TinMachine
Well-known member
Well I must have jinx'd myself as I was having no issues with my 2012 Leaf..until 2 weeks ago.
So I come home one night after work with about 2 bars and pop the charge hatch, un-roll my fairly new Leviton 410-EVB45-3PT EVSE that I purchsed through Home Depot and had shipped to my home. When it arrived I called an electrician and he came the following day and installed on it's own 40 amp breaker. All is well for 3 or so weeks.
OK so I plug in my Leaf and go inside for dinner and then later to bed. I get up the next morning for work and my 23 mile drive to find the Leaf still only has 2 bars..what the???
So I get out and check the EVSE and the charge light is blinking, power light steady green and the dash lights blinking 1,2, 3 in sequence like the car is plugged in but not charging. I unplug the Leaf and power on and notice a new yellow warning light on in the display. So I quickly consult the Leaf owners manual and discover that this could be a problem with, the electric motor, inverter of Charger and to call Nissan if this light appears! OMG!
So just to check I put the leaf in reverse and the Leaf goes into gear and rolls back. I put it into drive and it moves forward, so it's not the motor..whew!
I then retrieve the 110 EVSE from the trunk and roll out the extension cord and plug in. EVSE green light...good. Plug into the Leaf and same light cycle...damn.
I try the Leviton Unit again (after I kick the breaker an wait a minute and then power back on and wait till self check is complete). Same result but now the Leviton unit is showing "fault". $%^^$%##%!
So while I am trying to figure out what to do next I try the 110 EVSE again and suddenly it works and starts charging.. But it will take like 18-20 hours to reach 80%. So since the Leviton unit is the only recent change, I called them.
The nice lady who answered asked what unit I purchased and when and then patched me right threw to a tech. He asked a few questions and then asked if another tech could call back within the hour. I was going nowhere that morning so I agreed. In 20 minutes another person called. This time it was the designer of this unit and after a few question and going through the breaker reset again with him, agreed that the unit malfunctioned. He patched me through to another nice women at the HQ and asked for my address and told me a replacement unit is on the way and will be there in a few days. They sent a UPS return label and it arrived yesterday and so did my electrician who swapped the units in less then 30 minutes and I am back in business.
The warning light I saw that first day has never returned and I am wondering why? Since it lit up after every charge with the supplied 110 EVSE from Nissan. It seems to have gone away after I reached about 50% charge the second day and never came back on. If there was an actual problem with the on board inverter or charger it should still be there or not???
Anyway I am due for a service with Nissan soon and I just received a letter from Nissan about a software upgrade using the 2013 software in my 2012. It supposed to better reflect capacity and charge level on the GOM...at least that's what the letter says.
In the end I am happy with Leviton's equipment and their customer service in handling of this. They didn't hesitate and called when they said they would and responded as I would want any company should with urgency and confirmations all along the way.
So I'll see what happens when I bring it in for the service in August. Anyway just wanted to relay my experience with this. Still new after 11 months of ownership and 14,000 Leaf miles down....
So I come home one night after work with about 2 bars and pop the charge hatch, un-roll my fairly new Leviton 410-EVB45-3PT EVSE that I purchsed through Home Depot and had shipped to my home. When it arrived I called an electrician and he came the following day and installed on it's own 40 amp breaker. All is well for 3 or so weeks.
OK so I plug in my Leaf and go inside for dinner and then later to bed. I get up the next morning for work and my 23 mile drive to find the Leaf still only has 2 bars..what the???
So I get out and check the EVSE and the charge light is blinking, power light steady green and the dash lights blinking 1,2, 3 in sequence like the car is plugged in but not charging. I unplug the Leaf and power on and notice a new yellow warning light on in the display. So I quickly consult the Leaf owners manual and discover that this could be a problem with, the electric motor, inverter of Charger and to call Nissan if this light appears! OMG!
So just to check I put the leaf in reverse and the Leaf goes into gear and rolls back. I put it into drive and it moves forward, so it's not the motor..whew!
I then retrieve the 110 EVSE from the trunk and roll out the extension cord and plug in. EVSE green light...good. Plug into the Leaf and same light cycle...damn.
I try the Leviton Unit again (after I kick the breaker an wait a minute and then power back on and wait till self check is complete). Same result but now the Leviton unit is showing "fault". $%^^$%##%!
So while I am trying to figure out what to do next I try the 110 EVSE again and suddenly it works and starts charging.. But it will take like 18-20 hours to reach 80%. So since the Leviton unit is the only recent change, I called them.
The nice lady who answered asked what unit I purchased and when and then patched me right threw to a tech. He asked a few questions and then asked if another tech could call back within the hour. I was going nowhere that morning so I agreed. In 20 minutes another person called. This time it was the designer of this unit and after a few question and going through the breaker reset again with him, agreed that the unit malfunctioned. He patched me through to another nice women at the HQ and asked for my address and told me a replacement unit is on the way and will be there in a few days. They sent a UPS return label and it arrived yesterday and so did my electrician who swapped the units in less then 30 minutes and I am back in business.
The warning light I saw that first day has never returned and I am wondering why? Since it lit up after every charge with the supplied 110 EVSE from Nissan. It seems to have gone away after I reached about 50% charge the second day and never came back on. If there was an actual problem with the on board inverter or charger it should still be there or not???
Anyway I am due for a service with Nissan soon and I just received a letter from Nissan about a software upgrade using the 2013 software in my 2012. It supposed to better reflect capacity and charge level on the GOM...at least that's what the letter says.
In the end I am happy with Leviton's equipment and their customer service in handling of this. They didn't hesitate and called when they said they would and responded as I would want any company should with urgency and confirmations all along the way.
So I'll see what happens when I bring it in for the service in August. Anyway just wanted to relay my experience with this. Still new after 11 months of ownership and 14,000 Leaf miles down....
