Charge to 80% without using the timer?

[ObjetDart]

Hi, new 2013 SV owner here.

Loving the car so far, but one think irks me a bit. I cannot figure out how to tell the car to stop charging at 80% whenever I plug it in, without using the @#$%ing timer, which is a hassle to enable/disable and which I have no use for anyway since electricity rates here are the same 24 hours a day.

I just want to come home, plug it in, have it start charging immediately and stop automatically when it reaches 80%.

I assume I must be missing something obvious. What is it?

Thanks!

 

[kovalb]

On the 13MY there are two ways.

1. "Long Life Mode". Press the blue EV button at the lower right. Then press settings. You will see a button for Long Life Mode. Enable it and the yellow light on that button will illuminate. Please note that the timer override switch will not change this setting. It will always charge to 80% if Long Life Mode is enabled.

2. Timer. You can set one of the timers to start and end at something like 7:01 to 7:00 and set the charge to 80%. If, for example, it is timer 1 then it can be enabled or disabled by pressing the timer 1 button. The yellow light on that button will illuminate when it is enabled. I personally prefer this method because I can override it to charge to 100% by either pressing the timer override button on the lower left instrument panel or by pressing "start charging" on Carwings or the app.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[gsleaf]

I have my 2012 setup like kovalb's 2nd example. Then if I need to charge to 100% I just hit the override button.

 

[ObjetDart]

Thank you for the great tips. Much appreciated!

 

[vrwl]

I have my 2012 setup like kovalb's 2nd example. Then if I need to charge to 100% I just hit the override button.

Yep, I use the #2 method as well. It charges as soon as I plug it in and it only charges to 80%. I hit the override button if I need more than 80%.

 

[Galiano]

I have had my new 2013 SL for about a week. I just charged it for a couple of hours to 142 km. I assume this is 100% full but I don't know. Thoughts ? What would be normal ?

I just tried setting the 80% Long Life to "on" but the selection is ghosted and is not available. Could this be because I have a full charge or what ?

This forum is a terrific resource for a rather clueless newbie ! Thanks

 

[ebill3]

I have my 2012 setup like kovalb's 2nd example. Then if I need to charge to 100% I just hit the override button.

Yep, I use the #2 method as well. It charges as soon as I plug it in and it only charges to 80%. I hit the override button if I need more than 80%.

And don't forget, you don't even have to go out to the garage to override. The charge button on the remote app will do it.

 

[TimLee]

...timer, which is a hassle to enable/disable and which I have no use for anyway since electricity rates here are the same 24 hours a day.

I just want to come home, plug it in, have it start charging immediately and stop automatically when it reaches 80%.

I have single rate plan too, and when I need the car to charge immediately, I do that. Using a timer set with very close or same start and finish times which is the best way to do it.
But keep in mind there are two good reasons to charge the car during off peak time using the timers:
1. Battery longevity. The battery is hotter immediately after use. Also, charging adds some heat to the battery. Also ambient temperature drops during the night. Heat is bad for battery life. Doing most charging in the middle of the night after the battery has cooled down and the ambient (or garage temperature) has dropped is better for battery longevity.
2. Cost of Power Generation. Even though you and I pay the same whenever we charge, power costs a lot more to generate during the peak power demand times. By charging at off peak times, we all help hold down the cost of power for everybody. Including helping keep down the cost of our single anytime rate.

 

[RonDawg]

...timer, which is a hassle to enable/disable and which I have no use for anyway since electricity rates here are the same 24 hours a day.

I just want to come home, plug it in, have it start charging immediately and stop automatically when it reaches 80%.

I have single rate plan too, and when I need the car to charge immediately, I do that. Using a timer set with very close or same start and finish times which is the best way to do it.
But keep in mind there are two good reasons to charge the car during off peak time using the timers:
1. Battery longevity. The battery is hotter immediately after use. Also, charging adds some heat to the battery. Also ambient temperature drops during the night. Heat is bad for battery life. Doing most charging in the middle of the night after the battery has cooled down and the ambient (or garage temperature) has dropped is better for battery longevity.
2. Cost of Power Generation. Even though you and I pay the same whenever we charge, power costs a lot more to generate during the peak power demand times. By charging at off peak times, we all help hold down the cost of power for everybody. Including helping keep down the cost of our single anytime rate.

I agree with TimLee's points. I am a night-shift worker so I charge the car when I first get home in the morning in order to take advantage of cooler conditions. My timers are set to 80% charge from midnight to 3 PM 7 days a week to give me greatest flexibility for when I leave work, or for my days off, yet still avoiding charging in the afternoon whenever possible. Even at 120 volts my charging is normally done in 5 hours or less.

I am also one of those who consciously avoids most heavy-appliance usage during peak consumption hours. However the air conditioner is non-negotiable

 

[planet4ever]

I have had my new 2013 SL for about a week. I just charged it for a couple of hours to 142 km. I assume this is 100% full but I don't know. Thoughts ? What would be normal ?

You must be talking about the "Distance to Empty" display, that big number on the right side of the dash that we call the GuessOMeter, or GOM for short. There is no normal, and you can't tell from that whether the battery is full. On your 2013 you need to look at the State of Charge percentage which is one of the options for what can be displayed at the bottom middle of the dash. There's a square group of four buttons on the left side of the steering wheel. The top left one of those is used (among other things) to cycle among what displays on the dash. Push it repeatedly until you see what looks like the outline of a small battery (flashlight, etc.) with something like "99%" inside it.

By the way, you haven't told us where you are, and you might be in the UK or some other place with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. If so, my left and right are of course your right and left.

I just tried setting the 80% Long Life to "on" but the selection is ghosted and is not available. Could this be because I have a full charge or what ?

No, that shouldn't affect it. Since you have an SL, you are talking about the center console. Are you referring to the option under "Charging Timer" or the option under "Settings"? (Either way you start with the "Zero Emission" button to get there.) If it's the one under "Charging Timer" I don't think you can set that until you have set up a timer. If it is the one under "Settings" the only thing I can think of is that it might be disabled while you are plugged in.

Ray

 

[RonDawg]

By the way, you haven't told us where you are, and you might be in the UK or some other place with the steering wheel on the right side of the car.

I don't know if Galiano added it after you posted, or you have sigs turned off, but his location (Vancouver Island) is in his sig line.

 

[kovalb]

I just tried setting the 80% Long Life to "on" but the selection is ghosted and is not available. Could this be because I have a full charge or what ?

You might want to try putting the car in Ready mode first.

 

[Galiano]

Ray : thanks so much for your detailed reply. I will have a go at what you have suggested.

There is a definite learning curve in owning a Leaf !

btw my signature shows that I'm on Vancouver Island Or at least I think it does.