LEAF dead after 24 HOURS!!!

[ggulik]

I've had my 2013 LEAF 2 weeks as of today. I go to the garage to find it's COMPLETELY dead. Nothing works.

I parked it with 12/12 bars yesterday morning and didn't touch the car all day and today it's completely dead.

I called Nissan EV Service which should be open now but didn't get anyone and when I went to leave a message it abruptly hung up on me.
I'm now on hold with roadside assistance.

In the meantime trying to figure out how to manually open the charging flap to plug it in to see if that works.

VERY disappointed with Nissan right now.

 

[Yogi62]

Check the 12V battery. See if that is discharged and try charging it from another car or a portable charger.

 

[ggulik]

Yeah, looks like the 12V battery. I hooked it up to my ICE's battery and it came to life. Showing the battery level as still 12/12

Doesn't charging the Lithium Ion battery also charge the 12V? Why would the 12V be dead if the main battery is perfectly fine.

 

[RePo]

The main lithium traction battery does charge the 12v lead acid battery, but only while the car is in ready to drive. Principle is the same as the ICE car- battery charges while engine (alternator) is running.

The 12v battery was charging while the car was last driven. Then it was parked overnight, and the 12v is dead. That indicates one of two possibilities:

1) The battery is bad, like a weak cell and low capacity
2) There is a substantial draw on the battery that drained it- like over 1 amp.

Trickle charge it back to full, and see if it happens again. If so, charge it again and have it load tested at any store that sells auto batteries. If the battery tests good, there's a phantom draw on it. Before going to the dealer for a warranty, I like to know what to actually complain about (bad battery, or phantom load that kills a good battery).

Any after market items installed, like car amp, power inverter, radar detector that could be drawing from battery source instead of accessory?

 

[ggulik]

That brings up a good point. I have no aftermarket devices and car is just 2 weeks old. When I look at the energy meter screen the "other" gauge always shows a considerable draw. I even turn off the radio and its still showing a draw. What is "normal" for the other gauge even with the radio off?

It should be noted that I already was going to take the car to the dealer mondaycanyway because the ac doesn't work at all. See my otter thread about that issue.

 

[RePo]

Yeah, that's a big deal. Make a list, take it in. I would surmise that a control module for the AC is bad, and likely involved with the battery drain.

Since it's a new car, don't bother with this-
But on my older cars with a problem like this I disconnect the battery, and put a battery charger with a amp meter on it in place of the battery. It will then read out the draw from the car as the accessories are turned off. Can get a real time reading of the draw.

 

[planet4ever]

That brings up a good point. I have no aftermarket devices and car is just 2 weeks old. When I look at the energy meter screen the "other" gauge always shows a considerable draw. I even turn off the radio and its still showing a draw. What is "normal" for the other gauge even with the radio off?

I'm not sure about the 2013, but on the 2011/2012 the "other" meter is just something the computer fakes up based on its guess as to what you should be using.

One possible cause that has been discussed before is that if you accidentally double-click when you power the car off, it actually ends up in AUX mode rather than OFF mode. I'm sure it would beep at you if you tried to lock it, but if you have it in your garage you might not bother locking it. It might be worth a glance back into the car after you close the door at night to be sure the center console is not lit up. (The dash behind the steering wheel will be off either way.)

Ray

 

[ggulik]

That's a good point. I don't lock the car in the garage but I wouldn't leave unless everything was off.

on a related note, this is the power meter stopped at a light with AC on and no radio. Why is the other so high?

 

[KillaWhat]

Why is the other so high?

A couple things.

1) Watch your decimal points. That's only 250 Watts. Not insignificant if accurate, but "only" 1 kilowatt in 4 hours of operation.

2) If it's any consolation, Mine looks exactly like this all the time. It NEVER seems to change.

and

3) I'm 90% sure this number is bogus. I think they just pop it up as a "base" number; sort of a representation of internal system consumption
(Pretty sure at some point Phil addressed this subject some time back).

My metering system DOES reflect changes in background consumption. Lights on, lights off, brakes, cooling system, etc.

If you want to change the way you drive, see what consumes what, how regen effects consumption, how much juice is going back into the pack with different types of charging, and change your level of confidence about how far you can still go... Get a meter.

I'll head out with 3 GOM bars showing because I KNOW whats still in my pack.
The meter system stays on for a "while" after the car is "shut down" and you can watch "dark" consumption.

Good Luck

 

[dgpcolorado]

That's a good point. I don't lock the car in the garage but I wouldn't leave unless everything was off.

on a related note, this is the power meter stopped at a light with AC on and no radio. Why is the other so high?

That 300 Watts for "other" is entirely normal. But, as Ray and KillaWhat said above, it isn't a real measurement like the other two meters. Rather it is an estimate based on the car's devices in use. If you turn on the headlights it will go up a bit more. It is "high" because the computer systems that run the car take quite a bit of power anytime the car is on. And there is some power used even when the car is off, the amount depending on whether charge timers are set and the like. For example, the Carwings cell phone network connection is usually on so that you can contact the car if you wish.

None of this explains why your 12 V battery went dead. Assuming that you didn't leave the car in ACC mode, something is draining the 12V battery or it is defective and can't hold a charge. While rare, both have been reported by others before. Either way it is not normal and needs to be fixed under the warranty.

 

[Epi117]

What devices are connected to the plug in charger, i see two usb connectors? Would that make a difference?

 

[Phatcat73]

Join the club: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=12448" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Same thing happened to me at least 3x.

Fortunately it's been about a month since the last episode, however I will continue to drive with a jump start battery pack!

 

[ggulik]

Oh wow, just read your thread. This happened to me exactly 2 weeks after taking delivery of the car so the timeline is just like yours. I just had the car towed to the dealer this morning and they said they are still working on it and want to keep it overnight to monitor the battery drain.

BTW, see you are in Buffalo Grove. Where do you take your car? Mine is at Autobarn in Evanston.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

If that's happening to folks who just got the leaf, could it be that the 12V battery is ran down to almost dead by dealer? For example if Leaf will sit plugged in at the dealership for few weeks, the 12V battery will be depleted (there's known issue that causes battery depletion while plugged in and not charging), if they recharge the battery and do it few more times, 12V battery will be in very bad shape...

 

[UBUYGAS]

Are you sure the Leaf was off?

I've done that, left it on and left the and came back hours later and it's still on.

Was the parking blocking sunlight to the solar panel?, that could drain the 12V battery.

 

[69800]

It is possible to have a defective 12v battery that is brand new.

 

[UBUYGAS]

Yes, The battery was made by Man and Man is not perfect.

It is possible to have a defective 12v battery that is brand new.

 

[ggulik]

Just called to get an update from the dealer. They said the 12V battery tests fine.

I am skeptical because I asked him if they charged the 12V battery and they said no. I put an volt meter on it yesterday and was getting a little over 4V from it. He said he is waiting for another tech to become available to take another look.

 

[planet4ever]

Was the parking blocking sunlight to the solar panel?, that could drain the 12V battery.

No, I don't think so. You won't lose any power through a leak through the solar panel, if that's what you mean, and its output in full sunlight is really too puny by itself to keep the battery charged. Frankly, the solar panel is not much more than a gimmick.

Ray

 

[Ingineer]

Apparently there is a rash of substandard-quality 12V batteries being installed in Smyrna. Several other owners have found this out the hard way, so it's something to consider.

To properly test the 12V, you cannot use a voltmeter. You must use a transconductance analyzer or at least a decent load tester. Most dealers have a midtronics tester that uses the transconductance method. I'd ask to see that test and verify they aren't just reading voltage.

That notwithstanding, do not discount the possibility that you are "double bumping" the power button. I've seen this more times than I can count. There is a delay when accessory mode is first activated, so if you exit the car relatively fast, you will not see anything on. The head unit takes a few seconds to boot, so it's highly possible to miss it coming back on. For those with this problem, I highly recommend a check by looking inside the car after the door is shut and the lights finally go off. (come back in a minute and look!)

-Phil