12 VOLT BATTERY CHARGING QUESTION

Hi folks,
I have a quick question I've been wondering about for awhile now:
Where in the charging cycle is the 12 Volt accessory battery charged - is it at the beginning of a charge cycle, during, or near the completion of the cycle - after the traction battery is chaged and cells are leveled?
Thanks for replying!!

We really don't need another topic on this. Mods please merge.

https://www.google.com/search?q=myn...+battery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1

Well, Leftie,
I searched for this topic - yet couldn't find any relevant posts. The MAIN reason I was asking this question is this: If your 12 VOLT accessory battery is charged toward the END of the charge cycle, then why would you only charge to 80% or even 90% of a FULL charge? If that was the case, then you aren't letting the converter charge the 12 VOLT. I'm only asking here - I don't KNOW if this is the way it works - or not. The question can indeed be 'merged' by the mods - but that won't help answer it for all the owners who come after me asking the same basic question. As wonderful and informative as this forum and it 's many knowlegeable and helpful people are, it's not very search friendly - esp. when it comes down to specifics.
Thanks,
Stephen

The 12V battery is charged by the DC-DC converter, which is on whenever the main contactors are closed. That includes vehicle charging. So your 12V is being charged the whole time the car is charging.

What Nubo said. No one has ever supposed here that charging only happened for the last part of the charging cycle, in large part because Nissan offered the 80% charge option for three years. This question and answer will indeed be helpful - when merged into one of the too-many topics we have on this.

On my '12 anyway the 12v battery can also charge while just sitting, not running or charging. On more than one occasion I've been in the garage when it's quiet and heard a humming. I look over and one of the charge lights are flashing(I think flashing). Anyway I looked it up once and it meant it was taking power from the traction battery to charge the 12v battery, cool
FWIW I've never heard my '13 doing this, although I could just be missing it......

jjeff said:

On my '12 anyway the 12v battery can also charge while just sitting, not running or charging. On more than one occasion I've been in the garage when it's quiet and heard a humming. I look over and one of the charge lights are flashing(I think flashing). Anyway I looked it up once and it meant it was taking power from the traction battery to charge the 12v battery, cool
FWIW I've never heard my '13 doing this, although I could just be missing it......

Click to expand...

2011 and 2012 charge 12-volt battery for 5 minutes every 5 days; 2013-2017 charge when needed; 2018 is likely similar to 2013-2017. As Jeff noted, one of the blue lights flashes when 12-volt battery is charging while car is not on.

Will it charge the battery if there is a parasitic draw?

I'm thinking of putting a deep cycle battery in for wiring up a dashcam. When the car is not in use it will be plugged in.

NavyCuda said:

Will it charge the battery if there is a parasitic draw?

I'm thinking of putting a deep cycle battery in for wiring up a dashcam. When the car is not in use it will be plugged in.

Click to expand...

The dash cam should not interfere with the automatic charging as long as the car is not plugged in. Be careful where you connect for the 12-volt continuous source--the Leaf's power socket is not energized when the car is off.

GerryAZ said:

NavyCuda said:

Will it charge the battery if there is a parasitic draw?

I'm thinking of putting a deep cycle battery in for wiring up a dashcam. When the car is not in use it will be plugged in.

Click to expand...

The dash cam should not interfere with the automatic charging as long as the car is not plugged in. Be careful where you connect for the 12-volt continuous source--the Leaf's power socket is not energized when the car is off.

Click to expand...

I asked my question poorly. Does it charge by voltage or timer. If by voltage, it would cover the parasit draw as the battery was used up.

NavyCuda said:

GerryAZ said:

NavyCuda said:

Will it charge the battery if there is a parasitic draw?

I'm thinking of putting a deep cycle battery in for wiring up a dashcam. When the car is not in use it will be plugged in.

Click to expand...

The dash cam should not interfere with the automatic charging as long as the car is not plugged in. Be careful where you connect for the 12-volt continuous source--the Leaf's power socket is not energized when the car is off.

Click to expand...

I asked my question poorly. Does it charge by voltage or timer. If by voltage, it would cover the parasit draw as the battery was used up.

Click to expand...

2011 and 2012 are by time. The later models monitor the 12-volt battery voltage to determine when to turn on the DC-DC converter, but I don't know frequently the voltage is checked or how low it goes before charging starts.