I am losing more bars than usual

[TomT]

Because of hysteresis and coarseness in the bar display, it is not uncommon to lose a bar when you turn the car off and then back on..

It happened again today and it was odd. I charged the Leaf to 80%. I drove about 0.9 miles and stopped to go to a store. Came back and I lost a bar!!!!! Typically at 80% I lose the first bar after 3.5 miles so losing at 0.9 miles is very odd.... any ideas? may be the car did not pack as much charge as it normally does?

 

[csriram45]

Yeah. I have seen that happen before when the pack is well depleted but in this case it was really odd to happen almost with no driving... I would think all should be ok again tomorrow so will see then...

 

[TonyWilliams]

Yeah. I have seen that happen before when the pack is well depleted but in this case it was really odd to happen almost with no driving... I would think all should be ok again tomorrow so will see then...

Except that 10th bar of fuel wasn't full; only half full at 80%.

So, when you shut the car off, and then back on after burning a bit of that fuel, it won't come back on. It seems to work that way for every bar when it's below half filled.

You still have the same amount of energy in the battery, however.

 

[TickTock]

Because of hysteresis and coarseness in the bar display, it is not uncommon to lose a bar when you turn the car off and then back on..

It happened again today and it was odd. I charged the Leaf to 80%. I drove about 0.9 miles and stopped to go to a store. Came back and I lost a bar!!!!! Typically at 80% I lose the first bar after 3.5 miles so losing at 0.9 miles is very odd.... any ideas? may be the car did not pack as much charge as it normally does?

80% doesn't mean 8 full bars. I'm at 4300 miles, and I *start* with 7 bars now after a 80% charge (started not getting the 8th bar about a week ago). A little disappointed - I very rarely charge to 100%. I, too will for sure be getting the battery modules checked soon. Lately, I've been starting the charger 30mins before leaving in the morning to approximate a 90% charge because I really don't like to hear the "low battery" warning as I'm pulling into my neighborhood.

 

[LEAFfan]

80% doesn't mean 8 full bars. I'm at 4300 miles, and I *start* with 7 bars now after a 80% charge (started not getting the 8th bar about a week ago).

Didn't you mean 10 full bars and 9 now? 80% charging takes it to 9 or 10 bars. Sometimes I get nine and sometimes 10, but I know the 10th bar isn't full. It's 83% SOC whether it's 9 or 10 bars after charging to 80%.

 

[TonyWilliams]

It's 83% SOC whether it's 9 or 10 bars after charging to 80%.

I think guys, myself included, are getting closer to 80% for an 80% charge.

I think the 83% number was derived from 100% divided by 12 bars, and therefore if the 10th bar is lit, it's 83% !!!

 

[planet4ever]

80% charging takes it to 9 or 10 bars. Sometimes I get nine and sometimes 10, but I know the 10th bar isn't full. It's 83% SOC whether it's 9 or 10 bars after charging to 80%.

That "83% SOC" you are quoting is just what Carwings is saying, right? But I was fairly certain that the Carwings "percent" was just calculated from the number of bars Carwings shows, i.e. n/12. Are you really saying that the Carwings display showed 9 bars, but 83 instead of the 75 I would expect it to show? Or do you just mean that the next time you started the car it only had 9 bars but the Carwings history (from charge-stopped time) showed 83%?

Ray

 

[garygid]

You are observing the normal (peculiar) operation of the LEAF's "fuel" gauge.

In the LEAF, a slightly less than half-full bar can show as either On, or Off!

While charging (or when turning the car ON), the Bar does not come On if it is under (approximately) "half" full.

When driving and using up the "fuel", an On-Bar goes Off when it becomes empty.

For New-Bars, an 80% charge ends near the middle of the 10th bar. So, when turning the car ON, the 10th bar often shows, but might not.

After just a little use, the 10th bar is getting less full, but stays On (while driving) until the bar is empty. However, turn the car OFF and ON again, and the less-than-half-full bar will just "poof", ... disappear!

Pehaps strange, but designed that way.

Our SOC-Meter shows much more resolution nn.n% (precision), and is usually more nearly correct, but still of unknown accuracy.

 

[TickTock]

80% doesn't mean 8 full bars. I'm at 4300 miles, and I *start* with 7 bars now after a 80% charge (started not getting the 8th bar about a week ago).

Didn't you mean 10 full bars and 9 now? 80% charging takes it to 9 or 10 bars. Sometimes I get nine and sometimes 10, but I know the 10th bar isn't full. It's 83% SOC whether it's 9 or 10 bars after charging to 80%.

You're right. I used to get all but 2 and now I only get all but 3. As you probably guessed assumed there were 10 total. Thanks for pointing that out, the drop from 10 to 9 for 80% is a bit less alarming than 8 to 7.

 

[gascant]

Our SOC-Meter shows much more resolution nn.n% (precision), and is usually more nearly correct, but still of unknown accuracy.

Indeed, although only to +/- 0.4 or 0.3% resolution due to the car's use of 281 units to represent full charge. Still, it was nice to see the meter add a couple of % when cruising downhill for several miles in regen mode. Once I get recording capability set up on mine, I plan to make the trip again
Oh, yeah, and several of us have noted that in the broad middle of the useful range, 1% very nearly corresponds to 1 mile of range.

 

[mdh]

80% doesn't mean 8 full bars. I'm at 4300 miles, and I *start* with 7 bars now after a 80% charge (started not getting the 8th bar about a week ago).

Didn't you mean 10 full bars and 9 now? 80% charging takes it to 9 or 10 bars. Sometimes I get nine and sometimes 10, but I know the 10th bar isn't full. It's 83% SOC whether it's 9 or 10 bars after charging to 80%.

You're right. I used to get all but 2 and now I only get all but 3. As you probably guessed assumed there were 10 total. Thanks for pointing that out, the drop from 10 to 9 for 80% is a bit less alarming than 8 to 7.

Are we starting to see early signs of battery degradation?

 

[surfingslovak]

Are we starting to see early signs of battery degradation?

That was my first thought as well. But the magnitude of the projected loss (~0.5 kWh or 2%) and the length of ownership (3 months) make this an unlikely proposition. I would bet that it's something more mundane.