Strangest Problem/Not Problem

[Leaf19]

Had a weird incident this morning:

I left my Leaf plugged into my garage wall socket for a couple days and when I tried to take it out today, I found the car couldn't recognize the FOB. Got a new fob battery, same problem. Not even the whole "hold the fob to the button" trick worked.

So I thought -- dead battery? I hooked the 12v to my girlfriend's car. The radio came on automatically, the dash lit up, etc. It showed I had no charge, but even after leaving the cars attached for a few minutes, I still couldn't turn the Leaf's engine on. ALSO, plugging the Leaf back in did to the wall nothing (no blue lights blinking on the dash, etc.).

Disheartened, I disconnected the cars and tried plugging the Leaf into the wall one more time. Aha! Now it shows the Leaf has 2/3 charge (two out of three blue lights on, third one blinking).

I go to turn the car on while it's plugged in. The dash light's up -- the key FOB is recognized -- and the dash says I have a FULL charge, even while there are only two solid blue lights on the charge indicator (third one still blinking).

Anywho, long story short, I unplug the car, start the engine and take it for a spin. Everything seems back to normal (minus my trip odometer being reset and my car range indicator reading 100 miles -- which it never does).

Has anyone experienced this oddity before? Because of the odometer and the range indicator, I feel like I accidentally reset something and that solved the problem -- but what was the problem?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nubo]

Sounds the 12V battery was dead or perhaps has a loose terminal connection. I'd check the connections first. If the 12V was really drained that low then it may have been weakened.

 

[Leaf19]

Thanks! You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but if the car was plugged in until that morning, would the 12v have still drained? And why would a dead 12v make the car think the engine battery had no charge?

Thanks again.

 

[TomT]

Yep, definitely a 12 volt battery problem.

 

[Nubo]

Thanks! You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but if the car was plugged in until that morning, would the 12v have still drained?

I wouldn't expect it after a couple of days, with a healthy battery. But it is known that LEAF consumes more "dark current" when it is left plugged in. Lot of folks have returned from one or two week vacations to a dead battery. And if your battery was already weak, then who knows? It's best to disconnect after charging is complete. Also, do go ahead and check those terminal connections. A loose terminal can masquerade as a dead battery.

And why would a dead 12v make the car think the engine battery had no charge?

The computers and such are expecting 12 volts. Low voltage confuses the onboard systems.

 

[TimLee]

You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but if the car was plugged in until that morning, would the 12v have still drained? And why would a dead 12v make the car think the engine battery had no charge?

Thanks again.

The LEAF does not treat the 12V battery well if left plugged in.
Many have found the 12V dead if left plugged in for a week.
Dead after two days is unusual.
But several have experienced problems with the LEAF intermittently drawing a high 12V load while the car is Off.
See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18921&hilit=Vampire&start=0#p407422" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
There is another thread by BrockWI about it too.

Definitely check the 12V connections and charge it with a good trickle charger till you get fully charged indication.

The LEAF has demonstrated bad dangerous braking behaviour with a very weak 12V battery.
Just because you got the LEAF into Ready mode does not mean the 12V battery is properly charged.

And note, the LEAF does not have an engine.
It has an electric motor and a single gear ratio transmission.

 

[Leaf19]

I've learned so much! Thanks to all of you.

 

[LeftieBiker]

If it is most convenient for you to leave the car plugged in, add a hardwired connection for a battery maintainer, and leave the car connected to that as well as the charging cable. I do this all the time, and it works great.

 

[Wennfred]

Anytime I go out of town on my long 8 day trips, I leave a 12 Volt battery tender connected to the 12 volt battery. The 12 volt battery tender which you can buy one on Amazon will trickle charge your 12 volt battery & keep it charged while away. Ensure that the Leaf is 1/2 charged and not connected to the EVSE while gone.


Fred

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Anytime I go out of town on my long 8 day trips, I leave a 12 Volt battery tender connected to the 12 volt battery. The 12 volt battery tender which you can buy one on Amazon will trickle charge your 12 volt battery & keep it charged while away. Ensure that the Leaf is 1/2 charged and not connected to the EVSE while gone.


Fred

Do you need a tender if you aren't plugged into the EVSE? When I have left for a week-long vacation, I have just left the Leaf at ~50% charge and disconnected from the EVSE. The 12V battery was fine.

Nissan's neglect of the 12V battery is infuriating to me. If the car is plugged into the wall, there is no excuse for letting the 12V battery die. Even with the vampire loads, the car has a readily available power source and it's idiotic not to use it.

 

[TimLee]

... Do you need a tender if you aren't plugged into the EVSE? When I have left for a week-long vacation, I have just left the Leaf at ~50% charge and disconnected from the EVSE. The 12V battery was fine.

For most people no.
Some people with 2013 have had trouble with intermittent large vampire loads. For them, Yes need trickle charge.

Also if you are routinely using OBDII plug in device for LEAF Spy Pro be sure you unplug that.
Load from Bluetooth ones are seven times the typical normal Off 12V drain load.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Also if you are routinely using OBDII plug in device for LEAF Spy Pro be sure you unplug that.
Load from Bluetooth ones are seven times the typical normal Off 12V drain load.

FWIW, I've had my bluetooth ODBII reader plugged in 24/7 for about 2 years. I didn't know it was pulling so much current with the car off, perhaps I'll remove it. I haven't even had the chance to use it in the past 12 months since I upgraded to an iPhone and lost my old Android

 

[Wennfred]

I park indoors while away. So no sun light on the solar panel to trickle charge the 12v battery. Most 12v batteries are dead after let's say 7 or 8 days, from reading on this site, the best thing to do is to use the battery tender.

 

[GerryAZ]

As long as you don't leave the car plugged in and don't leave the Bluetooth device plugged in to the OBDII port, the Leaf will keep the 12-volt battery charged by turning the DC-DC converter on periodically (2011 and 2012 models every 5 days, but I think the later models vary). I routinely leave mine parked at about 60 to 70% SOC for 1 to 3 weeks at a time at the airport or office. I came home to a dead 12-volt battery the one time I left the Bluetooth device plugged in to the OBDII port and the Android phone running Leaf Spy on the seat. The continuous data exchange until the phone died caused the 12-volt battery to be dead after only 6 days (probably because it disrupted the automatic charge that should have happened after 5 days on the 2011). Three weeks is about the limit for an ICE car with a really good battery if the alarm system is active, but it is no issue for the Leaf.

Gerry

 

[TimLee]

... since I upgraded to an iPhone and lost my old Android

You just need to get a WiFi adapter and the fairly new iOS version of LEAF Spy Pro

I have been planning to buy WiFi adapter for use with Android due to the greater range which would be more convenient.

Turbo 3 provided some recommendations on WiFi adapter in recent post.

Not sure about their power draw versus Bluetooth.
But some do go into low power sleep mode if inactive for a period of time.