Error: Electric Shift System broken

[jdunmyer]

Got in the Leaf after lunch at the restaurant, hit the Start button, she booted up with a red light on the dash lit: "Error with Electric Shift System". Wouldn't shift into either Drive or Reverse. Chimes sounding, even a steady one OUTSIDE the car. Only way to shut up the noise was to leave it 'On' in the (supposedly) Ready to Drive condition. To make a long story short, got a ride home, returned in my other car, gave it a try, and it was "half healed". It would shift into Drive & Reverse, but the brakes weren't at all right, it took excessive pedal travel and pressure to stop it, plus there was a nasty noise coming from somewhere. Went inside the restaurant, had coffee with a friend, and when I came back out, the Leaf was completely "healed".

Called off the tow truck and drove to the dealership, where she is now entrusted to the tender mercies of the Service Department. They gave me a ride back to the restaurant so I could pick up my VW and go home.

Does anyone know why the car manufacturers can't display the actual error message on the display? They all seem to be like that: a whole bunch of different lights, each with some arcane shape that's supposed to signify something, but you usually need to refer to the manual to find out what it means.

Any ideas from the experts on what might be troubling my Leaf? I'm hoping that the computer will read out its guts to the technician, not one of those, "It works OK now, bring it in if it does it again" deals.

 

[Wennfred]

This seems to be a new one, add this one to the other TN built 2013 Leaf problems.

Doesn't show where you live, what was the Temp like outside?


Fred

 

[xado1]

try do disconnect the batterie for 10 minutes,and then start again.it helped when mine did not load.

 

[jdunmyer]

It was (and still is) colder than, well....it's only 3 degrees now, was about zero at the time of failure. Had 2 battery temperature bars until I was nearly to the dealership, about 9 miles or so.
However, it's been about this cold since I got the car.

I'm in lower SE Michigan, just north of Toledo, OH. Thought I put it in my SIG or profile, will check that out.

 

[Wennfred]

It was (and still is) colder than, well....it's only 3 degrees now, was about zero at the time of failure. Had 2 battery temperature bars

Sounds like thats the issue, something doesn't like the Zero Degrees.



Fred

 

[xado1]

i do chademo charging evry second day,that heats the battery up to 18 celsius(60 fahrenheit),that last for 2 days

 

[jdunmyer]

I don't have the option of a quick charge, but I plug it into my L2 EVSE every time I return from an errand. It'll be down to <80%, sometimes as low as the 30's%. It's in a detached, unheated garage. SOC was 80%+ at the time of failure.

Surprisingly, though, the failure came after a 4+ mile drive, a stop at the hardware store, a 1/2 mile jaunt to the restaurant, then she quit. Fortunately, it was at a good place, I was able to bum a ride and it was quite accessible to the tow truck. (summoned, then called off)

 

[xado1]

when i do normal charging (230volt 3KW),the battery temp doesnt change

 

[jdunmyer]

I'm just now starting to pay attention to the battery temp gauge. Have had the car for only a month now and am still learning about it, have read the manual a couple of times and there's still more that's not sunken in. I just happened to notice today that the gauge was at 2 bars when I left the restaurant, but climbed to 3 on the way to the dealership. Was on the e-way at the time, doing about 60 Mph.

They took it right in, but I've not yet heard anything, will definitely let you folks know what they report.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It sounds to me like ice built up in the mechanical portion of the shifting system. Assuming there actually *IS* a mechanical component...

 

[jdunmyer]

LB,
I don't think there's any mechanical stuff in the shifting mechanism. Other than MAYBE the parking pawl or whatever locks the wheels when "Park" is selected. If that's anything at all like a regular automatic transmission, it's buried inside, impervious to ice, etc. Admittedly, the car does have a lot of ice chunks hanging in/around the wheel wells, but it's been like that for at least a couple of weeks now.

And, I'm getting downright sick of it! :-(

 

[TomT]

Just a solid state Hall Effect sensor.

I don't think there's any mechanical stuff in the shifting mechanism.

 

[jdunmyer]

TmT,
That Hall Effect sensor is probably inside the transmission/gearbox anyway, isn't it?

As an aside: is there somewhere online where there's a good discussion of the technical aspects of the Leaf with cutaway diagrams, etc.? I'm used to buying the overhaul/maintenance manuals for the vehicles I own, but I don't know if they're even available for the Leaf..?? Most are getting rather expensive and weighty these days, and I probably wouldn't buy one for the Leaf anyway, as I'm leasing, but it would be interesting to me to be able to read it.

 

[thimel]

You can get an online version of the service manual for $20 from the Nissan website. This gives you temporary access which you can use to copy all the files to your computer.

 

[jdunmyer]

thimel,
I did a search after submitting my message and found that site. It appears as though there's no limit for the 24 hours, so I might take 'em up on it.

Thanks!!

 

[TomT]

Nope, it is part of the shifter assembly. All the shifter actually does is send electronic commands to the controller, it has no mechanical interconnection.

That Hall Effect sensor is probably inside the transmission/gearbox anyway, isn't it?

 

[jdunmyer]

Is the HE sensor what tells the electronics the position of the "shifter" lever?

If that's the case, I don't think it was/is the problem: I tried the car after maybe 3/4 hour from the first total failure, and it "went into gear" so to speak, but the brakes were very funky, long pedal travel and excessive pressure, plus some graunching noises. Although I thought about driving it to the dealer, it seemed dangerous to me.

About a half-hour later, I tried the car again, and it seemed totally "healed", it was acting normal. At that point, I called off the tow truck and drove the Leaf to the dealer.

It's coming up on 24 hours since I dropped it off and I've not yet heard from the Service Department. Supposedly, they have one person who is trained on the Leaf, I hope he's not on vacation or something.

 

[TomT]

Yes, it senses which direction the shifter has been pushed and relays that to the controller. It definitely does not sound like your problem was the shifter. In the future, I likely would have tried disconnecting the 12 volt battery for 10 minutes or so and rebooting the car. That has been known to often fix weird troubles...

Is the HE sensor what tells the electronics the position of the "shifter" lever?

 

[davewill]

TmT,
That Hall Effect sensor is probably inside the transmission/gearbox anyway, isn't it?

As an aside: is there somewhere online where there's a good discussion of the technical aspects of the Leaf with cutaway diagrams, etc.? ...

You can subscribe to the service manual (subscribe for just one day then download all the PDFs) at http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyway, there is no transmission or gearbox in the normal sense. The LEAF motor is simply tied to the wheels via a fixed ratio transfer case. The different "gears" (drive, reverse, neutral, ECO) are all handled by the motor controller and are strictly software. Park is done with a pawl that locks up the transfer case.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Drivetrain

 

[jdunmyer]

Davewill,
I'm aware that the transmission is simply a single-speed reduction gearbox, presumably incorporating a differential to allow turning. A question comes to mind:

If the vehicle is "dead" electrically, is it possible to release the parking pawl to allow towing? Or does the operator of a tilt-bed wrecker simply drag the Leaf onto the deck with the wheels sliding?