[Norman Wilson]

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 one particular cell looks low. I've attached some screenshots.

I'm hoping that cell isn't the problem. 40mV doesn't seem extreme but that graph does fill me with dread. 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?

 

[Norman Wilson]

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.

 

[Norman Wilson]

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?

 

[Norman Wilson]

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).

 

[Norman Wilson]

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.

Thanks. Out of interest, any mention of whether it matters if the charge point is live when you plug in?

 

[Norman Wilson]

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?

 

[Norman Wilson]

I can't imagine switching it off once a month would be a problem.

Strange that your unit has a flashing light when it's not in use - is it supposed to be like that ? I would find that a bit annoying too...

Cheers. It's a 4-year old Rolec unit and has always flashed. When switched on there's a blue flashing circle, then it turns a solid green when you plug in the cable. I don't think there's any way to avoid it.

 

[Norman Wilson]

If it really annoys you you could probably disconnect the wire for the blue LED while still leaving the green and red ones connected. (From memory there are three LED's in the same package - red, blue and green with a common return wire)

Good to know, thanks. I'll maybe have a closer inspection if it gets to the point when I'm charging more frequently. For now, I'll just switch on and off once a month. If it ain't broke....

 

[Norman Wilson]

It can’t be. The controller requires a signal from the car to make the outlet (socket or tethered cable) live.

I meant live as in switched on, ready for use.

 

[Norman Wilson]

I thought the blue flashing light signified State A. To go to State B requires the controller to be able to see the car (CP at 9v), which would require the cable connected at both ends. There shouldn’t be a difference between tethered and untethered in that respect.

When switched on, my charger flashes blue. When I plug in my untethered cable to the charger it turns solid blue. When I then connect the car, it turns solid green.