ZENCAR charger with selectable amps -- should it work?

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bill_m

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Howdy all,
A number of months ago I picked up a Zencar charger which allows 120V or 240V connection with selectable 8A 10A 13A or 16A. When I plug it into a 120 socket and select 13A, the green light turns on on the Clarity, which seems to be happy. But within a few minutes the light goes out and there is no further connection. The same is true if I use the 10A setting.

Since I have no problems using Clarity's 12A charger, I am wondering,
(a) should it work, but I am not setting up the Clarity charging controls correctly?
or (b) is it doomed to failure, because Clarity excludes everything but 12A from a 120V?

Hopefully, some one else has tried it and/or knows how to get it to work, or some knowledgeable Clarity person will explain to me why it will not work?
 
The Clarity will accept higher amps from 120v chargers. I used a 16 amp / 120v charger for several months.

Any chance you have a charge schedule, and you are trying to charge 'off schedule'?
 
ClarityBill said:
The Clarity will accept higher amps from 120v chargers. I used a 16 amp / 120v charger for several months.

Any chance you have a charge schedule, and you are trying to charge 'off schedule'?
Click to expand...

I usually have the timer set for late night. So, earlier in the evening, after connecting, I used the long press of the charger button on the fob to start the charge immediately. With amps set to either 10A or 13A, and before the long press, the green light as usual flashed on and off the usual 6-7 times and then turned off. Then after the long charge, the light turns to steady green, as usual, indicating charging. Then a minute or so later, the green light goes off.

When I turn off the timer before shutting down the car, and connect either 10A or 13A, the light turns green immediately, indicating charging. Then a minute or so later, the green light goes off.

Enigma!?
 
There is a service bulletin that addresses charging issues like this. Not routinely applied, you must ask/complain to get it done.
 
DucRider said:
There is a service bulletin that addresses charging issues like this. Not routinely applied, you must ask/complain to get it done.
Click to expand...
It’s SB 18-097. You must complain about having charging problems to get it installed. It’s probably easier to just say you’re having problems at public chargers. It seems to correct the inordinately high sensitivity the Clarity has to “dirty” or fluctuating power input. We don’t know if it does anything else. May or may not correct your problem but it’s a good place to start.
 
KentuckyKen said:
It’s SB 18-097. You must complain about having charging problems to get it installed. It’s probably easier to just say you’re having problems at public chargers. It seems to correct the inordinately high sensitivity the Clarity has to “dirty” or fluctuating power input. We don’t know if it does anything else. May or may not correct your problem but it’s a good place to start.
Click to expand...
When I called my lovely Honda dealer (Norm Reeves HondaSuperstore Irvine) and mentioned SB 18-097 and that it was failing to finish charging, I was told: there is no recall for that condition. But I could schedule an appointment and bring it in to have a diagnostics check run for $80 and if they found something wrong they would fix it.

I wonder if this is an invitation to waste of my time + $80 ? Is there a chance that the diagnostics would catch it?
 
Tell them it’s a Service Bulletin and not a recall. AFAIK, there have been no recalls on the Clarity. Honda will reimburse them for the installation but only if they do it in response to a customer complaint about charging. It will not cost you anything.
 
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