2018 Leaf charging connector is stuck in the charge port

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netsmith2012

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
16
I am at home (fortunately).
The car was charged up overnight.
When I began to unplug the charge connector today (normal 220V) I discovered it was stuck.
I have a professionally installed 220V charging station at home.
I have have had a Leaf for 7 years using this charger without a problem. I'm on my first year of a 3rd lease.

I carefully tried all the solutions in the manual. It does make various clicking and beeping noises as I followed the directions to release it. It really feels like it is physically jammed.
The manual even includes a description of how to manually force it to disconnect. But the directions were not clear and my attempt to follow them did not work out well. There was a screw awkwardly placed that I was supposed to turn "clockwise" (which was odd) to release it.
But the screw would not budge in either direction and I was worried I would strip it.

It is Friday night so I will have to wait until Monday to call the dealership.
I'm concerned that they might have to dismantle my charging station to be able to tow it in.
I hope not.

Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Do you have the J1772 handle lock turned on in the menus?

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

On '11 to '17 Leafs, you could easily bypass the handle lock: https://insideevs.com/news/323954/how-to-protect-your-nissan-leaf-level-1-charger-from-theft-video/. I've done it to my Leaf and other '13 to '17 Leafs who rudely use the LOCK position at free public L2 charging. Their car is done yet the handle is being held hostage. I use 2 wooden coffee stirring sticks.

It's also possible the J1772 handle's tab has broken (I've encountered this before). In that case, you can use a screwdriver to pry up on the handle's tab to free it from the car.
 
It's also possible the connector and or inlet has melted. What brand is the EVSE?

The original Blink EVSEs w/crap defective Rema handles can do this if charging somewhere past 20ish or 24 amps: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=10749 (https://insideevs.com/news/318726/while-under-threat-from-oems-ecotality-turns-down-the-output-on-chargers-to-avoid-failures/). There was no issue at 15 or 16 amps.

IIRC, some Schneider units had the same issue: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=484602#p484602.
 
cwerdna said:
On '11 to '17 Leafs, you could easily bypass the handle lock: https://insideevs.com/news/323954/how-to-protect-your-nissan-leaf-level-1-charger-from-theft-video/. I've done it to my Leaf and other '13 to '17 Leafs who rudely use the LOCK position at free public L2 charging. Their car is done yet the handle is being held hostage. I use 2 wooden coffee stirring sticks..

My model is 2018. I do not see anything that I can actually pry. Do think 2018 may be different?

cwerdna said:
It's also possible the J1772 handle's tab has broken (I've encountered this before). In that case, you can use a screwdriver to pry up on the handle's tab to free it from the car.

I don't see where I can pry anything on my 2018. It's all quite tight around the charge handle.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The very fact that you used the same charging station for 7 years suggests that the handle is worn and something has broken.

That seems reasonable. I would love to get the handle out so I can drive it to my dealership.
I'm concerned that the charging unit will have to be taken apart or broken in order to tow it if I can't get the handle out.
 
cwerdna said:
It's also possible the connector and or inlet has melted. What brand is the EVSE?
I do have the Blink Charging system.
I can't tell if anything melted but there is no indication that happened. Of course I can't see it because it is stuck.
 
The Nissan catalog includes an attempt to explain how to manually unlock the handle when all else fails.

Charge_Handle_Release.png


But as I mentioned in my original note, I can't clearly identify the screw they are talking about.
And the one likely suspect is hard to get to with a screwdriver and did not budge.

I anyone has a 2018 and can discover something that perhaps I missed about this feature. I would be most grateful.
 
netsmith2012 said:
cwerdna said:
On '11 to '17 Leafs, you could easily bypass the handle lock: https://insideevs.com/news/323954/how-to-protect-your-nissan-leaf-level-1-charger-from-theft-video/. I've done it to my Leaf and other '13 to '17 Leafs who rudely use the LOCK position at free public L2 charging. Their car is done yet the handle is being held hostage. I use 2 wooden coffee stirring sticks..

My model is 2018. I do not see anything that I can actually pry. Do think 2018 may be different?
On the '13 to '17 Leafs which have a J1772 handle lock, you just need to push the white plastic thing over at the top which tries to lock the handle in place. There's nothing actually locking the white piece in place, just a motor that moves it between two positions.
netsmith2012 said:
cwerdna said:
It's also possible the J1772 handle's tab has broken (I've encountered this before). In that case, you can use a screwdriver to pry up on the handle's tab to free it from the car.

I don't see where I can pry anything on my 2018. It's all quite tight around the charge handle.
Try prying up on the tang of the J1772 handle w/a small screwdriver. I'm talking about what would be the shiny part at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772#/media/File:SAE_J1772_7058855567.jpg. That's necessary if the mechanism inside the handle between the tang (or the tang itself) and button is broken.

If you have the white Blink unit pictured at https://insideevs.com/news/318726/while-under-threat-from-oems-ecotality-turns-down-the-output-on-chargers-to-avoid-failures/, those are the ones that may have the crap defective Rema handles that can melt.

It wouldn't heat up to a point to cause issues on 3.x kW OBC-equipped cars. All '18+ Leafs are 6.6 kW and that's enough to cause issues on above bad handles.
 
If the screw isn't rusted but is hard to move, it may be binding under load. Try to shift the position of the J-1772 handle to take stress off the assembly moved by the screw. That may require trial and error.
 
OP, if change the lock setting to lock and start charging or drawing power, you should hear the mechanism flip the white piece over to the lock position. If you shut the car off then press the unlock button on the key fob, you should hear the mechanism unlatch. If you hear all of that, then the charging lock mechanism isn't stuck and mucking w/the screw probably won't help.
 
Hi -
Thanks for your support and for staying in touch.
I apologize for the delay. I've been dealing with getting the car serviced, getting a loaner, working with AAA to see if I can get it covered.
Plus my job has been very busy ...
Anyway here's the latest.
The local towing company that Nissan uses came out to my house and after trying all the manual manipulations to unlock the charger concluded it was simply stuck. He was a hefty guy and simply pulled it out (with a lot of force, more than I was comfortable with attempting for fear of making things worse).

The charge port and the handle were seriously melted.
ChargePort_Melt1_small.jpg


Nissan says that the car computer recorded that the charging handle was not properly seated.
So I think that means that the Blink Charger itself turned on charging, but the car did not accept it so the charging voltage did damage.
This is my charger: Blink Level 2 Wall Mount Charger - Model WE-30C
Blink_Wall_Mount_Charger_WE-30C-bigger.jpg


I found this pin in the charge port on about two weeks ago.
I was really swamped at work and because the charge still worked I set it aside and forgot about it.
ChargerPin3.jpg

ChargerPin2.jpg

ChargerPin1.jpg


Now I'm wondering if this pin may have broken out of the Leaf charge port. The hole on the lower left in the charge port looks like it may have had a this object in it and there seems to be damage in the bottom.
MissingPin1.png


This close up suggests the possibility that the pin may have broken out of this spot.
MissingPin3CloseUp.png


When I examine the charger handle that comes with the leaf (J1772) I don't see any indication of a pin.
I don't see any place on the charger handle where the pin might have come from.
J1772_ChargerHandle.png


I'm now waiting to hear what my insurance says about covering this.
And I need to contact an EV charger repair person to see about getting a replacement for my charger handle.
 
^^
This is why I cringe when I see people wiggling plugs to get them in or out of sockets, and it goes 30x for an EV.
 
netsmith2012 said:
Nissan says that the car computer recorded that the charging handle was not properly seated.
So I think that means that the Blink Charger itself turned on charging, but the car did not accept it so the charging voltage did damage.
This is my charger: Blink Level 2 Wall Mount Charger - Model WE-30C

I doubt if the code the car recorded had anything to do with this.

As an EE:
Applying the voltage will not do any damage.

What does damage is current and a bad connection. Which other Blink L2 changers have done before. Blink had a manufacturing problem. The first link DuckDuckGo returned:

https://www.plugincars.com/blink-charging-stations-get-current-turned-down-128028.html

The J1772 connector can overheat, possibly melting of the handle and in some cases, the car being charged has been damaged.

The article seems to be discussing the public chargers, but the home versions had a similar problem.
 
Thanks for getting back to us.
netsmith2012 said:
Nissan says that the car computer recorded that the charging handle was not properly seated.
So I think that means that the Blink Charger itself turned on charging, but the car did not accept it so the charging voltage did damage.
This is my charger: Blink Level 2 Wall Mount Charger - Model WE-30C
Doubtful. Voltage is 240 volts coming from your house. That doesn't damage the car nor handle nor inlet. The car charged but the high amount of current while charging caused the connector to overheat and melt due to excessive resistance somewhere.

Glad to hear my guess was right. Another crap Blink EVSE w/crap defective Rema handle strikes again.

Unfortunately, Ecotality that was behind that Blink EVSE went bankrupt. Car Charging Group (CCGI) bought the carcass and later renamed themselves to Blink. Given their horrifying financials the last time I looked (e.g. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=514020#p514020), they probably won't take responsibility due to the BK earlier.

Just checked again. Their financials are horrible still: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BLNK/financials/. For 2018, they had just under $2.7 million in revenue but their net income applicable to common shares was almost -$27 million.

Whatever vehicle you were charging before using this EVSE probably had a 3.x kW OBC and only drew 15 or 16 amps, which isn't enough to cause enough heating to melt. It was still 240 volts.
netsmith2012 said:
And I need to contact an EV charger repair person to see about getting a replacement for my charger handle.
You should replace the whole EVSE. Those old Blink EVSEs are garbage anyway. What you have on the wall is NOT a charger, BTW. For L1 and L2 AC charging, the charger is on-board the car. For all '13 to current Leafs, charger is under the hood.

Please see planet4ever's diagram at https://web.archive.org/web/20150619074649/http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630.

I'm guessing yours is one of the Blink EVSEs that didn't get its output turned down to mitigate this problem or it was but it still wasn't low enough to mitigate. I remember seeing 24 amps (e.g. https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=17612) but wonder if that was the final value and whether it is eventually not good enough.
 
Thank you so much for this report on what almost certainly occurred.
I'm quite disturbed that as a registered user of the Level 2 Blink unit that I was never notified that I was at risk.
Also as Leaf owner starting with my first one in 2012, I should have been notified by Nissan that I there was a safety hazard with regard to certain wall charging units. Perhaps a class action suit against Nissan? I'm kidding, I do not have time to even mildly entertain that thought.

So, looking forward, the right thing to do is to upgrade to a new wall unit that will be safe to use with my 2018 Leaf.
I will do research to determine the best option.
But I would respectfully request your suggestions for the preferred product.

Also, if the wall unit is not a "charger" what is it? What should we call it?
Thanks.
 
netsmith2012 said:
I'm quite disturbed that as a registered user of the Level 2 Blink unit that I was never notified that I was at risk.

Blink the company the sold you the unit is bankrupt and gone. Assets sold to another company, which now uses the Blink name.


netsmith2012 said:
Also, if the wall unit is not a "charger" what is it? What should we call it?

It is an Electronic Vehicle Supply Equipment or "EVSE".

Or a "charging station".

If portable a "charging cord".

Just don't call it a charger... Unless it really is one. Like a DCQC unit.
 
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