New leaf. No Lights on EVSE.

Traded in my 2013 for a new 2015 today. Got home tonight (they delivered it to work) and the new EVSE does not light up. No ready light. No flashing lights. No any thing. I used the old EVSE for three years on the same plug for the 2013. Tried it on several plugs around the house no lights at all. Any suggestions.

Matt

Colius said:

Traded in my 2013 for a new 2015 today. Got home tonight (they delivered it to work) and the new EVSE does not light up. No ready light. No flashing lights. No any thing. I used the old EVSE for three years on the same plug for the 2013. Tried it on several plugs around the house no lights at all. Any suggestions.

Matt

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Is that EVSE that came with the new car? I'd call the dealer and have them replace it (or at least test it).

That's my plan for tomorrow (call the dealer). Thought maybe there was a reset or trip button that I had never heard of. Yes it is the new one.

I'd see if the dealer would just swap your old EVSE for the new one.

I'm guessing that the previous owner tried to plug it into 240 V and fried it.

I am the first owner. It had 84 miles on it. They couldn't find a replacement EVSE so they gave me an Altima.

Colius said:

I am the first owner. It had 84 miles on it. They couldn't find a replacement EVSE so they gave me an Altima.

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Are they going to get a new EVSE for you?

So you never got a L2 EVSE? You charged your old Leaf on L1 the whole time? Since you seem to like EVs, it might be worth getting a L2 EVSE (and keeping the L1 as a backup).

It always seemed enough. I don't drive a a lot 20-40 miles a day. 99% of the time when I leave for work I had a full charge.

The local dealer fixed the EVSE, they gave me a loaner for a couple days (super loud Altima) till the part came in. It seems to be working fine now.

Maybe when I get the next gen (model 3, bolt, leaf) with close to two hundred mile range I'll think of investing in a level 2.

Matt

If you drive 20-40 miles charge to 80% and not 100%.
240V EVSE is much better than 120V - not only charging speed, saving money too!
Efficiency at 120V is worse than on 240V.

arnis said:

Efficiency at 120V is worse than on 240V.

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Would you please elaborate more on this?

inphoenix said:

Would you please elaborate more on this?

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There are a number of threads on this site on this topic.

Example: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=14772

Efficiency at 120V is around 75%. At 240V it is between 85-90% efficiency.

arnis said:

240V EVSE is much better than 120V - not only charging speed, saving money too!

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When I bought my leaf in 2012, a L2 EVSE was > $1000
Now there are several choices available for ~$500.
I expect prices to continue falling for a while. I'm not going to bother installing a L2 EVSE in my house until I feel I really need to. And that won't be until I get an electric car with much greater range than the Leaf. I think I'll come out ahead money-wise with this strategy.

Prices are going settle down at around 300-500$ for at least 5 years (high quality EVSEs)

You lose electricity each time you use 120V charger.
Roughly 25 cents each time you fully charge Leaf.
That means 320 miles= 1$, 3200 miles=10$, 32000 miles 100$ and during warranty period 60 000 miles you lose ~200$.

Think again about delaying that 240V EVSE.

garsh said:

I expect prices to continue falling for a while.

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I dunno, I'm not seeing any change since last spring.

arnis said:

Roughly 25 cents each time you fully charge Leaf.
That means 320 miles= 1$, 3200 miles=10$, 32000 miles 100$ and during warranty period 60 000 miles you lose ~200$.

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Our electricity costs must be very different.

It costs me under $0.60 to go 60 miles.
Assuming it's 15% less efficient than L2 charging, that's an extra $0.09 per 60 miles.
I have 60,000 miles on my car now. If I had exclusively charged on L1 at home, it would have cost an extra $90.
Definitely not worth the premium I would have paid 4 years ago.
You also have to consider installation costs to decide if it's worth installing an L2 now.

I have access to L2 charging at work, so I rarely charge on my L1 at home. So still not worth it to me.

So technically you do not charge at home mainly. So you don't use L1 a lot.
It is possible to install L2 EVSE or just plug it in 240V outlet. Installing the outlet is
not considered a real cost and it might already be there.

Also too cheap electricity might mean too much coal.