Help! EVSE showing fault light after changing J1772 connector on 2013 Leaf

First, I am not an EE or technically trained. My knowledge comes from advice given by friends who are. Also, my experience is with the 2011 Leaf and associated equipment.

The problem with charging began after the original inlet was replaced. Look for what could have happened there first.
1. Check that the harness connectors going further into the car are firmly seated (The 2011 had two). Check for contamination if they were detached during the repair.
2. Recheck that the new inlet’s wiring is correct and the crimps are good. Is there continuity from the pins to the wires (and to the connectors on the other end)?

Next, does the fault light status of your EVSE or Clipper Creek give any indication of what it doesn’t like? Some devices narrow down the problem area by a combination of lights or whether they are flashing or steady state.

This next information is for anyone who can’t charge on Level 1 or 2 and suspects the cause is a bad diode.

1. This diode is used as a safety check for L1 & L2 charging only. CHAdeMO charging will still function.
2. A diode allows the current to flow only in one direction. It fails into one of two states: a) Closed- circuit still continuous but now allows flow in both directions; b) Open- circuit is broken, there is no continuity.
3. The original portable L1 EVSEs and Nissan branded AV L2 EVSEs (round faced) did not do a diode check. An OpenEVSE can be set to do a diode check or not. Most other EVSEs do a diode check.
4. a) The diode has failed in Closed position if charging occurs with an EVSE that does not do the diode check but will not charge on one that does the diode check; b) The diode has failed Open if charging does not occur with or without the diode check.
5. Another method for determining the state of the diode is to check for continuity between the pilot pin and ground in the J1772 receiver on the car. An inexpensive multimeter will show a) continuity in one direction and no continuity (or very high resistance) in the other for a properly functioning diode; b) continuity in both directions for a failed Closed diode; and c) no continuity in either direction for a failed Open diode.
6. If failed Closed, a new diode can be inserted into the pilot line to replace the function of the failed one.
7. If failed Open, the original diode has to be replaced. This diode is located on a circuit board in the onboard charger.

I have been driving a 2017 Leaf for about one year now. Couple of month ago I started intermittently having a similar problem. After reading up on the charging connection protocol, I discovered that the thumb latch activates a switch that is designed to signal the charging circuits to prepare to be disconnected. Until then, it had not occurred to me to press the latch when plugging in.

I decided to always press the thumb button while plugging in the connector. It seems to be working so far (at least 6 weeks with no problems). I am happy to have avoided the "screwdriver section" of troubleshooting.

Thought this might help someone.

mcjdennis said:

I have been driving a 2017 Leaf for about one year now. Couple of month ago I started intermittently having a similar problem. After reading up on the charging connection protocol, I discovered that the thumb latch activates a switch that is designed to signal the charging circuits to prepare to be disconnected. Until then, it had not occurred to me to press the latch when plugging in.

I decided to always press the thumb button while plugging in the connector. It seems to be working so far (at least 6 weeks with no problems). I am happy to have avoided the "screwdriver section" of troubleshooting.

Thought this might help someone.

Click to expand...

You mean to say that when you depress the button on the top of the J1772 charge handle as you plug in the car, it will charge; and if you connect the charge handle to the car without pressing the button, it won't charge? On both the Level 1 Nissan 120V EVSE, as well as Level 2 240V charging stations?

I'll be ecstatic if the answer to my problem is that simple!

I think that everyone here who has replied is smarter than me, including you, but I will ask if it is worth trying very basic troubleshooting. Try a different EVSE for both level 1 and 2, like a public one. Just to eliminate any possible external problems.

The possibility that the button on the plug is not latching properly is a very good suggestion. It should not make any difference whether the button is depressed when you plug in or not. However, the button must pop up after the J1772 plug is inserted into the receiver to successfully charge.

klip said:

mcjdennis said:

I have been driving a 2017 Leaf for about one year now. Couple of month ago I started intermittently having a similar problem. After reading up on the charging connection protocol, I discovered that the thumb latch activates a switch that is designed to signal the charging circuits to prepare to be disconnected. Until then, it had not occurred to me to press the latch when plugging in.

I decided to always press the thumb button while plugging in the connector. It seems to be working so far (at least 6 weeks with no problems). I am happy to have avoided the "screwdriver section" of troubleshooting.

Thought this might help someone.

Click to expand...

You mean to say that when you depress the button on the top of the J1772 charge handle as you plug in the car, it will charge; and if you connect the charge handle to the car without pressing the button, it won't charge? On both the Level 1 Nissan 120V EVSE, as well as Level 2 240V charging stations?

I'll be ecstatic if the answer to my problem is that simple!

Click to expand...

Yes. Pressing the latch button every time before plugging in has resulted in 100% success. Before that, I always plugged in without pressing the button. That also worked fine for the first several months of owning the car, until the trouble started.

I have been using the Siemens VersiCharge, Level 2, 30A charger. I set it to 50% current (15A) because my house electrical is not upgraded. The first time I saw the Leaf’s fault lights I switched to the Level 1, supplied with the car, so that I could drive the car the next day. The Level 1 has worked every time I have used it.

Each day, after the first fault, I would try the Level 2 first. Less than half the time it worked, but if I got a fault, I would switch to the level 1.

Here is a link to the article I mentioned earlier:
https://openev.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/6000052074-basics-of-sae-j1772

Got my Level 1 EVSE to work again finally!!

I had become convinced it was the on-board charger that was the problem until tonight. Tested Level 3 charging with Chademo, car charged perfectly as expected.

Disconnected both the low voltage circuit by disconnecting the 12V battery and the high voltage circuit by removing the service plug this time.

Removed all the in-line crimps I had made using a hydraulic crimping tool I borrowed from my wholesale electrical supply store and simply connected the L1, L2/N, Ground, Proximity Detection, and Pilot wires directly to the corresponding wires in the wiring harness using good old marrettes.

Reconnected the high voltage and 12V systems

Tested the Level 1 (depressed the button on the handle as I plugged it in for good luck)

It worked!

Next I'll test the Level 2...

Yup, Level 2 works as well!!

Which means the diode on the on-board charger is working as it should :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Now I have to find a way to securely and permanently connect my aftermarket J1772 inlet to the OEM wiring harness that won't trigger a fault on my charging station...

Ideas?

klip said:

Now I have to find a way to securely and permanently connect my aftermarket J1772 inlet to the OEM wiring harness that won't trigger a fault on my charging station...

Ideas?

Click to expand...

Can you just buy a standard OEM J1772 inlet instead? I see them on ebay for $200, and I bet a local junkyard would have them much cheaper...

Polaris Connectors? https://polarisconnectors.com/

They have submersible ones that should be able to stand up to the elements under the hood.

Can you use the same connection method you used to successfully charge to connect to the back of the J1772 receiver? Then you could test the receiver function.

If not, check the J1772 receiver for
1) defects
2) continuity from front to back on the pins
3) mating with the J1772 plug (the button on the handle must pop up after insertion).

Were all the crimps good, no broken wires?

Were the pilot and proximity connected correctly? It is easy to reverse them.

klip said:

Now I have to find a way to securely and permanently connect my aftermarket J1772 inlet to the OEM wiring harness that won't trigger a fault on my charging station...

Ideas?

Click to expand...

I used to have no end of problems with crimps until I got a decent crimping tool. If I had to guess, I'd suspect the crimp was holding the insulation but not compressed around the conductor at some point. But, I'm no expert. Since you've already done business with Tony, I'd suggest contacting him for advice on how best to connect the inlet.