Leaf is dead after vacation...

[smkettner]

Final question, how do you get around this issue if your vacation includes you flying out from the airport and you can only take your leaf AND you need to get a charge to take it back home from the airport. The vehicle could be plugged in for an extended 2+ weeks. Do you just take your chaces at that point?

Wow this is a good question as I am in that situation myself for business trips. Can anyone weigh in on this?

Set the timer to charge one to three days a week to 80% and only for one hour or less. If you need 100% upon return, start the charging remotely as part of your preparation to return.

 

[DaveEV]

Final question, how do you get around this issue if your vacation includes you flying out from the airport and you can only take your leaf AND you need to get a charge to take it back home from the airport. The vehicle could be plugged in for an extended 2+ weeks. Do you just take your chaces at that point?

Wow this is a good question as I am in that situation myself for business trips. Can anyone weigh in on this?

Set the timer to charge one to three days a week to 80% and only for one hour or less. If you need 100% upon return, start the charging remotely as part of your preparation to return.

Yep, something like that. Adjust so that it gets to 80% the last week before you return. Probably would need to go to 30 minute charges depending on length of vacation - I would probably prefer that and charging 2 days/week over 1 hour once a week.

 

[SanDust]

]The 12v Battery charges every time and all the time the traction battery is charging. (Anytime the main contactor is closed)

Since the electronics needed for charging will run off the 12v this couldn't be otherwise.

 

[jkirkebo]

We will drive our Leaf to the airport and leave it there for two weeks soon. The portable 230V EVSE will have to be plugged in as the trip to the airport is around 85 miles. The battery will probably be at LBW or thereabouts.

After reading this thread I have come up with the following solution:

Set a 80% charge timer to charge for 15 minutes each day. After 14 days the battery will have charged on L2 for 3.5 hours and the main battery should be at around 70% (no more than 80% at least). The morning we leave I will manually start charging to 100%.

This should not only keep the 12V battery full, but also keep the main battery at nice average storage SOC.

Correct ?

 

[DaveEV]

This should not only keep the 12V battery full, but also keep the main battery at nice average storage SOC.

Correct ?

Correct.

 

[Ingineer]

We will drive our Leaf to the airport and leave it there for two weeks soon. The portable 230V EVSE will have to be plugged in as the trip to the airport is around 85 miles. The battery will probably be at LBW or thereabouts.

After reading this thread I have come up with the following solution:

Set a 80% charge timer to charge for 15 minutes each day. After 14 days the battery will have charged on L2 for 3.5 hours and the main battery should be at around 70% (no more than 80% at least). The morning we leave I will manually start charging to 100%.

This should not only keep the 12V battery full, but also keep the main battery at nice average storage SOC.

Correct ?

This sounds good to me too. Though I think I'd set it to charge for an hour each day instead (to 80%) rather than risk a low charge in case some bonehead unplugs my cord.. It'll still come on once a day at that time and top off the 12v at least.

-Phil

 

[UkrainianKozak]

Are you sure that "top off" time for the main battery will be enough to keep the charge in 12V battery?
In my experience topoff will last only few minutes, and as was noted before, if cord is plugged in, leaf can draw up to 0.8 AMPs from 12V battery, so I'm kind of skeptical if that would be enough to keep 12V battery in good shape, so if you charge it too fast (by having 1 hour or more intervals every day) you may end up with dead battery.
Otherwise I wouldn't have a dead leaf as it was topping off while I was out (I actually ended up with 11 bars when my timer was set to 80%, I think because timers reset when battery went low enough somehow, but it was enough to close relay for the charge)

I think the best way is to divide charge time by the number of vacation days (- 2-3 days to ensure you have full charge) to come up with the value for the timer charge activity.

We will drive our Leaf to the airport and leave it there for two weeks soon. The portable 230V EVSE will have to be plugged in as the trip to the airport is around 85 miles. The battery will probably be at LBW or thereabouts.

After reading this thread I have come up with the following solution:

Set a 80% charge timer to charge for 15 minutes each day. After 14 days the battery will have charged on L2 for 3.5 hours and the main battery should be at around 70% (no more than 80% at least). The morning we leave I will manually start charging to 100%.

This should not only keep the 12V battery full, but also keep the main battery at nice average storage SOC.

Correct ?

This sounds good to me too. Though I think I'd set it to charge for an hour each day instead (to 80%) rather than risk a low charge in case some bonehead unplugs my cord.. It'll still come on once a day at that time and top off the 12v at least.

-Phil

 

[Ingineer]

I'm sure. The converter is capable of well over a kW and does a proper 3 stage algorithm. I suspect a this level of charge even for only a few minutes is enough to keep it charged.

On Timer charge it only draws 800ma until it goes to sleep, then a lot less. (Unless the EVSE stops the charge)

-Phil

 

[Nubo]

I'm sure. The converter is capable of well over a kW and does a proper 3 stage algorithm. I suspect a this level of charge even for only a few minutes is enough to keep it charged.

Would that algorithm be suitable for an AGM battery? I'm thinking about replacing with one. After a youth full of derelict cars I have a thing about flooded batteries.

 

[TomT]

AGMs require different charging characteristics than a flooded lead-acid. I wouldn't do it without knowing more first.

Would that algorithm be suitable for an AGM battery? I'm thinking about replacing with one. After a youth full of derelict cars I have a thing about flooded batteries.

 

[mxp]

< cut >
The battery in the Leaf when brand new is good for about 30ah until it's too low to power up the Leaf. (not that you ever want to draw it this low!) So that means without any intervention, you're looking at 1000 hours or 6 weeks. If your solar panel is working (I haven't measured this yet), then possibly forever. The Leaf is also suppose to top off the 12v occasionally, but it would be using traction pack energy for this, and I wouldn't want to go there.

However, If you leave a charge cable connected that isn't charging because of a timer, the Leaf seems to draw up to an additional ~10ma and wakes up periodically with the 300-900ma draw! Let's call it best case at 45ma total, that means your 12v is dead in less than a month. Now you never really want to deep cycle the 12v battery, so you want to definitely avoid even 50% discharges. So limit your vacations without taking action to 2 weeks.

Note: Leaving a charge cable connected with the charger in a hold state, such as "Stopping charge" on a Blink will leave the Leaf in a high-draw scenario, so your battery will be dead in under a week!

Again, My best advice is to charge to 50-80% and disconnect the 12v battery for those vacations that are over 2 weeks. If you absolutely must arrive to the car with a full charge, then creative use of the timers with a short charge daily up to 80%, then you can carwings it the rest of the way to 100% before you drive. Leaving the charger connected but not charging for over a few weeks will result in a dead Leaf and a severely abused 12v battery!

-Phil

Hey Everyone,

We have left both our Leafs for 6 WEEKS unattended, and when we came back, it was all fine. Before we left,

1. Charged it up to 80% and I drove it 3-4 miles for some errand runs.
2. Left both cars outside on the driveway (Sunroof to keep the accessory battery up and allow cell coverage)

After 3-4 weeks or thereof, I recall that I was no longer able to login to both our cars via the Nissan Owners portal. They seem to have stopped communicating to Nissan servers or whatever. When we arrived home 6 weeks after, both the cars had lost 1 bar (or 2 maybe) but they both powered up fine and we used them right away.

@DaveOly: Your suggestion which suggests logging into the periodically might not work. As I indicted, at some point in the 6 weeks, the communications was deactivated.

@coqui and others: For business travels, I use Avis (local edition) to pick up a car and return at airport (i.e 1 day rental). Avis seems to be the only rental agency that allows "local edition" pickup and return at another location WITHOUT any extra charges or "Fees". Similarly, upon return, I pickup an Avis car from the airport, and drop it off at the Avis local edition (again, 1 day rental charge). I book it all online so that I can see the full charges before committing. And, I usually rent a Full size car for the luggage space needed for our bags. YMMV.

 

[TomT]

Yes, the Telematics shuts down after the car being off for two weeks.

@DaveOly: Your suggestion which suggests logging into the periodically might not work. As I indicted, at some point in the 6 weeks, the communications was deactivated.

 

[scottf200]

The reason to leave it unplugged is because every time the on-board charger comes on to top-off the Li-ion battery, the charging timer for the 12V battery gets reset for another 5 days, therefore, it never receives any charge.

The 12v Battery charges every time and all the time the traction battery is charging. (Anytime the main contactor is closed)
-Phil

This is the same thing on the Volt ... 12v is only charging when the 360v battery is being charged (12v not charged just because plugged in):
This quote is from an offical GM tech document and not just something on the forums:

For information on how to properly maintain the Volt's 12V battery in dealership showrooms, review #PIC5448. There is a common misconception that having the charger plugged in will maintain the 12V battery (either with the stationary 240V or 120V charger).

When plugging in a 240V or 120V charger, the vehicle will charge the 300V battery and will also maintain the 12V battery to power up the modules needed to complete the charge event. When the 300V battery is fully charged, the modules will go to sleep and the vehicle will no longer trickle charge the 12V battery even though the 240V or 120V charger is still plugged in.

 

[scottf200]

For comparison...

2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner's Manual
Extended Storage

Remove the 12 volt battery black, negative cable from the battery to keep the 12 volt battery from running down or use a battery trickle charger.
In addition, to avoid potential damage to the high voltage battery, perform the following recommended steps:
- Store the high voltage battery with 1/2 charge or less.
- Always store the vehicle in an environment between -10C/14F and 30C/86F.
- Vehicle storage at extreme temperatures can cause damage to the high voltage battery.

 

[jkirkebo]

Yes, the Telematics shuts down after the car being off for two weeks.

Is this exactly two weeks ? I'll have to be careful to start charging to 100% the night before then, when we go on our two week vacation.

I wish there was a charge start timer in the iPhone app just like the climate start timer.

 

[TomT]

I don't know if it is two weeks to the minute but mine did shut down exactly 14 days after I turned it off, as expected.

Yes, the Telematics shuts down after the car being off for two weeks.

Is this exactly two weeks ? I'll have to be careful to start charging to 100% the night before then, when we go on our two week vacation.
I wish there was a charge start timer in the iPhone app just like the climate start timer.

 

[gbarry42]

Phil's assertion that the 12 charges anytime the contactor is closed, is enlightening. I see another option in this game: Climate control. Here is a way to "power up" the car without invoking a lengthy charging cycle. Or needing to get access to the charge timer to make changes.

Remotely request air conditioning, and it powers up the car until cooled down, which shouldn't take long inside a garage. Light power draw. Times out if you misjudged the cool down time (or the windows are open!).

Do the same but request heat- Powers up the car as above, but draws 4x the power while doing so. Particularly useful if your plans didn't quite work and you want to get it below 80%.

Obviously, those in Arizona and Alaska may need to choose hot or cold according the the local weather instead of the conventional wisdom.

It would be a bonus if this reset the 2-week timer, but unless someone tries it we will have to assume this is just my imagination at work.

It also seems there may be other interactions when using climate control while plugged in. I don't do this, so I'd advise reading the replies to see if this idea doesn't actually work for some reason.

 

[TomT]

You can't request heat or cold remotely. When you activate remote climate control, you get 77 degrees and the car does whatever is necessary to meet that.

Obviously, those in Arizona and Alaska may need to choose hot or cold according the the local weather instead of the conventional wisdom.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

On top of that I don't think I'm alone in hating the way Nissan did remote/timer pre-heating/cooling...
Most of the time I use it, the car ends up severely humidified and fogged up... (maybe it's just me in Seattle...)
So I wonder if you will do that many times during the vacation without actually driving/defogging you may end up with moldy dump interior after you get back from vacation...

You can't request heat or cold remotely. When you activate remote climate control, you get 77 degrees and the car does whatever is necessary to meet that.

Obviously, those in Arizona and Alaska may need to choose hot or cold according the the local weather instead of the conventional wisdom.

 

[ebill3]

On top of that I don't think I'm alone in hating the way Nissan did remote/timer pre-heating/cooling...
Most of the time I use it, the car ends up severely humidified and fogged up... (maybe it's just me in Seattle...)
So I wonder if you will do that many times during the vacation without actually driving/defogging you may end up with moldy dump interior after you get back from vacation...

Probably not. What causes the window fogging is the moisture already in the car. None is added.