06 Hybrid: left some interior lights on, battery drained: Which one?

The two front reading lights and the dome light were left on for about
18 hours, on our 06 Civic Hybrid. The car will not start now, it is
not totally dead, but not enough to crank. I've currently got the
small 12 volt battery, the one in the engine compartment, on a 6 amp
'auto" charger, going on 2 hours now. The charger says it should take
4-9 hours to recharge (if possible). The charger needle initially
indicated 7~9 amps, oscillating quite a bit, and has currently settled
down around 2 amps. It appears to be doing it's job, it's a bit warm,
humming and it's correct polarity light is on. The battery state
indicator is still just showing clear surround and red dot in center.

I'm hoping all will be well in 5~6 hours, and I'll be able to
disconnect the charger, take it for a good run, and it will top itself
up over the next few days. Or second scenario, the small battery is
damaged beyond recharge and will need replacement. My biggest fear: Is
it possible the main hybrid battery has been damaged/discharged?

 

I would think the small battery is the one that tied to the gas engine and
lights. The charger has been on long enough to put enough charge to turn
over the engine. Pull the charger off and try it. Automotive batteries do
not like to be run down and are damaged by deep cycling them. You may get
away with it but it shortens it's life. If it works keep an eye on it and
take it to a parts store and have them load test it.

 

No.

 

I am confused, the gas engine in my 2007 does not "crank" it is brought to
life by the electric motor, exactly the same way it is reactivated after a
stop, I presumed the small battery was for lights & such, maybe if it is too
dead, it won't sustain the electrical need not supplied by the hybrid
batteries.....it would be interesting to find out what happens, let me know
won't you.

 

I was wondering the same thing: I too think the electric motor is
instrumental in cranking at start up, simliar to recovery from auto-
stop.

Anyway, disconnected the charger, gave it a try: it started ok, and
took it for a drive. For the first few block the IMA battery state of
charge indicator was totally blank. Now this could be due to the
battery drain wiping the memory, we've had similar when the computer
was updated. Also, the engine sounded a little funny, not sure if it
was my imagination

Normally with a cold engine the charging indicator (green bars)
doesn't happen, until the engine has warmed up a bit. But in this case
it seems to come on almost immediately. And regardless of acceleration
state, It was always showing 3~4 bars (out of around 10) charging.
Took it up a steep drive, with the transmission in in sport, it
charged going *up* the hill, which seems unusual. Coming back down the
IMA battery state got to fully charge, so much so that the motor
"braking" shut off, and the braking was purely by the brakes
themselves.

Got home, the small regular battery is still showing discharged on the
indicator. I've gone through this before, and I believe it got back to
showing full charge after a few days driving. Still, as one responder
noted, I think we've used up one of it's lives. Hopefully it's got a
few left. It's in for oil change on Tuesday coming up, I''ll bring it
to their attention and get it checked.

Thanks all!

 

I can't speak definitively for the Civic Hybrid, but on my Insight, the
144v battery pack/electric motor starts the gasoline engine under
normal conditions. The 12 volt battery is necessary to keep current to
the computer. If the 12 volt battery is fully discharged, the car will
not start. The car can be started in some cases by jumping the 12 volt
battery from an external source. There is also a 12 volt auxillary
starter motor which will crank the engine in cases where there is
insufficient charge in the 144v battery pack. regards.

 

That makes perfect sense, Mendel indicated that the computer was acting odd
(and it is not even windows) after he recharged the battery....one of those
things you just don't think about.