Clarity Dead in My Garage - Electrical Gremlins - Need to get it towed.

O

OCCARAHOLIC

New Member
Hi there - I have a relatively new Clarity Touring that I bought in December and just hit 4000 miles on it. I absolutely love it, but on my way to work this morning, I pressed the power button and it didn't do anything. It turned red, then black when I pushed it. I did have the brake pedal down and tried multiple times. Then the display did the start sequence then went black. Still no response to the power button. I then noticed the driver running light off then went on. Right side was on. Then the vehicle said it was in accessory mode, but would not turn off with multiple pushes of the power button. After about a minute, the gauges did the start up sequence again but then went black again and all the warning lights lit up and stayed on. I could not turn the ignition off. The key fob would not respond to the remote buttons or the keyless entry on the outside.

I had to get to work, so I have my second car, a Fiat 500e. I went and grabbed the keys to it and went back to the garage and the Clarity was still "stuck" in a mode where I couldn't turn it off. I didn't want the 12V battery to die, so I opened the hood and disconnected the ground cable. I let it sit a bit and then reconnected it. Everything was off so I tried again. Same thing happened. No response, random accessory mode, random on mode, random warning lights, no response to power button. Power button red, then black.

It's stuck in my garage. In park. Emergency brake set. How am I suppose to free this thing to get it towed? Ugh. I have never had a problem with a Honda before and this is very disappointing. I haven't even had a chance to call roadside assistance since I'm at work and get do anything until later. Has this happened to anyone??
 
Very sorry to hear what you’re going through. I think this problem is a first. Could it be that your 12V battery is low? If possible, try charging the 12 V battery or at least checking it’s Voltage.

When Honda Roadside Assistance shows up make certian they tow it with all 4 wheels off the road as they should and as is specified by Honda. Hopefully they’ll show up with a flat bed tow truck
Please keep us posted.
 
Failed/weak 12v is indeed the first thing to check, and the symptoms you describe are totally in line with that. Really wonky things happen when computers don't get the voltage they need.
 
Just like the Volts, carefully loosen and remove the 12V GROUND battery terminal (NOT THE RED + terminal (safety issue)) for a while (10 seconds to minutes). Then reconnect, and try again. If you have a voltmeter or 12V car battery tester, measure the battery voltage first. It does sound like a 12V battery problem, or you got into one of the service (non-drive) modes somehow. (many Volt owners got in the habit of carrying a 10mm socket drive, 12V resets fixed a lot of glitches.)

For Clarity, if you successfully do the 12V battery "cold boot", there will be a bunch of errors that show up on the next start, don't freke out, if all is well, they all reset automatically at the beginning of your next drive.

Not sure if the cold boot removes error codes, that could be a problem for the Honda tech.

Note - NOT THE RED + terminal (safety issue) - the reasoning (for all cars) is that if you are loosening the ground terminal and you accidentally contact chassis ground with a metal tool, nothing bad happens. OTOH, if you accidentally short the plus battery terminal to car ground, all hell can let loose, including splattering molten metal, fire, injury, death, etc.

It's just the reverse if the battery was completely disconnected, connect the red + first. Now it's okay, because the battery ground terminal is still open, not yet connected to the car. So (with the battery ground terminal not connected yet), accidently touching chassis ground, nothing bad happens.
 
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Hope you were able to resolve the issue. The owner manual should at least say how to put the car in neutral instead of just saying to call towing.
 
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