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Murphy’s Law with my OBD2 reader
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tom66:

--- Quote from: james_s on February 10, 2023, 12:04:11 am ---It's a hybrid, this is a distinctly separate category from either conventional or EV. It has pretty much all of the components of both, about the only thing missing is the separate starter motor and alternator since it uses a motor-generator for that. The "plug in" aspect just means it has a charger tacked on that allows charging the tranction battery from the grid. Overall I would argue that a hybrid is closer to a conventional ICE vehicle than to a BEV, although it is a spectrum. The electric propulsion is only active at parking lot speeds, once you reach a certain speed the ICE fires up and it drives much like a conventional car.

--- End quote ---

Just going to have to disagree here, because it can drive for 20 or more miles on electricity alone, and if you keep your driving within that range, you can 'never' use the petrol. 

So it's like a short range EV coupled to a petrol range extender that drives the wheels directly.  The actual hybrid function of it is limited to regen braking and a small amount of map optimisation (unlike something like a Prius which can run the engine at a nearly completely independent speed to the wheels, with its e-CVT design.)  The EV powertrain is very similar to the 1st generation e-Golf, the motor is different as it sits in the gearbox but is broadly a similar output power, and the battery pack uses cells from the e-Golf with additional cooling due to the higher C rates.   The biggest difference between the PHEV and the EV besides the obvious engine is that the electric motor drives a 6-speed auto gearbox, just like the engine, which makes it one of the few electric cars that shifts gears (it does this even in electric mode.)

Anyway, whilst the car is technically interesting, I'm more interested in whether my 12V battery is dead.
TomKatt:

--- Quote from: sokoloff on February 09, 2023, 07:57:41 pm ---If it's over 4 years old and measuring that low, I'd replace it without any further diagnostics.

When a gasoline car is "running" (which is ambiguous/complicated for a hybrid), the battery shouldn't have much effect on current supply for low voltage systems.

--- End quote ---
The average life of modern car batteries is 3-5 years.  Modern batteries tend to be smaller for weight savings and also modern charging systems are a lot more complicated than they used to be - most modern cars use "intelligent" charging to limit charging under engine load situations (fuel economy again).  While it used to be a car would run without a battery once started, I'm not so sure that is the case for every design these days.  My 2009 CRV had a current sensor at the main junction box that monitored current consumption and would limit charging unless voltage was extremely low.

Point being - if the battery is over 4 years old and you're having trouble, it's wise to simply replace it.

As for OBD2 issues, the P0341 on Honda indicates trouble with the VTC variable timing control.  Though the code suggestion the sensor, more often the sensor is fine but is reporting trouble caused by either a stretched timing chain or some component of the VTEC system.  You mention low oil - that can be a killer to timing chains that causes them to stretch just enough to effect the timing.  It could also be why you feel the car is "sluggish".  Unfortunately, this can be a complicated diagnoses and you have to go through all the variables (timing chain, VTEC oil pressure valve etc) and eliminate them one at a time until you identify the culprit.

edit - if you get bored and want to watch some interesting auto repair diagnoses videos, check out Ivan at Pine Hollow Auto Diagnoses...  While not "how to" videos, watching him go through troubleshooting steps is very educational, and he does a lot with OBD and oscopes.  I'm pretty impressed by the Pico USB scope he uses.

https://www.youtube.com/c/PineHollowAutoDiagnostics

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