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Got an error message from my 2019 Clarify Electric - Check Power System - Power Reduced

2126 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  TJSocal, 
kiwilee6667
Hi Clarity owners:

I am not sure if I am the only one got an orange color message "check power system - power reduced" on my display panel. Unfortunately, I have no luck to google anyone has this experience.

The car seems running fine after I made a decision to give a drive with this alert.

Appreciate if anyone can help to give me a clue
if I need to go dealer take a whole trip and see what they say.

Thanks again

Al
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kiwilee6667 said:
Hi Clarity owners:

I am not sure if I am the only one got an orange color message "check power system - power reduced" on my display panel. Unfortunately, I have no luck to google anyone has this experience.

The car seems running fine after I made a decision to give a drive with this alert.

Appreciate if anyone can help to give me a clue
if I need to go dealer take a whole trip and see what they say.

Thanks again

Al
Click to expand...
Depending on the age of your Clarity, the 12V PbA auxiliary battery might be approaching its end-of-life. There are a myriad of processors on EVs of all types, and a weak 12V battery can cause mayhem and confusion.

I'd check the health of your 12V PbA under load. It's a cheap thing to do, and history has shown that it's often a source of "odd" behaviors. Many auto parts stores have battery testers that you can use for free, but it will require you to remove the battery first. Removal is just like in most other cars. Do note that you'll likely lose some settings in the infotainment system.

Good luck!
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kiwilee6667
Thank you very much. It is only 3 years or less, but the 12V battery could be sitting there warehouse longer than that particularly this is slow moving car. I will definitely do some test and report to all Clarity owners.

Appreciate a lot.

Regards,
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2
under what conditions did this happen? I drove my Clarity BEV down to ZERO (due to a road closure/detour), but made it to a charger during that last zero mile.

After I charged up the Clarity, the message went away.

Also, when I get the power system warning messages, they usually go away after a good charge or restarting the car after a few miles have been driven.
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kiwilee6667
orchid said:
under what conditions did this happen? I drove my Clarity BEV down to ZERO (due to a road closure/detour), but made it to a charger during that last zero mile.

After I charged up the Clarity, the message went away.

Also, when I get the power system warning messages, they usually go away after a good charge or restarting the car after a few miles have been driven.
View attachment 1081 View attachment 1082
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Thank for your sharing.

My case is when I stop the car and star again. I tried unplug 12V battery ground and put it back which is to reset the system but it still have no luck. My car is still running well even with this annoy alarm show on my dash board.

Will ask dealer tomorrow to see what's happen. I roundly believe it is false alarm or some sort of sensor related to 12V battery issue... Stay tuned.
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kiwilee6667
All 2019 Clarity EV owners:

After I got Check Power System, Power Reduced Alert on my display panel for two weeks, I pulled my car to dealer yesterday. Dealer called me back after 1 hour later without any diagnosis and telling me that the fuel cell needs to be replaced (battery). Unfortunately, Honda already ends of this line, Dealer said, Honda corp will call me back with options... I asked why no one share this "potential/known" issue to all owners. No clue is what dealer responsed. ... Fortunately, my car can still drive without sitting there somewhere but it raised my greatest concern even it is moving well...... Thanks all's help. Hope this message gives 2019 Clarity owner some reference.
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kiwilee6667 said:
All 2019 Clarity EV owners:

After I got Check Power System, Power Reduced Alert on my display panel for two weeks, I pulled my car to dealer yesterday. Dealer called me back after 1 hour later without any diagnosis and telling me that the fuel cell needs to be replaced (battery). Unfortunately, Honda already ends of this line, Dealer said, Honda corp will call me back with options... I asked why no one share this "potential/known" issue to all owners. No clue is what dealer responsed. ... Fortunately, my car can still drive without sitting there somewhere but it raised my greatest concern even it is moving well...... Thanks all's help. Hope this message gives 2019 Clarity owner some reference.
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The fuel cell Clarity is a different model. Are you sure the dealer was not confused about the model, and its potential diagnosis?
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kiwilee6667 said:
All 2019 Clarity EV owners:

After I got Check Power System, Power Reduced Alert on my display panel for two weeks, I pulled my car to dealer yesterday. Dealer called me back after 1 hour later without any diagnosis and telling me that the fuel cell needs to be replaced (battery). Unfortunately, Honda already ends of this line, Dealer said, Honda corp will call me back with options... I asked why no one share this "potential/known" issue to all owners. No clue is what dealer responsed. ... Fortunately, my car can still drive without sitting there somewhere but it raised my greatest concern even it is moving well...... Thanks all's help. Hope this message gives 2019 Clarity owner some reference.
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Hi,
What happened to your car? I just got the same message on my Fuel Cell Clarity and was wondering what happened to yours. Did you check the battery under the hood? I think (not sure) that there are two batteries in the Clarity. One is located under the hood and is used to start the fuel cell process. The second is used to help with acceleration and charges when braking or coasting. I mention this because after this Check Power System error started, I noticed that the second battery was not able to charge to max anymore. So I'm thinking that it is the second battery issue. I'm curious to know what happed to yours and what options did Honda give you. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you!!!
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John H2 said:
Hi,
What happened to your car? I just got the same message on my Fuel Cell Clarity and was wondering what happened to yours. Did you check the battery under the hood? I think (not sure) that there are two batteries in the Clarity. One is located under the hood and is used to start the fuel cell process. The second is used to help with acceleration and charges when braking or coasting. I mention this because after this Check Power System error started, I noticed that the second battery was not able to charge to max anymore. So I'm thinking that it is the second battery issue. I'm curious to know what happed to yours and what options did Honda give you. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you!!!
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FYI... I took my FCV to the dealership and did the A1 service and they said the error was caused because I waited too long for the service. It seems to be working fine now. Maybe it was the filter or some other thing that was fixed when serviced. On a side note, boy was that expensive. $420 for an annual service. Ouch!!!
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John H2 said:
FYI... I took my FCV to the dealership and did the A1 service and they said the error was caused because I waited too long for the service. It seems to be working fine now. Maybe it was the filter or some other thing that was fixed when serviced. On a side note, boy was that expensive. $420 for an annual service. Ouch!!!
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$420 is a definite OUCH! I'm thankful that with my 2017 BEV (currently in the 5th year lease), the most I've paid for any routine maintenance service is $20-$30 for tire rotations....not including the $300/tire replacements after 21-25K miles.
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John H2 said:
FYI... I took my FCV to the dealership and did the A1 service and they said the error was caused because I waited too long for the service. It seems to be working fine now. Maybe it was the filter or some other thing that was fixed when serviced. On a side note, boy was that expensive. $420 for an annual service. Ouch!!!
Click to expand...
I started getting that message on my 2020 Clarity FCEV and I suspected I was being socially engineered because I'd been clearing the "Service Due Soon" message for a week or so (waiting for "Service Due Now" of course). I took it in to the dealer, they spent a bunch of time doing diagnostics and told me that there was a problem with the power system, they weren't going to repair it and they were going to terminate my lease early (was to be up in March, they want the car back ASAP). The car seems to drive fine, if "power is reduced" I'm unable to detect it. So I'm continuing to drive pretty much normally while looking for a new vehicle.
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