[Sjalabais]

Well, excellent and very reasonable replies, and I agree very much on the need for skilled aftermarket ideas and tinkering. As I said for starters, the shops that would even attempt repairing such a unit are few and far between, while Nissan itself only replaces parts at high cost. If AliExpress offered me a simple replacement unit for 300£, I'd be tempted to buy it.

 

[idiotzoo]

In terms of basic functionality it’s all pretty standard stuff these days. Motor controllers, BMS, 7kW 400V chargers, they’re all available off the shelf. The issue is the integration done by manufacturers to provide a nice user experience. I remain hopeful there’ll be more of a conversion market for ice cars in the future and we’ll see plenty of aftermarket chargers etc that can be retrofitted to older cars.

 

[Sjalabais]

Again, I agree. Traditionally, I've always had a collector's car, too . The one I have now is a very rare V6, and I can only imagine how the car would be improved by an EV conversion, while I spend a fortune maintaining this V6. So I have followed the market a bit and watched videos of EV Landrovers and such, with engines bolted straight onto existing transmissions. For now, conversions remain very expensive, especially because people choose components from the top shelf (while I'd honestly be happy with dead-Leaf-parts). But I am yearning for a future of gasless classics.

 

[whereswally606]

Having issues with my obc and im wondering if its a capacitor on its way out. Ive managed to charge to fullish 92 percent after a 75% on a local rapid. But i worry that my intermittant conking out of the evse will turn to full dead obc if i keep trying to charge in this heat wave.

 

[farmergiles]

Having issues with my obc and im wondering if its a capacitor on its way out. Ive managed to charge to fullish 92 percent after a 75% on a local rapid. But i worry that my intermittant conking out of the evse will turn to full dead obc if i keep trying to charge in this heat wave.

Have you felt the charger temperature?
Might be worth leaving the bonnet open and parking in the shade.
The Leaf 2 circulates coolant when the charger gets hot - often heard whirring away on a rapid charger.

 

[whereswally606]

Its a gen one with the charger behind the rear seats. Just bought an umbrella style front windshield heat shield to mitigate some of the heat wave. Got some reflective insulation i will fabricate some window cards for the doors and rear.

 

[dk6780]

Are you sure that it's not an issue with your CANbridge?

 

[Sjalabais]

I can hear the coolant circulate on my ZE0 when charging, too. We almost exclusively charge at night - not for the temperature, but for lower electricity prices.

It is my understanding that a capacitor does not go out gradually, more with a poof!. That is my experience from several appliances, without much deep knowledge. I hope you find the cause for your issues, @whereswally606!

 

[whereswally606]

My umbrella style heat shield for the windscreen has already arrived from amazon so that is now in place. Should help passively shed internal heat from the sun. Its still charging so i suspect it is heat related. Also with my muxsan pack in the boot ive added incentive to cool the car interior for longevity reasons for that battery.

 

[whereswally606]

@dk6780 i dont think its the can bus bridge

 

[Barfly]

I can hear the coolant circulate on my ZE0 when charging, too. We almost exclusively charge at night - not for the temperature, but for lower electricity prices.

It is my understanding that a capacitor does not go out gradually, more with a poof!. That is my experience from several appliances, without much deep knowledge. I hope you find the cause for your issues, @whereswally606!

They can go in all manner of ways. While working on a Barco 3-gun projector system with an intermittent fault in my workshop one day (in 1993), an electrolytic capacitor in the line timebase circuit exploded in my face. Luckily most of it caught me on the right cheek, otherwise I may have lost an eye (or 2). Electrolytics usually just dry out over time as the paste loses moisture. Other capacitors mylar, tantalum and disc ceramics for instance usually fail at the point where the material is internally connected to the terminals.

 

[Sjalabais]

Unless there's physical movement in the capacitor, allowing for contact/no contact, doesn't that mean they fail abruptly, indeed? I always appreciate your feedback and I'm happy you got away from that exploding one!

The last capacitor I saw fail was on my log splitter. That one certainly let go of life abruptly, smoking a fair bit in the process. Which reminds me; I ought to get a new one before tree felling season arrives.

 

[dk6780]

@dk6780 i dont think its the can bus bridge

Emile will know for sure. It certainly influences the charging rate and is operating during AC charging as well as DC charging so there must be some potential for it to interrupt the process.

 

[Barfly]

Unless there's physical movement in the capacitor, allowing for contact/no contact, doesn't that mean they fail abruptly, indeed? I always appreciate your feedback and I'm happy you got away from that exploding one!

The last capacitor I saw fail was on my log splitter. That one certainly let go of life abruptly, smoking a fair bit in the process. Which reminds me; I ought to get a new one before tree felling season arrives.

View attachment 147457

That is a big mother of a cap. 60microfarads at 400v ac is a serious bit of kit. I'll bet a new one will cost you an arm and a leg. A log splitter requires a lot of grunt. If you can't find one, go to your local dump and have a look at old 'fridges microwaves and other electrical scrap stuff for one roundabout the same capacity and voltage. It is simply a starting capacitor, and tolerances are fairly wide. Anywhere from 40-80micrfarads will be suitable, but make sure it's at least 400v ac.
Cheers Tony.

 

[Sjalabais]

Thanks for your advice! Something like this should do it, at 60µF and 450V?:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4000016359658.html

Doesn't look all that expensive. A new log splitter is only about 200$.

 

[Barfly]

Thanks for your advice! Something like this should do it, at 60µF and 450V?:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4000016359658.html

Doesn't look all that expensive. A new log splitter is only about 200$.

That's a bit low, might have trouble starting the motor.... try and aim for at least 50microfarads
this for instance....50uF CBB60 Capacitor, CBB60 Motor Starting Capacitor 450V 50uF Microfarad Capacitor Wire for Starting The Motor, Motor Start Capacitor : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science
Opps, when I checked your link I was well zoomed out and didn't see the values, just looked at the piccies! They will be fine, cheaper than Amazon too. Aliexpress usually are, but I find them a bit hit-and-miss and delivery can take ages.

 

[Sjalabais]

$22 taxed and shipped, thanks for your help! I have been an AliExpress customer for the better part of a decade, close to 800 orders with uplevelled customer benefits. If you live out in the middle of nowhere, in a country with crazy prices, and have a bit of patience...Alibaba is a godsend.

 

[whereswally606]

So i was in this thread due to our leaf charger miss behaving in the heat wave. The gen1 charger is located inside the car so it is sat in a greenhouse effectively. I bought an umbrellaesque sun shade for the front windshield and that appeared to solve my temporary issues.

 

[Sjalabais]

Makes sense - we live very rurally, and will often just open the windows on these very hot days. Our charger failed on a cold autumn day though.

How was it "misbehaving"? We haven't experienced temporary issues...yet.

 

[jtowser20]

I did that, saved me lot of work. But you will feell having more control when you als0 have access from bellow,

is there any online resource that shows how to remove the OBC this way? I don't have a lift.