Troubleshooting a flooded Leaf

[LeftieBiker]

Is the 12 volt battery good and fully charged?

 

[coulomb]

Is the 12 volt battery good and fully charged?

Agreed. 11.73 V on one of the LeafSpy screens on page 1 indicates that probably the auxiliary battery at least needs a decent charge, possibly replacing.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Is the 12 volt battery good and fully charged?

Agreed. 11.73 V on one of the LeafSpy screens on page 1 indicates that probably the auxiliary battery at least needs a decent charge, possibly replacing.

Since the DC-DC converter should be powering the accessory system to about 13 volts when On, that indicates that the 12 volt battery is likely dead to the point where it is a big resistor more than anything else.

 

[nlspace]

Since he had water in the battery pack, then it's likely that the OBC and DCDC were damaged by the flood. Anything below the high water line is suspect.

 

[Lothsahn]

I started cracking the battery open, but WATER started coming out of it. There was also a strange smell, so I aborted the mission and dragged the pack out of the workshop. I value my health so you won't get any pics of the inside, sadly.

Now I will let the shop vent, clean it up and continue with installing another pack.

Sorry to hear that the battery was destroyed.

 

[powersurge]

In my opinion, any car that has been "under water" (to me means up to the window sills of the car), is a kiss of death...

So for a Leaf? Your solution is a can of gas and a match....

Man, if you have a watch that gets water in it an you don't dry it out that day, the watch is toast. Imagine the Leaf??

 

[epedal]

I have 3d-printed an adapter for 22->36pin. This is not yet a version I would feel comfortable sharing (not watertight), but it will be OK for short term testing. The customer will eventually get a 2012 battery pack installed to make for a cheap repair.

"The BMS in the Gen2 battery would be incompatible with the 2011/2012 Leaf. " This is true, since a few messages are repeated too often, and a few are not present on the old BMS. Luckily I can fix this with a Muxsan CAN bridge by changing frame size, content and black/whitelisting messages.

We will see about the DC Heater plug if it throws any DTCs

The EVs Enhaced Battery Pairing Tool will be of no help here. I will rely entirely on custom code for this one.

If not difficult. Show a photo adapter 3d-printed an adapter for 22-> 36pin

 

[Dala]

If not difficult. Show a photo adapter 3d-printed an adapter for 22-> 36pin

Not mine, but looks similar to this

 

[Dala]

I got some more time and spare parts, so now I can revisit this car.

CANbuses all measure 63ohm, communication looks good. I took logs of Car-can and EV-can (without batter installed), and no glitchy messages at all.

So with everything looking good, I installed a used ZE0 24kWh battery, paired it in, reset all DTCs, and I started it.

Ready to operate, no more fault codes!

What next to check before taking it for a spin? Change the reduction gear oil? It's probably contaminated...

 

[GerryAZ]

I would try turning on all accessories one at a time to make sure nothing causes issues before taking it out on the road. In particular, try the HVAC in both heat and cool mode. Also, turn steering wheel lock to lock while driving slowly to make sure there are no issues with the electric power steering. Make sure the brakes are working OK since master cylinder and ABS system could have been affected by water (might be a good idea to replace brake fluid in addition to reduction gear oil after a short test drive.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Also check the operation of the parking brake. I assume you checked the wiper motors and HVAC blower?

 

[coulomb]

I would check that the brake disks aren't too rusty (a little surface rust will reduce with use), and that the cylinders aren't stuck (i.e. the brakes actually work: pads move when you press the brake pedal). Regen is good and all, but in an emergency stop, you really want those friction brakes to do their job.

You will no doubt have checked all the indicators and brake lights by now.

 

[Dala]

Thanks for the suggestions, I replaced the reduction gear ATF, and also flushed the brakes with new fluid. Everything I've tested just works, hard to believe it!

I'll soon hand this back to the owner! Thanks!