My EV Died! Oh No!

[svetz]

I've had the Honda Clarity (now discontinued) for six years and this is the second problem with it. I love this car! Best car ever!

The first problem was a thirsty rat that chewed through the windshield washer tube to drink the washer fluids. It was later uncovered that the rat was employed by several anti-EV groups. Yep, the Florida dry season can be pretty dry, except for humidity. It's really humid in the dry season. Go figure.

But this time! I get in, put the foot on the brake, hit the start button .... and am greeted with a series of warning lights and messages: Brake system light on Engine light on Brake system problem alert Hill start assist problem alert Brake hold system problem Disconnect Recharger Alert Battery Light and other dash lights are on Yeah, you guessed it. The 6 year old old lead acid battery had finally died. At least, I think that's the problem despite the battery showing 12.3V. Charged the battery and everything works okay.

In the "Old" days, the guy at the store would swap the battery for you... but their HQ says not to do that without a gizmo for the cigarette lighter as EVs might go wonky on loss of power.

I'm dubious as that sounds like a bad design (so sure, maybe a GM ; -), but I figure I can work something out to hotswap it. But I did find some other really cool things in there while poking around, I didn't even know I had inverter cooler fluid.

Well... time to try a hot swap... this could be a sparking good time!

 

[kommando]

12.3V lead acid in a car is dying or dead, that even goes for batteries that do not get the draw from a starter motor. My old vintage kickstart bikes will agree on that one, low volts means retarded timing means a kickback and a sore foot.

 

[svetz]

Got the battery tender on (yup, this guy again) and got the battery in. Toughest part of the job was getting the plastic terminal cover off, this thing had to have been designed by a NASA steam-punk engineer. Turned out to have clips on the inside (where you can't get to them), you just need to pull up...really hard....

Got it all back together easy peasy... except wait! is that the battery sleeve I left off? Oops...

So naturally, as I'm elbowing the sleeve down the positive battery tender clip pops off... Oops... Well, it was only a couple of seconds... Shirley, the capacitors are designed to hold for short blips, right? How bad can it be? Okay, so maybe a few warning lights stayed lit up. Practically unimportant ones like power steering, air bags, collision... But hey, I put it in reverse and it shifts to reverse. Put it into drive... yeah baby! Then I get the message... reinitializing....

Oh what the heck? It's an EV... let's take it for a spin.. Not even a half mile and everything is back to normal. Man I love this car.



It is a gorgeous day out here today... and not too hot or humid...

 

[Q-Dog]

I have a set of "test leads" that I use to keep the circuit energized when swapping a battery.

 

[svetz]

Wondering about the pop art images? They're AI generated... I was putzing around with it to spice the thread up a bit...here's what I asked

• can you draw a pop art picture of a rat (literally a rat, not a duplicitous human) employed by anti-EV groups chewing on a windshield washer hose
• can you create a pop art picture of a honda clarity getting its battery changed?
• can you create a pop art picture of a honda clarity dashboard with every warning light on?
• can you create a pop art picture of a honda clarity driving down a highway with a beach, people playing, a sailboat and palm trees in the background ?

Why pop art?
Well can you create a photo realistic picture an old geezer nursing his bruised fingers from smashing them while working on his honda clarity probably wouldn't be as much fun. ; -)

 

[42OhmsPA]

So is the joke the clarity is a HEV not an EV?

 

[Ampster]

I didn't even know I had inverter cooler fluid.

I had a 2012 RAV4 EV conversion done by Tesla to give Toyota a compliance vehicle so they could sell more Tundras. I learned a lot about the coordination between Tesla and Toyota during that time. One thing was that there were three different coolant fluids. The explanation was that Toyota did not want to alter the existing systems so that the Toyota dealer service people would find it easier to deal with existing systems plus the EV systems rather than modify the existing systems to work with the EV system. The other oddity was that Tesla has always had the traction battery charging the 12 volt battery, but Toyota wanted the system to be like an ICE vehicle which only charged the 12 volt battery when the start button was on. That meant that one time I left something on I depleted the 12 volt battery when there was plenty of capacity in the traction battery. Fortunately a jump start, fired up the 12 volt system enough to activate the start button and the 12 volt battery began to charge.

 

[svetz]

So is the joke the clarity is a HEV not an EV? Your Google kungfu is weak young master! There are no Clarity HEVs. Originally there were three versions: EV, Fuel-Cell, and PHEV. Now there are no new models. Mine is a PHEV, but it generally stays within it's all-electric range and is solar-charged.

​

 

[42OhmsPA]

Your Google kungfu is weak young master! There are no Clarity HEVs. Originally there were three versions: EV, Fuel-Cell, and PHEV. Now there are no new models. Mine is a PHEV, but it generally stays within it's all-electric range and is solar-charged.

View attachment 207525​

Ha, duckduckgo failed me. I missed the P for photovoltaic

 

[time2roll]

Common issue. Although I am surprised the vehicle complained at 12.3 volts.

 

[svetz]

Common issue. Although I am surprised the vehicle complained at 12.3 volts.

That's a reason I made a joke out of it; my first thought wasn't the battery and figured I'd playfully get the word out. Guessing all the startup checks use the 12V lead acid battery and the current draw dropped the voltage to where it thought there was a significant problem.

It's kinda funny that every EV still has a 12V battery for accessories. I've read northerners have trouble getting locked out of their cars when the 12V battery weakens in the cold.

I did look up the inverter fluid, 50/50 mix of antifreeze. I got a chuckle out of:

Only a properly trained technician can refill the coolant and check the system for leaks.​

Personally, I think anyone could spot a leak (they generally make a mess under the car ;- ) Looked on par with topping off break fluid, but I've no clue how you'd drain and flush the system.

I didn't see inverter fluid replacement as one of the Jiffy lube services, but it's supposed to be replaced every 5 years or 150,000 miles. So, sounds like I'm past due.

 

[Hedges]

You've been bamboozled.

Is Blinker Fluid a Real Thing?

Have you ever been asked to fill your car's blinker fluid? Here's the history behind this request and what it really means.

mechanicbase.com

https://www.amazon.com/Blinker-Fluid-16oz-Great-Prank/dp/B075J8XQMG

 

[svetz]

Ha, duckduckgo failed me. I missed the P for photovoltaic I wonder what the acronym is for a solar-powered EV? PVEV? SEV? WTF? The one to the right is supposed to get 40 miles per day from its PV cells and 1,000-mile range on its battery. The price is up to $33,200. Should be coming out this year. The cells are pretty interesting, they have to not make a hazard during a crash and survive being hit by rocks and such. They talked about the tech in one of the updates.

 

[AntronX]

It is a gorgeous day out here today... and not too hot or humid...

Yea I love/hate days like these. I got record high solar production and nowhere to use it. I need to make DIY Chademo charger and dump power into my car.

 

[42OhmsPA]

I wonder what the acronym is for a solar-powered EV? PVEV? SEV? WTF? The one to the right is supposed to get 40 miles per day from its PV cells and 1,000-mile range on its battery. The price is up to $33,200. Should be coming out this year. The cells are pretty interesting, they have to not make a hazard during a crash and survive being hit by rocks and such. They talked about the tech in one of the updates.

PVD4 (direct drive daily driver)