Burning charger??

[UkrainianKozak]

Last night came back to my Leaf (after L2 charging) right after opening the door my heart sunk pretty deep, I felt pretty strong burning electronics smell inside the car...
No smoke or anything, but the smell was pretty strong...
Sniffed around and it seems to be originating from the back hump where the charger is...
The charge completed fine, and the Leaf drove fine after that as well, and there was no error codes displayed or anything, but it scared me to hell...

It wasn't that hot outside (mid 70s) and battery temp was 90 deg according to leaf battery app.

Anyone else had similar experience?
I'm going to drop the car to dealer today for the check... But afraid that they'll just "can't repro" it...

 

[DarkStar]

Which EVSE do you use?

 

[UkrainianKozak]

Which EVSE do you use?

First time it happened using public ChargePoint L2.
This morning I actually tried to charge at home using Blink, and I started smelling the same thing.

 

[RonDawg]

Tow, DO NOT DRIVE, that car to a Nissan dealer ASAP. Don't plug it in at all until you do. That is a serious problem.

 

[davewill]

Tow, DO NOT DRIVE, that car to a Nissan dealer ASAP. Don't plug it in at all until you do. That is a serious problem.

I wholeheartedly agree. It sounds like a car fire waiting to happen.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

I am an adventurous guy
I'm pretty confident that the problem is isolated to charger WHILE it charges, and I haven't seen smoke or melted plastic yet
So I put my car in driveable but not chargeable state in my mind
And I parked it in Nissan dealership already

But thanks guys for worrying for me

 

[UkrainianKozak]

After a day of diagnostic I got a bad news... My leaf will live, but have to wait 1-2 weeks for some charger part...
So, I'm back burning gas for now, after over 2 years of uninterrupted service...
But I have to tell that in my 25 years of driving this is a second time when my car is out of commission for a week, and the other time it was because if engine replacement...

 

[EVDRIVER]

Which EVSE do you use?

The EVSE used would not do this, it's irrelevant.

 

[GeekEV]

Which EVSE do you use?

The EVSE used would not do this, it's irrelevant.

I don't know about that... Wasn't there an issue in the beginning with the GE WattStations causing diode failures in the charger? Thus demonstrating that the EVSE can cause damage to the charger - with no commentary on whose problem it really is...

 

[UkrainianKozak]

Got my leaf with brand new (internal) charger yesterday, other than replacement taking a week, everything is good now, and I even had a chance to enjoy 2012 loaner with heated seats and steering in the summer

The burning smell started happening one day, and dealer reproed this at the dealer's charger.
As they explained to me, nothing was broken, no error codes, but some component was overheating in the charger, so they went ahead and replaced the whole unit, which solved the problem.

Which EVSE do you use?

The EVSE used would not do this, it's irrelevant.

I don't know about that... Wasn't there an issue in the beginning with the GE WattStations causing diode failures in the charger? Thus demonstrating that the EVSE can cause damage to the charger - with no commentary on whose problem it really is...

 

[davewill]

The EVSE used would not do this, it's irrelevant.

I don't know about that... Wasn't there an issue in the beginning with the GE WattStations causing diode failures in the charger? Thus demonstrating that the EVSE can cause damage to the charger - with no commentary on whose problem it really is...

It was fixed with a software update from Nissan, so it was Nissan's problem...which makes sense. No sort of timing issue from the EVSE should be able to burn out the OBC.

 

[DarkStar]

Which EVSE do you use?

The EVSE used would not do this, it's irrelevant.

I don't know about that... Wasn't there an issue in the beginning with the GE WattStations causing diode failures in the charger? Thus demonstrating that the EVSE can cause damage to the charger - with no commentary on whose problem it really is...

For what it's worth now, this is exactly where I was going. Burnt diodes do stink (don't ask me how I know).

 

[JupiterLEAF]

Yesterday morning I detected a very strong burning smell inside of my LEAF. It seemed especially strong when I opened the rear hatch.

I did see a yellow-triangle-with-an-exclamation-point error light on the dashboard display when I started the car. After turning the car off and restarting it, however, the error light was gone and has not reappeared during several subsequent restarts. I recharged the car this morning and the smell returned, strong as ever.

Thanks to this thread, I suspect the culprit is a defective on-board charger. I'll be taking the car to the dealer for analysis and repair as soon as they open on Tuesday (since they're closed tomorrow for the Labor Day holiday). I'll post the results.

I had a new main battery pack installed six months ago, pursuant to the warranty (capacity declined to 8 bars). I hope this doesn't indicate a problem for older models using the new main battery packs.

 

[RegGuheert]

I had a new main battery pack installed six months ago, pursuant to the warranty (capacity declined to 8 bars). I hope this doesn't indicate a problem for older models using the new main battery packs.

That's doubtful, but not inconceivable. One observation that was made when the MY2015 LEAFs came out was that the charge tapered to a very low power level (~600W) before terminating, even on L2. Also, it commands some of the MY2013 chargers to 6.0kW output. It's possible that the BMS is commanding the MY2011/2012 charger to either a very low or very high power level where it does not operate well.

More likely your charger has a component which is failing (such as an electrolytic capacitor) or perhaps your charger got damaged by a nearby lightning storm sometime this summer.

Good luck for a successful repair!

 

[keydiver]

We have had some wicked lightning lately, even tonight. Even with the new pack, the 2012 charger is still limited to 3.3kW, so I really doubt it has anything to do with the new chemistry. Fortunately, warranty should cover this. Let us know what they find. It makes me think maybe I should have a surge arrester in the garage panel.

 

[Roadburner440]

Sorry to hear about your OBC creating a burning smell. Like the others I doubt it is because of the battery. Probably just something in the OBC itself bought the farm. The EVSE I use is only a 240v/15amp anyway so I doubt my OBC would be overdrawn. Guess I am glad I got the extended warranty just in case though. As my 3 year/36,000 mile warranty ended in March of this year. Good luck with your service visit, and I am curious to see what they say happened. I should be getting my new battery next summer if my calculations are correct.

 

[RegGuheert]

Guess I am glad I got the extended warranty just in case though. As my 3 year/36,000 mile warranty ended in March of this year.

The OBC is covered for 60 months or 60,000 miles.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Last night came back to my Leaf (after L2 charging) right after opening the door my heart sunk pretty deep, I felt pretty strong burning electronics smell inside the car...
No smoke or anything, but the smell was pretty strong...
Sniffed around and it seems to be originating from the back hump where the charger is...
The charge completed fine, and the Leaf drove fine after that as well, and there was no error codes displayed or anything, but it scared me to hell...

It wasn't that hot outside (mid 70s) and battery temp was 90 deg according to leaf battery app.

Anyone else had similar experience?
I'm going to drop the car to dealer today for the check... But afraid that they'll just "can't repro" it...

was outside temps recently higher as in much higher? if not, the delta is something to be alarmed about. your pack should not be that much higher unless the ambient temps have been in that range very recently

 

[blimpy]

On your dime or Nissans ??

 

[TomT]

It would cause the charger to fail entirely due to the blown diode. I don't think there is any way that an EVSE could cause this particular symptom or damage...

I don't know about that... Wasn't there an issue in the beginning with the GE WattStations causing diode failures in the charger? Thus demonstrating that the EVSE can cause damage to the charger - with no commentary on whose problem it really is...