Climate Control Solution - Gain Control of your Heater!

[garygid]

Will your Heater-Control ECU mod work on a LEAF that still has the "old" firmware?

 

[Nubo]

I don't get why we can't vent the air wherever/however we want and control the temperature of that air independantly like every other car I've ever owned.

Indeed, just like the hysterical range-guesser, Nissan here also is being too clever by half. Give the driver control of the amount of HEAT, instead of trying to maintain a set temperature. The driver then can determine the desired compromise between energy draw and range requirements.

The driver's brain is the most sophisticated and powerful computer in the car. Why does Nissan steadfastly refuse to take advantage of this?

 

[thankyouOB]

the Ingineer trick of using the rear defroster did not seem to solve it.
maybe, I was too impatient.

Ingineer's method only works with his modification.

thanks for your generous comment.
I am cking it out.
the thing is, I dont see a "modification" -- just an instruction on how to use the heater system.
what is the mod?

 

[LindaK]

Count me in... I definitely want fan w/o heat!

 

[91040]

the Ingineer trick of using the rear defroster did not seem to solve it.
maybe, I was too impatient.

Ingineer's method only works with his modification.

thanks for your generous comment.
I am cking it out.
the thing is, I dont see a "modification" -- just an instruction on how to use the heater system.
what is the mod?

My mis-read of this post http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6751&start=30#p149009" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I thought he was referring to his mod but realize he is referring to the present situation.

 

[jclemens]

I'm only interested in open-source upgrades.
It is too much hassle to ship to/from Canada and worry about extra taxes and brokerage fees.

Besides, I'll test it out, but it seems I can run the fan with no heat by simply turning down the climate control temperature below the cabin temp? I'm not going to spend any more than 20 or 30$ on something that saves me a few button presses. Sheesh.

It annoys the hell out of me that Phil is so concerned with safety that he will not share how he does his mods in fear of people blowing themselves up. Wouldn't explaining how things are done be a better idea then letting others re-do the whole reverse engineering process all over again?

 

[TomT]

No amount of button presses will accomplish that. Said button presses only work if the temp is above 60, otherwise the heat will come on regardless as 60 is as low as you can set the temp.

Besides, I'll test it out, but it seems I can run the fan with no heat by simply turning down the climate control temperature below the cabin temp? I'm not going to spend any more than 20 or 30$ on something that saves me a few button presses.

 

[Volusiano]

Ingineer's method only works with his modification.

thanks for your generous comment.
I am cking it out.
the thing is, I dont see a "modification" -- just an instruction on how to use the heater system.
what is the mod?

My mis-read of this post http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6751&start=30#p149009" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I thought he was referring to his mod but realize he is referring to the present situation.

No, I thought Phil said that those 3 conditions 1, 2, 3 only happens AFTER he's made his modification.

What is the mod? It looks like he reprogrammed his ECU and the Youtube demo and his 1,2,3 conditions are after the mod. It sounds like he's thinking about buying a bunch of ECUs from Nissan, reprogram them, then whoever orders the mod from him will receive a newly re-programmed ECU from him (with some kind of deposit for it) and instruction on how to access their original ECU (with just a screwdriver) to swap it out and send it back to him to get their deposit back. He then uses the original ECUs people send back to him to re-program them for newer orders.

So you cannot do the mod yourself. He has to do the mod and send to you first. All you can do is swap out your original ECU for the modified ECU and send back your original ECU to him so he can re-use it for new orders. It's going to be similar to the case of the evseupgrade.com where you pay him a premium and a deposit for him to send you a newly modded EVSE first, and you send him your original EVSE back to regain your deposit. But unlike the normal case of evseupgrade.com when people have the option to send their original EVSE and wait for it to be modded because it's not really needed to operate the car, you need the ECU to operate the car so you can't just send it in and wait for it to be modded. You must do the swap up front and send your original ECU back to regain your deposit.

Well, all this hasn't really been spelled out by Phil, so I may be wrong. But I assume that it is Phil's plan because it was apparent when he said he may need to order a bunch of ECUs from Nissan first to get started.

 

[Deleted member 3147]

What is the mod? It looks like he reprogrammed his ECU and the Youtube demo and his 1,2,3 conditions are after the mod. It sounds like he's thinking about buying a bunch of ECUs from Nissan, reprogram them, then whoever orders the mod from him will receive a newly re-programmed ECU from him (with some kind of deposit for it) and instruction on how to access their original ECU (with just a screwdriver) to swap it out and send it back to him to get their deposit back. He then uses the original ECUs people send back to him to re-program them for newer orders.

From reading Phil's other posts, I suspect it is a modification (soldering) to the ECU, not a firmware flash. He doesn't have access to Nissan's code and it's a bit much to reverse-engineer.

 

[Volusiano]

What is the mod? It looks like he reprogrammed his ECU and the Youtube demo and his 1,2,3 conditions are after the mod. It sounds like he's thinking about buying a bunch of ECUs from Nissan, reprogram them, then whoever orders the mod from him will receive a newly re-programmed ECU from him (with some kind of deposit for it) and instruction on how to access their original ECU (with just a screwdriver) to swap it out and send it back to him to get their deposit back. He then uses the original ECUs people send back to him to re-program them for newer orders.

From reading Phil's other posts, I suspect it is a modification (soldering) to the ECU, not a firmware flash. He doesn't have access to Nissan's code and it's a bit much to reverse-engineer.

You may be right. I'm just guessing here that may be it's a firmware flash but maybe it's not.

Phil said that his implementation doesn't use relays and it's all solid state, and can be disabled with no tools required when people need to bring their car in to Nissan dealers for service. Whatever that means.

 

[SierraQ]

No amount of button presses will accomplish that. Said button presses only work if the temp is above 60, otherwise the heat will come on regardless as 60 is as low as you can set the temp.

Has this been confirmed? On most automatic systems, the extreme settings often translate to "max cold" or "max heat" respectively. We haven't had a really cold day here yet but we've had a few 40 degree F mornings where I had the system at 60, A/C OFF, and no heat ever came on or at least nothing registered on the power meter. I do not know what the interior temp was but it felt pretty cold especially with the vents blowing for almost an hour. (Had to do it this way because the windows kept fogging up and yet I wasn't sure if I had the energy to run the heat and make it home).

 

[davewill]

No amount of button presses will accomplish that. Said button presses only work if the temp is above 60, otherwise the heat will come on regardless as 60 is as low as you can set the temp.

Has this been confirmed? On most automatic systems, the extreme settings often translate to "max cold" or "max heat" respectively.

Yep, definitely confirmed by several people. The heater will kick in when temps dip below 60. The only way to avoid it is to turn CC "off", which means virtually no air flow at all. That's why all the effort.

 

[N952JL]

Nissan needs to hire Phil as a highly paid consultant!

I second this!

Phil, not only am I interested in this, but also your Extended Range trailer.
I already have a complete set of screw drivers.
Joseph

 

[johnr]

The heater will kick in when temps dip below 60.

So, who wants to be shivering in below-60 temperatures?? Not I! (Although, I admit that this did cost me big-time the other day; I ran out of charge because I insisted on using the heater. A stranger helped me out by letting me plug in for a few minutes at his house so I could make it home.)

 

[TomT]

Because many times I want air without heat or AC when it is below 60 but sunny and warm or stuffy inside the car, or I want to demist the windshield with just air but no heat or AC.... It comes up dozens of times a year for me.

The heater will kick in when temps dip below 60.

So, who wants to be shivering in below-60 temperatures?? Not I! (Although, I admit that this did cost me big-time the other day; I ran out of charge because I insisted on using the heater. A stranger helped me out by letting me plug in for a few minutes at his house so I could make it home.)

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

The heater will kick in when temps dip below 60.

So, who wants to be shivering in below-60 temperatures?? Not I! (Although, I admit that this did cost me big-time the other day; I ran out of charge because I insisted on using the heater. A stranger helped me out by letting me plug in for a few minutes at his house so I could make it home.)

You kind of asked and answered your own question all in one post. When I'm not going far it's no big deal, I set the CC to 71 and go, but now that range is declining with the cold and recharge time is also increasing, I'm having to economize sometimes to get everything in. I want the choice between being warm vs getting where I need to go to be entirely up to me!

 

[ebill3]

I want the choice between being warm vs getting where I need to go to be entirely up to me!

+1

Can't get much clearer than that! I had planned to "show off" my LEAF at a family Turkey Day gathering in Seattle, but with the forcast rain and temperatures, I'm going to ICE it. Call me chicken.

Bill

 

[FairwoodRed]

Why would I want to turn the heater off? Because sometimes I'd rather use my kWh for driving.

Today fighting I5 traffic at 4 mph, I found that when you turn on the fan, it takes a while for the dash to indicate power use by the heater. And it kills power as soon as you turn it off. If that guage is to be trusted, then I can run the fan only by "merely" turning the climate control off and on every 10 seconds.

What a kludgey way to get some airflow.

 

[ebill3]

What a kludgey way to get some airflow.

Exactly. A $16 K econo box gives a person more control than our $35 K machines.

Bill

 

[saywatt]

I want the choice between being warm vs getting where I need to go to be entirely up to me!

+1

Can't get much clearer than that! I had planned to "show off" my LEAF at a family Turkey Day gathering in Seattle, but with the forcast rain and temperatures, I'm going to ICE it. Call me chicken.

Bill

Aww common Bill! Don't be chicken. Depending on where in Puyallup and Seattle you are going to/from you should have plenty of juice from 100%. Just keep the CC down below cabin temp for defog and eat slowly and large portions so Leaf has time to trickle-up for the return. And if I'm wrong, sorry bud, I'll be tied up! :lol:

Have a great holiday!