Mods, if it's appropriate, please move this post into the DIY forum as I can't post there yet. As my knowledge grows, so will this post. I hope to turn it into a complete DIY eventually. Thanks!
I have spent all afternoon at techinfo.honda.com, and I have gathered a lot of information. Unfortunately, I don't have any conclusive knowledge that a retrofit is possible. However, assuming the CAN bus cooperates with us, it should be.
All of the control logic for the Automatic Climate Control system (hereafter ACC) is stored in the control panel itself. Honda refers to this panel as the 'Climate Control Unit' in their electrical schematics. Fortunately for us, all of the pins we currently have on our standard 'Heater Control Panel' (Honda's term for the non-ACC control panel) have direct correlations to the pins on the ACC system. So, we will only have to add additional wires to the new panel, we shouldn't need to do anything but basic splicing to our existing wiring harness.
The catch: the ACC control panel has a connection to the car's D-CAN bus (the non-ACC system doesn't). While our non-IMA FG's do utilize the D-CAN bus, it's possible that the ACC control panel will not initialize or operate properly unless it gets certain packets across that bus. The hybrid utilizes a dual-stage electric/mechanical AC compressor (so the coolant still flows when IMA has the engine off) that our cars do not have. This compressor and the IMA system use the D-CAN bus to communicate things like engine power status (I.E. the Power Module tells the ACC system to activate the electric compressor because it has shut down the engine), among other things. While it's possible to spoof the CAN bus with a computer, I am guessing that's more than most people will want to do.
Thanks to jbbrann's suggestion, I will check out the CDM Acura CSX, as it might have a compatible ACC that will render all my work today moot. :banghead:
It's also possible that Honda engineers did a really good job, and engineered the panel to work on models that are not equipped with IMA. This makes sense to me, as it would allow them to use the same ACC control panel across non-IMA models, and would cut their costs. Unfortunately, there is no way to find out without trying.
Aside from the D-CAN connection, there is only one sensor that will need to be spoofed with a resistor (the Heater Core Temp sensor, or you could just buy one and install it along with the other sensors), and we might also need to buy a new air recirculation motor (IMA cars have additional pins, and there is a different part number for the motor at hondaautomotiveparts.com). Additionally, we will need to splice a line into our exterior temp sensor, and we will need to add the cabin moisture/temp sensor and the sun load sensor. All that should be really easy.
If anyone is interested in helping me with this (Maybe someone in the bay area that owns a hybrid?), here is all of the info I have gathered so far:
http://dump.aethion.net/Cars/Schematics
More as it happens, back to you Tom.
I have spent all afternoon at techinfo.honda.com, and I have gathered a lot of information. Unfortunately, I don't have any conclusive knowledge that a retrofit is possible. However, assuming the CAN bus cooperates with us, it should be.
All of the control logic for the Automatic Climate Control system (hereafter ACC) is stored in the control panel itself. Honda refers to this panel as the 'Climate Control Unit' in their electrical schematics. Fortunately for us, all of the pins we currently have on our standard 'Heater Control Panel' (Honda's term for the non-ACC control panel) have direct correlations to the pins on the ACC system. So, we will only have to add additional wires to the new panel, we shouldn't need to do anything but basic splicing to our existing wiring harness.
The catch: the ACC control panel has a connection to the car's D-CAN bus (the non-ACC system doesn't). While our non-IMA FG's do utilize the D-CAN bus, it's possible that the ACC control panel will not initialize or operate properly unless it gets certain packets across that bus. The hybrid utilizes a dual-stage electric/mechanical AC compressor (so the coolant still flows when IMA has the engine off) that our cars do not have. This compressor and the IMA system use the D-CAN bus to communicate things like engine power status (I.E. the Power Module tells the ACC system to activate the electric compressor because it has shut down the engine), among other things. While it's possible to spoof the CAN bus with a computer, I am guessing that's more than most people will want to do.
Thanks to jbbrann's suggestion, I will check out the CDM Acura CSX, as it might have a compatible ACC that will render all my work today moot. :banghead:
It's also possible that Honda engineers did a really good job, and engineered the panel to work on models that are not equipped with IMA. This makes sense to me, as it would allow them to use the same ACC control panel across non-IMA models, and would cut their costs. Unfortunately, there is no way to find out without trying.
Aside from the D-CAN connection, there is only one sensor that will need to be spoofed with a resistor (the Heater Core Temp sensor, or you could just buy one and install it along with the other sensors), and we might also need to buy a new air recirculation motor (IMA cars have additional pins, and there is a different part number for the motor at hondaautomotiveparts.com). Additionally, we will need to splice a line into our exterior temp sensor, and we will need to add the cabin moisture/temp sensor and the sun load sensor. All that should be really easy.
If anyone is interested in helping me with this (Maybe someone in the bay area that owns a hybrid?
), here is all of the info I have gathered so far:http://dump.aethion.net/Cars/Schematics
More as it happens, back to you Tom.
