ICE fires up on Park from using the AC

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Geor99

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During lunch with a 90% charged battery, I spent an hour in the car with the A.C. running.

Every 15 minutes the ice would rumble to life for 4 minutes. The car didn't move. The outside temp was 80.

I timed everything. It started 4 times during the hour. Each time the ice ran for 4 minutes.

I was running the A.C. with the car on, but not moving for 1 hour.

The battery mileage decreased as time progressed, but it did not increase when the engine rumbled on. It did jerk the car somewhat every time that it kicked on, even though I was in park.

The display showed green going from the engine to the battery, yet the battery mileage never increased nor did the rate of decrease appear to change with the ice running.

It can't be that the a.c. is running from the little 12v battery and the ice periodically charges it, can it? That can't possibly be.

I can drive 70mph for an hour and never have the ice kick on , yet in park it happens 4 times in an hour?

Could it be kicking on a motor cooler under the hood that's not needed while the car is moving due to air rushing in to cool everything?

Thoughts???
 
Geor99 said:
It can't be that the a.c. is running from the little 12v battery and the ice periodically charges it, can it? That can't possibly be.
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Nope, A/C compressor is high voltage and runs off the HV battery system.

Next time try lowering the interior temp setting and see if the ICE stops running (after it completes the initial warmup cycle).
 
Mysteries abound when it comes to the Clarities.
If the ICE doesn’t need to run for the AC when driving in EV then what could be the reason?

Perhaps additional cooling connected to the engine such as a mechanical pump?

If it has something to do with charging the 12 volt battery wouldn’t the ICE start regardless if you’re moving or not? I am thinking something heat build up related but it is just a first guess.
 
The radiator cooling fan might be 12 volt but why would that make the engine turn on? Wouldn’t the 12 volt battery get charged from the high voltage battery?
 
I don't understand why your ICE would run under those conditions. Last summer when the outside temperature was 95 degrees, I sat in my car for about 45 minutes with the AC on just to measure how quickly the mileage would decrease, and the ICE never started. Under those conditions, sitting in the sun, I would lose about 1 mile every 20 minutes. Sitting in the car on a 20 degree day with the heater set at 70, I would lose about 1 mile every 5 minutes.
 
The Gadgeteer said:
Mysteries abound when it comes to the Clarities.
Click to expand...
I am coming to the conclusion that either the car control system isn't ready for prime time or those of us who are trying to understand it simply do not have access to the data we need. Also, I'm amazed that different vehicles seem to operate in wildly different ways - in this thread we have one person reporting the ICE running with the AC on, and another person reporting no ICE operation in the same situation.

Today I took a highway trip that I often take. My SOP is to drive the two miles to the Interstate in EV, and once I'm established on the highway to shift to HV so that I have EV left for city driving later. I did that today, and noticed that the gear icon never came up. My gear icon has always been much rarer than I would predict, but today it simply was not engaging direct drive at all after several minutes of driving in HV. I switched out of HV to EV for a mile or so, hit the button to go back to HV, and the gear icon appeared in the pattern that I am used to. Go figure. Same road, same speed, same temperature . . . completely different behavior. I am sure that there is an explanation; there has to be because it's a deterministic computer. It just seems like they made the algorithm much more complicated than it needs to be.
 
It can't just be my car that does this. How can that other poster sit in the car with the A.C. on and the ice never start, while my car starts every 15 minutes.

I had about an 85% charge, I was in econ mode, in park, about 80F outside, with the A.C. running.

Hmmmm, the mysterious Clarity.

The first time it startled me as the car rumbles and shakes for the 1st second or 2 when the ice starts. It's definitely noticeable when in park, at least when 1st starting.
 
Geor99 said:
During lunch with a 90% charged battery, I spent an hour in the car with the A.C. running.

Every 15 minutes the ice would rumble to life for 4 minutes. The car didn't move. The outside temp was 80.

I timed everything. It started 4 times during the hour. Each time the ice ran for 4 minutes.

I was running the A.C. with the car on, but not moving for 1 hour.

The battery mileage decreased as time progressed, but it did not increase when the engine rumbled on. It did jerk the car somewhat every time that it kicked on, even though I was in park.

The display showed green going from the engine to the battery, yet the battery mileage never increased nor did the rate of decrease appear to change with the ice running.

It can't be that the a.c. is running from the little 12v battery and the ice periodically charges it, can it? That can't possibly be.

I can drive 70mph for an hour and never have the ice kick on , yet in park it happens 4 times in an hour?

Could it be kicking on a motor cooler under the hood that's not needed while the car is moving due to air rushing in to cool everything?

Thoughts???
Click to expand...
Someone correctly pointed out that I can't go 70 mph for an hour without the ice as that would be 70 miles electric. I was just making a point. I'll change the 70 mph to 35 mph for an hour:)
 
Not trying to be a smart-a$$ here but are you sure you're hearing the ICE and not just the compressor fans running on high. Some folks think they are both one and the same.
 
fotomoto said:
Not trying to be a smart-a$$ here but are you sure you're hearing the ICE and not just the compressor fans running on high. Some folks think they are both one and the same.
Click to expand...
100% absolutely positively beyond any doubt whatsoever it was the ICE. I watched the green energy lines go from the motor icon to the battery.
 
jorgie393 said:
Was the car fully on (just in PARK), or was it in accessory mode?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...
Fully on- ready to drive. Certainly not in accessory mode.

I bet you that this would happen in many of your cars as well.

The next time I have lunch in the car, I will make a video.

The ICE turning on is definitely not some horrific event . I'm just very curious to understand what's going on.
 
Geor99 said:
The next time I have lunch in the car, I will make a video.
Click to expand...

I'm still thinking/guessing it's temp related under this scenario; your HVAC setting was close enough to ambient (80f) that in order to regulate the interior temperature (the a/c can only add COLD air) the cars ECU decided to add engine heat to the coolant loop instead of using (or stopped using) the HV battery to heat the loop. I should have added this possible explanation in my original post.

So next time this occurs, drop the HVAC temp a few degrees and see if the ICE stops. Regardless, it may run a long time on the first start up to complete its warmup cycle for emissions purposes.
 
fotomoto said:
I'm still thinking/guessing it's temp related under this scenario; your HVAC setting was close enough to ambient (80f) that in order to regulate the interior temperature (the a/c can only add COLD air) the cars ECU decided to add engine heat to the coolant loop instead of using (or stopped using) the HV battery to heat the loop. I should have added this possible explanation in my original post.

So next time this occurs, drop the HVAC temp a few degrees and see if the ICE stops. Regardless, it may run a long time on the first start up to complete its warmup cycle for emissions purposes.
Click to expand...
I already had the temp as low as possible. I'M sure of this as I always run it on lo.
 
I'll make a video and time elapse the contents and show you.

Once again, I'm not complaining. I just want to understand what's going on. I don't care if the ice occasionally turns on. It's pennies in fuel.
 
Geor99 said:
I just want to understand what's going on.
Click to expand...
The familiar cry of the inquiring Clarity PHEV driver.

Years ago (36 years ago), Apple Computer (when Computer was still part of the company's name) had an "evangelist," Guy Kawasaki, who was the public face of Apple Computer's Macintosh developers. He was the one who could answer any question or at least get the answer if he didn't know it. He was a huge public-relations asset for Apple Computer. Wouldn't it be great if Honda had a Clarity Evangelist?
 
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