Don't keep the charger cable in the boot - newbie mistake!

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Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Messages
20
Location
Lincolnshire, England
I just got back to England after a couple of months in Italy, and the Leaf was dead. I opened the driver's door with the key. Nothing worked. Obviously, I needed to charge it. The charging cable was in the boot. How do you open the boot? You can't, without 12V.

Fortunately I still have a 12V jump-starter so I put this across the 12V battery terminals, opened the boot, took the charger cable out, and charged the car. Without the jump-starter, I'd have had to call Green Flag just to get 12 volts.

It is kinda dumb that you can't open the boot without 12V. I understand this was fixed on later Leaves.
 
Maybe I'm missing something here.
You have a 2013 Leaf?
Isn't this model a hatchback with access to the boot (trunk) area via the rear hatch door or from inside of the car by the rear seats?
https://images.cars.com/cldstatic/wp-content/uploads/109725436-1425510557284.gif

You should be able to fold the rear seats down for additional access space to the boot (trunk) area. Then, you should be able to get things -- including your EVSE -- being stored back there without having to open the hatch door.

Or is there something else going on here?
 
Also, charging the main battery is far from the best way to charge a weak 12 volt battery. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. The jump starter was actually a better way. The best way is with an external 12 volt charger.
 
Or is there something else going on here?

I'm not particularly limber. I'd have to squirm around between the front seats to get to the back of the car. Perhaps you can open the rear doors from the inside (I didn't try that) - you can't open them from the outside with a flat battery.

The best way is with an external 12 volt charger.

I don't have one of those. Perhaps I'll buy one, because I can see this situation recurring. I'm often away from the UK for extended periods.
 
I suggest that you get an external 2 amp or so charger/maintainer, with SAE or similar plugs, and run a hardwired pigtail from the 12 volt battery, across the motor compartment, and through the charge port compartment. That lets you connect the maintainer without having to open the hood - just the charge port door.
 
henrydehoja said:
Maybe I'm missing something here.
You have a 2013 Leaf?
Isn't this model a hatchback with access to the boot (trunk) area via the rear hatch door or from inside of the car by the rear seats?
https://images.cars.com/cldstatic/wp-content/uploads/109725436-1425510557284.gif

You should be able to fold the rear seats down for additional access space to the boot (trunk) area. Then, you should be able to get things -- including your EVSE -- being stored back there without having to open the hatch door.

Or is there something else going on here?

Doesn't matter what year of LEAF you have, it "can" be accessed from the passenger area but not all of us are limber enough to do so. I am still able but not w/o some effort. Now if you have kids, preferably middle school or even younger; you are golden but I know MANY who simply could not negotiate the task.

Doesn't matter anyway. A dead 12 volt won't allow you to charge anyway. This is why additional 12 volt management is vital in the northern tier states when the weather turns. Get a jump box. A cheap one can be had for $40 (before COVID era inflation)
 
Make sure you remove the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port when you park for extended time to minimize the chance of returning to a dead 12V battery. A jumper pack is a good thing to have anyway because the traction battery will not charge if the 12V battery is too low to activate the main DC contactor in addition to the various control modules (computers).
 
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