It has been really cold lately, and I just noticed something - my Clarity has been changed really slow. I have 2 L2 and 2 PHEVs. Charging on the Clarity been really slow. MY JB is set to 40A, but the Clarity seems to draw only about 7-8A. When I plug in my RAV4 Prime, It draws 30 A. is there a setting on the car itself that I can check, or I should be going to the dealer? not sure if it’s related to the cold weather? Anyone else had similar issues?
Did you enable the "smart charge" thing? If so, it will only draw as much as it needs to get to the set charge level by the scheduled end time, especially if Honda thinks your power generators aren't clean. I've seen mine go below even 1 amp.
Smart charge on the car? Where do I find this setting? I have something like this on my JB app, but I don’t use it at all
Are you referring to some program to reduce electricity use? I think we don’t have this in Canada. I wonder if it has something to do with the cold - eg it’s trying to protect the battery? It has been consistently in the -20C to -30C range for more than a week now
We use free public L2 chargers. We have not been able to look at amps during charging, but we have noticed that we get 3 or 4 kWh per hour of charging when it is cold instead of the normal 6 kWh. The charging returned to the normal 6 kWh with spring, summer temps.
It is quite interesting that your graph seems to depict a 'normal' charge rate (~ 7kW) at first (for maybe 10 minutes) before dropping down and entering the odd profile. It never gets anywhere near that cold here (thank goodness), but that could very well be the reason. The plot sent by @Brigitte seems to look very similar to yours, which may offer you some comfort that this is 'normal' behavior given the conditions.
Hello, I would like to share with you my dissatisfaction with a charging problem I addressed to my dealer. At a cost of $143.01 the charger problem is still present. I contacted Honda Canada about this by email and I am waiting. I live in Montreal with impossibility of recharging at home so I need to use public refills at high cost, time and $. I started my third year with my Clarity but a vehicle loader problem now prevents me from charging it properly. My vehicle is still under warranty but I realize that I am left to myself with a defective car... Thank you for accompanying me to a problem solving
On cold days the car reduces the charging rate so that the battery doesn't accumulate damage. On such days I would recommend driving in HV mode, and charge on warmer days. Assuming it is colder in the morning and warmer in the afternoon, then that time of day may be a better option. When it is extremely cold the car automatically switches to HV mode so as to not harm the battery.
What, precisely, is your charging problem and what was the failed attempt that the dealer charged you for? Was it a diagnostic charge? There was a software upgrade/recall that was required on some early vehicles (2018) that was required in order to get the car to play well with certain public chargers. Some Honda dealers are a tad ignorant about the Clarity, and unless given specific guidance from owners to perform a task, they don’t have a clue.
The charger of my Clarity worked very well last two winters so the cold alone cannot explain the charger problem.
Diagnostic fees by the dealer and 24 hours without a car, in addition I mentioned Service Bulletin 18-097 He says that the car is normal and that this does not apply.
Here is my dealer's answer Hello, I took the time to review the information you sent me and as I noticed, your charging time is not enough to fully charge your electric battery. In cold weather, before a battery can be recharged, it must first be heated by the charge you provide and it is only once the battery temperature reaches a temperature acceptable to the vehicle's computer that the vehicle begins to charge the electric battery. A normal charge that would take 2.5 hours can take 220 volts in a hot temperature may take more than 6 hours to charge in cold temperatures or more. The principle of the vehicle is like that of your cell: leave it plugged in and it will decide when the charge will be over. If you remove the car from charging after 1 hour and 13 minutes, you probably didn't charge the battery at all, you just heated the battery to prepare it for charging. I have included 2 pages of your owner's manual for you to consult. So that you can believe what I am explaining to you, when the temperature warms up, you will see that the charging time changes, which will confirm what I am explaining to you. Thank you and hope it will help you better understand how this new technology works Director / Manager HONDA GABRIEL Montreal (Quebec)
