frontrangeleaf
Well-known member
First of all, we're home, not stranded, have other vehicles. The Leaf is in the garage, nose first. I'll try to keep this short and succinct.
Model: SL+ purchased 7/19. Built 4/19. About 14k miles. No issues before today. Original 12v battery. Only changes are the snow tires.
Problem: Leaf won't start after scheduled overnight charge. Throws all kinds of errors, too many to list, would not shut off either, had to pull 12v to kill it. I don't have LeafSpy, nor a functional voltage meter to check the 12v, as mine recently bought the farm.
Recent events: Bitter cold last 2 nights. Was outside night before last, with 36% charge. Pulled into garage yesterday afternoon (at peak daytime temp, about 18F) for overnight charge with no issues. Plugged in, waited on timer to start at midnight. Multiple power failures here while waiting on charge (firestorm near Denver stopped just north of us, we were lucky), but none overnight while actually charging. Strictly speaking, I don't know if it actually charged or not right now. Garage is not heated. Ice on car did not melt overnight, so cold, but not bitter cold.
12v currently on "intelligent" digital battery charger, taking 8 amps (I set it to max 10 for this size battery). Charger appears satisfied that the 12v is taking the charge (it would throw error codes if not). Hoping it's just the 12v, and we can replace/upgrade if needed.
Questions:
1. If you jump a Leaf, and the 12v is bad, is it still drivable after jump? Our Z4 misfires badly with a low battery, almost undrivable. Every other ICE car I've ever owned was drivable on the alternator as long as you didn't turn it off. Z4 alternator checks out. It's a known BMW thing, apparently. (Design flaw IMNSHO).
2. Does the Leaf BMS account for battery temp cold when charging? I assume it does, as it reduces charge rate when hot. I would like to believe that I can charge in my garage overnight even if cold as long as it's not sub-zero in there (never happens, not even close.) I know that charging when cold is a bad idea, in theory at least, but what options did I have? I dropped into single digits here overnight, so I pulled it in to top it off. Should have finished near 80%.
3. If the Leaf starts throwing up error codes, is the only recourse to pull the 12v to reset? Seems primitive.
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Update: 12v charger has already ramped down from bulk charge rate in under an hour. Now pushing 2 amps.
Model: SL+ purchased 7/19. Built 4/19. About 14k miles. No issues before today. Original 12v battery. Only changes are the snow tires.
Problem: Leaf won't start after scheduled overnight charge. Throws all kinds of errors, too many to list, would not shut off either, had to pull 12v to kill it. I don't have LeafSpy, nor a functional voltage meter to check the 12v, as mine recently bought the farm.
Recent events: Bitter cold last 2 nights. Was outside night before last, with 36% charge. Pulled into garage yesterday afternoon (at peak daytime temp, about 18F) for overnight charge with no issues. Plugged in, waited on timer to start at midnight. Multiple power failures here while waiting on charge (firestorm near Denver stopped just north of us, we were lucky), but none overnight while actually charging. Strictly speaking, I don't know if it actually charged or not right now. Garage is not heated. Ice on car did not melt overnight, so cold, but not bitter cold.
12v currently on "intelligent" digital battery charger, taking 8 amps (I set it to max 10 for this size battery). Charger appears satisfied that the 12v is taking the charge (it would throw error codes if not). Hoping it's just the 12v, and we can replace/upgrade if needed.
Questions:
1. If you jump a Leaf, and the 12v is bad, is it still drivable after jump? Our Z4 misfires badly with a low battery, almost undrivable. Every other ICE car I've ever owned was drivable on the alternator as long as you didn't turn it off. Z4 alternator checks out. It's a known BMW thing, apparently. (Design flaw IMNSHO).
2. Does the Leaf BMS account for battery temp cold when charging? I assume it does, as it reduces charge rate when hot. I would like to believe that I can charge in my garage overnight even if cold as long as it's not sub-zero in there (never happens, not even close.) I know that charging when cold is a bad idea, in theory at least, but what options did I have? I dropped into single digits here overnight, so I pulled it in to top it off. Should have finished near 80%.
3. If the Leaf starts throwing up error codes, is the only recourse to pull the 12v to reset? Seems primitive.
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Update: 12v charger has already ramped down from bulk charge rate in under an hour. Now pushing 2 amps.