FairwoodRed
Well-known member
So this weekend, I decided to try out the West Coast Electric Highway and drive from Seattle to Portland in the morning and back in the evening. This is a fairly routine drive of 160 miles each way and a common daytrip here in the NorthWest.
But I was not expecting one missing Quick Charger to be so painful and certainly not expecting to have to deal with so much battery pack heat.
The missing charger was supposed to be near Longview, WA and it not being there means that the distance between chargers is 70 miles - most of that way under a 70 mph speed limit. That meant that I had to get a full charge on either side of that stretch. I opted to QC, and then to QC again to get from 80% to 100%.
And this is where the battery temp reared it's head. As I started the car, I noticed that the temp guage was at 9 bars. This took me totally by surprise as it was only 6 when I arrived at the charger. I had expected the temp to rise, but I wasn't ready for the sneak attack of "you look normal, now you look really hot" that the non-linear temp bars sets you up for.
I spent the rest of my trip, and the return home, watching my temp bars like a hawk and that didn't provide any rest or relaxation. I spent several hours in Portland (VooDoo = YUM) and tried to let the pack cool down some. It did, but not enough. At each charge station on the way home, I noted that the while the pack had cooled some while driving, it was higher than ever after charging. Towards the end, it was limiting both traction power and regen power.
It was interesting that it limited regen before traction, and to a higher degree. At one point I had lost 3 traction bubbles, but 4 regen bubbles. The system still had enough power for highway driving and I never got close to the missing bubbles.
Now I wonder about capacity loss. Prior to this trip, every day I started my commute at 281 gids. But my full charge the following day was only 252 gids. Boy did that elevate my anxiety! Reading this board has certainly put "pack ballancing" near the front of my mind, so I turned off my timers and this morning started out with 270 gids. I'm hoping that I can get back to 281 after a couple more days, but it might just be the price I'm paying for not turning this normal day trip into an overnighter.
Part of my decision to press on was Mark Perry's assertion last December that the BMS was smart enough to do whatever it needed to to protect itself. I can now see the implied "from major damage" and realize that it may have let me cause minor damage this weekend. But that was my decision, not Nissan's. I accepted the risk and I'll accept the consequences.
So what have I learned? A missing Quick Charger is a real PAIN! The temp guage goes from normal to hot all of a sudden. I'm not likely to ever use a QC, or travel outside my single charge range again. A minor day trip is no minor thing in a Leaf. I'll be taking my ICE on road trips in the future, but I might try the Leaf again if they fill that hole around Longview WA. If my pack temps go up like this last time, I will abort my journey and be done with Leaf roadtrips for good.
Finally, Below is some of the data the I gathered from my trip. Notably missing is the temp bars and no one regrets that more that me!
Kent, WA to Tumwater, WA 54.8 miles. 183 gids. 62 min driving. 25 min L3 charging.
Tumwater, WA to Centralia, WA 21.9 miles. 77 gids. 24 min driving. 43 min L3 charging.
Centralia, WA to Ridgefield, WA 71.2 miles. 241 gids. 76 min driving. 18 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Ridgefield, WA to Portland, OR 22.0 miles. 92 gids. 32 min driving. 5 min L2 & L3 token charging.
Portland, OR to Ridgefield, WA 22.0 miles. 90 gids. 34 min driving. 20 min L3 & 55 min L3 charging.
Ridgefield, WA to Centralia, WA 69.0 miles. 241 gids. 70 min driving. 22 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Centralia, WA to Tumwater, WA 20.7 miles. 68 gids. 27 min driving. 16 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Tumwater, WA to Kent, WA 58 miles. 171 gids. 69 min driving. Overnight timer charge.
But I was not expecting one missing Quick Charger to be so painful and certainly not expecting to have to deal with so much battery pack heat.
The missing charger was supposed to be near Longview, WA and it not being there means that the distance between chargers is 70 miles - most of that way under a 70 mph speed limit. That meant that I had to get a full charge on either side of that stretch. I opted to QC, and then to QC again to get from 80% to 100%.
And this is where the battery temp reared it's head. As I started the car, I noticed that the temp guage was at 9 bars. This took me totally by surprise as it was only 6 when I arrived at the charger. I had expected the temp to rise, but I wasn't ready for the sneak attack of "you look normal, now you look really hot" that the non-linear temp bars sets you up for.
I spent the rest of my trip, and the return home, watching my temp bars like a hawk and that didn't provide any rest or relaxation. I spent several hours in Portland (VooDoo = YUM) and tried to let the pack cool down some. It did, but not enough. At each charge station on the way home, I noted that the while the pack had cooled some while driving, it was higher than ever after charging. Towards the end, it was limiting both traction power and regen power.
It was interesting that it limited regen before traction, and to a higher degree. At one point I had lost 3 traction bubbles, but 4 regen bubbles. The system still had enough power for highway driving and I never got close to the missing bubbles.
Now I wonder about capacity loss. Prior to this trip, every day I started my commute at 281 gids. But my full charge the following day was only 252 gids. Boy did that elevate my anxiety! Reading this board has certainly put "pack ballancing" near the front of my mind, so I turned off my timers and this morning started out with 270 gids. I'm hoping that I can get back to 281 after a couple more days, but it might just be the price I'm paying for not turning this normal day trip into an overnighter.
Part of my decision to press on was Mark Perry's assertion last December that the BMS was smart enough to do whatever it needed to to protect itself. I can now see the implied "from major damage" and realize that it may have let me cause minor damage this weekend. But that was my decision, not Nissan's. I accepted the risk and I'll accept the consequences.
So what have I learned? A missing Quick Charger is a real PAIN! The temp guage goes from normal to hot all of a sudden. I'm not likely to ever use a QC, or travel outside my single charge range again. A minor day trip is no minor thing in a Leaf. I'll be taking my ICE on road trips in the future, but I might try the Leaf again if they fill that hole around Longview WA. If my pack temps go up like this last time, I will abort my journey and be done with Leaf roadtrips for good.
Finally, Below is some of the data the I gathered from my trip. Notably missing is the temp bars and no one regrets that more that me!
Kent, WA to Tumwater, WA 54.8 miles. 183 gids. 62 min driving. 25 min L3 charging.
Tumwater, WA to Centralia, WA 21.9 miles. 77 gids. 24 min driving. 43 min L3 charging.
Centralia, WA to Ridgefield, WA 71.2 miles. 241 gids. 76 min driving. 18 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Ridgefield, WA to Portland, OR 22.0 miles. 92 gids. 32 min driving. 5 min L2 & L3 token charging.
Portland, OR to Ridgefield, WA 22.0 miles. 90 gids. 34 min driving. 20 min L3 & 55 min L3 charging.
Ridgefield, WA to Centralia, WA 69.0 miles. 241 gids. 70 min driving. 22 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Centralia, WA to Tumwater, WA 20.7 miles. 68 gids. 27 min driving. 16 min L3 charging (stopped early).
Tumwater, WA to Kent, WA 58 miles. 171 gids. 69 min driving. Overnight timer charge.