Quick chargers broken at nearly every dealership in Utah

[apvbguy]

]

It is a fair point and I used to agree.
Since the QC stations often have only one 'pump' at each 'station' I feel it is an important distinction and the reason I list both.

if we were talking about QCs maybe I'd agree but this tangent is about Tesla superchargers

 

[apvbguy]

Right now, even a trip to the southern half of my state feels like an adventure.

for better or worse that is what the LEAF and like evs are, they are only in their "prime" for local trips, for any trips of distance you need a car with Tesla like range.
YMMV

 

[cayblood]

Would it be possible to create an adapter that would allow Leafs to charge at Superchargers?

 

[Zythryn]

Would it be possible to create an adapter that would allow Leafs to charge at Superchargers?

No.
It would be possible for Nissan to partner with Tesla to allow the next generation of the Leaf to use the superchargers.

The issue isn't just the physical connection. When a car is plugged in, there is a "handshake" between the car and supercharger/Tesla. If the car doesn't have the software to be supercharger enabled, it won't charge even if the physical plug fits.

 

[TomT]

High altitude restrictions are usually due to high voltage or gas display pressure limitations. Since QCs have neither, I'm not sure why there would be a limitation...

Now that I think about it... perhaps those ABB units don't work well at high altitude either?

 

[jlv]

I could imagine an adapter that had active electronics in it, such that it would do the appropriate handshake to the Supercharger and the appropriate handshake to the DC charger in the Leaf. (I'm a software engineer, so this seems plausible; I'd have to guess that the voltage/current would be adaptable). I don't know if such an adapter would be compact enough to be usable or cost little enough to be viable, however. It would likely require some major deal between Nissan and Tesla (or perhaps Tesla could sell them for some quadruple digit figure).

(But I doubt Nissan would do this -- heck, they wouldn't even update the nav firmware in the '11 and '12 to stop asking for "OK" every time you turn on the car, even though this same change was made in the '13 and later. I consider this one of the most important things I've seen Tesla do that other manufacturers don't do: support and upgrade all systems in the field)

Meanwhile, the state of Nissan's DC chargers is abysmal. The CHAdeMO nearest my house has been broken for almost a month, and the 2nd closest one is locked outside of the dealers hours.

 

[KJD]

Meanwhile, the state of Nissan's DC chargers is abysmal. The CHAdeMO nearest my house has been broken for almost a month, and the 2nd closest one is locked outside of the dealers hours.

What brand name is on the DC charger that has been broken for a month ?

 

[jlv]

It says Nissan and has model number NSQC442E - matches this: http://evsolutions.avinc.com/uploads/products/Nissan%20DC%20FC%20sales%20sheet_092812_r3_v1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dgpcolorado]

High altitude restrictions are usually due to high voltage or gas display pressure limitations. Since QCs have neither, I'm not sure why there would be a limitation...

It might have something to do with reduced effectiveness of cooling due to significantly lower air density. I suggest this because cooling seems to be a problem with some Chademo charger designs.

 

[dgpcolorado]

No.
It would be possible for Nissan to partner with Tesla to allow the next generation of the Leaf to use the superchargers.

The issue isn't just the physical connection. When a car is plugged in, there is a "handshake" between the car and supercharger/Tesla. If the car doesn't have the software to be supercharger enabled, it won't charge even if the physical plug fits.

Handshakes aside, the real problem is that the LEAF battery pack has no TMS and would fry at 100-130 kW — they already get hot at Chademo QC rates, with increased degradation.

If the charge rate was slowed down to regular DCFC rates, it would be so slow that it would take too long for interstate travel and it would mean that Supercharger stations would be blocked by slow charging — the Supercharger equivalent of "trickle charging" — LEAFs.

I can't see Tesla allowing use of the Supercharger system unless the cars have the capability to take advantage of the high charge rates without overheating. It just doesn't makes sense to me for Tesla to do otherwise.

 

[jlv]

That makes a lot of sense.

 

[rhumbliner]

Join the club here in CO. Two near me have been broken for months. This clear lack of support by the dealers of the product they sell is definitely pushing me to look at another brand come lease termination.

good luck with that. check this article:

http://www.plugincars.com/volkswagen-electric-e-golf-blue-e-motion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"That puts the VW E-Golf in the group of all-electric five-seat compacts that includes the Nissan LEAF and Ford Focus Electric. The main distinguishing factors between those three vehicles are design—which vehicle is most attractive in your eyes—and the level of commitment from the different automakers. Nissan is all-in, with domestic LEAF production and availability in all 50 states. Ford is on the fence in terms of pure electrics, but is indicating support of plug-in hybrids. And Volkswagen, while claiming that it wants the industry’s lead position in terms of electrifying the automobile, has not yet backed that goal with big production and wide distribution of battery-powered plug-in cars."

 

[rhumbliner]

Would it be possible to create an adapter that would allow Leafs to charge at Superchargers?

Ingineer did a fair amount of work on this:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=292087" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;