. It keeps losing charge like crazy. I replace it with a brand new one and it's fine. Then, last March, the 12V battery is dead again. It was still under warranty through NAPA, so I replace it for free. Fast forward to today, and the battery is so dead that the power steering, stereo, and even dash functions (including the RPM gauge and spedometer) stop working entirely. I managed to bring it home, and of course it won't turn on again from a dead battery.

Currently waiting for my roommate to come home so he can jump it. Anyway, I've researched on the internet and can't find anything linking 12V battery drainage to a defective or deteriorated IMA. Am I out of luck without replacing the IMA? Or do I have even worse luck and have a problem with the car itself since replacing the IMA twice didn't do anything?

Re: 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid, IMA has gone bad, and regular battery keeps dying
 

You should test the alternator to see what it's putting out and also add the draw that's being taken from the battery. If the voltage from the alternator is not enough for the draw this would lead to a problem. Also check go see if the car is drawing voltage from something else like a lose ground or something kind of short in the vehicle.