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30kWh Leaf Charging Problem

3K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  barneyd 
#1 · (Edited)
My 30kWh Leaf isn't charging at home on the type 2 socket via either the Rolec charge point or the granny cable. All lights and beeps indicate it is charging but it was stuck at the same percentage SOC for the hour it was plugged in. When messing about I did get the SOC to increase by 0.3%, so some very tiny amount of power does seem to be getting through.

My first thought is that it's the type 2 socket and I do have enough juice to get to a rapid and try that tomorrow, which I'll do. Looking at LeafSpy. I've attached some screenshots.

The DTC code is one I'm sure I've seen previously (years ago) and thought was related to having the dongle plugged in.

The car starts and drives fine.

Can anybody please advise?



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#3 ·
Thanks for the reply.

The 12V battery is only a couple of years old. Seems to be ok looking at the voltage on the LeafSpy reports.

I haven't serviced at Nissan for several years. In my opinion, the battery reports were largely worthless anyway. LeafSpy shows nearly 90% state of health, which I'd say is about correct for the age of the car.
 
#4 ·
I also posted my query in the UK Nissan Leaf Facebook Group and it was suggested I connect the cable to the car first, then plug into the home charger, then switch the charger on. I'm massively relieved to say that it worked.

I've always done things in this order:

1) Switch charger on
2) Connect cable to charger
3) Connect cable to car

Then when finished charging, do the above in reverse order, disconnecting the car first.

Everything I've read said you should always disconnect at the EV first because switching off the power supply first can cause spikes which can damage the car. I can't remember reading much about the order of connecting, which seems to have been my problem here.

Can anyone confirm the best order to do things?
 
#5 ·
I don't think it should matter what order you connect and switch on. It's most definitely good practice to provide a "soft" disconnect, either by unplugging the car first or telling the charge point to cease charging (not switching it off at the mains to end charging, except of course for an emergency).

That's because switching off the full charge current with a mechanical switch is bad for the switch. Everything you have read was correct.

For starting charging, that does not apply: all forms of charging use a soft start. There must be some timing-dependent differences sepending on the sequence, although normally any sequence should work, so long as it ends with all connections made so that mains power's available to the car's on-board charger.
 
#8 ·
I don't think it should matter what order you connect and switch on. It's most definitely good practice to provide a "soft" disconnect, either by unplugging the car first or telling the charge point to cease charging (not switching it off at the mains to end charging, except of course for an emergency).

That's because switching off the full charge current with a mechanical switch is bad for the switch. Everything you have read was correct.
Thanks Mark. It sounds like re-ordering the connection process on this occasion was maybe just a quirky fix in that case. My charger has a separate on/off switch inside the house (nothing on the outdoor unit) but this is normally the last thing I switch off in the process (always disconnecting at the car first, then unplugging from the charger).
 
#6 ·
I had an EO Mini charge point installed in my garage late last year and the instructions that came with it concerning connecting to the car were quite specific - plug into car first and then plug the other end of the cable into the charging point. At the end of charging, remove the plug from the car first and then unplug the cable from the charge point socket. Never had any problems with it charging the car.
 
#11 ·
For the record, there is no "right order" for connecting the ends of an untethered Level 2 charging cable - the standard allows for connecting either end first.

If it doesn't work both ways around, one of the devices is not compliant with the standards, probably the EVSE or cable as it's unlikely such a design flaw would make it to production in a car, especially something that has been around as long as the Leaf. Having to do it one way around should be considered a workaround for poorly designed equipment.

The comment made further up about ensuring a soft disconnect is correct though - if you have an EVSE where you can turn the power off at the source, either at the consumer unit in the case of a wall mounted unit, or at a 3 pin plug in the case of a portable (granny) EVSE, never turn the power off at the source while the car is plugged in charging.

Doing a "hard shutdown" like this enough times risks damage both to the car and the EVSE, and at the very least causes contactor arching in the EVSE. So ensure that the EVSE is powered on at the source before connecting the cable to the car, and likewise disconnect the car before turning the EVSE off at the source. (Although personally I would not turn a permanently connected hard wired EVSE off at the source on a regular basis, just leave it alone)
 
#12 ·
So ensure that the EVSE is powered on at the source before connecting the cable to the car, and likewise disconnect the car before turning the EVSE off at the source. (Although personally I would not turn a permanently connected hard wired EVSE off at the source on a regular basis, just leave it alone)
Thanks. That's what I've been doing, with the exception that I turn the EVSE off at source because I currently only charge at home once a month. If left on, the unit outside emits a flashing light, which is largely why I turn it off. As I'm not regularly switching on and off, is this likely to cause any problems?
 
#17 ·
I have a tethered pod point supplied with the car in 2017. Permanently on with switch inside outside meter cupboard. Never turned off in 5 years and has always worked fine with a mix of charges some timed and some instant. I have always disconnected the cable from car first at destination chargers (slow) apart from one set of chargers at Monks cross in York where I disconnected from car as usual and cable was locked to charge point. Enquired at car park office and they said yeh you have to disconnect from charger first seems its not the first time they said it.
 
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