[Honda2019]

Does anyone know if this portable jump starter would work on the 2019 Insight? I know the Insight has a small battery inside the car, but not sure about its specifics. This jump starter only works with 12v lead acid batteries.

Noco boost+ GB40 Jump Starter

Thanks.

 

[highmiler]

the owners manual suggests a jumper that provides 12-volt battery jumping power can indeed work

 

[Honda2019]

Thanks Highmiler!

 

[hasarad]

You can jump start an Insight, but you should not use it to jump-start another car. Electronic damage can occur.

 

[westb87]

You can jump start an Insight, but you should not use it to jump-start another car. Electronic damage can occur.

Hey Hasarad! Thanks for all of your contributions to the forum. I've been lurking for a while and have seen you on nearly every thread. I actually did provide a jump-start to a guy as I was picking up my dry cleaning. I followed the same procedures we are supposed to follow when receiving a jump and he was able to get fired right up. I haven't had any issues since. Maybe I got lucky, but everything seemed to have turned out okay. Hope this helps!

 

[hasarad]

Hey Hasarad! Thanks for all of your contributions to the forum. I've been lurking for a while and have seen you on nearly every thread. I actually did provide a jump-start to a guy as I was picking up my dry cleaning. I followed the same procedures we are supposed to follow when receiving a jump and he was able to get fired right up. I haven't had any issues since. Maybe I got lucky, but everything seemed to have turned out okay. Hope this helps!

Happy things worked out sell. It is explicitly stated in the owner's manual not to be a donor for jump-starting. I would surmise that any damages that could occur by doing so would not be covered under warranty. The insight'
s battery is not a standard 12v - it's a 12v AGM battery. I'm not sure exactly what damage could occur, but perusing the interwebs turned up a few cases of blown fuses.

 

[Mr. Natural]

The 12v battery in the Insight isn’t sized to start a car. Not even the Insight. I don’t know what damage it would cause, but I wouldn’t do it.

 

[andrew28]

Hey Hasarad! Thanks for all of your contributions to the forum. I've been lurking for a while and have seen you on nearly every thread. I actually did provide a jump-start to a guy as I was picking up my dry cleaning. I followed the same procedures we are supposed to follow when receiving a jump and he was able to get fired right up. I haven't had any issues since. Maybe I got lucky, but everything seemed to have turned out okay. Hope this helps!

A traditional non-hybrid car uses the 12V battery to power a starter motor to turn the engine. The Prius uses a much more powerful electric drive motor connected to a large, high voltage hybrid traction battery, so the 12V accessory battery only drives electronics and accessories. Thus the 12V accessory battery is not designed to handle the large current a starter motor draws, so it should not be used to jump start another car. The reason you can't use the traction battery to jump start another car is because it is much higher voltage.

^ The Prius can't be use to jump start another car either and I think the above explanation applies to the Insight, too.

@0:30 Honda mentions no jump starting another vehicle and battery charging.

 

[insightfully]

Hey Hasarad! Thanks for all of your contributions to the forum. I've been lurking for a while and have seen you on nearly every thread. I actually did provide a jump-start to a guy as I was picking up my dry cleaning. I followed the same procedures we are supposed to follow when receiving a jump and he was able to get fired right up. I haven't had any issues since. Maybe I got lucky, but everything seemed to have turned out okay. Hope this helps!

Similar to other comments, I'd chalk up this success to luck (and wouldn't suggest pressing it further). My guess is you were very fortunate and had enough high-voltage battery charge to sustain the jump. The high-voltage battery recharges the Insight's 12V AGM battery. I believe Honda advises not having the Insight jump other cars because the hybrid nature of HV battery level/cycling from normal operation varies at any given start/stop point (i.e. may not have enough juice to jump, draining HV battery state of charge). If the HV battery drains too much, the car's power system will not start at all.

 

[odysseus]

This raises the question of which battery-based jump start boxes can start the Insight (or any other keyless-ignition-based car). I was thinking about purchasing a Weego 22 (recommended by Wirecutter) when I came across this comment:

You can't use this on a car with a keyless ignition. This is the most disturbing since a large percentage of cars sold over the past 10 years have keyless ignition. The Weego looks for a system draw before allowing power to flow. On an old car, you turn the key on and a power draw is then sent to the battery/Weego from the ignition, which turns the Weego's adapter on (adapter light green). You can then start the car. For a keyless ignition, the system needs a few seconds of power to start the electronics/ignition/fuel pump before allowing the car to start. If there is low power, it doesn't go through this mode and consequently never sends a power draw to the Weego long enough for it to turn on and allow power to flow.

Has anyone found a good jump start box which will work with the Insight?

 

[insightfully]

Not sure of a specific brand/product recommendation yet, but the manual advises an "AGM-compatible charger" should be acceptable for use (p592):

"AGM labeled batteries like those installed in your vehicle require a compatible charger to be properly charged. Damage to the battery can result if the battery is charged improperly or with the wrong equipment. For more information on how to charge your vehicle’s AGM battery, consult a dealer."

@mgldan previously mentioned a lithium ion jump starter as part of an emergency kit, and perhaps can share in this thread related product info

 

[odysseus]

Has anyone found a good jump start box which will work with the Insight?

I've been corresponding with a Weego product manager, and he states that while they haven't tested the 2019 Insight, "We have sold all of our products in the last 5 years, thousands of them since 2014, and have had less than a dozen people tell us it did not work on their keyless cars."

Any ideas whether the special AGM battery is a consideration?

Furthermore, the manual (p.628) states "Use a 12-volt booster battery only" -- but they're not insisting on using a regular car battery instead of a jump start box, are they?

 

[mgldan]

@mgldan previously mentioned a lithium ion jump starter as part of an emergency kit, and perhaps can share in this thread related product info

I have a Weego 44. Haven’t yet had need to jump start my Insight, but I might find time this weekend to hook it up and at least see if the green light turns on. I’d rather not actually attempt a jump since my car is working fine. :wink:

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Just to attempt to attack this issue.

AGM batteries should never be "quick charged". 2 amps maximum current for most situations. Standard lead acid battery chargers are often 5-15 amps current.

Most likely the positive terminal under the hood is isolated, or at the very least switched. This terminal most likely allows the starter generator to see power, but isolates the AGM battery from seeing any current.

The most expected reasoning is that the relays for ignition, and bcm/pcm/ipu etc... all run on 12v supply. The 12v battery most likely does not actually do any "starting", as the Generator/Starter unit is High Voltage, and powered by the cars HV Battery Pack.

Using an AGM battery to jump start a car will most likely damage the AGM battery, unless it's specifically designed for the current output of a traditional car starter (400+ cca). While most AGM batteries in this size category can be rated for 450 CCA, the fact that our cars don't have a traditional alternator may be the Achilles heel. It's probable that the 12v charging system isn't designed for any significant load.

Or the fact that we have a remote positive, that I speculate is switched/isolated from the AGM, it could damage that terminal to jump start another car and push that kind of amperage.

 

[andrew28]

Has anyone found a good jump start box which will work with the Insight?

Amazon product description says this will work with AGM batteries. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BLLRM8R/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Sorry I just realized that I never finished my post. Most jump packs should work with our set-up, the only issue I foresee is the "voltage sensing smart chargers". I don't know enough about them to say that they will all work, I will say that most likely most of them will work.

There is a huge difference between jumping a car, and charging a battery. I would suggest that no-one tries to charge the battery without a charger designed for AGM batteries, and if it were me, I'd charge the battery at the battery, not the under-hood posts.

 

[pasei]

Jump start another car? Why is this bad?

A friend wants me to jump her car but according to this we can't: https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Training/AFV/Emergency-Response-Guides/Honda/Honda-Insight-HEV-2019--ERG.ashx?la=en
(it also says it in the user manual)

Is that because the AGM battery has slower discharge/ charge rates? Would it work anyways? What would be the damage? I have a pocket jumper anyways but I'm just curious.

 

[andrew28]

A friend wants me to jump her car but according to this we can't: https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Training/AFV/Emergency-Response-Guides/Honda/Honda-Insight-HEV-2019--ERG.ashx?la=en
(it also says it in the user manual)

Is that because the AGM battery has slower discharge/ charge rates? Would it work anyways? What would be the damage? I have a pocket jumper anyways but I'm just curious.

We know it works because 1 or 2 members here said they did it without realizing they shouldn't. As to why we shouldn't I have no idea but Honda makes it clear we should not use our Insight to jump start another vehicle.


https://youtu.be/zBiJFlWW0Zw?t=30

 

[insightfully]

A friend wants me to jump her car but according to this we can't: https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Training/AFV/Emergency-Response-Guides/Honda/Honda-Insight-HEV-2019--ERG.ashx?la=en
(it also says it in the user manual)

Is that because the AGM battery has slower discharge/ charge rates? Would it work anyways? What would be the damage? I have a pocket jumper anyways but I'm just curious.

Some thoughts on jump starting other cars using the Insight are above and/or as follows:

• @westb87 did actually jump-start another person's car with success (though not advised, post #5) - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/17698-post5.html
• Toyota recommends that the Prius not be used to jump start another car (post #8) - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/17776-post8.html
• The 12V battery is recharged from the HV battery (vs alternator), and starting charge for HV battery is variable; power system may not start if drained too far (post #9) - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/17778-post9.html
• Using an AGM battery to jump start may damage the AGM battery, unless it's specifically designed for the current output of a traditional car starter at 400+ cca (post #14) - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/22286-post14.html

 

[dvom]

A small pocket jump starter will not be able to jump the car from under the hood, it will need to be directly attached to the 12v battery posts. If the car has sat dead for multiple days it will also not work. If you want a jump pack that will work in both of those scenarios you will need a full size jump pack. I would recommend the JNC 660 around $120, but even the $60 harbor freight full size jump pack works ok.