Charging Above Capacity?

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kuroneko

Active member
Joined
Oct 27, 2018
Messages
40
Location
Somerset County, NJ
Just got my 01/2013 Leaf about a month ago. It was at 9 bars and always charged to 9 bars until last week when it went to 10. It still shows just 9 capacity bars on the side. I've been taking it up the Nissan dealer to use the CHAdeMO* until an outlet is installed at my rental. Nothing was different except that I charged it sooner than normal since I was expecting to do a lot of driving the next day. I was reading another thread about someone dropping bar, but it kind of came back (http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=26831). I figured that maybe my Leaf just lost the 10th bar recently too and I was lucky that it came back for one charge cycle.
Then I came across this thread: http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=26866. I do realize this person was having an issue with their Leaf, but it seemed unrelated the main battery. Also, no one pointed out the fact that it showed not 1 but 2 bars charge over capacity. Is this normal? Can I charge over 9 bars regularly if I do it right?

*I am aware that using CHAdeMO is not great for my battery, but I don't want to live at the Nissan dealer waiting for my Leaf to charge.
 
kuroneko said:
no one pointed out the fact that it showed not 1 but 2 bars charge over capacity. Is this normal? Can I charge over 9 bars regularly if I do it right?
You're misunderstanding. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Scott_3_bars_s.jpg is an example of a fully charged 3 bar loser.

It doesn't matter how many capacity bars you have. The "fuel bars" will always go to full on a 100% charge regardless of how many capacity bars (the thinnest ones on the right) you have remaining.

BTW, the worst I've seen a pic of is a 9 bar loser, so it only had 3 capacity bars left! Can you imagine how much range a 3 bar remaining car would have if you only charged it to 3 fuel bars? :)
 
cwerdna said:
kuroneko said:
no one pointed out the fact that it showed not 1 but 2 bars charge over capacity. Is this normal? Can I charge over 9 bars regularly if I do it right?
You're misunderstanding. http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Scott_3_bars_s.jpg is an example of a fully charged 3 bar loser.

It doesn't matter how many capacity bars you have. The "fuel bars" will always go to full on a 100% charge regardless of how many capacity bars (the thinnest ones on the right) you have remaining.

BTW, the worst I've seen a pic of is a 9 bar loser, so it only had 3 capacity bars left! Can you imagine how much range a 3 bar remaining car would have if you only charged it to 3 fuel bars? :)

Except for last week, it has never charged over 9 bars. Today it only charged to 8. Is there a reason why the CHAdeMO wouldn't charge it past approximately 75% (which is what it has been doing)? Should I try using the L2 instead? It's going to be at least another week or two before I get the outlet on the side of the house.
 
kuroneko said:
Except for last week, it has never charged over 9 bars. Today it only charged to 8. Is there a reason why the CHAdeMO wouldn't charge it past approximately 75% (which is what it has been doing)? Should I try using the L2 instead? It's going to be at least another week or two before I get the outlet on the side of the house.
Some CHAdeMO DC FCs can be set to stop at 80%. I've never personally used one that did and I've gone past 90% before when I still had a car w/CHAdeMO. Not sure if they can be set to stop at any other % limit besides time.

(My current Leaf has no CHAdeMO.)

For L1 and L2, the EVSE has no knowledge of the attached car's state of charge. It's not in the J1772 protocol. For CHAdeMO (uses totally different protocol), the attached DC FC can and does know (the % the car chooses to report).
 
What Cwerdna is saying is that the car will always charge to 100% if left charging on a L-1 (120 volts) or L-2 (204-240 volts) charging station or cable, unless it is set to stop at 80% (check the charge timer screen). It may not charge past 80% if connected to a DCFC station that has been programmed to stop at 80%. If you want more range, charge with L-2 or L-1 and make sure there is no 80% charge limit set in the car's charging menu. You should be able to do at least L-1 at home, using the 120 volt charging cable that should have come with the car.
 
LeftieBiker said:
What Cwerdna is saying is that the car will always charge to 100% if left charging on a L-1 (120 volts) or L-2 (204-240 volts) charging station or cable, unless it is set to stop at 80% (check the charge timer screen). It may not charge past 80% if connected to a DCFC station that has been programmed to stop at 80%. If you want more range, charge with L-2 or L-1 and make sure there is no 80% charge limit set in the car's charging menu. You should be able to do at least L-1 at home, using the 120 volt charging cable that should have come with the car.

I gathered that much. I'm going to try to use the L2 tomorrow and see if my Leaf charges to 12 bars. I really can't wait for the outlet to be installed on the side of the house, but it's outside of my control and the holiday isn't helping with getting anything scheduled.
 
@kuroneko my apologies if I'm wrong, but you seem confused...

It would be very unusual if you can't charge your LEAF's battery to 100% state of charge, which is 12 bars on the inner "ring", of the two LED arcs on the dash - especially on an L2 EVSE.

Point of fact, you should be charging to 100% roughly once a week, just don't let it sit for too long at a high state of charge - drive it.
 
One last tip: your 2013 has a great charge limit option choice: you can set the car's internal limit to 80% or 100%, and can also set the charge timer in the charging menu to either 80% or 100%, separately. If you set the car's default to 100%, but set the timer to start and stop at the same hour and minute every day, with the timer menu limit set to 80%, then what you get is:

* A default charge limit of 80%. The car will stop there with no other action.

* If you wish to charge to 100%, all you have to do is press the timer override button near the charge port open button. The will cancel the 80% limit and let the car charge to 100%, with no other action needed. It's a shame Nissan dropped this setup because the EPA lowered the car's combined range rating in 2013...
 
alozzy said:
@kuroneko my apologies if I'm wrong, but you seem confused...

It would be very unusual if you can't charge your LEAF's battery to 100% state of charge, which is 12 bars on the inner "ring", of the two LED arcs on the dash - especially on an L2 EVSE.

Point of fact, you should be charging to 100% roughly once a week, just don't let it sit for too long at a high state of charge - drive it.

Thank you. I was a little confused since I have only used the CHAdeMO so I've only ever seen my car charge to 9 bars. I will be doing a full charge today using the L2 at the dealership. I will have to drive it home, and I have work on Wednesday so it won't just be sitting. But this is all good information so thank you both for explaining things for me. This has seriously been a learning experience, but I do love the Leaf. The people at my local Nissan dealer don't seem to know anything beyond the fact that Nissan makes the Leaf. Even the official Leaf service person doesn't seem to know anything. They tried to tell me that the battery would only charge to the 9 bars, but they did exactly what I did and used the CHAdeMO. There are two other Nissan dealers in my extended area so I'm hoping one of them is slightly better.
 
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