I can't charge! Iced in a different way plug won't go in.

[Twofieros]

I just got to work with 62% battery life left. I can't get the car to charge because the plug won't go in. I think it's ice or snow stuck in there. We had freezing rain last night and 6" of snow. I almost didn't get the orange cap to go on. When I pulled the home charger out I saw some snow fall into the plug. There is no way to remove it. Now u can't plug in the Nissan charger at work. I'm a little worried about making it back home now. It's going to be even colder than the 16 degree drive in.

What do you guys suggest? What do you do when you know the weather is coming? Nissan didn't do a good job of designing the charge port. I've had it freeze shut, freeze open, funnel all the snow and ice onto the charge handle making all kinds of mess. Surely someone has figured out a method to fix this.

Tim

 

[Stoaty]

If you have 62% left (62% state of charge remaining?), why do you think you won't be able to make it back home? How cold do you expect it to be where you park your Leaf tonite? I would be tempted to put an electric space heater close to the charging port... but since I live in Southern California I would take my input with a large grain of salt.

 

[voganni]

Do you have access to a hair dryer? Or heat gun on low? That would melt the scuz out of the charge port.

 

[j5hale3]

Hair dryer worked for me. I forgot to clear all the snow out and closed the orange cap and the snow was jammed in. When I had the 240 line put into the driveway area I also requested a regular 110.

 

[Twofieros]

Thank you for the replays. I probably am over reacting about being worried about getting home. I have a heat gun there so I'll just plan to zap it with some mild heat tonight. I'm surprised Nissan didn't include a heated plug. They whole setup is a little wonky. I might even invest in a good power inverter that can power a heat gun and just leave it in the car during winter.

 

[RePo]

I think that's a great idea!

Be sure to get 1500 watts, any less won't power a hair dryer.

 

[jlatl]

I just wish the design for the cover would allow it to work as a shield for rain and snow when you are charging. I hate that it allows rain to fall in with the plug connected.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It wouldn't take much work, with some soft vinyl or similar plastic, to make a bellows-like rain guard for the charging port cover.

 

[jdunmyer]

Go to an auto parts store and get a can of gas line de-icer, I think Heet is one brand. Pour it into/around the charge socket and it should melt the ice/snow. If you also buy a battery filler syringe, you could use that to blow the alcohol/water mixture out of the socket.

Mind you, I've not tried this, but I think it would work. The alcohol should be harmless to the plastic.

 

[Vjrocky905]

Sorry for the delay, but I have not been on this site in a while.

I've had the same problem on my 2018 Leaf SV. If the weather gets bad overnight (rain or snow) with the charging port cover opened during overnight charging, once the charging cord is removed the mechanism freezes. When trying to charge again, the charging cord does not go in all the way or the locking mechanism freezes and you get a warning beeping several times. I have overcome this problem by using a hair dryer on the charging port to loosen any ice buildup. Of course if you know the weather is going to be problematic during freezing temps, you can charge early or just not charge and leave the charge port cover closed which should prevent moisture getting in.

 

[Nubo]

It's been nearly 30 years since I had to deal with icing, but back then I used to carry a can of de-icer spray for the door locks and quick windshield de-icing when time was of the essence. If memory serves it was mostly some form of alcohol (probably Methanol). Once I bought a powerful 12V spotlight, I began using that for heat to thaw recalcitrant locks. No inverter needed . Incandescent is needed here; a newfangled LED spot will not give you the heat. You don't need to melt all of the ice with these methods, just enough to get it to "release". Be careful with an actual heat gun of course; that's quite intense and maybe above the deformation point for the plastics.

Think about sort of weatherstriping on the charge cover so that it covers the gap when lowered. A bit of rubber tubing might do the trick by slitting it on one side and slipping it over the edge all around.