Multiple warnings

do you have the original 12v battery? The errors sound like those when it dies (the lack of brakes, not so sure).

 

It does sound similar to what occurs when there is a temporary loss of the 12V power source. Remarkably, the vehicle is not equipped to inform the owner that there has been a temporary loss of 12V power and the system is rebooting. Of course, if the 12V battery had actually failed/died, the car would not power up. So there may be a mystery to solve as to whether, or how, the battery voltage dropped to a level at which the vehicle determined there was no longer a 12V power source, after which the voltage recovered to allow the car to power up, or if there are some other system problems. A check of the battery terminals and cables for corrosion, loose connections or something that could cause an intermittent problem would be my first step. Next would be to test the condition of the 12V battery.

If the CEL doesn’t clear after 10-15 minutes of operation, a trip to the dealer may be in order.

 

I've had this issue happen multiple times, but only when using remote climate control with an off grid Envision Solar ARC Solar EV charging station, which uses a Juicebox EVSE. I don't know if it is the juicebox, or the off grid charging station complaining about the climate control.

 

I don't believe there's any car that delivers a more strident warning about a failing 12V battery. It's too bad "failing 12-Volt Battery" isn't at least one of the multiple warning messages it displays.

 

Honda Civic hybrid had the same behaviour when 12v battery passed away. Gave me heart attack.

 

Only had the multiple warnings once, but I agree. Almost as bad as the warnings that cycle when you run out of gas that make it seem like the car is in danger of halting/crashing immediately and need to pull over, when in reality you can run in normal EV mode for as much battery range as you have. Okay, in that case you don't have the *extra* power available so it's good to know before merging in front of a semi and being surprised.

 

I had a "multiple warnings" experience myself this week. I had been charging at work as usual (SemaConnect chargers) and had done remote climate control in preparation for departure. I vaguely wonder if I ~may~ have removed the charger without depressing the button on the charger. (That is, it may not have been fully seated such that the catch had not engaged - I can't say for sure, but I am certain car had fully charged and was taking charge for the climate per-conditioning at the time of disconnect.)

In any event, when I depressed the brake pedal and pushed start, the car started up and then quickly gave a warning chime with a message "to pull over quickly" (even though I wasn't in drive), and then cycled through the litany of various warnings. It would not go into drive at this point, so I was effectively bricked. I panicked a bit at first because I was already cutting it close for a haircut appointment, which had already been rescheduled twice. (So, I was more shaggy than I like to be!) But, then I remembered my only other experience with something like this was after having done the brake bleeding procedure. In that case of "multiple warnings", I used my OBD II reader to clear all diagnostic codes and everything was fine thereafter. So, happy that I keep my OBD II reader in glove box (and that I remembered it was there!), I plugged in, read codes and cleared. And, voila, I was on the road and only 2 minutes late for the haircut.

It has been a number of days since this experience and there have been no further issues with "multiple warnings". I did note that the engine ran in diagnostic mode for the next handful of trips - presumably to complete emission or other on-board diagnostics that the diagnostic code clearing must have triggered.

So ... in short, the main reason for posting is to suggest the OBD II code clearing as a viable recovery method when stranded from the dreaded "multiple warnings".

My 12V battery seems ok, as best I can tell. It is the original, on a 2019 model with 35K miles. It's voltage after sitting for 24hrs is 12.5V (just checked now, for kicks) and the indicator is the red dot with blue surround as expected for a full charge. I didn't check the 12V at the time of the warnings.

 

Your resourcefulness is admirable! However, I didn't need to clear any codes after I was treated to the instrument-panel light show. In what way did it disable your Clarity?

I replaced my 2018 (purchased in 2017) Clarity's 12V battery last year after just 14K miles. You've received the spectacular warning. How much longer do you plan to wait before replacing yours? As Dirty Harry said...

 

Thanks for this post; it suggested to me that I should keep my Autel AP200 in my Clarity's glove box instead of in my tool chest in the garage. I have the Vgate reader that I use for all of my other vehicles.

 

12.5V is not a healthy resting voltage. You’d like to see something near 12.7V.

Keep in mind that opening the door to pop the hood will turn on interior lights that create a load on the 12V battery. Would a few LED’s cause a .2V drop? Probably not. So, the battery may not be as ok as it seems.

 

I think the best way to check the battery is to connect a meter to it and read the voltage. With the meter still connected, turn on the headlights. A good battery may see a .2 or .3 voltage drop. One that is not good will be a much larger drop.

 

Should one expect the same drop with LED headlights as with incandescents?

 

Crackers! Ours must be nearly dead.

Yesterday I opened the driver’s door and popped the hood, then closed the door. After the interior lights went off, the voltage was 12.1V. The car had been sitting for about a week, so even though the HV battery was still fully charged, I plugged in the L2 EVSE. The voltage increased to 13.3V. After a few minutes, “charging” ended and the battery voltage quickly settled at 12.3V. Given sufficient time, it probably would have settled at 12.1V.

Opening the door again and turning on the headlights reduced voltage to 11.8V. The car powered right up with a foot on the brake pedal and a press of the power button. At that point, the DC/DC converter was charging the 12V at 14.3V. I turned everything off a minute later.

If there is a moral to the story, it would be that this battery only needs to have a voltage that is sufficient to switch on some electronics.