Is loud buzzing sound normal during charging?

I've seen the post about buzzing http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=2921 but decided to post separate one with sound just to make sure I am not imagining things. The sound coming out mainly from the area where I zoomed. Is everyone else hearing the same thing? There was some camera AF sound, but it's easy to detect.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k92DXm6ds08[/youtube]

Sounds like cooling fans to me. And yes, mine makes that noise as well, although it's faint because I've never raised the hood to listen to it!!

I think the main coolant pump is down below that area, but other than a very slight whiring of the pump, I hear no fans, and no buzzing.

Seems like it is something unusual to me.
If it was mine, I would get it checked out.

garygid said:

I think the main coolant pump is down below that area, but other than a very slight whiring of the pump, I hear no fans, and no buzzing.

Seems like it is something unusual to me.
If it was mine, I would get it checked out.

Click to expand...

Does yours make any noises when charging?

Only the very slight whiring/hum of the coolant pump in an otherwise silent garage. Essentially silent, but not quite silent.

That sounds like a pump to me. In fact is sounds almost exactly like the wet-rotor circulators often found in HVAC systems when they're dead-heading. The pump rotor could be damaged, unbalanced, or the impeller is cavitating or airbound. I'd have the dealer look at it since, y'know... warranty.

Have you also had temperature/coolant issues? If the inverter or charger is hot but the radiator isn't that would be an indication of flow problems.
=Smidge=

Normally, during charging, fluid is circulating through the filler reservoir (high, above the passenger-side end of the inverter), and through the rubber tube crossing "above" (easy to see and feel) and just back of the top of the radiator. You can feel the fluid flowing, and hear the quiet pump motor "hum" sound change slightly if you squeeze (pinch) the rubber tube a bit.

Normally there is only a degree or so of temperature rise in this cooling system (barely detectable by touching the filler reservoir), and the radiator fan(s) do not come on. In daytime Arizona, with sun on the radiator, that might be different.

The 2nd "coolant" (heater heat-transfer fluid) filler reservoir tank is up front on the driver's side, and uses the same fluid and Expansion Tank as the High Voltage (HV) cooling system. There should be no circulation or heat rise in that reservoir unless YOU have the heater turned on. Normally, the heater is OFF during charging.

Sounds like the coolant pump, which is normal while charging. The only way to test for excess noise would be to compare it to another Leaf charging at the same time and see if there are any anomalies.

The buzzing doesn't start right away, usually after about 30 minutes of charging... I am taking it tomorrow to a dealer

We charged L2 (& L1) for 1 and 2 hours, outside in 75-80º air and have not noticed any "buzzing".

Yes, get it looked at.
Plan to be able to demonstrate the problem to the dealer.

Mine makes the same sound when charging, in the same area. I think it's a rather quiet sound. I suspect it's just the coolant pump keeping the charger cool. Still, if you have a bad feeling about it, it really wouldn't hurt to get it looked at. If there is something amiss, better to take care of it right away.

No issues with charging was found at the service department. We even compared noise with other Leaf and it was identical. Also, I spoke with one of the Task Force engineers and he wanted to schedule time to come out to my home and check the charging noise with the Blink unit plugged in. Although, I don't feel this necessary to take their time over this, but we'll see.

Back home. Quiet garage. Charger plugged in. Same noise. As a matter of fact I can hear it while sitting in the car with doors closed. I'll try public chargers tomorrow to see if it makes any difference.

Any difference on public chargers?

This is completely normal, the LEAF's on-board charger is liquid-cooled, so this pump starts when the charger builds heat so it can be safely dissipated.

-Phil

I think it's normal too. I've tried couple different public chargers and the noise level is the same as what I heard at Nissan dealership, but when I bring it home I hear it just like on the video. Talked to Task Force engineer yesterday and let him know that I thought it was normal just the low ambient noise makes this buzzing sound to stand out in the video, he was still interested to check it out at home, so we'll see.

I do not get any "loud" sound that is in my hearing range (<3k Hz or so).
I only hear the "soft" whir/hum of the coolant pump.

I am having this issue as well. I have had my leaf about a week. On Sunday, I had my new charger installed and it worked great, until tonight. Suddenly, I went to plug it in and got a nasty loud buzzing sound, and I mean loud. I took a video of it and uploaded to youtube... will post an update when I get done with support tomorrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKsueLlFko&feature=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aztrekker said:

I am having this issue as well. I have had my leaf about a week. On Sunday, I had my new charger installed and it worked great, until tonight. Suddenly, I went to plug it in and got a nasty loud buzzing sound, and I mean loud. I took a video of it and uploaded to youtube... will post an update when I get done with support tomorrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKsueLlFko&feature=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

That's not normal. I would contact Aerovironment and rely on the Panasonic unit that came with the car until it's resolved. EVSEs should be almost completely silent when charging. You might hear some clicks, and maybe a slight humm, but it shouldn't sound like an electric chair.