...I did not meter my charge a year ago, but I did record the charge time, and also got an accurate 16 amp 240v recharge time on 9/8/12. It took 4 hours and 16 minutes to reach 80% (and another one hour and 11 minutes to reach “100%”) following this trip.
Assuming a 3.75 kWh/h draw from my 16 a modified Panasonic charger, and the 16.7 total capacity from VLBW to 100% charge, I believe that this would indicate a charging efficiency from ~VLBW to the “80%” level of ~96%, which is implausible, in light of all reports of charging efficiency by others.
This compares to a recharge time of ~4 hours 25 minutes to reach “80%” following my first range test, on 9/7/11, with a reported 18.7 kWh used from 100% to about the same capacity level, ~VLBW.
This would seem to indicate a charging efficiency of from ~VLBW to 80%” a year ago of ~89%. but remember, this was recorded after my LEAF had seen most a of a Summer of use, so my LEAF’s m/kWh use reports might have already started to “drift,”meaning this percentage may already have been somewhat inflated, and the kWh use similarly understated.
The ~ 9% (erroneous, I believe) increase in reported charge efficiency is fairly close to the ~11% (also erroneous, I believe) decrease in reported kWh use over my ~one-year-apart-near-identical-driving-condition range test a few weeks ago.
"The results from 8/30/12 were:
97.3 miles to VLB, 98.9 miles in total, by the odometer.
CW: 96.5 (~2.5% under-report) total miles, at 5.7 m/kWh, 16.8 kWh used from 100% to about the same capacity level, slightly past VLBW.
Compare this test with my first test on 9/7/11:
91.5 miles to VLB, 93.4 in total, by the odometer
CW: 91.1 (~2.5% under-report) total miles, at 4.9 m/kWh, 18.7 kWh used from 100% to about the same capacity level, slightly past VLBW."
It seems very likely to me that both are reflecting the same underlying error in my LEAF’s dash, nav screen and CW kWh use reports, as also effected by other variables which I cannot eliminate from my observations.
So, I believe that the recharge time results are compatible with my range tests, which indicate no observed reduction in range, both probably indicating that my LEAF has no observable loss of available battery capacity (though some amount has almost certainly occurred) over the last 12 months.
I think it is also very likely that many other LEAFs have similar errors in kWh reports, quite possibly due to the gid Wh variability TickTock observed last year, and that capacity bar displays might be similarly effected. Not having lost a bar (yet) or ever having monitored my gid count, I can’t observe those results.
I do think that anyone seeing capacity bar losses or dropping gid counts should try both range and charge capacity tests, to try to more accurately determine their LEAF’s actual loss of battery capacity.
