Climate Control Solution - Gain Control of your Heater!

[palmermd]

Ok, the announcement everyone is waiting for! I apologize for the delays, but once we found out Nissan was going to update firmware in the car, this project got placed on hold, as we had hoped Nissan would fix it. Alas, they haven't so this project is now back on track.

We will be offering the upgrade to any Leaf owner for $138. Once ordered, we will ship you out an upgraded unit in advance with a $250 deposit required. It will be fully refunded upon return of your original in good condition.


-Phil

what are you upgrading for $138.
I thought the EVSE was $239.

sorry for any obtuseness.

per the title of this thread, the $138 upgrade is to send in your HVAC control unit to Phil and he will upgrade it to allow you to turn on the heater without AC or on the AC without the heater. Actually you pay to have the upgraded unit sent to you first and then you send yours back to receive the core charge back.

See this post for more detailed information... http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=177165#p177165" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EVDRIVER]

More as a question than a serious suggestion:

Will the LEAF continue to "work" (drive) without the HVAC ECU installed in the car?
(of course, without A/C, Heat, and Fan control)

If so, removing and sending in the ECU would avoid the deposit ...
but require two "install" procedures (one removal and one replacement).

Why would one do that? The deposit is refundable and there is no extra cost involved. Why would you want to have the car apart for some time or take it apart and back together two times? You get the unit and swap it for yours in a few minutes and send yours back. Simple.

 

[TomT]

Just out of curiosity, are you doing this by actually reprogramming the ECU or via an add-on board?

Ok, the announcement everyone is waiting for! I apologize for the delays, but once we found out Nissan was going to update firmware in the car, this project got placed on hold, as we had hoped Nissan would fix it. Alas, they haven't so this project is now back on track.

 

[Ingineer]

More as a question than a serious suggestion:

Will the LEAF continue to "work" (drive) without the HVAC ECU installed in the car?
(of course, without A/C, Heat, and Fan control)

If so, removing and sending in the ECU would avoid the deposit ...
but require two "install" procedures (one removal and one replacement).

Yes, the Leaf will operate without the HVAC ECU installed, but a side effect is the cooling fan will run (a little annoying) and (of course) there will be no climate control functions.

The deposit is fully refundable with no fees charged, so why suffer?

-Phil

 

[Ingineer]

Worry not! We are not altering any of Nissan's firmware in any permanent manner. There is a way for anyone to permanently disable the upgrade without taking the unit apart, which will return the unit to 100% stock function with all firmware 100% original. This way if for some reason in the future, say if Nissan actually did fix this, you could reset the system before having their update applied.

This makes the upgrade a no-risk proposition, even for people leasing their Leafs!

-Phil

 

[Ingineer]

airbag ECU reset will be needed

More as a question than a serious suggestion:

Will the LEAF continue to "work" (drive) without the HVAC ECU installed in the car?
(of course, without A/C, Heat, and Fan control)

If so, removing and sending in the ECU would avoid the deposit ...
but require two "install" procedures (one removal and one replacement).

No, absolutely no ECU resets will be needed, as long as you DO NOT turn the car on with any other connectors removed, such as the passenger airbag status indicator, as I believe EdmondLeaf is referring to.

-Phil

 

[garygid]

If one can disable your "Heater-Control Mod" (like for going for Service at a Dealer), can one later re-enable your Mod (after the Service)?

If Nissan writes new firmware to the HVAC ECU, is your mod "lost"?

 

[EdmondLeaf]

so make this completely clear is OK to send in HVAC ECU unit for update without advance replacement option, but one have to put all connectors back in place (minus HVAC connector) before driving/powering up car

airbag ECU reset will be needed

More as a question than a serious suggestion:

Will the LEAF continue to "work" (drive) without the HVAC ECU installed in the car?
(of course, without A/C, Heat, and Fan control)

If so, removing and sending in the ECU would avoid the deposit ...
but require two "install" procedures (one removal and one replacement).

No, absolutely no ECU resets will be needed, as long as you DO NOT turn the car on with any other connectors removed, such as the passenger airbag status indicator, as I believe EdmondLeaf is referring to.

-Phil

 

[kovalb]

I'm not sure why this is necessary? I do this myself everyday.

Heater without A/C: Turn A/C off (light on A/C button is off). Actually the A/C uses very little power anyway, about 200W when the compressor is running, but it cycles off very often when it is cold, so it is using even less. I never even notice the increase in power consumption when the A/C is running with the heat on. This in conjunction with recirc mode uses considerably less power than fresh with the A/C off, and keeps my windows from fogging.

A/C without heater: Turn the set temperature down to the minimum (60 degrees F). Unless the cabin temperature is below 60 degrees this will keep the heater from turning on. Once the cabin temperature stabilizes the power use is about 200W -- very efficient. I usually use fan speed one or two to maintain comfort.

Vent mode: To have air blowing without either A/C or heat I turn the set temperature down to the minimum (60 degrees F) and turn the A/C off (light on A/C button is off). I usually use fan speed one or two to maintain comfort, leaving it in AUTO would generally mean the fan is blowing on too high of a setting.

Happy and comfortable EV motoring to all

 

[TonyWilliams]

Vent mode: To have air blowing without either A/C or heat I turn the set temperature down to the minimum (60 degrees F) and turn the A/C off (light on A/C button is off). I usually use fan speed one or two to maintain comfort, leaving it in AUTO would generally mean the fan is blowing on too high of a setting.

I don't think that will work, which is the whole point. The heater will draw power to try and maintain 60F, once the temp falls below that threshold.

 

[lpickup]

Vent mode: To have air blowing without either A/C or heat I turn the set temperature down to the minimum (60 degrees F) and turn the A/C off (light on A/C button is off). I usually use fan speed one or two to maintain comfort, leaving it in AUTO would generally mean the fan is blowing on too high of a setting.

I don't think that will work, which is the whole point. The heater will draw power to try and maintain 60F, once the temp falls below that threshold.

The upgraded software will allow this from what I understand, if you hold in the "colder" button (or something like that).

It's may not be convenient, and it may not give any direct indication that this is the case, but it apparently works (haven't tried it myself--don't have the upgrade yet).

 

[TonyWilliams]

The upgraded software will allow this from what I understand, if you hold in the "colder" button (or something like that).

It's may not be convenient, and it may not give any direct indication that this is the case, but it apparently works (haven't tried it myself--don't have the upgrade yet).

Ok, I'm sitting in the car now, so I've turned off the Climate Control timer. In the morning, when the car is far below 60F, I'll test this with the new software. Honestly, I doubt this works, since there is no Nissan documentation on it.

 

[garygid]

The problem is how to keep the heater off when the cabin (or outside) temp is below 60ºF.

 

[batzman]

Today my temperature gauge on the dash said it was 55 degrees (Colorado). I was able to have the climate control on without the heater if I had set the temperature to 60. However on colder days, the heater would still come on. So knowing that people are working on a fix… or hoping Nissan also figures this out - I am game to gain more control of the heater.

 

[AP1]

Phil, those of us who are fortunate to live in a temperate climate (such as the San Francisco Bay area) know the problem well: the inside/outside temperature is between 55 and 65 and all we want is some outside fresh air without turning the heater on or opening a window, not possible. We don't need any more testing. Just tell us when/where to send the money and thank you for your efforts.

 

[lenny]

Just tell us when/where to send the money and thank you for your efforts.

He did

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6751&start=150#p177823" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm excited about this as well, and wish I could attend the meet at SF this weekend.

 

[EVDRIVER]

The upgraded software will allow this from what I understand, if you hold in the "colder" button (or something like that).

It's may not be convenient, and it may not give any direct indication that this is the case, but it apparently works (haven't tried it myself--don't have the upgrade yet).

Ok, I'm sitting in the car now, so I've turned off the Climate Control timer. In the morning, when the car is far below 60F, I'll test this with the new software. Honestly, I doubt this works, since there is no Nissan documentation on it.

It does not.

 

[Ingineer]

If one can disable your "Heater-Control Mod" (like for going for Service at a Dealer), can one later re-enable your Mod (after the Service)?

If Nissan writes new firmware to the HVAC ECU, is your mod "lost"?

Yes, you can disable then re-enable it. If Nissan alters the firmware, I can't promise that it will still work, it depends on what they change. If they don't alter the logic pertaining to the heater as it presently works, the upgrade will still function. In the event Nissan does alter the firmware in such a way that the core functions are different, then chances are they've fixed the whole problem, and we no longer need the upgrade anyway.

I held off on releasing this because I thought they might fix it in this update, as according to Mary Perry they've been aware of it for a while. Alas, they didn't, and I doubt they will in current/older Leafs. When they do a model refresh for 2013 and make major changes, maybe then they'll fix it, as they probably want to change to the physical buttons.

I've also updated the first post with a new video and ordering instructions.

-Phil

 

[TonyWilliams]

The upgraded software will allow this from what I understand, if you hold in the "colder" button (or something like that).

It's may not be convenient, and it may not give any direct indication that this is the case, but it apparently works (haven't tried it myself--don't have the upgrade yet).

Ok, I'm sitting in the car now, so I've turned off the Climate Control timer. In the morning, when the car is far below 60F, I'll test this with the new software. Honestly, I doubt this works, since there is no Nissan documentation on it.

It does not.

Here ya go...

 

[EVDRIVER]

Here you go what? What is that picture supposed to tell us? Once the heat loop is up to temp it will not show any draw on the energy screen. If the ambient temp is higher than 60 and the car is set to 60 the heat can still come on at times to warm the core as it is close to the target temp, this does happen. The bottom line is that setting the heat to 60 and even holding it does not defeat the heat loop, this is a result of inaccurate testing and assumption based on lack of understanding of the system operation.