[jpower]

Is it weird to be excited to be getting another leaf, started life in the EV world 6-7 years back with the 24kw moved to the 30kw which i've now had for 4 years and almost sealed the deal on a 40kw Tekna.

Just wondering if there was anything, in particular, to look out for or to know about in advance. For example I remeber reading on evspeak about the water that channels right onto the struts and I had bought those covers so just wondering is that still an issue on the 40 or anythnig else worth looking out for?

Thanks.

 

[jpower]

I've also seen so many mentions of leafspy, but never got one, thinking this time to get one from new to monitor battery health -- do you keep it plugged in all the time? And any tips on which module to buy for the 40?

 

[JohnMars]

No!!!! I was looking at a lovely 40kw n-connecta myself last night and drive a 30 currently.

They are generally great cars and despite other reports I have always had great service from Nissan.

I drove the Leaf 40 as a courtesy car for about 2 weeks and thought it was great!

 

[JohnMars]

Yeah - I don't use mine as much now, it was really useful to diagnose 2 weak cells in my 30KW that Nissan then replaced, however once the cars running ok, its just habit / obsession with leaf spy.

Maybe good as a tool, especially if buying a second hand one from private seller to ensure SOH and battery is not going to give you a nasty surprise.

I don't leave it plugged into my CAN all the time , I don't trust a Chinese made cheap dongle permanently plugged into my car, but others do it and seem fine.

 

[Hairy Leafer]

A sunglasses case! The handy roof holder isn't there in the newer models

 

[jpower]

I was thinking leafspy may make me a bit obsessive, sounds like it is better used as a diagnosis tool if you face issues.

Nooo - I use the sunglasses holder.

Think I just read I want be able to use the OLEV grant as I had a charger install about 4 years ago, wish I had chosen the 6.6k one now.

 

[Hairy Leafer]

Nooo - I use the sunglasses holder.

Its legit one of the reasons I switched to the Ioniq!

Its something both me and the wife like to see in any car we are considering!

 

[jpower]

Its legit one of the reasons I switched to the Ioniq!

Its something both me and the wife like to see in any car we are considering!

Not a deal-breaker for me, but sad.

Is there space for a space saver tyre underneath?

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

This is the adapter that I us with my IPhone SE:

LELink^2 Configurable Auto On/Off Bluetooth Low Energy BLE OBD-II OBD2 Car Diagnostic Tool For iPhone/iPod/iPad and Android

LELink^2 Configurable Auto On/Off Bluetooth Low Energy BLE OBD-II OBD2 Car Diagnostic Tool For iPhone/iPod/iPad and Android: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

It works flawlessly, but there are cheaper one out there that are okay, I charge and balance my battery once a month, and take a Leafspy screen shot, just to monitor any battery degradation and as an early alert to any potential weak cells. Leafspy is also useful if you are on a long run, to monitor battery temperature and precisely monitor the remaining charge in the battery.

The main difference between the 30Kwh and the 40Kwh is that the 40 is Type 2 charging, if you have a type 1 wall box, then it won't be suitable.

On a longer journey, after say 200 miles and a rapid charge the battery heats up and the BMS acts to protect the battery by slowing the DC charge rate down. Therefore journey's over 300 miles might take longer than the 30 as I think 30 will take repeated rapid charges with out too much BMS intervention.

There have been several forum members who have bought a used spare wheel on ebay and laid it flat on the boot floor, built a plywood box around it. This makes wheel unobtrusive and continued use of the reduced space available, the Tekna has the BOSE SUB but should still be enough space.

Post below:

Spare wheel location - again. Getting different answers

I had a 40 and now have a 62, both excellent refined cars and offer longevity going forward.

 

[jpower]

Thanks @GOSPORT DAVE for the detailed info. I do like the idea to monitor the battery on a periodic basis, think I will go for the leafspy you recommended. Seeing screenshots will have to figure out what the numbers mean, guess there is a good youtube for that.

I have an untethered type 2 charger, so I am good to go in terms of charging albeit at 3.3k

I don't tend to do super long trips so rapid charges should be very rare for me, might try it once just for fun as I have not done it in 7 years of Leaf ownership.

Spare tyre I will argue with myself, I assume my current spare i bought for the 30kw version will not fit on the 40kw?

Looks like we are a go, got my cheesy Nissan video to say the car is here and being prepared, maybe Sat collection. Excited.

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

LeafSpy Overview PDF enclosed, may help you figure out what the numbers mean.

 

[jpower]

Thanks @GOSPORT DAVE dongle ordered. Can I ask to you keep it permanently plugged in?

I'm scared to plug into my 30kw that is being traded in, for the fear it may flag something.

Oh I meant to ask you say you balance every month, how do you do that?

Regards charging, I recall the 80% vs 100%, was there ever a conclusion to what is best? I also take the kids to clubs 4 times a week and there is still one of those rare free chargers for club members, I am there for just over an hour, is it ok that I do this top-up or is this kind of frequent top-ups bad for battery health?

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

Hi there, there is a removable plastic cover that hides the obd2 port, I have removed that permanently (just replace it when the vehicle goes into the dealer). I insert the dongle when I want use LeafSpy, then remove it when finished (I keep both the dongle and cover in the pocket behind the passengers seat).

Once a month I charge the battery to 100% and leave the power connect until the 3 blue flashing pips on the dash board stop flashing. At this point the BMS has balanced all the cells and LeafSpy will show the cells with the lowest voltage and the highest voltage, the disparity between both needs to be minimal, ideally less than 20mv is considered to be good. Wider the disparity is bad as this indicates the possibility of a weak or weakening cell in the pack.

When fully balanced, using LeafSpy I always record the current SOH percentage and the KWh remaining when the pack is fully charged. Also a good time to check the voltage of the 12v battery to ensure is well there.

Charging to 80% is said to be best practice, but I normally charge 6 hours overnight on cheap electricity and mostly end up at 90%, after which I alway use the car the next day, so I don’t really think it is an issue that will affect battery longevity. I never charge to 100% and not us it straight away as this really bad for the battery to be left at full charge of extended periods.

I would top up the battery on level 2 charging any at any time when a convenient opportunity arises although there is little point if the battery charge is above 90% as the charge rate slows dramatically at 95%.

Rapid charging I wouldn’t plug in, unless the charge was below 70% as I understand that is a bad thing to do, but not sure exactly why.

I will put some LeafSpy screen shot up which will help with navigation.

 

[jpower]

Thanks that is really good information, my dongle has arrived, think i will try it on my 30kw because I am pretty sure battery is terrible on it, so will let me see where not to get too 😂

So your monthly do you need to screenshot to keep those figures or it stores in the app? The dongle talkabout using the enginelink app, I assume I don't need that as I would be using leafspy.

Looks like the deal is complete, collection set for Saturday, tough two nights of sleep.

 

[Chrisb]

Hour!!!!!!

Sorry

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

I have put together a new user LeafSpy guide, hopefully anybody new to LeafSpy, it will get them up and running quickly and able to get basic data from their vehicle - PDF format so it can easily be downloaded for ease.

 

[jpower]

Damn how did you know what I was going to do, that is a great guide and thanks for taking the time. So before you foiled my plan to pass the day, I was planning on posting my leafspy results, because I am pretty sure they are shocking and makes me think the trade in was an even better deal then expected. Plus is it my fault the dealer has not asked about the health bars?

Any interpretation of the data would be great.

March 2017 30kw:--

 

[JohnMars]

Damn how did you know what I was going to do, that is a great guide and thanks for taking the time. So before you foiled my plan to pass the day, I was planning on posting my leafspy results, because I am pretty sure they are shocking and makes me think the trade in was an even better deal then expected. Plus is it my fault the dealer has not asked about the health bars?

Any interpretation of the data would be great.

March 2017 30kw:--

View attachment 141933 View attachment 141934

OMG!


Whats the history of the car use, has it been sat about at 100% for long periods?

Your right about the dealerships asking about bars - things have not caught up yet even with Nissan.

Still buying and selling used electric cars based on age and miles rather than battery health / capacity!

 

[jpower]

so your analysis OMG seems to line up with my thought that it is not good 😂

It is going back to a Nissan dealer, might be a surprise on pickup/drop off day.

So full Nissan service and there reports on battery since birth keep coming back green and all 5 stars on charging, as you can see its only been on a rapid charger 2 times. In general I try never to charge if the battery was 80% or over but when I do charge at home I would charge to 100%. It would rarely be left at 100% meaning at worst 1,2,3 days (not sure if that equals bad). I may have left it on 100% while we went away on holidays.

So now you understand why I am so curious about best way to charge and look after the battery, as I will be doing things very different this time round,

 

[JohnMars]

Wow sounds like you did things right this time around. Yes the 100% while on holiday would have not done it any favours but I'd be surprised if that was a one off.

There is also no evidence of weak cells meaning its the pack as a whole that bad.

Mind you, someone may get a bargain if Nissan replace the pack for a new one under warranty which it now fulfils the criteria.