2017 Jazz EX CVT climate control panel lights

[Ruth Nicholls]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I can't find an answer to my problem so I apologise if this has been asked before.

I have just bought a 2017 Jazz I VTEC EX CVT. UK, righthand drive. I cannot get the auto idle stop function to work, and I think it might be a malfunction of the climate control system.

The most obvious reason for the Auto Stop to not work is a battery problem, but the Honda garage has replaced the battery for a new one, but the Auto Stop error persists. if the A/C is completely switched off, the multifunction dial shows an AutoStop A with a line across it and a battery symbol. If the A/C is not completely off, but not activated the crossed A shows together with A/C icon  This would be correct if the A/C was on, but it also shows up when off.

The first simple question I want an answer to is this. Is the climate control A/C button meant to light up when activated? In my car it does not light up. The aircirculation and screen heater buttons do, but not the A/C.

And do you have any suggestions as to what the fault might be.

Thank you

[trebor1652]

Question
What distances do you drive?
If it's only short journeys the stop start won't work until the system knows for certain that the battery has enough power to restart the engine.
Do you have a battery charger?
Try putting the battery on charge overnight then the stop start should work.
When I had my ex I had the same experience.
You may be over thinking the problem

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[Ruth Nicholls]

Thank you trebor1652.

So far the furthest I've been with the new battery is 15 miles. Yes I have put it on charge this evening. I did this with the battery that the car came with, but that made no difference. We shall see tomorrow whether it is any better after a charge, although the battery looks to be fully charged already.

I still would like to know whether all the buttons concerning heating cooling and aircon are meant to light up when activated.

[embee]

My 2018 has gone through spells of giving the "start/stop battery" not available symbol. The battery is in tip-top condition.

The charging system has a "monitor" to count what goes in/out of the battery, it's a small matchbox sized black box attached to the negative terminal of the battery. These can be tricked to some extent, or can be a pain.

I have partly discharged the battery directly from the terminal (not through the monitor) and then charged it through the monitor so it believes it has been charged more than discharged, and this has got the start/stop working correctly for a while, but then it decides to flag the battery again (after a few weeks for example).

I have recently used the car for several long trips, 80-100mls a day for 3 days a week for a couple of weeks. The start/stop now works perfectly every time.
I think the system just doesn't appreciate short trips without a decent long run once in a while. I would suggest simply taking it for an hour's run on open roads just to see if that does the trick, it'll answer the question whether that's the issue for just a few litres of fuel.

[ColinB]

My cars’s an SE not EX so has manual A/C not climate control, but there might be a clue here. According to the handbook, one of the conditions that inhibits the auto-stop is if you’re trying to demist the screen, ie you have the ventilation controls set to direct the air flow up onto the screen. But when that’s happening, the right-hand display shows A/C as the reason for it not working: that's  wrong, start/stop works perfectly well with the A/C provided the airflow is directed into the cabin rather than up onto the screen. So what setting do you have on that control? And yes, the A/C button lights up when pressed to turn the A/C on.

The start/stop system has a large number of factors that would inhibit it (have a look in the handbook). Some of these are pretty esoteric (eg battery internal temperature), and it’s not easy to work out just which one is affecting the system. Result is that the system is quite erratic, sometimes working, sometimes not, sometimes both in the course of the same journey. Not much help to you, but you’re not alone in finding it frustrating.

[ColinS]

The first simple question I want an answer to is this. Is the climate control A/C button meant to light up when activated? In my car it does not light up. The aircirculation and screen heater buttons do, but not the A/C.

When you select "Auto" it should light up and Automatic Climate Control will be activated.  The clue is that this is totally "Automatic" and if you subsequently select anything else connected with heating or cooling (eg. change the fan speed), it will no longer be in "Automatic" mode for that function and the light will go off.

The manual says

If any icons are selected while using the climate control system in auto, the function of the icon that was selected will take priority.  The AUTO indicator will go off, but functions unrelated to the icon that was selected will be controlled automatically.

Hope this answers your original question.  This does not however address your Auto Stop issue which is exhaustively covered elsewhere in the forum. 

[culzean]

I think the only thing you can change and still remain in auto is the temperature,  Probably changing the vents used ( mode ) and fan speed will make it revert to manual.  The thing I find frustrating about the temperature control is that ( I did the experiment with a temperature probe in a vent ) temperature set at 19deg,  when car first starts and for first mile or so the vent temp is 50 deg +,  after a few miles down to 25,  then temp keep dropping and ends up below ambient,  no wonder my wife complained about  'cold draughts' in the car -- and I thought she was just moaning,  but turns out she was right.

[Toptek]

With reference to the ac display on the dash, I noticed that in auto mode, there is no visual indication as to whether ac is on or off. Similarly, if you change the fan speed, it seems to go into manual mode but still no indication re the ac.
You can press the ac "button" and toggle between on and off, both of which are displayed. I don't find it very intuitive.
I tend to leave it in auto mostly, occasionally change the speed and direction but leave the ac button alone, therefore I would imagine its in manual mode with ac on until I remember to change it back..
Regarding the stop start, recently had a new battery and it took the stop start a while to settle down.

[Ruth Nicholls]

Replying to embee,

"The charging system has a "monitor" to count what goes in/out of the battery, it's a small matchbox sized black box attached to the negative terminal of the battery. These can be tricked to some extent, or can be a pain.

I have partly discharged the battery directly from the terminal (not through the monitor) and then charged it through the monitor so it believes it has been charged more than discharged, and this has got the start/stop working correctly for a while, but then it decides to flag the battery again (after a few weeks for example)."

Thank you. That's a good idea but a bit of a pain if it needs to be repeated. We live on the Isle of Man, the longest journey we could do is about 60 miles. Might try that, be a tourist, just driving round the island.

I haven't solved the problem yet.

[Ruth Nicholls]

Replying to ColinB

Thank you ColinB,

"And yes, the A/C button lights up when pressed to turn the A/C on."

Well mine doesn't light up. The dealer isn't sure whether it should and is checking. He says some of these things changed from one model to the next.

I've read all it says in the manual about the screen de-misting, and I do understand the AutoStop doesn't work if the heat is diected at the windscreen. That's unfortunate, as the setting I prefer is windscreen plus feet. I leave it on that most of the time.

[Ruth Nicholls]

With reference to the ac display on the dash, I noticed that in auto mode, there is no visual indication as to whether ac is on or off. Similarly, if you change the fan speed, it seems to go into manual mode but still no indication re the ac.
You can press the ac "button" and toggle between on and off, both of which are displayed. I don't find it very intuitive.
I tend to leave it in auto mostly, occasionally change the speed and direction but leave the ac button alone, therefore I would imagine its in manual mode with ac on until I remember to change it back..
Regarding the stop start, recently had a new battery and it took the stop start a while to settle down.

Hi Toptek,
I don't fully understand what you're saying. You say you tend to leave it on auto, do you mean the fan on auto, or the AC? Because if it is the AC then the StopStart won't work will it?
Thanks

[Toptek]

Hi,
I think stop start doesn't work when the ac is on "low" setting. This is one of a few documented scenarios where it doesn't function.
After we had a new battery, which the service receptionist said would have been put on charge the night before, the stop start didn't work, even with no fan or ac on. I charged it fora few hours until full and it still didn't work for a while. The frequency increased of it working over the next few weeks and we know use the button to turn it off due to short trips to work.
I prefer to leave the ventilation on auto 20 degrees but this isn't always appropriate as the air flow is low when cold and the air is damp. I appreciate it an be switched to windscreen to demist quickly but this car isn't quite as efficient as the CRV we had.

[Downsizer]

I don’t think it’s worth spending time trying to understand the vagaries of the stop/start system - it has a mind of its own!  Mine didn’t work throughout the Covid lockdown but is working well again now.  Perhaps it listens to Boris........

[ColinB]

I've read all it says in the manual about the screen de-misting, and I do understand the AutoStop doesn't work if the heat is directed at the windscreen. That's unfortunate, as the setting I prefer is windscreen plus feet. I leave it on that most of the time.

Sorry, should have made myself clearer. Remember I'm talking about manual A/C not climate control, I'm just assuming something similar applies with CC so this might give you a clue as to what's happening with yours.

The auto-stop doesn't function when the mode selector is on windscreen only (knob fully to the right), and the multi-function display then gives the erroneous A/C indication as to why it's not working. Start-stop works perfectly well when the mode selector is in the second-from-right "Windscreen plus cabin" position, irrespective of whether the A/C is on (ie button depressed, green light on) or off.

[ColinS]

When you select "Auto" it should light up and Automatic Climate Control will be activated.  The clue is that this is totally "Automatic" and if you subsequently select anything else connected with heating or cooling (eg. change the fan speed), it will no longer be in "Automatic" mode for that function and the light will go off.

Just to clarify.  I believe what culzean said is absolutely correct, the only thing you can change is the temperature setting.  Anything else will switch it into manual mode.

With regard to auto stop/start: If there is demand on the AC then it won't cut in.  This depends on the difference between the cabin temperature and your desired (set) temperature.  If the difference is too great then it won't cut in.  It will tolerate a greater difference if you are in running eco mode I believe.  In the same light, if you have demist on, that calls for the AC to be on, so again stop/start will not cut in.

Ii just leave mine in auto all of the time, although my wife always closes the vents on her side as it does tend to blow cold air in your face.  I am keen to see the front vents on the new HR-V in action as that promises to alleviate the issue.