Heater failure

[Caracalover]

How funny. Being in Southern California, I never had to use the heater until about a couple of weeks ago. Cranked the heater all the way up but felt only warmish air. The trip was only 10 min so I thought it might be a slow heater or something...

So does the heater really feels at least "hot'ish" ? and how long does it take to feel the heat from the vent? Can someone with heater that works describe how it should be working? THanks.

The heater seems to work pretty good, and I like it better than ICE heat since it takes less time to activate and is electric heat, not engine heat. It can draw a lot of power, and I have seen 5KW being pulled so it will reduce range somewhat, but I am not so sure the GOM has a clue as to how much. It will often say wierd numbers so ignore it and look at the amount of power being used on the meter, and how long it is pulling those numbers. It goes down quickly once the cabin is warmed up if it is not too cold outside. Set it to 90 and you will feel warm air in about a minute. I tried to keep it on full heat for my 17 mile commute and had to turn it off about ten minutes in- too hot for me. After the cabin is warmed up you can turn it down and it will draw less power, much like the A/C. It also draws less power in ECO mode, or when using all 80KW for acceleration, so if you were in ECO mode for your ten minutes, it was not working at full capacity. These lower energy draws will produce cooler air, but not change fan speed.

To test the heater try the pre-heat cabin timer. Problem with that is you have to set the temp before you exit the car. If it is set to 60 it won't feel much warmer than the 55 temps you/I am used to. Set it to 90 and you will know if it works.

 

[ttweed]

To test the heater try the pre-heat cabin timer. Problem with that is you have to set the temp before you exit the car. If it is set to 60 it won't feel much warmer than the 55 temps you/I am used to. Set it to 90 and you will know if it works.

I thought from reading the manual that the pre-heating function temp is not user-adjustable at all--only the factory preset of 75F will be achieved when operating remotely or on timer. No matter if your cabin temp setting is 60F or 90F, when the timer or remote start of climate control occurs, it will heat/cool to 75F and nothing more or less, AFAIK. The user can only select a target temp while the vehicle is ON. Preheat/cooling can only occur with the vehicle OFF. Have I misunderstood this function or what is suggested above?

TT

 

[TomT]

You are correct. Nothing you set in the car has any effect on climate preconditioning mode or temperature. I believe that the target is 77 degrees F (I read it some time ago and could be wrong on that specific, however).

To test the heater try the pre-heat cabin timer. Problem with that is you have to set the temp before you exit the car. If it is set to 60 it won't feel much warmer than the 55 temps you/I am used to. Set it to 90 and you will know if it works.

I thought from reading the manual that the pre-heating function temp is not user-adjustable at all--only the factory preset of 75F will be achieved when operating remotely or on timer. No matter if your cabin temp setting is 60F or 90F, when the timer or remote start of climate control occurs, it will heat/cool to 75F and nothing more or less, AFAIK. The user can only select a target temp while the vehicle is ON. Preheat/cooling can only occur with the vehicle OFF. Have I misunderstood this function or what is suggested above?

 

[aqn]

I tried the heater out a while back and didn't think it was working. [...]
Other things I have observed:
- The c.c. power gauge is heavily damped. It takes 10-15 seconds before the reading settles.

FYI: the service manual (page HAC-15) says that the "A/C auto amplifier" varies the rate of interior temperature change depending a number of factors: difference in intake & selected temperatures, magnitude of intake temperature (really low temperature (less than -4'F) means no delay), etc.

 

[Caracalover]

You are correct. Nothing you set in the car has any effect on climate preconditioning mode or temperature. I believe that the target is 77 degrees F (I read it some time ago and could be wrong on that specific, however).

To test the heater try the pre-heat cabin timer. Problem with that is you have to set the temp before you exit the car. If it is set to 60 it won't feel much warmer than the 55 temps you/I am used to. Set it to 90 and you will know if it works.

I thought from reading the manual that the pre-heating function temp is not user-adjustable at all--only the factory preset of 75F will be achieved when operating remotely or on timer. No matter if your cabin temp setting is 60F or 90F, when the timer or remote start of climate control occurs, it will heat/cool to 75F and nothing more or less, AFAIK. The user can only select a target temp while the vehicle is ON. Preheat/cooling can only occur with the vehicle OFF. Have I misunderstood this function or what is suggested above?

Sorry, my bad, read the manual a long time ago, didn't remember that part. Good to know so thanks for the correction!

 

[Kenneth]

I've had my Leaf only 30 days and although I enjoy the drive I'm finding the car frustratingly complicated. So I would like to lean on the expertise of Forum members to help me with a heater problem. This is what I'm trying to do. With the Level 1 unit plugged in and the car charging, I would like to get in the car and MANUALLY turn on the heater for just a few minutes to warm the car using house electricity. I've tried everything but am beginning to wonder if this is really impossible. I don't want to use a phone to call the car nor set a timer - just MANUALLY turn on the heater. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Ken

 

[LEAFfan]

I don't know about L1/120V because I've never used it, but with the L2/240V and plugged in (LEAF off), the HVAC can only be turned on via computer or smartphone. I believe you can't do preheating/cooling with the 120V, but I'm not 100% certain.

 

[adric22]

Surprise #2: The (nav) screen tells me that using the heater will cost me 5 miles or so. Well, that's the same or less than the air conditioner was telling me in the summer! They say the heater is four times hungrier than the A/C, yet the range effect estimates are largely the same? Somebody's mistaken here. (Probably the screen, if Carwings is involved in any way )

I've wondered about this too. I have a theory. Its possible they may just be talking about the electrical draw. But in the case of running an A/C pump in the middle of Summer, it is going to run constantly at its full capacity because the sun will continue to send heat energy into the car if you are outside. So in the Summer you are fighting both convection of heat from the outside as well as radiant heat. In the Winter you are fighting mostly convection. So it is possible the heater will cycle on and off more than the A/C and therefor won't pull anymore energy on average than the A/C over the duration of a trip.

Just my theory, anyway.

 

[dday]

yes you can use the preheat/precool with the L1 charger. You have to set the timer and you have to tell it which one you want first, charge or preheat. Unless you know that the car will be fully charged by the time your departure time is set for.

 

[EVDRIVER]

yes you can use the preheat/precool with the L1 charger. You have to set the timer and you have to tell it which one you want first, charge or preheat. Unless you know that the car will be fully charged by the time your departure time is set for.

However the output will be limited to the L1 output.

 

[MaxPower]

I was disappointed to find that the cabin heater will not work while fast-charging and using the accessory ON position. If I set the car to RUN then the heater works but the charge is aborted. That and the annoying way that the HVAC doesn't allow me to force the heater to stay off, shows how the car is not meant for cold climates. And the battery capacity loss in hot climates means it isn't meant for hot climates either. Good thing I live in a mild climate.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I was disappointed to find that the cabin heater will not work while fast-charging and using the accessory ON position.

i have done this many many many times. you need to make sure the "A/C" light is on to get heat (ya, really intuitive aint it?? :? )

but to be honest with ya. i have used it just about anyway you can and it worked great for me on both Blinks and AV charging units.

either start charge and use remote heat via carwings

or start charge and then turn on car and heat.

or start charge and go to acc and turn on heat (least desired option but there were times when i wanted to listen to radio while i waited...)

 

[ebill3]

I was disappointed to find that the cabin heater will not work while fast-charging and using the accessory ON position. If I set the car to RUN then the heater works but the charge is aborted. That and the annoying way that the HVAC doesn't allow me to force the heater to stay off, shows how the car is not meant for cold climates. And the battery capacity loss in hot climates means it isn't meant for hot climates either. Good thing I live in a mild climate.

What do you mean by "fast" charging. If you mean L2 (240 volt), then do as Dave says. Car on (two pushes of the start button), press auto, and it will heat and charge. I frequently do so.

If you mean quick DC charge, I don't know, never tried it.

BTW, we need to get the idea that AC means cooling out of our heads. It is air conditioning, which may be heat or cool.

Another BTW: Include your location in your profile - often helps in discussions.

EDIT: Remote or timer pre-heat is convenient, but you are stuck with what Nissan says it ought to be, often resulting in fogged windows. If you pre-heat manually, then you can select the temperature you want and use outside air instead of recirculation.

Bill

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I was disappointed to find that the cabin heater will not work while fast-charging and using the accessory ON position. If I set the car to RUN then the heater works but the charge is aborted. That and the annoying way that the HVAC doesn't allow me to force the heater to stay off, shows how the car is not meant for cold climates. And the battery capacity loss in hot climates means it isn't meant for hot climates either. Good thing I live in a mild climate.

What do you mean by "fast" charging. If you mean L2 (240 volt), then do as Dave says. Car on (two pushes of the start button), press auto, and it will heat and charge. I frequently do so.

If you mean quick DC charge, I don't know, never tried it.

BTW, we need to get the idea that AC means cooling out of our heads. It is air conditioning, which may be heat or cool.

Another BTW: Include your location in your profile - often helps in discussions.

Bill

i dk what the fast charge reference means either because i have done heat on both L2 and DCFCs. at this time of year its simply the right thing to do!

 

[Deleted member 3147]

I too have run the heater while on DCQC. I don't remember if I had to switch to "run" mode.

 

[planet4ever]

I don't know what you guys mean by "run" mode. Nissan doesn't use any such terminology. The powered up modes are:
ACC - Center console lit up, dash is dark
ON - Dash and console lit up, no green car on dash
READY - Same as ON, but with the green car.

Charging does not work in READY mode; it does in ACC; it won't start in ON but you can go to ON after it starts.
Climate control does not work in ACC mode; it does in ON and READY.

As ebill3 says, "air conditioning" means -- duh -- conditioning the air. That can be heating, cooling, drying, humidifying, whatever. I don't know why US English has developed such a distorted meaning for the term, but the LEAF A/C button reflects the general concept, not quaint American usage.

Ray