Flat tire and dead battery all the same time!

So last night I charged my car to 100% (been a week or so since I did this), and noticed the brakes were feeling different when I first started the car (heard a click/pulse when the brake pedal travelled halfway down). Car was parked in a garage overnight and is acting fine tho, and brakes are fine as well, so I decided it was just in my head and went to work.

Get to the office around 6:30am, SoC is around 80%. Today is a very cold day, with rain and snow in the area, but probably just a coincidence.


So around 2:30pm, I get into my car, and it won't start up. I also noticed the brakes were acting weird again. Keyfob isn't being recognized, so I hold it against the start button, and after that, all I get is a bunch of beeps, a message indicating 'When parked apply parking brake', and then the plug icon. So I take a look at my LeafDD display, and it shows the 12V battery is at 5V.

I called Nissan, they sent a flatbed (after 2 hours), but the driver refuses to pick up the car because the car can't be put in Neutral, tells me to ask for a wrecker, and takes off. So I had to call Nissan again, and am now waiting for another truck.

While waiting for the first truck, I noticed a screw in my rear tire ... this is an awesome day!

At least the Nissan LEAF customer service folks were very serious about helping me (what a cool concept to have access to dedicated people like that!), and the 2nd driver just called and sounds a lot smarter than the first guy.

I'm not sure why the 12V battery would be dead, maybe LeafDD isn't reading the data correctly since there are computer issues, but the temps looked right.

So did you get it jump started? and was he able to get you on neutral?

It is possible you may of hit the start button twice before getting out of car.



Fred

woot, finally home, what a day.

The 2nd guy (awesome guy, total opposite from the first experience) hooked up a portable battery (part of one of those jumpstart devices), and that was enough to boot up the computer. While the car wouldn't stay powered up once started (unlike a gasser which keeps running while started), we kept the battery pack hooked up just so we could keep it in Neutral and pull it onto the flatbed, and do the same routine again to unload the car.

The traction pack still showed 60+ miles, so it definitely was an issue with the 12V battery.

As for leaving the car running, I'm pretty sure I turned it off (the car would beep if you keep it running and walk away with the key in your pocket), plus wouldn't the car keep running until the traction pack gets depleted?

Anyways, they have the car now, hopefully they will figure it out.

Lessons learned:

• Buy a spare rim+tire to avoid having to deal with towing problems
• Buy one of those portable battery kits (~$40 @ Harbor Freight according to the tow truck driver). Useful for my other cars as well
• LEARN how to put the car in Neutral without power (instructions are in manual, but it takes 2 people, and pulling some fuses)
• If you don't have the LEAF app installed, make sure you have the customer service # written down in the manual

i got one of those battery jump boxes about 5-6 years ago and its primary purpose? to charge my cellphone and laptop when I was out camping...

What is the customer service number?

EV Customer Support Team
Phone: (877) NO GAS EV (or 877-664-2738)

Monday through Saturday:
7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, Central Time


As for that battery unit, my 2007 Toyota is still on the OEM battery, so I expect it to die soon

lion said:

As for that battery unit, my 2007 Toyota is still on the OEM battery, so I expect it to die soon

Click to expand...

6 years on that Toyota battery, yep I would replace it this weekend for sure.

lion said:

While the car wouldn't stay powered up once started (unlike a gasser which keeps running while started), we kept the battery pack hooked up just so we could keep it in Neutral and pull it onto the flatbed, and do the same routine again to unload the car.

Click to expand...

The car will stay powered up, under normal circumstances. The big battery keeps the little battery charged, once it's connected. Maybe if the battery is totally flat, the inverter refuses to charge it. More likely there was some computer confusion going on. Others have reported weirdness when the 12V drops too low.

But I'm assuming the dealer figured it out (ha ha I mean rebooted the car and gave it back to you).

gbarry42 said:

lion said:

While the car wouldn't stay powered up once started (unlike a gasser which keeps running while started), we kept the battery pack hooked up just so we could keep it in Neutral and pull it onto the flatbed, and do the same routine again to unload the car.

Click to expand...

The car will stay powered up, under normal circumstances. The big battery keeps the little battery charged, once it's connected. Maybe if the battery is totally flat, the inverter refuses to charge it. More likely there was some computer confusion going on. Others have reported weirdness when the 12V drops too low.

Click to expand...

Wow, I am curious too what was going on. I hope your DC-to-DC converter isn't broken. Let us know what the dealer does!

Got the car back last night.

It looks like most of my problems were all traced back to a door switch stuck in the 'closed' position. This affected my auto headlights, dome lighting, key lock behavior, and various other weird stuff.

The weird brake pedal behavior (confirmed by other people) was not noticed by the tech, but between this fix and the PDM update, I'm guessing it was addressed, as it's no longer doing this.

I'm not convinced that this door switch is what killed my 12V battery, but I'm at least up and running now.

I'm glad you're back in business. The faulty door switch could have killed the 12V battery if, for example, the headlights were left one while the car was off. The DC-DC converter is not powered up when the car is off, so the little 12V battery is "on its own".

That brake pedal definitely didn't feel right, but it sure seems like a separate issue from a faulty door switch. It's weird that it went away, but hey don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

lion said:

Got the car back last night.

It looks like most of my problems were all traced back to a door switch stuck in the 'closed' position. This affected my auto headlights, dome lighting, key lock behavior, and various other weird stuff.

The weird brake pedal behavior (confirmed by other people) was not noticed by the tech, but between this fix and the PDM update, I'm guessing it was addressed, as it's no longer doing this.

I'm not convinced that this door switch is what killed my 12V battery, but I'm at least up and running now.

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I'm glade you back in business. I know what you mean by weird brake feeling. It happen to me almost hit kid. Brake just sink half way to the floor, while I was in reverse.
After 12V battery replace, problem disappear.

GetOffYourGas said:

I'm glad you're back in business. The faulty door switch could have killed the 12V battery if, for example, the headlights were left one while the car was off. The DC-DC converter is not powered up when the car is off, so the little 12V battery is "on its own".

That brake pedal definitely didn't feel right, but it sure seems like a separate issue from a faulty door switch. It's weird that it went away, but hey don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Click to expand...

Well I know for sure the light switch was in 'Auto' (which was another issue), but even with the door sensor stuck in the 'closed' position (I assume they mean physically closed, and not NC vs NO), I don't see why the car wouldn't shut off the efficient LED lights (they really wouldn't last 8 hours JUST on the 12V battery?) as it's supposed to, to prevent battery drainage.

I'm guessing certain components were still powered up, but definitely happy that most of my problems are now gone.