Failed driver window function caused 12v drain

Greetings,

My driver's window suddenly failed to operate with all other windows working fine. About 2 weeks later my leaf was parked disconnected from any EVSE with charge timers and climate control timers deactivated. 5 days of the leaf being parked and unused in around 50F average temp. the 12v battery was totally drained and the leaf would not start. 12v battery now no longer serviceable and needed replaced.

I believe there is a correlation between the two. Upon dismantling my master window switch, I found that a small IC on the bottom of the PCB is extremely hot while the board is plugged in. This happens no matter what power state the car is in. This makes sense since there is a power supply line that is "always on" providing the master window switch with uninterrupted power to keep the auto-up/down memory data.

My theory is this failed auto-up/down logic on this PCB caused it to draw more current from the battery than designed, and drained the battery over the course of the 5 days the car was not used.

I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this progression of failures? Driver's window fails and if left un-fixed, and un-driven for a bit, you get a dead (or weakened) 12v battery as well.

OR

If anyone is comfortable (should not be attempted if you do not have electronics repair experience) dismantling their good master window switch(my nissan part number on the plastic housing ends in A, I understand this has been replaced by one ending in B), is there an IC on the bottom of the PCB near the ALPS logo that is "CAUTION - burn possible" hot to the touch whenever this PCB is plugged in?

At least a point of caution if your driver's window fails to operate. I'm trying to save someone else a ruined 12v battery after their master window switch fails.

barcelona35 said:

s there an IC on the bottom of the PCB near the ALPS logo that is "CAUTION - burn possible" hot to the touch whenever this PCB is plugged in?

Click to expand...

Can I just suggest the purchase of an inexpensive, non-contact infrared thermometer instead of sticking your finger on it to see if it's hot? Harbor Freight has them starting at $20 before any discount coupons. I got the $35 one, but am pretty sure it was either on sale or I used a 20% off coupon to end up with a price tag that was $20-25 (though I'd have to look up my receipt to be certain). Don't know how accurate they are compared to a precision instrument, but works well enough for most purposes. Plus you can use the laser to play with your cats!

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=infrared+thermometer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your hypothesis might be correct. After a small dent on my Euro-Leafs drivers side door I had to replace the door. After that the power window on the drivers side stopped working, and the 12v battery started to drain. This might not have happened at once, but iI noticed it within a few weeks. Corrolation is not always causatiion. My dealer said"the computer says" that the SW was updated to give a higher voltage from DC/DC. But could not give the SW-version number. I replaced the 12v battery, and i worked for a few months. Then it happened again. This being a dutch car imported to Norway the warranty is not as easy as it should be. The Nissan LEAF is really the best car I have ever had, but Nissan needs to get a grip on their customer service. I will NEVER EVER buy a Nissan again.

I actually have three main power window switches, with three different faults. I will do some bench testing and see if you hypothesis might be correct. I am really hoping that your hypothesis is correct!

Can you read any numbers off the IC?

I have now benchtested two faulty switches, and can conclude that your hypothesis was correct!

I connected pin# 1 to ground and pin# 10 and 18 to positive. One component on the board got so hot that I could not keep my finger on it, but did not give of smoke. And usning the ON/OFF button for window control cut the power to the circiut.

Your hypothesis should now be a theory so that others could replicate the results.

I will upload a video to youtube so that others can see the test.

IF this is correct, drain combined with a faulty switch can be temporary fixed by using the ON/OFF button.



@keydiver: What is IC? What sort of number?

After I did the bench test yesterday I did some testing on the vehicle. And to my surprise the results were not identical.

On the flooded US-leaf switch there were no heat at all. The Euro-Leaf switch heatet up with the window lock button ON and OFF. So it will not help against drain to simply lock the windows.

I have made a short vidoe of the testing. My body language gives the results...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZK5DG0BlOo

I can confirm the "faulty driver's side window/door lock switches cluster overheating/draining 12V battery" theory. My battery just died one day. This thread clued me in to check the switches. The driver's side window switch felt distinctly warmer than the others. (I didn't bother to confirm how hot the switch/circuit board got upon removal.)

I replaced my switch cluster with one I found on Amazon for $33. It's been a month. It seems to be available elsewhere for as low as $28.72.

The switches cluster is working fine. I'll report back further down the road if there are problems with it.

I've replaced both my front switch clusters with lighted versions. If anyone needs an original, non-lighted version, PM me since I still have them and have no use for them.

May I suggest that if the switch needs to be replaced, that you use the lighted version found in the...Altima? Maxima? Dang, I have one sitting in the garage, but don't recall the model. There is a thread on it here.