S model charging timer

I just bought my car today and am trying to charge it up for the first time (2015 Model S). I was going to try using the timer and I'm assuming the timer shuts timing off at a particular time correct? I set the timer to turn off at 0600 (it's 1950 now) and the three lights blinked in sequence like the manual said they would. After five minutes, they shut off like there were supposed to, but the car was not charging. I turned off the timer and simply plugged in the car and it's charging fine, but I want to be able to limit the timing. I looked in the manual and it doesn't really say much other than how to set the timer, so I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong. So how does the timer work on these or what did I do wrong? I did have to set the clock on the radio and car (set them to 24 hour), I'm thinking maybe the car thought I meant 6pm (0600) and I messed up when I did the timer? So since it was really 750pm, it shut off charging maybe?

I don't have an S trim but from looking at the '15 manual, it looks like it's only an end timer.

So, charging will only start at the time the car thinks it need to in order to reach full by the end time. I'd guess that the time's insufficient, it'll start immediately. So, if you set it for 6 am, you have an L2 30 amp EVSE (and have the 6.6 kW OBC), then when you plug it, it'll start charging sometime in the middle of the night.

From the maual

Without navigation system
Note
• For the charging timer of models without
navigation system, set the charging end
time. The vehicle automatically calculates
when to start charging based on the condition
of the power source and the estimated
time required for charging to a full
level.

Click to expand...

SV and SL w/nav have FAR more functional timers and are FAR easier to set.

cwerdna said:

I don't have an S trim but from looking at the '15 manual, it looks like it's only an end timer.

So, charging will only start at the time the car thinks it need to in order to reach full by the end time. I'd guess that the time's insufficient, it'll start immediately. So, if you set it for 6 am, you have an L2 30 amp EVSE (and have the 6.6 kW OBC), then when you plug it, it'll start charging sometime in the middle of the night.

From the maual

Without navigation system
Note
• For the charging timer of models without
navigation system, set the charging end
time. The vehicle automatically calculates
when to start charging based on the condition
of the power source and the estimated
time required for charging to a full
level.

Click to expand...

SV and SL w/nav have FAR more functional timers and are FAR easier to set.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but I could not find an SL or SV in my price range or if they were, they were early models with battery loss. I normally have no issue with base models anyway and given the fact my 2015 still has its remaining warranty, I figured I was better off. But yes, I wish it had a bit more functionality built in for this. Given my limited driving, my immediate plan is to only use the 120v and that was what I used last night - car was fully charged in less than 8 hours (was at around 53% when I plugged in). I have easy access to a dryer outlet right next to my car and once I determine that it can be used, I'll probably start using that.

So all of that said, I suppose the S model will not allow you to just set a percentage charge to cut off at? Say I wanted the charger to stop at 80%? I don't think there is and I can't find anything in the book.

Thanks!

The 80% option was on all Leafs but dropped beginning in '14
After your use to how long it takes your car to charge for a given percentage, you can adjust your departure timer accordingly and should be able to get it to be at less than 100% when you leave. Say you really plan on leaving at 7am, you might need to set your departure timer for 9am so when you leave at 7am it won't be fully charged, it is kind of a PIA but can be done.

This is not rocket science, folks.
If an owner wants the charging to stop at 80%, that is about 3.5 - 4.0 kWh less than a full charge in a 3 year old car.

L1 at 1.2 kW ? Set the end timer 3 hours later than needed
L2 at 4 kW ? Set the timer 1 hour later than needed.

jjeff said:

The 80% option was on all Leafs but dropped beginning in '14
After your use to how long it takes your car to charge for a given percentage, you can adjust your departure timer accordingly and should be able to get it to be at less than 100% when you leave. Say you really plan on leaving at 7am, you might need to set your departure timer for 9am so when you leave at 7am it won't be fully charged, it is kind of a PIA but can be done.

Click to expand...

Yep. Was dropped starting with US model year '14. Others outside the US had it for a bit longer (e.g. one guy here from Ireland has it on his '15).

https://insideevs.com/2013-nissan-leaf-rated-at-75-miles-but-84-miles-using-the-old-system/
https://insideevs.com/2014-nissan-leaf-mostly-unchanged-as-range-technically-moves-up-to-84-miles/

The dropping the 80% setting helped make the 84 mile EPA range rating '14 Leaf look a lot more competitive vs. the other EVs with similar range and price back then vs. if it were still 75 miles.

SageBrush said:

This is not rocket science, folks.
If an owner wants the charging to stop at 80%, that is about 3.5 - 4.0 kWh less than a full charge in a 3 year old car.

L1 at 1.2 kW ? Set the end timer 3 hours later than needed
L2 at 4 kW ? Set the timer 1 hour later than needed.

Click to expand...

This would be close, also keep in mind the last 30 minutes on L2 is at about 95% balancing. So you have to back up by at least that much. I don't know how long that is on L1.

BrockWI said:

SageBrush said:

This is not rocket science, folks.
If an owner wants the charging to stop at 80%, that is about 3.5 - 4.0 kWh less than a full charge in a 3 year old car.

L1 at 1.2 kW ? Set the end timer 3 hours later than needed
L2 at 4 kW ? Set the timer 1 hour later than needed.

Click to expand...

This would be close, also keep in mind the last 30 minutes on L2 is at about 95% balancing. So you have to back up by at least that much. I don't know how long that is on L1.

Click to expand...

Agree with BrockWi.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=490435#p490435 is what a '13 to '15 to Leaf looks like when charging to 100% at 208 volts on a 30 amp EVSE. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=521892#p521892 has some other graphs.

For an L2 30+ amp EVSE, if one wants to stop at 80%, I'd probably stop it ~1.5 to 2 hours early. At work, I often only charge to 80% (via the midnight to midnight timer trick on my SV). On a day where I need 100%, about 1.5 to 2 hours before I leave, I remotely trigger the charge now command via Carwings/NissanConnect app. IIRC, after ~1 hour, I've gone from 80% to taper phase.. Usually by ~2 hours, the car's done.

Keep in mind my battery is down 1 capacity bar and SOH is at ~83.xx% now.

SageBrush said:

This is not rocket science, folks.
If an owner wants the charging to stop at 80%, that is about 3.5 - 4.0 kWh less than a full charge in a 3 year old car.

L1 at 1.2 kW ? Set the end timer 3 hours later than needed
L2 at 4 kW ? Set the timer 1 hour later than needed.

Click to expand...

So basically this is just more or less guess work on the S? After driving today, I am currently at 61% charge and if I wanted it at 80% I would L1 charge for about what? Five hours? So if I plugged in at 7pm, I would set the timer to end at 3am rather than midnight?

tattoogunman said:

So basically this is just more or less guess work on the S?

Click to expand...

For some. For others it is just arithmetic

FWIW, when charging at 12 amps * 120 volts = 1.44 kW (what you get from the stock L1 EVSE), from Leaf Spy, it seems like about 1.1 kW makes it into the battery. So, for each hour plugged in ((at full power, not including taper and bounces), about 1.1 kWh makes it into the battery.

New 24 kWh battery has around 21 to 22 kWh usable/user accessible.

SageBrush said:

tattoogunman said:

So basically this is just more or less guess work on the S?

Click to expand...

For some. For others it is just arithmetic

Click to expand...

Fine - look at my math above and tell me if my time guesstimates are correct.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=539496#p539496 also has confirmation of the bounces happening on L1.

I did this through summer 2017 (set the departure timer later than actual departure). With a 2.88kw EVSE, setting the programmed end-of-charge for 6 hours (*) after departure put me "in the ballpark" (75%-85%) at my actual departure time. The exact state of charge at departure time seemed to be inconsistent, perhaps due to temperature, or how depleted the battery was.

So my suggestion would be: set the end-of-charge timer for 4 hours after your actual departure time, and then adjust the end-time forwards/back to get less/more charge.

cwerdna said:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=539496#p539496 also has confirmation of the bounces happening on L1.

Click to expand...

Thank you for that - I just checked out the thread. For what it's worth, I charged my car for about 3 hours last night and that got me to 83%.

specialgreen said:

I did this through summer 2017 (set the departure timer later than actual departure). With a 2.88kw EVSE, setting the programmed end-of-charge for 6 hours (*) after departure put me "in the ballpark" (75%-85%) at my actual departure time. The exact state of charge at departure time seemed to be inconsistent, perhaps due to temperature, or how depleted the battery was.

So my suggestion would be: set the end-of-charge timer for 4 hours after your actual departure time, and then adjust the end-time forwards/back to get less/more charge.

Click to expand...

Thank you - if you don't mind me asking, what was your average remaining charge prior to charging when you did this? I've only had the car for two days now, but I usually have 50%-60% left over by time I get home (car was 100% when I left the dealer and I charged it to 100% on the first night by accident since I didn't think the car was going to fully charge as fast as it did via standard L1 outlet).

My minimum daily consumption is 20%-26%(winter). I get down to about 40% about once per week, and down to 20% about once per month. Twice in the first year, I needed to fast-charge mid-day (when I exceeded 100 miles in a day).

12,000 miles/year is about 7.3 hours of charging at L1 per day. USA average daily driving is 29.2 miles per car, or 6.5 hours charging with L1. It may not be flashy, but I suspect L1 would work for lots of people.

That said, I also use a small (12 amp) L2 EVSE, and it's nice to have.

specialgreen said:

My minimum daily consumption is 20%-26%(winter). I get down to about 40% about once per week, and down to 20% about once per month. Twice in the first year, I needed to fast-charge mid-day (when I exceeded 100 miles in a day).

12,000 miles/year is about 7.3 hours of charging at L1 per day. USA average daily driving is 29.2 miles per car, or 6.5 hours charging with L1. It may not be flashy, but I suspect L1 would work for lots of people.

That said, I also use a small (12 amp) L2 EVSE, and it's nice to have.

Click to expand...

Thank you - I'll have to start monitoring my percentages better. Today was my first real normal day of EV driving and I do less than 30 miles a day (usually around 21 or so). Do you ever top off to 100%? I'm hearing some people who might do it once a month, some do once a week, etc.

This is going to come off as nit picking, but calling your car the "S model" makes it sound like you have a Tesla. So, "S trim" would avoid that confusion...

alozzy said:

This is going to come off as nit picking, but calling your car the "S model" makes it sound like you have a Tesla. So, "S trim" would avoid that confusion...

Click to expand...

Nobody seems confused so far, but I get your point