Long term storage

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Marksp

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2010
Messages
58
Location
Redmond, WA
Generally, my family takes a 4-5 week summer holiday and we're now a few months away from this years trip. In the LEAF manual, there are a couple of references to extended periods without charging, but no details. My assumption is that I'm meant to leave the LEAF plugged in. My question is about the on-board timer and/or Blink scheduler. My default is 80% (long life mode) charge using LEAF daily timer. One option is to leave in this mode.

Another option is to setup up schedule in my Blink which allows me higher fidelity remote access. Of course, to do this, requires me to open router access as well as leave my network up, which I typically do not do when out for extended periods.

Curious if anybody has experience or strategies with long term LEAF storage?

Thanks
 
I would leave it plugged in with the timers off and charge it manually once a week with the iPhone app or the owner's portal, then there is no need to keep your network up. It uses carwings.
 
Apparently Carwings access in the LEAF itself gets shut down after 14 days of no use (at least if not plugged in). Not sure if Charging resets this timer, or not.

Double-check that everything in the LEAF is turned OFF. Some have reported "unexpected drainage".

I would consider leaving it unplugged, and the 12v battery (negative side) disconnected.
 
Hmmm, I think I'd enable one timer set for 80% and once a week, and leave it plugged in. That should keep it from overcharging, and keep the car alive. But I don't think that 4-5 weeks is enough time to worry about anyway, so leaving it unplugged is probably acceptable, too. The only thing I'd be careful to avoid is leaving it charged at 100% for that long.

P.S. Another thought. If you set only an END time, it's supposed to start the charge just in time to finish at the end time. If the pack is already charged, it might just skip charging altogether. This would be ideal for storage since you would only want it to charge if the pack had discharged for some reason.
 
leafnode said:
In the LEAF manual, there are a couple of references to extended periods without charging, but no details.
It has very specific details. For 4-5 weeks, it looks like there is nothing you need to worry about. Leave it in 80% mode and that's it.

Page EV-21 of the Owner's Manual:
If vehicle will not be used for long period of time:
— NISSAN recommends charging with long life mode.
— Charge once every 3 months.
 
I left mine in the garage for almost 2 weeks (4/19-5/2) with about 2/3 charge in it (7 bars). I wrote down the "bars" as well as the indicated range, and both were identical when I rebooted the car 13 days later -- zero discharge indicated.
 
owners manual for this one; http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/techpubs?model=Nissan+LEAF&year=2011

Page EV-3 (26)
The Li-ion battery discharges gradually if the vehicle is parked for a long time. NISSAN recommends charging the Li-ion battery every 3 months using the long life mode charging
method to keep the Li-ion battery in good condition. Do not leave the Li-ion battery fully discharged or with a very low charged level for a long period of time. For the long life mode charging method, see “Charging timer” in the “CH. Charging” section.

1 month should be no problem.

edit: missed what Jason wrote 2 post above, but what he said.
 
I was gone for three weeks and, yes, the Leaf stops communicating after 14 days. Charging does reset it (I tried that when I returned home without doing anything else to the car but plug it in.)

I would not worry about leaving it unplugged or having to disconnect the 12 volt battery. After 3 weeks I had the exact same 4 bar charge level that was in it when I left (within the measurement accuracy of the car), and the 12 volt battery was still fully charged.


garygid said:
Apparently Carwings access in the LEAF itself gets shut down after 14 days of no use (at least if not plugged in). Not sure if Charging resets this timer, or not.

Double-check that everything in the LEAF is turned OFF. Some have reported "unexpected drainage".

I would consider leaving it unplugged, and the 12v battery (negative side) disconnected.
 
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