2022 Leaf L2 220V charger

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jhagani

2022 SV +
Joined
Jul 6, 2022
Messages
10
Location
Los Angeles, CA
After replacing my charger twice, the dealer tells me that I need a 3 phase 240V power line for the charger. A regular 220V 2 Phase line, like what every house has for the washer dryer will burn the charger.

Our electric company says 3 phase electricity is not offered for households.
I tried other L2 chargers at the same plug, and all charge satisfactory.

110V with the adapter works, but why Nissan gives us a charger that would not work in 99% of plugs?
 
The dealer is, um, mistaken. Whatever the issue is with your car's "charger" it isn't the lack of special electricity. Now are you talking about the car's built-in, onboard charger, or about the charging cable that came with the car? I assume it's the second one, which is properly called an "EVSE" for "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment" or something like that. It's basically a smart extension cord that verifies a grounded circuit and then supplies the vehicle with either 120 or 240 volt AC power. The only other kind of "charger" is a DC Fast Charge unit. Those really are chargers. They bypass the car's onboard charger and charge the battery directly.
 
See my comment and link to diagram at https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=583662&hilit=planet4ever#p583662 about the on-board charger (used for level 1 and 2 AC charging over J1772) vs. the EVSE (the external thing).

Where are you located?
 
Thanks for your replies.

Now I am a little more confused.
I am currently charging the Leaf using my current wall charger that I used for my previous IONIQ, 220V 20 A. I also charged the car using my friend's charger that came with his Honda, again 220V.

So, somehow the Leaf knows the difference between EV charger, and EVSE and disables the internal charger when it is connected to an EV charger, I guess.

Or my Leaf, less than a week old, has a faulty internal charger, and keeps burning EVSE.

I live in Los Angeles, I know the dealer got the wrong info from Nissan engineer when they sent him the 240v 3 Phase diagram. they don't even have the 3 phase power at the dealership, so they can't test the EVSE at all.

Maybe I should try another dealer.
 
Correct, 3-phase power in N. America is basically limited to commercial buildings, you won't find a regular home with 3-phase power, find another dealer that knows what they are selling. Some foreign Leafs might be capable of using 3-phase power but not L.A. :)
 
Jjeff,

Thanks for your clarification.
Now I can go to another dealership with a handful of information.

I understand I have an easier option to just buy an off-brand charger and forget about the Nissan EVSE, but it's just the principle, and the issue that I need to find out why 2 brand new EVSE just show the same error.
 
jhagani said:
Thanks for your replies.

Now I am a little more confused.
I am currently charging the Leaf using my current wall charger that I used for my previous IONIQ, 220V 20 A. I also charged the car using my friend's charger that came with his Honda, again 220V.

So, somehow the Leaf knows the difference between EV charger, and EVSE and disables the internal charger when it is connected to an EV charger, I guess.

Or my Leaf, less than a week old, has a faulty internal charger, and keeps burning EVSE.

I live in Los Angeles, I know the dealer got the wrong info from Nissan engineer when they sent him the 240v 3 Phase diagram. they don't even have the 3 phase power at the dealership, so they can't test the EVSE at all.

Maybe I should try another dealer.

Don't use a charger that is not compatible. For 220V the original Nissan charger will output 6.6kW that is about 28A so I assume the "IONIQ" charger has an internal protection that will kick in if more than 20A is being drawn.
 
Your previous IONIQ has the charger built into the car. The device that plugs into the wall is a EVSE. The Honda and Leaf also have chargers onboard built into the car. The device that plugs into the wall is a EVSE. https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/level-2-evse-questions.18722/

The Nissan EVSE has a limitation that it will only operate with a 220 aka 240 VAC supply. Some homes and commercial buildings are wired for 208vac. The NISSAN EVSE will not operate when connected to a 208 supply where many other EVSEs like IONIQ , Honda Clipper Creek etc will operate on 208 vac. Maybe that’s your issue. Do you have a 208 vac service at home or a typical 220 or 240 vac. service.
 
jhagani said:
I understand I have an easier option to just buy an off-brand charger and forget about the Nissan EVSE, but it's just the principle, and the issue that I need to find out why 2 brand new EVSE just show the same error.
Don't buy random no-name EVSEs off places like Amazon. I don't have time to elaborate more right now. See https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/spooked-by-my-super-hot-mustart-charger.44006/#post-725278.
 
If the Nissan EVSE lets the car charge at 120 volts with the adapter but will not let it charge at 240 volts, then there is a good chance that your power service is actually 208 instead of 240 volts. 208 is actually 2 phases of a 3-phase system typically used in industrial/commercial facilities and some multiple-unit housing like condominiums and apartments. The Nissan EVSE will not allow charging on 208 volts--it will have all the correct indicator lights and actually start charging for a few seconds before shutting down and displaying error light(s).

It is OK to use your existing wall unit to charge the LEAF--it will just take longer to charge.
 
^^

Yah, and to continue that thought, if OP has 208v then the solution is to use an EVSE that supports 208V.

This is easy to figure out: get a cheap multimeter from Harbor Freight for ~ $10 and check the voltage at the receptacle. One lead stuck in one of the hot slots, the other lead stuck in the other hot slot. Ignore the polarity. If you stick the leads in the wrong slot combination you will get either 0 or 120 V. Facing the receptacle, the hots are at 3:00 and 9:00 o'clock.
 
Flyct said:
Your previous IONIQ has the charger built into the car. The device that plugs into the wall is a EVSE. The Honda and Leaf also have chargers onboard built into the car. The device that plugs into the wall is a EVSE. https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/level-2-evse-questions.18722/

The Nissan EVSE has a limitation that it will only operate with a 220 aka 240 VAC supply. Some homes and commercial buildings are wired for 208vac. The NISSAN EVSE will not operate when connected to a 208 supply where many other EVSEs like IONIQ , Honda Clipper Creek etc will operate on 208 vac. Maybe that’s your issue. Do you have a 208 vac service at home or a typical 220 or 240 vac. service.
^^^ this. I reread the OP's posts and while they didn't say if they were in a larger multi-family dwelling where 208v usually resides, I believe that could be the case. I've never seen 208v in a residential service but I suppose it's possible if that's where the OP lives, either way, a $10 VOM will let them know. Note even on a 208v service you will have 120v from one hot to ground or neutral, it's just you will have 208v between 2 hots instead of 240v as you will get in a regular single-phase residential service. Very short-sighted IMO that Nissan made their multi-voltage EVSE not compatible with 208v but then again Nissan seems to be short-sighted in some things, case in point the 80% charging limit that I'm sure they could find a way around but instead just buried their head in the sand and removed the option :roll:
 
The Nissan EVSE has a limitation that it will only operate with a 220 aka 240 VAC supply. Some homes and commercial buildings are wired for 208vac. The NISSAN EVSE will not operate when connected to a 208 supply where many other EVSEs like IONIQ , Honda Clipper Creek etc will operate on 208 vac. Maybe that’s your issue. Do you have a 208 vac service at home or a typical 220 or 240 vac. service.
[/quote]

Thanks for this info. I will check the voltage at the plug tonight.

But the main question, if the voltage is 208, not 220, can it burn the EVSE as soon as I plug it in?
 
jhagani said:
But the main question, if the voltage is 208, not 220, can it burn the EVSE as soon as I plug it in?

No, it just won't work. Do you know for sure if the EVSE has burnt out? If it has you must have something drastically wrong. The EVSE has safeguards to protect it and the car so something would really have to be wrong with the wiring to fry something.
 
jjeff said:
jhagani said:
Not , it just won't work. Do you know for sure if the EVSE has burnt out? If it has you must have something drastically wrong. The EVSE has safeguards to protect it and the car so something would really have to be wrong with the wiring to fry something.

The 240 plug is installed at the factory I work, by our maintenance team, and a licensed electrician. This is the same plug that I used to charge my 2019 Ioniq electric with an off the market charger. I just had them check the voltage, and it is a true 220, I think he said YWG, But it is not 3 phase as the dealership says it should be.

I have ordered an EVSE, and if it works, I will forward the charges to Nissan and request payment.

Thanks to everybody for your advice and help. But I bought a new car, and I expect Nissan and the dealership to troubleshoot my car's problems and provide solutions. They have not answered to my emails and fax to customer care. They maybe too busy!
 
Just a minor correction or two: US line voltage is 240 (or 208) and has been since the late twentieth century. Also, it can be confusing to call an outlet a "plug." The female receptacle on the wall is the "outlet" and the male connector on the cable is the "plug." It helps, especially when troubleshooting, to use the correct terminology as much as possible.

Oh, and the thing that plugs into an outlet (or is hardwired to one) and then plugs into the car is a "charging cable", "charging station" or "EVSE" which is a remarkably poor acronym for a device used to charge an EV (but isn't a charger). The actual charger is built into the car, and is used for 120 and 240 volt charging. Many EVs have a second port for a "DC Fast (or Quick) Charger." Those really are chargers - they bypass the onboard charger to directly charge the battery more quickly.
 
jhagani said:
jjeff said:
jhagani said:
Not , it just won't work. Do you know for sure if the EVSE has burnt out? If it has you must have something drastically wrong. The EVSE has safeguards to protect it and the car so something would really have to be wrong with the wiring to fry something.

The 240 plug is installed at the factory I work, by our maintenance team, and a licensed electrician. This is the same plug that I used to charge my 2019 Ioniq electric with an off the market charger. I just had them check the voltage, and it is a true 220, I think he said YWG, But it is not 3 phase as the dealership says it should be.

I have ordered an EVSE, and if it works, I will forward the charges to Nissan and request payment.

Thanks to everybody for your advice and help. But I bought a new car, and I expect Nissan and the dealership to troubleshoot my car's problems and provide solutions. They have not answered to my emails and fax to customer care. They maybe too busy!
As Leftie said, we don't really have 220v power in N. America, it's either 240v give or take or 208v again give or take. As previously noted the OEM L1/L2 EVSE will not operate on 208v and will just give an error code but shouldn't burn anything out. The YWG you said doesn't really mean anything to me but might to a licensed electrician. To me it might mean a Yellow wire(one of the hot wires in a 3-phase panel) white generally the neutral and G for ground which would be a green wire. As L2 power requires 2 hots I'm not sure why they'd need a white wire, if indeed the W is for white......
As you are talking about a commercial building it sure could be 208v, what WILL fry things is if the outlet is 277v(one phase of commercial high voltage power) that would NOT be good for something expecting 208/240v power but wouldn't really explain why your Ionic EVSE worked because I'm sure neither it nor your Leaf would be acceptable for 277v........
Searching it looks like yellow might be one of the hots in a 277v power, I hope that is not the case :shock:
 
LeftieBiker said:
Just a minor correction or two: US line voltage is 240 (or 208) and has been since the late twentieth century. Also, it can be confusing to call an outlet a "plug."

This usage is good enough, but it is actually not correct.
'Outlets' are wall openings to the wiring. In a way they are the installed boxes with wiring.

An outlet can hold a receptacle, or a light, or a fan, or a switch to name the common devices.
A receptacle accepts a plug.

If someone says to me "I plugged into this outlet,"I know what they mean
But if someone says "install an outlet here", the desired device (if any) is uncertain.
 
jhagani said:
jjeff said:
jhagani said:
Not , it just won't work. Do you know for sure if the EVSE has burnt out? If it has you must have something drastically wrong. The EVSE has safeguards to protect it and the car so something would really have to be wrong with the wiring to fry something.

The 240 plug is installed at the factory I work, by our maintenance team, and a licensed electrician. This is the same plug that I used to charge my 2019 Ioniq electric with an off the market charger. I just had them check the voltage, and it is a true 220, I think he said YWG, But it is not 3 phase as the dealership says it should be.

I have ordered an EVSE, and if it works, I will forward the charges to Nissan and request payment.

Thanks to everybody for your advice and help. But I bought a new car, and I expect Nissan and the dealership to troubleshoot my car's problems and provide solutions. They have not answered to my emails and fax to customer care. They maybe too busy!

I spent my 38 year working career supporting equipment that plugged into14-50R receptacles in commercial establishments. That’s the same 14-50R that mosT L 2 EVSEs use and 50 amp RVs use.

We provided the receptacle and required customer have electric installed. 1 in 10 were incorrectly wired with 3 hots and a ground. Almost every commercial building didn’t have 240 vac but had 208 vac. Most EVSE s will operate with either 240 or 208 vac BUT THE Nissan EVSE requires 240 vac. If plugged into a 208 vac receptacle it I look like it starts to begin charging but will fault out with a code quickly. It will not be damaged and can work if later it’s plugged into a 240 vac receptacle.
 
Owners manual for 2022 Leaf is here https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/Nissan/us/manuals-and-guides/leaf/2022/2022-nissan-leaf-owner-manual.pdf

Proper wiring for the EVVSE to work is shown on page CH-29.it must be a AC nominal 220-240 to function
On page CH-30 it stares if plugged into a 208 vac outlet the orange indicator light on the EVSE will blink.
 
Back
Top