2011 Will Not Charge After 8-Months

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DJ1256

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
9
Location
Nashville, TN
I bought a 2011 Leaf. It only has 53k miles, but sat for 8-months. Replaced the 12v battery, but it will not AC or DC charge or go into drive/reverse. The owner took it to Nissan and they did an initial evaluation, charged $148, but couldn't figure it out. They did pull the fuse disconnect and the black box next to the 12v was apart, so clearly checked it out. They wanted more money to move forward with a more in-depth investigation, but the owner decided to sell it. I trailered the car home and on the way, I took it by Nissan and it would not fast charge, either, so there is something wrong with the communication with the car. I have attached the DTCs. Any help would be appreciated.

This is my first post, so don't seem to have an attachment tab. I am using the Img tab. Not sure if it will work.

2011%20Leaf%20DTCs.jpg
 
DJ1256 said:
I bought a 2011 Leaf. It only has 53k miles, but sat for 8-months. Replaced the 12v battery, but it will not AC or DC charge or go into drive/reverse. The owner took it to Nissan and they did an initial evaluation, charged $148, but couldn't figure it out. They did pull the fuse disconnect and the black box next to the 12v was apart, so clearly checked it out. They wanted more money to move forward with a more in-depth investigation, but the owner decided to sell it. I trailered the car home and on the way, I took it by Nissan and it would not fast charge, either, so there is something wrong with the communication with the car. I have attached the DTCs. Any help would be appreciated.

This is my first post, so don't seem to have an attachment tab. I am using the Img tab. Not sure if it will work.

2011%20Leaf%20DTCs.jpg

Welcome to the forum! Luckily, you do live near by some of us here (including myself) So, I take it the dash still works or is everything just completely dead in the vehicle? If you are getting DTC, I guess some parts of it are still alive, unfortunately, it seems you copy/pasted a file link direct from your computer with your real name in it (I censored it out in my reply) Is the EV still in the Nashville area or moved somewhere else out far away?
 
Try reposting the Leafspy screenshots, after first uploading them to a web accessible platform (i.e. imgur).

Assuming you have Leafspy Pro, try resetting the DTCs, detach the 12V battery, wait a few minutes, then recconect the battery and try an L1 charge with the original Nissan EVSE
 
I do live in the Nashville area. I just bought the car on Friday. I do have LeafSpy Pro and have cleared the codes and disconnected the 12v multiple times. I cannot figure out how to upload a screenshot on this post, so will type in the DTCs:

C118C 0109 ABS EV/HEV System BRC-126
C1A6E 0109 Brake EV/HEV System BR-146
C1A70 0109 Brake Control System BR-160
P3176 00C0 EV/HEV Inverter Condenser EVC-238
P311C 00C0 EV/HEV High Voltage Sys EVC--204

It seems something happened from sitting for 8-months like corrosion at a connector or possible a rodent chewing wiring into. Nothing is obvious to the eye.
 
The P311C is the real stopper here, basically it is impossible for the vehicle to pre-charge the system. Here is the general description:
SHxB38x.png

https://zinref.ru/avtomobili/Nissan/085_10_00_Nissan_Leaf_2011-2014_year_Manual_ENGLISH/550.htm

Exactly the same issue as in this case: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=21776&start=10#p525393

I'd start with checking the pre-charge resistor inside the battery!
 
Do you have a voltmeter and can measure the actual voltage at the 12V starter battery, both with the car OFF (open circuit voltage or OCV) and with the key switched pressed in either ACC mode or ON mode? a weak aux battery can cause a multitude of faults such as this; a strong 12V is extremely important in an EV.

There are numerous relays and contactors which must be energized and engaged during the starting sequence including the precharge circuit. If the aux is weak then these may not be able to engage.
 
I did the volt test on the 12v batter. It was 12.72v before turning the car on and 12.44 after the car was on.

Pulling the battery to check the pre-charge resistor is a bit over my head, so will not be doing this right off. I wouldn't know a pre-charge resistor is it was sitting on my kitchen table. I was hoping it was something simple like a wire chewed by a critter. Guess that was wishing thinking.
 
The 12V could probably use a good external charging, it seems to be pulled down quite a bit with just the baseline load. But should have been sufficient for a starting attempt.

Are you able to see the cell voltages using the leafspy app? Are the levels even or is there some disparity? What is the min/max/average cell voltage?

Does the leaf app show you a Pack Current value when you try to start? Do you hear relays and contactors clacking when doing the start sequence (foot on brake and press button)?

It can take several cycles of trying to start, disconnect and wait, then reconnect the 12V to clear up codes and issues from sitting a long time, and the 12V needs to be strong since it won't be getting boosted by the onboard DC/DC converter until the car starts.
 
I appreciate your interest in helping me get this Leaf going, again. To answer your question, I have listened for the contactors and I seem to hear about half what I do on my other Leaf when it starts. It is not the multiple clunk sounds for sure. The dash shows the charge level and 22 miles of range at 3.6 kwh/mile. Leafspy shows 65% charge. It has 5 capacity bars of the 12.
I am not sure if you know, but the 12v battery is new. It has a 3/21 sticker and was just put in a week ago. I guess it could be weak, but seems unlikely. I have charged it one time since Friday just to keep it up. I have disconnected the 12v twice, but can try to reclear the codes and disconnect a few more times. I do have a contact who is touch with a guy who works at the Nissan plant who knows these cars and he feels the car went into “safe mode” from sitting 8-months and needs to have a “Code Erase” as he put it. I have obviously done this with Leafspy Pro, but not sure if this does the same as someone with actual Nissan equipment. Thanks again for all the help. I sure don’t want to drop the battery to check the precharge resistor, but will in time if nothing else proves to solve the problem.
 
Let me give you 3 pieces of sage advice:

1. Listen to Dala
2. Listen to Dala
3. Listen to Dala
 
DJ1256 said:
I do have a contact who is touch with a guy who works at the Nissan plant who knows these cars and he feels the car went into “safe mode” from sitting 8-months and needs to have a “Code Erase” as he put it.
Is there such a thing, I've never heard of a Leaf having a safe mode? Seems like if the 12v battery is dead, it's just "off" and if the 12v battery has voltage fluctuation from dying, you get random, weird stuff happen, random DTC codes, etc. But a healthy 12v battery and just sitting off for 8 months, the vehicle goes into a comma? Seems like dealerships would have issues or repo lots would have issues of dead Leaf vehicles everywhere?
 
I am not convinced there is a safe mode, either. I am going to take my time before dropping the battery, but if need be, will do it. I don't have a lift, so need to find a place that is good to do the work. I read the link to the post Dala included where he thinks I need to check the precharge resistor, but nowhere in the post did I find where it showed this was the problem that was solved to get the car running. The best I could tell, the post never indicated that the car ever got fixed. Maybe I missed it, but read it three times. Regardless, I will have to move forward at some point and try this approach.
 
i would expect that a 1 month old brand new fully charged aux battery should easily read above 13.2v OCV and definitely not below 12.8.

i went thru a similar dead car incident in which the dealer declared the pack dead and no solution but to replace it, but turned out that the aux was the real culprit.

If you can read pack current with leafspy, then that indicates to me that the main contactors are engaged, and likely the precharge contactor sequence was attempted after the ground fault leakage check passed. there's a bunch of relays involved in the starting sequence and they all need a stong pull-in, hence the importance of the aux.

Make sure the A/C and Heat are off, or disconnect those HV connections to take them out of the picture. Your DTC can be thrown for a slow ramp up condition of the voltage on the buss capacitors in either the OBC or the Drive Inverter, depending on whether charging or driving.

i would want to measure the HV buss ramp up with an oscilloscope to see what is happening before going to all the effort to open the pack. Or it seems that Consult or some other tool could be used to measure the resistor value. If not then it should be.
 
Nlspace, you have some very good points regarding the car reading the battery pack voltage. I never thought of that. I don't know if a pecharge resistor failure would allow for the pack to read and display range miles. I would sure love to know if anyone does.

I charged the 12v battery and when the charger cut off, it was at 12.8v. I checked two other vehicles and they were at 12.6v and my other 2012 Leaf was at 12.2v, So, I don't currently have any 12v batteries with 13+ volt readings, but I have definitely seen them in the past that do. I suppose I could keep the battery charge as high as I can get it, clear codes and do a few restarts to see if I can get the car to reset. I will try anything before dropping the pack, but have to admit, had already accepted that I will have to do it. It has been raining here for a few days, so it is no good weather days to drop it outside, anyway.

As far as checking doing further diagnostic work such as you suggested, it is beyond my skill level and understanding and obviously do not own the tools. I do have an electrician friend who I plan to call upon if I have to drop the pack. He will be able to check out the resistor and other relays to see if they are faulty. I still hope it doesn't come to that. Thank you all again for the assistance.
 
You could run one of your ICE cars and then use jumper cables to the LEAF's 12V battery, so that the ICE'e alternator indirectly keeps your LEAF 12V as charged as possible.

You very likely need a new 12V battery for your other LEAF - 12.2v is not good. Most automotive stores that sell 12V batteries will do a free battery and alternator test for you.
 
Been giving it my all in the rain. :) Charged the Leaf battery until the charger cut off at 13.01v. Hooked booster cables to it and while the ICE was running, the Leaf Battery showed 14.26v. Cleared the codes several times, but always came back. I even cleared the codes and hooked the charger to it before starting and always the same result. Tries to communicate and then disconnects. The same inside when starting. It starts out with no warning lights in the dash, but as the car goes through its checks, the car with a mark through it reappears, indicating the high voltage error. I have reached out to a YouTuber who had a bad resistor and asked if he saw range in the car when he had the problem, but I don't think so because he indicated you could check it another way by removing the high voltage connecter from the battery and insert the probes into the battery and if you start the car, you should see 400v for a second or two on the meter. Sounds like a crazy plan, but that is what he said was another check without taking the battery apart. He had none. So, if he showed no voltage at the battery, it seems like the car GOM wouldn't be able to read the pack. Of course, I know nothing about this and why I am on here.
 
If he was not reading the pack voltage, then the main contactors did not engage, and as you mentioned there would probably be no GOM range displayed.

Maybe your external aux charrger is an automatic/smart device? Unless the voltage is taken up to and held at 14.4 for a period of time, then desulfation will not occur in a wet-cell lead acid battery and results in a less than fully charged condition Gel cells have a different and lower voltage requirement.

Since this is a "new" car to you with unknown past service history and attempts to repair this situation, then it might be worthwhile to check all the fuses and relays. You mentioned that some black box near the battery was disassembled--not sure what that is, but could that be important? You can't assume anything is good in a used car with problems, got to check and verify to be sure.
 
What would be worth repeating is, if a moderator would move this thread to the troubleshooting or engineering section, since it has nothing to do with the website or forum section.

In the FSM, both the P3176 and P311C DTC have nearly a dozen troubleshooting steps to help rule out potential problems and hopefully drill down to the root cause.

This makes sense to check and rule out the easy stuff first before dropping the pack and removing the cover, which is not an easy task.
 
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