New battery recommendation for my 2015 Nissan Leaf

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kugr

New member
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May 6, 2020
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3
My Nissan Leaf accessory battery has died after more than a month of being left in the garage because of Covid-19. I now realize that I needed to disconnect the 12 V battery which I will be doing in the future.
I tried to start the car and run it for 10 minutes near the house recently. However as soon as I got back into the garage, the car would not let me shut it down saying that I needed to press the brake pedal even when I had it pressed down. I could not shut it down no matter what I tried. It even gave me a T/M system malfunction error. Now the battery I believe has no charge in it.

Can you suggest which 12V battery I could buy and replace the current one with.
I read in another post that Optima Yellow Top 51R might be a good replacement. Is this true? Are there any other options in the group size 51R range.
Thanks in advance!

(Word "accessory" added to "battery" by Mod, to make it clear that it wasn't the main battery that died.)
 
I'll merge this with one of the 12 volt battery topics later tonight.

For longer storage life, a size 51R AGM battery is best, but a Yellow Top or similar battery will also be an improvement. You will still want to either disconnect it or use a maintainer for long storage.
 
Yellow Top Optima is a true AGM deep cycle battery (Optima was one of original AGM type batteries available for automotive use) and a good choice. I replaced the OEM batteries in my 2011 and 2015 with Optima Yellow Tops and will replace the battery in my 2019 with one at the first sign of weakness. I use Optima Red Tops in other vehicles. 51R is the correct group size for the Leaf.
 
Last time I looked (many years ago) the Yellow Top was called something like a "hybrid" battery, meaning more like a marine type. Either they changed it or I misremembered. Thanks.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Last time I looked (many years ago) the Yellow Top was called something like a "hybrid" battery, meaning more like a marine type. Either they changed it or I misremembered. Thanks.

It is (always has been) an AGM battery designed for deep cycle use, but it can also deliver high short-duration currents so it is OK for motor starting. The "hybrid" description probably came from that dual motor starting and deep cycle capability (this also makes it a good choice for marine use).
 
kugr said:
My Nissan Leaf battery has died after more than a month of being left in the garage because of Covid-19. I now realize that I needed to disconnect the 12 V battery which I will be doing in the future.
I tried to start the car and run it for 10 minutes near the house recently. However as soon as I got back into the garage, the car would not let me shut it down saying that I needed to press the brake pedal even when I had it pressed down. I could not shut it down no matter what I tried. It even gave me a T/M system malfunction error. Now the battery I believe has no charge in it.

Can you suggest which 12V battery I could buy and replace the current one with.
I read in another post that Optima Yellow Top 51R might be a good replacement. Is this true? Are there any other options in the group size 51R range.
Thanks in advance!

Did you leave the car plugged in (after charging complete) while it was parked? Did you leave something connected to the OBDII port (such as a Bluetooth adapter for Leaf Spy)? Either of these actions will keep the computer modules in the car active which increases current draw from the 12-volt battery. The car will periodically turn on the DC-DC converter to charge the 12-volt battery when parked for extended time, but anything that keeps the control modules from going into deep sleep may interfere with that periodic charging. I routinely park at either the airport or my office for extended time without issue except for the one time I forgot to unplug the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port.

Although I like the Yellow Top, the Bosch Platinum is another AGM battery that is available in 51R size. I strongly recommend an AGM battery because they typically have lower internal resistance so they recharge quickly from the DC-DC converter.
 
It should be noted, though, that a lot of cheap batteries are now called "AGM." All they have to do is put some fiberglass in with the electrolyte and they can call it that, even if the performance is no better than a typical flooded cell starting battery.
 
Try taking it to any national chain auto parts store they will charge it for free.
I completely killed the battery and left it dead for months in my tractor at least 2 times in the last 3 years. Charged it with a dumb battery charger and it works fine.
When the battery in mine dies it's final death I will likely replace it with a deep cycle marine and relocate it to the back of the car.
 
I bought my replacement battery yesterday and the best price I could find was at Advance Auto because they have a 25% discount code running right now "MEM20" (online only). I recommend AGM if only because they cause less corrosion to the battery terminals and tray.
Nowhere on the internet could I find a 51R AGM battery for much under $200. I think you can take in the old battery to the local store for your $22 core charge refund. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/o..._category=sitewide-promo#&thrive_reveal=13925

Optima was the best battery available about 20 years ago. I'm told they offshored the manufacturing process and now I can't recommend them. I had a couple yellow tops that failed young. Project Farm test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rTcBanpMk&t=18s
It shows Optima is not worth the extra money for sure.
 
GerryAZ said:
Did you leave the car plugged in (after charging complete) while it was parked? Did you leave something connected to the OBDII port (such as a Bluetooth adapter for Leaf Spy)? Either of these actions will keep the computer modules in the car active which increases current draw from the 12-volt battery. The car will periodically turn on the DC-DC converter to charge the 12-volt battery when parked for extended time, but anything that keeps the control modules from going into deep sleep may interfere with that periodic charging. I routinely park at either the airport or my office for extended time without issue except for the one time I forgot to unplug the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port.

Although I like the Yellow Top, the Bosch Platinum is another AGM battery that is available in 51R size. I strongly recommend an AGM battery because they typically have lower internal resistance so they recharge quickly from the DC-DC converter.

I did not leave it plugged in nor did I have any OBDII ports connected. However I did not drive the leaf for over a month and did not disconnect the 12V battery either which in hinsight I should have done.

When you do disconnect the battery where do you guys store the disconnected battery. Is it safe to store in cars trunk?
When you disconnect the car battery how do you make sure that you do not lose the settings (presets/clock) in the car.
 
Thanks for the replies! When you leave the battery disconnected where do you guys store the battery.
Also how do you make sure that you do not lose the settings (presets/clock) when you disconnect and reconnect the battery later. Is it possible to not lose the settings when you do not have a trickle charger.

GerryAz - No I did not leave the car plugged in or had anything connected to the OBDII port.
 
I never disconnect the battery when I park for extended time. I just make sure to turn the car off, remove the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port, lock the doors, and leave it sit. I suspect your telematics unit locked up and drained your battery when you were not driving your car.

Others have noted issues with Optima batteries after manufacturing was moved to Mexico, but I continue to have good service from them. I wish I could have kept the one that was in the 2011 after it was totaled because it was fine and would have made a good jumper battery. The one in the 2015 was manufactured in Mexico and doing fine after almost 2 years when I traded the car for the 2019. I plan to put a new one in the 2019 as soon as the OEM either shows weakness or starts gassing enough to cause corrosion under the hood. I recently put a new red top Optima starting battery in my Jeep Comanche because I killed the one that was in it which was over 2 years old--vehicle was parked in a location where I could neither disconnect the battery nor put a charger on it so the small drain from the electronics completely discharged the battery and it sat that way for almost a year. I was not surprised that it would not take enough charge to start the engine even though it took enough charge to light the lights.
 
Thanks for the replies! When you leave the battery disconnected where do you guys store the battery.
Also how do you make sure that you do not lose the settings (presets/clock) when you disconnect and reconnect the battery later. Is it possible to not lose the settings when you do not have a trickle charger.

If you disconnect the battery you just leave it in place - it's fine sitting there unhooked. Just make sure the positive cable is safely placed away from the positive terminal of the battery. You will lose the memory settings, though. The safest thing to do is use a battery maintainer. The next best thing is to do what Gerry suggests: make sure there is nothing in the OBDII port and just leave the car. It will most likely keep the 12 volt battery adequately charged, if not fully charged.
 
Disconnect the negative.
That way when you are connecting or disconnecting the battery if you accidentally make contact with with any metal surface it doesn't arc your wrench and potentially fry something.
Touch something when disconnecting the negative, nothing happens.
What's the advantage to disconnecting the positive?
 
Oilpan4 said:
Disconnect the negative.
That way when you are connecting or disconnecting the battery if you accidentally make contact with with any metal surface it doesn't arc your wrench and potentially fry something.
Touch something when disconnecting the negative, nothing happens.
What's the advantage to disconnecting the positive?
Agreed, it's not like in a house where if you just disconnected the neutral someone could get a shock from earth ground to the hot, a battery is self-contained and not bonded to earth ground so you'd get no power from earth ground to the hot side of the battery. Same reason I like to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery first, even if your metal wrench touches the metal of the car, you won't get a spark.
 
I've had this failure several times. The 12 volt battery seemed to be the issue. I replaced the battery and the problem stopped. After i got a bluetooth code reader for my Leaf spy monitor and left it in, I had the problem again. So I got a USB battery power bank with 12 volt starting output, and it gets me through when this problem happens due to my leaving in the code reader (My bad). Now if I need to jump start somebody I can without loading my own battery! Also I have a Power Bank that can fast charge my cell phone! Win, Win, Win!
 
kugr said:
Optima Yellow Top 51R might be a good replacement. Is this true?

Yes, this battery is really good. It has Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): 450, Reserve Capacity (RC): 66, Ampere-Hour (AH): 38, and it is a Dual Purpose AGM Battery. This means that it has enough power to start (even in cold weather) and more time to last.

Another good option is Exide Edge FP-AGM51R with Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): 440, Reserve Capacity (RC): 75, Ampere-Hour (AH): 45
it has an extended warranty for 48 months
 
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