Please help an ignorant person -- me!-question about 2012 SV

[Slow1]

for those of us in flyover country with average annual incomes by city in the $25,000 to $50,000 range there isn't a $7500 rebate there is an UP TO $7500 rebate. With the actual amount being only a couple of thousand for a single income family and maybe a 3 or 4 thousand for a dual income family. It just isn't that big of a rebate for those at the lower end of the income spectrum.

Fair point - for those who cannot qualify for the full rebate, the next best thing may be to lease with the plan of buying it out; still get benefit of full rebate. Each individual should evaluate their own situation and determine how much of that rebate they could qualify for - a good reminder for anyone reading this thread.

 

[Sondy132001]

Yes that is a DCQC port but I don't believe the 6.6kw OBC was there for 2012 so it likely is a 3.3....

So my 2012 SL won't charge at 6.6kw

 

[RonDawg]

So my 2012 SL won't charge at 6.6kw

Not as originally equipped from Nissan.

 

[Sondy132001]

So my 2012 SL won't charge at 6.6kw

Not as originally equipped from Nissan.

that blows, the dealer I bought it from told me I had 6.6 charging !

 

[Slow1]

Yes that is a DCQC port but I don't believe the 6.6kw OBC was there for 2012 so it likely is a 3.3....

So my 2012 SL won't charge at 6.6kw

Correct in terms of AC charging (i.e. through your L2 port).

However... IF you use the DCQC port you can charge at a considerably higher rate. Note the "DC" i.e. direct current aspect here. That port can handle somewhere around 480w@ 100a (48kW) in theory - actual rates vary based on a LOT of factors.

So even with the 3.3kW "On Board" charger (which is basically an AC/DC transformer) you can, technically, charge at a much higher rate.

With that said, you won't be installing one of these DCQC stations at home so your home charging rate is functionally limited to the OBC rate of 3.3kw.

 

[Slow1]

So my 2012 SL won't charge at 6.6kw

Not as originally equipped from Nissan.

that blows, the dealer I bought it from told me I had 6.6 charging !

Well - as has been pointed out here, most dealers are either ignorant, don't care, or are downright dishonest. Can't be sure which you ran into.

IF you have this in writing then you may be able to make a case with the dealer, but somehow I doubt the dealer provided this statement in writing....

 

[Sondy132001]

Well - as has been pointed out here, most dealers are either ignorant, don't care, or are downright dishonest. Can't be sure which you ran into.

IF you have this in writing then you may be able to make a case with the dealer, but somehow I doubt the dealer provided this statement in writing....

yeah not in writing was told that while I was test riving the vehicle. But like you pointed out above, I'll get higher kw's from higher forms of charging, not my OBC = on board charger (thanks for the definition, wasn't sure what that meant). So my trickle charger is 3.3 and if I go to Level 2 at my home (http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false it'll stay at 3.3 or bump me to 6.6 ?

 

[keydiver]

The (non-modified) factory trickle EVSE can supply <1.5kW from 120 VAC. If you have it modified for 240 VAC use by EVSEUpgrade.com, it can supply the entire 3.3kW.

 

[Slow1]

Well - as has been pointed out here, most dealers are either ignorant, don't care, or are downright dishonest. Can't be sure which you ran into.

IF you have this in writing then you may be able to make a case with the dealer, but somehow I doubt the dealer provided this statement in writing....

yeah not in writing was told that while I was test riving the vehicle. But like you pointed out above, I'll get higher kw's from higher forms of charging, not my OBC = on board charger (thanks for the definition, wasn't sure what that meant). So my trickle charger is 3.3 and if I go to Level 2 at my home (http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false it'll stay at 3.3 or bump me to 6.6 ?

As I'm sure others will be quick to point out - what you are referring to as your "trickle charger" is not a 'charger' at all - rather it is an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment - not that it really helps to know that). The EVSE is basically a controlled power flow rate cable that provides the AC power to your OBC. Your OBC is 3.3kW, but as your stock EVSE is only capable of providing about 10amp at 120v you get about 1.2kW (multiply the two together, easy eh?). Now if you were to get a "L2" EVSE at home OR have your 120v stock EVSE upgraded by EVSEUpgrade (I did that to mine) then you could get up to your 'full' 3.3kW capacity for your cars OBC (240v 15a would get you 3.6kW). Of course you would need a 240v plug available to do this. In any case you are limited to 3.3kW due to your OBC (that's all the power it can convert from AC to DC for your batteries).

Clear as mud yet?

 

[Sondy132001]

Well - as has been pointed out here, most dealers are either ignorant, don't care, or are downright dishonest. Can't be sure which you ran into.

IF you have this in writing then you may be able to make a case with the dealer, but somehow I doubt the dealer provided this statement in writing....

yeah not in writing was told that while I was test riving the vehicle. But like you pointed out above, I'll get higher kw's from higher forms of charging, not my OBC = on board charger (thanks for the definition, wasn't sure what that meant). So my trickle charger is 3.3 and if I go to Level 2 at my home (http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false it'll stay at 3.3 or bump me to 6.6 ?

As I'm sure others will be quick to point out - what you are referring to as your "trickle charger" is not a 'charger' at all - rather it is an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment - not that it really helps to know that). The EVSE is basically a controlled power flow rate cable that provides the AC power to your OBC. Your OBC is 3.3kW, but as your stock EVSE is only capable of providing about 10amp at 120v you get about 1.2kW (multiply the two together, easy eh?). Now if you were to get a "L2" EVSE at home OR have your 120v stock EVSE upgraded by EVSEUpgrade (I did that to mine) then you could get up to your 'full' 3.3kW capacity for your cars OBC (240v 15a would get you 3.6kW). Of course you would need a 240v plug available to do this. In any case you are limited to 3.3kW due to your OBC (that's all the power it can convert from AC to DC for your batteries).

Clear as mud yet?

OK I understand now. OBC is under my hood, my cable is the EVSE and my next door neighbor is a commercial electrician, he said he'd put a dryer (240v) plug in my garage so I can upgrade and get my full 3.3 !! Thank you Slow1 !!

 

[TimLee]

... my next door neighbor is a commercial electrician, he said he'd put a dryer (240v) plug in my garage so I can upgrade and get my full 3.3 !!

Better to have the receptacle put in that fits the plug the evesupgrade comes with and avoid needing $25 adapter.

 

[Sondy132001]

... my next door neighbor is a commercial electrician, he said he'd put a dryer (240v) plug in my garage so I can upgrade and get my full 3.3 !!

Better to have the receptacle put in that fits the plug the evesupgrade comes with and avoid needing $25 adapter.

Ok I'll do that, thanks for the heads up.

S

 

[ksnogas2112]

Hey...sorry to be late joining the party....

As an experienced KC Leafer here are some things about this 2012:

1. Even if you have 12 capacity bars showing you are in reality at the cusp of loosing the first capacity bar. I bought my 2012 new in June of 2012 and lost the first bar in August of 2014. Three other KC leafs joined the first bar club within the next two months and only one forum KC Leafer is still at 12 but she'll loose that when it warms up.

So take it as a forgone conclusion you're really at 86% capacity.

2. You're coming into warmer weather (today not withstanding) which means you will probably see the GOM rise in range. It is most likely at 58 miles due to a combination of cold battery and heater use.

3. You also have the 'old' aka resistance heater which is a large power draw during the winter.

4. $13k seems to be a pretty good price to me. It's a lot less than what I have left to pay on my 6 year loan. I would make them include a second key fob for the price they are offering.

5. With the newly implemented DCQC stations around town you will actually get to use the second port right off the lot and the lower range of a degraded battery is compensated by the recent DCQC availability.

6. There are plenty of L2 stations around town and with two exceptions they are all free so picking up a charge to keep going around town isn't usually problem.

7. Reminder - the federal rebate is only for new and not used.

8. Warranty - don't buy any extended warranty but get in writing that they will cover you for the 5 year 60k battery replacement. I doubt that you'll put the requisite mileage on it to loose the capacity but you never know. I don't expect that I will lose enough capacity to pick up a warranty battery and I've got almost 33k miles on mine.

9. Join the KC forum link for KC specific questions ( http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=8646&start=720" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

I would say this is a pretty decent deal.

Tom

 

[Sondy132001]

Hey...sorry to be late joining the party....

As an experienced KC Leafer here are some things about this 2012:

1. Even if you have 12 capacity bars showing you are in reality at the cusp of loosing the first capacity bar. I bought my 2012 new in June of 2012 and lost the first bar in August of 2014. Three other KC leafs joined the first bar club within the next two months and only one forum KC Leafer is still at 12 but she'll loose that when it warms up.

So take it as a forgone conclusion you're really at 86% capacity.

2. You're coming into warmer weather (today not withstanding) which means you will probably see the GOM rise in range. It is most likely at 58 miles due to a combination of cold battery and heater use.

3. You also have the 'old' aka resistance heater which is a large power draw during the winter.

4. $13k seems to be a pretty good price to me. It's a lot less than what I have left to pay on my 6 year loan. I would make them include a second key fob for the price they are offering. I paid $12,488 for my used 2012, pretty stoked and got 2 FOBS, just waiting on my license plates so I can apply for my HOV/CAV stickers

5. With the newly implemented DCQC stations around town you will actually get to use the second port right off the lot and the lower range of a degraded battery is compensated by the recent DCQC availability.

6. There are plenty of L2 stations around town and with two exceptions they are all free so picking up a charge to keep going around town isn't usually problem.

7. Reminder - the federal rebate is only for new and not used.

8. Warranty - don't buy any extended warranty but get in writing that they will cover you for the 5 year 60k battery replacement. I doubt that you'll put the requisite mileage on it to loose the capacity but you never know. I don't expect that I will lose enough capacity to pick up a warranty battery and I've got almost 33k miles on mine.

9. Join the KC forum link for KC specific questions ( http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=8646&start=720" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

I would say this is a pretty decent deal.

Tom