Unable to charge my 2015 Leaf from my solar panels - Help!

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trumpetnelson

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2014
Messages
11
I have installed and operated a stand alone system since 2006, designed to provide lights, tools, fans and air conditioning. It works well and located at my airport hangar. I am off the grid.

My 2015 Leaf has only the 120v cord that came with the car.

I calculate that my fully charged (from PV panels) battery bank has the kwh to provide more than 1/2 of the Leaf's capacity. The system can and will operate at over 20 amps at 120v, and I have it protected by a 20 amp breaker downstream of the inverter. The 120v plug on my Leaf should pull about 12 amps. I have run 15 amp loads (air conditioner) with no issues, including the current starting surge requirements.

All looks well when plugging in the cord and then connecting the Leaf, but after about 4 seconds I got surging sounds from both the inverter and the car, and then the 120v charging brick shut down on fault (probably a good thing with my 2 week old car). I don't plan to try this again (!) until I understand what is happening ...

Any ideas from the brain trust here ??

Thanks,
Nelson in San Antonio
 
My off grid solar system charges my 2012 LEAF SL without any problem.

What kind of inverter do you have and what is the output rating ?
 
Hi trumpetnelson,

I agree that you should ensure that the grounding is appropriate, as the LEAF is very particular about whether the ground pin moves relative to the two hots. There are posts here regarding how to address that safely if the system is ungrounded.

Another idea that I have is to go with EVSEUpgrade.com which not only allows you to access 240VAC charging, but also it permits you to reduce the current allowed by the system down to 8A (IIRC). If this works with 120VAC charging, then it could give you more flexibility on how you charge when other loads are present.

Good luck!
 
+1 on what type of solar inverter.

My main solar inverter (10KW) runs everything fine with a true sine wave output. My little 2KW inverters output a stepped wave that electronics don't like. I haven't tried charging the Leaf directly from it, but without the grid to even it out, it is a pretty bad signal.
 
Many thanks to the team for all the responses. Here is the info on my inverter, and my planned next step:

- - INVERTER INFO: xantrex DR series Inverter / Charger, Model DR2412, Max continuous 2400 watts, Max continuous AC output current 20 amps, Max AC output overcurrent protection 30 amps. I really don't know if this provides AC energy that is "clean" enough for the Leaf 120v input.

- - MY NEXT PLANNED STEP: good idea on the electronic's sensitivity to ground. The system is currently grounded using the metal frame (welded) of my hangar, which consists of nine 6-inch pipes each set over 4 feet into the ground. But from an electrician's viewpoint, somewhat Mickey mouse. So .... I will drive a more typical copper ground rod into the earth next time I am out there, make sure it is properly moist, and connect up/ground the inverter fed breaker panel in the more conventional manner.

Crossing my fingers and hoping to use "free" (ok - - laughing allowed) solar energy,

Nelson
(hey - - how does someone post a photo here???)
 
That sounds like the same inverter I am using, so my guess is the inverter is OK.

How big is your battery bank ?

The reason I am asking is maybe if the solar battery pack is too small the voltage would drop enough to make the system shutdown. This is just a guess, but it is possible.
 
trumpetnelson said:
Nelson
(hey - - how does someone post a photo here???)
I think you have to be a Gold Member ($30/year), unless the image is online and has a url:
tumblr_melb5us4Bo1qdrz3yo1_250.jpg

See here and here.
 
One thing to note is that the EVSE isn't checking for continuity between the ground wiring and the physical earth. It is checking between the hot side and the ground wiring. So if your neutral was not bonded to ground then you'd fail the ground check. It sure seems like since it starts charging that this not a ground issue. Though I suspect it's still a good idea to have a ground rod and have your metal building bonded with it.
 
Problem Solved - - - -

Many thanks for the feedback. I pounded a new grounding rod (8 ft copper) and connected properly to the source (inverter) and also into the circuit breaker panel per code. Apparently, this upgrade vs. just grounding through the welded metal hangar satisfied the electronics. The GFI plugs tested well both before and after the upgrade. Yep - - the Leaf is sensitive about that ground and also the neutral.

First test (today): 65 minutes of level one charging (120v) gave me an additional 6 miles in the car and was easily handled by the off-grid system. With luck, I should be able to get about 50 miles per visit when I plug into my fully charged system. Hey - - - that $1.20 of "free" electricity will more than pay for my senior coffee (54 cents) at McDonalds!

Driving on sunshine,
Nelson
 
In the process did this bond the neutral and ground? I don't see how adding a grounding rod would make any detectable difference to the EVSE.

Glad it's working now!
 
As before (and after) the new grounding rod installation, the neutral and the ground are bonded at the main electrical panel.

Another tip for those who may follow - - - the car seems happier with an additional 75 to 100 watt load being applied to the system while it is charging. I just plug in a lamp with several light bulbs and I am good to go. A 40 watt (incandescent) bulb by itself doesn't seem to make it happier, but a few watts added above that and the system smooths out nicely while the car charges. Done!

Charge safe, my friends.
 
The DR series inverters aren't sine wave inverters, and I am a little surprised that the car charges well on its output. Nice to hear that the Leaf might be fussier about grounds than the quality of the AC power.
 
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