Here is the issue: I have a Chargepoint charger at my work which I have successfully used in the past. In the past two weeks my Clarity has stopped charging at this charger; two colleagues who both drive a Nissan Leaf have been able to charge without issue. To forestall the questions which accompany posts like this here are some bits of data: 1) The car is indeed turned off. 2) There is no charging schedule set up in the HondaLink app 3) Pressing the Charge button on the fob has no effect (never has) 4) Looking on the HondaLink app the car does not even recognize that it is plugged in 5) Charging with my Level 2 Juiceboox at home goes flawlessly (one of the few things with the Juicebox that actually works right). Any ideas what to do now?
I have found that on public chargers, the end of the latch -see photo attached- that holds the J1772 connector onto the car gets broken off (maybe by people trying to pull the connector off without pressing the thumb button?). I believe that Clarity uses the latch end to depress a switch necessary to be able to activate charging. Maybe the latch end on your public charger has been broken? If so, I think you're out of luck unless you can get Chargepoint to repair it.
I have been able to use chargers with the broken latch by lifting up on the latch button after it is connected to the car. As long as the latch is up, it will charge. Be sure to push it down before removing the connector, or you will be disconnecting live (Small arc and small burn spot on the pins).
Now that is something new that I had not heard previously. I will definitely check all the latches when I get to work tomorrow.
What is the model year of your Clarity? There were some reports of issues with public chargers, perhaps specifically ChargePoint, that seemed to affect 2018MY cars. This was remedied with a software update, however, Honda may or may not have acknowledged the issue or that the update was specifically for the charging issue. Alternatively, it could be the mechanical “latch” issue. Based on the information provided about that issue, it seems as though the latch remains up once it is deliberately lifted up. Perhaps your Leaf driving associates are performing that maneuver and they’ve not told you about their little trick?
The latch stays up, and I do not have to stand by the car for charging. This works at a charger I use weekly in Albany, NY.
The software update you are referring to is 18-097. Most dealers had no clue about the patch as it was optional for the Clarity. I had to print out the document and take it to my dealer so they could search for it and do the update. Charging was WAY better after the update, but I’ve found the car to be persnickety with old level 2 chargers on occasion. The link to the update notification follows: https://www.tsbsearch.com/Honda/18-097 Good luck!
