faster charging upgrade possibilities?

There are those busa units but well beyond what I can afford

So the idea hit me. If I got another stock charger could that be wired in like the buse to double my charge rate?

6.6kw would be very nice! I would not even mind having to plug in 2 evse's to do it.

Thoughts?

First off, the correct name for the charger I and others used is Brusa.

There's a few things that are are show stoppers with using a second original charger:
-CAN bus message conflicts: they'd both be trying to talk over one another, which wouldn't work. You'd need a way to change the messages used by one of the chargers, which isn't possible (most likely hard coded).
-HV relays: the charger relies on external relays to interface with the HV bus (they're in the DC/DC converter/junction box).
-Bulkiness: The charger is bulky and most likely won't fit under the hood.
-AC wiring: Trying to put a second charger in the back wouldn't be supported by the wimpy 14 gauge wiring that runs to the existing charger. To change it requires dropping the pack.

Assuming what you plan on doing is even possible, you also need to consider whether it's realistic for your set of circumstances. For example:

• Do you even have access to an EVSE of at least 20 amps? If not, you won't be able to take advantage of the faster charging speed.
  
• Do you have a real need to shave off 3 hours off the charging time of a fully depleted Leaf battery? If you routinely come home with say 1/2 "tank" and then leave the car overnight to charge, you won't be able to enjoy such a modification.
  
• How often do you rely on public charging stations in order to get to your destination? If QC is not available to you due to lack of conveniently located infrastructure, or because your car does not have a QC port, this is where the faster charging speed is most useful. Of course that assumes you have conveniently located L2 charging stations that can output at least 20 amps. Note that I have also used public charging stations that don't even seem to output 16 amps (I'm looking at you, Blink network) based on how many bars I receive over a given time frame.

If you still feel that a faster OBC will benefit you, you may find it more feasible to simply trade in your present Leaf for a newer one that does have the faster OBC already installed, and you'll have a factory warranty to boot.

Ohhhh had not thought of it communixate through the car network.

I was thinking of mounting in the spare tire c avity in the back and simply running an addition j1772 socket in the space where the dcqc would go. Then just pkug in two evse's

But yeah needing to communicate is a wee issue. I had just assumed it woeked the same as the brusa (dumd assumption I guess)

Financially over the long haul faster charging makes sense but as with my original problem with even getting an ev is you still need to foot the upfront cost. I cant afford that "upfront"

I do delivery. So I do a lot of very short opportunistic charging. Sometimes I only get 5 to 10 minutes to charge before I am on my next delivery. 6.6kw would let me add a mile every 2 minutes instead of every 4. Could make the difference on busy days in whether I have to switch to the ice at the end kf the day.

This might become crucially important as my battery degrades and my reserve range diminiahes.

Which is why I am trying to figure out a faster way to recharge.

With 85 to 90 m range? 3.3kw is more than enough. But what happens when my range drops to 70 or 60 or 50 in 2 years.

nerys said:

Ohhhh had not thought of it communixate through the car network.

I was thinking of mounting in the spare tire c avity in the back and simply running an addition j1772 socket in the space where the dcqc would go. Then just pkug in two evse's

But yeah needing to communicate is a wee issue. I had just assumed it woeked the same as the brusa (dumd assumption I guess)

Financially over the long haul faster charging makes sense but as with my original problem with even getting an ev is you still need to foot the upfront cost. I cant afford that "upfront"

I do delivery. So I do a lot of very short opportunistic charging. Sometimes I only get 5 to 10 minutes to charge before I am on my next delivery. 6.6kw would let me add a mile every 2 minutes instead of every 4. Could make the difference on busy days in whether I have to switch to the ice at the end kf the day.

This might become crucially important as my battery degrades and my reserve range diminiahes.

Which is why I am trying to figure out a faster way to recharge.

With 85 to 90 m range? 3.3kw is more than enough. But what happens when my range drops to 70 or 60 or 50 in 2 years.

Click to expand...

I think you just need a DCQC. It wasn't uncommon for me to do 50+ miles on a normal evening of delivery driving. Some days well over a 100 miles. To make it worse, usually the vehicle remains on while doing the actual delivering. I did most of mine in a Prius and it was awesome for that.

Somehow I think installig a dcqc station at work would be prohibitively expensive.

The only one near me is 25 minutes in the wrong direction to everything at the dealership where I got it.

I hope to eventually get lucky in a year or so and score one at a junkyard and just gut the whole thing from charging port to charger to battery and just install those components in my car.

Though I imagine its more integrated than that ie computer dash etc..

6.6kw would be plenty fast for 99% of my needs and I dont really need that until the battery degrades in range.

Plus I love hacking and modding my stuff

I just scored a leaf led headlight unit for $100. Ordered some 4x6 projector lights I can "gut" and put the led unit from the leaf into the 4x6 enclosure and put proper legit led headlights into my geo metro. Something I have been drooling over for a long time as the last step to let me get rid of the alternator on my way to 75mpg?

Now I have to find a drivers side one as cheap

Any cheaper alternatives to the brusa units?

I dont mind running dedicated power and using two evse if needed.

50 miles is my minimum. Many nights I do 100 even 125 miles in a 10 hour shift.

3.3kw should cover me for the vast majority of that. .... with a 90m reserve capacity. My concern is when my range degrades a year from now or 2 years from now when I fully expect to have 60 or 70 thousand miles on the car.

I am going to have my evse upgraded to 6.6kw so I am at least somewhat future proofed with those.

Did you miss the part where I said the AC wires are run under the pack to the back where the charger is located? Because that's kind of important. You need to drop the pack to get to those wires. I only know of one person who has done that, metricmind. He then installed three water cooled Brusas.

Even the Brusa doesn't just click in to the CAN network and start going. I have a LeafDD to command it over CAN.

There's an air cooled Brusa with cables for $1860 on eBay (I don't know the seller). That's a fairly decent price. They are versatile and pretty bullet proof so I don't see them going down below $1000 anytime soon.

My mod cost me around $2000-$2500. It's not exactly the cheapest BUT I really would not mess with a second original charger. They were built to be the only charger on the car, at least the Brusa I can configure to ignore things like pilot and proximity since those are handled by the original. With a second original you'll have to fake pilot and proximity (since you can't just run them in parallel due to the impedance requirements of the J1772 spec) if you want to use one EVSE (in public or whatever) and somehow command it on it's own CAN bus (since you can't connect it to the existing one). All these gotchas will eat up your time, and prevent you from driving the car while it sits half finished.

Do it right, or don't do it at all.

I am a do what works kind of guy

But yeah can bus is a non starter. I wont be messing with that so a second originam charger is out.

Even $1800 is far beyond my instant cash command means sadly. Plus its only a few hundred cheaper than new. Better to go new if you can afford that.

I will just have to try and save up the cash.

I am glad I did not know about the 3.3 and 6.6 kw difference before I bought the car as it may have caused me to hesitate and I so do not regret getting this car. Would have sucked to have missed the chance

I like the idea of just leaving the car alone and building my own CHADEMO charger that runs 9.6 KW off of a NEMA 14-50.

I do too... but the OP has a '12 SV which has no CHAdeMO. :?

And no you cannot add it.

I dont have a qc port sadly

Ok. Serious now. Ie what would it really take

Obviously adding a second oem charger is a non starter.

So..... what If I got aa oem charger that was 6.6kw ie from an 11/12 sl or from a 13 and simply replaced mine?

First. Would it fit?

Second is the wiring to the j1772 really different (gut tells me no but you tell me) if yes then I need that to.

Third. Will the car recognize it? Is the software the same?

For 2013, Nissan relocated the on board charger from behind/under the rear seat to the inside of the "engine" compartment. If you compare the trunks of 2011/2012 models and those of later cars, you'll see that the latter has a gap between the rear shock towers. On SV's and SL's with the Premium package, that gap will be filled by the Bose stereo unit, on other cars it is free space.

The 2013+ cars are also made in the US vs. Japan for the older cars. Because of the OBC being relocated I'm sure the wiring harness is different. Many other parts were "changed in translation" to American production like eliminating the use of at least some aluminum body panels and going to steel instead.

Even if you could get the 2013+ parts to fit on your 2012, you will likely spend more money than selling your 2012 and buying a 2013+ S+QC or SV or SL.

Ok so limited to 11/12 model year 6.6kw chargers from sl trim cars.

They sell used for $100 to $300 on ebay....... this is why I am interested.

No, the 6.6 kw charger didn't become available until 2013, and, as others have told you, Nissan made too many changes in the charger location, mounting, and cabling to even consider the upgrade. The Brusa is your only option, which I am also seriously considering lately, if I keep my Leaf. However, are all the parts for the mod still available? What about the DD for the CAN bus? I've seen mention of newer, more compact Brusa chargers. Is that a consideration, or won't they fit the adapter plate?

Since one of our members builds them already (kit or complete-out-the-door) - why even attempt such a huge feet? It took years to compile all the necessary code/hacks to get it done. Hats off to THAT project.
.

I thought 6.6kw was an option on the sl trim that got you 6.6kw and dc quick?

That is what I thought i was told here?

The reason I dont go that round (last post) is because I dont habe $3000 or nearly 20% of what I paid fpr the car.

nerys said:

I thought 6.6kw was an option on the sl trim that got you 6.6kw and dc quick?

That is what I thought i was told here?

The reason I dont go that round (last post) is because I dont habe $3000 or nearly 20% of what I paid fpr the car.

Click to expand...

No. You got QC only with the 2012 SL (not sure of the 2011's). Aside from a third party solution like the Brusa, the 6.6 kW capability did not come to the U.S. (if not elsewhere) until model year 2013.

Damn. That sucks.

When dealer told there was a faster charge option I thought he meant 6.6kw and web searches hint that it was an option.

But his statement and web search results could also be interpreted to mean dcqc. Grrrrrr.

Well I probably have a year or so before I see any real degredation in battery life. We shall see if I can swing the cost of a brusa in a year or so.