Fan only cooling

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JohnT

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Hi - this might have been asked before - but a search didn't turn up an answer.
I checked the manual but there was no mention of how to run the cooling fan ONLY - no temp control, no heating or cooling.
I have had my Clarity 2018 Touring red since last May; and didn't pay attention last year to trying to have the fan only run.. now in the cool spring with hot sun; it would be nice to have the fan pump some cool outdoor air into the cabin WITHOUT A/C.
Any answers?
Thanks John
 
Also try the windows. The Clarity is the about the only car these days where you can open all the windows and not get that wind buffeting.
 
Press the Climate button to display the screen. For fan-forced fresh air you want:

- A/C Off (on the screen). If neither are currently selected press the on/off button or touch a speed to turn the fan on.
- Mode set to come out of the upper vents
- Front defrost off
- Both driver and passenger temps set to Lo to keep the heat from coming on

I don't love the climate controls; having the AC on/off buried on a screen you have to wait for and not always being able to see the status is a pain. And I really would prefer separate heat vs cool temperatures -- I'm okay having the AC automatically cycle at, say, 70, but the next morning when it's 60 and I'm comfortable I don't want to be blasted with expensive electric heat!
 
Yep, it’s not in the manual. I had to puzzle it out by trial and error.
Here is how I got it to work:

1. Have Climate Control (CC) previously on either by Auto button or fan button and set on LOW. It can be on when shut off or turned on at start up.

2. Push Climate Control button and then push AC Off on the screen. Off will illuminate. CC screen will go away after interval (set in menu).

3. As long as you turn the now fan only and no heat CC on and off with the center ON OFF button AND NOT the Auto or Fan up/down buttons, it will remain in fan only with no AC or heat each time you turn it on or leave it on and start the car the next time.

4. Pushing the Auto or fan up/down buttons will cancel this. However you can push the Climate button and change the modes (where air blows) and choose recirculating/fresh without canceling the fan only, no heat, no AC CC. You can also charge the fan speed AFTER you turn on the fan with the center fan on/off button with out canceling the no AC/no heat. If you change fan speed while the CC is off it turns on the CC and cancels this.

Hope this helps. It’s the only way I’ve found to get fan forced air with out the AC compressor and without any heat.
 
The Gadgeteer said:
Also try the windows. The Clarity is the about the only car these days where you can open all the windows and not get that wind buffeting.
Click to expand...
I get tremendous wind buffet from opening the rear windows at speed. Front windows OK, but I wonder how much drag we are creating.
 
Agree with KentuckyKen. That is the only way that i found.
1. Turn AC off
2. Temp in LO
3. Vent Direction to face
4. Air Re-circulation OFF
5. Set the fan at desired speed
Pushing auto button will turn on the AC, at the coldest setting. (because you have temp in LO)
 
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So when you guys say temp at LO do you mean dial down the temp number to something like 65 or is there a LO setting for temp that I'm not aware of?
 
Dial it all the way down and 58 F will be replaced by Lo. This way you can be assured that no heat will be called for.
 
KentuckyKen said:
I get tremendous wind buffet from opening the rear windows at speed. Front windows OK, but I wonder how much drag we are creating.
Click to expand...
I also experienced the wind drumming if I opened just the rear windows. As @The Gadgeteer said, you must open ALL the windows to avoid wind buffeting. You can get away with some of the windows being just partially open.

I've spent many summers baking in my gen-1 Insight rather than cause extra drag by opening the windows or using extra power by turning on the AC. I tell people who still listen to me that the only time I use the AC is when I take my wife out for our anniversary dinner every summer. I managed to get my lifetime gas mileage readout above 64 mpg, despite many 45-mpg months in the Michigan winters.
 
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I have only experienced perfectly no cc need weather in the Clarity for the first time these last 2 days so I offer these disclaimers on my previous statements:

I haven’t driven at full highway speed but at moderate to a bit more than moderate speed with all the windows open all the way and I was nonetheless surprised there was no buffeting.

For fan use I didn’t go into the screen to turn off AC. I just had cc turned off but after reading here that could still turn on AC I went back to the car and checked. The temp was last set at 70 which was what was the ambient temperature when I left work so my AC didn’t cycle on as far as I know but it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have if the last temperature set was something else.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Yep, it’s not in the manual. I had to puzzle it out by trial and error.
Here is how I got it to work:

1. Have Climate Control (CC) previously on either by Auto button or fan button and set on LOW. It can be on when shut off or turned on at start up.

2. Push Climate Control button and then push AC Off on the screen. Off will illuminate. CC screen will go away after interval (set in menu).

3. As long as you turn the now fan only and no heat CC on and off with the center ON OFF button AND NOT the Auto or Fan up/down buttons, it will remain in fan only with no AC or heat each time you turn it on or leave it on and start the car the next time.

4. Pushing the Auto or fan up/down buttons will cancel this. However you can push the Climate button and change the modes (where air blows) and choose recirculating/fresh without canceling the fan only, no heat, no AC CC. You can also charge the fan speed AFTER you turn on the fan with the center fan on/off button with out canceling the no AC/no heat. If you change fan speed while the CC is off it turns on the CC and cancels this.

Hope this helps. It’s the only way I’ve found to get fan forced air with out the AC compressor and without any heat.
Click to expand...


Thanks Kentucky Ken;

I have printed it out and it is in the car for the next time we have hot sun and cool temps.. and I'll see if I can get fan only... It is a wonderful car with strange quirks and oddities - after a year; and always fully charging; it is now starting the ICE 'often' when I leave home - and it didn't before. Only uses about 5 km of ICE range (3 miles). Not a show stopper just strange that it started doing that.. Range has gone up to 59 miles; and my HondaLink on the smartphone cannot be changed to kilometers (but my tablet is fine in kilometers). Thanks for all your insights, Ken.
 
JohnT maybe you've seen some of my posts in other threads about my ICE starting. I drove for 4 months on a 44 round trip commute with no ICE and now in the last two weeks it has come on almost every day. Same conditions, same route. Like you I'm just curious about why the change.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Dial it all the way down and 58 F will be replaced by Lo. This way you can be assured that no heat will be called for.
Click to expand...

Hi Ken

Just a shout out to say thanks for the fan suggestion.. printed it out and tried it yesterday when it was cool with a hot sun... worked great and the A/C didn't come on. Cheers John
 
KentuckyKen said:
I get tremendous wind buffet from opening the rear windows at speed. Front windows OK, but I wonder how much drag we are creating.
Click to expand...
I get an insane amount of wind buffeting (I always wondered what it was called) with the rears down and fronts up.

It sounds like a helicopter and is crazy loud.
 
So this ties in with an idea of mine. If you have ever had mildew build up in your air conditioner, and the resulting odor each time you start your car, you never want it to happen again. It is difficult and potentially expensive to remove the mildew.

So on my last car (Prius) what I started doing during the summer was turning off AC when I was about a mile from the house and then turning on the fan full blast. Felt fine at first of course because the coils were still cold, and if I timed it right by the time the cabin started getting uncomfortably warm I had arrived at home. I eventually thought of going online to see if anyone else had tried this, and from what I read the concept itself is a sound one, however they said running only a couple of minutes like I was doing would likely have little to no effect, you would have to run the fan much longer. I knew I couldn't survive running it any longer so I just kept up my "last mile" method. After thirteen years of southern humidity there was no mildew smell, although I have no idea if that had anything to do with me running fan only for the last mile.

So now I have a Clarity, and guess what? I realized that before getting out of the car during the summer I can set climate to fan only. Then exit the car, and using the fob (or app) start climate control, which will run for 30 minutes then shut off. Seems like it would use little in the way of battery charge, basically none if I am plugged in, and maybe it will help keep the mildew gremlins away. Only thing is I would have no way of knowing if it is effective, other than no news is good news, but it doesn't seem like it would hurt anything.
 
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