No Charge fail L1 & L2, but QC works!

[JimSouCal]

2011 LEAF
I'm so hoping it's not the on board charger.

Last charge on L1 was hard to start. I'm using an upgraded EVSE and it's flashing appropriate grn. Finally got the handshake and it going.

Down to 3 bars. Won't charge tonight level 1 again. Beeps once.

Drove to a nearby public charger L2. No joy.

Charging successful now at QC. Any ideas? Think timers are cleared.

On board failure would be a drag

 

[Valdemar]

Do you have LeafSpy? If so, any DTCs?

 

[JimSouCal]

Do you have LeafSpy? If so, any DTCs?

Have leaf spy pro... Easy to see DTCs? I'll try it in the morning. I also might try disconnecting the 12v battery and reconnecting after a few minutes.

Thanks for the suggestion.

If it is the charger I'm under 5 years of ownership. I'm not very optimistic at the moment. Glad I've got a QC within 7 miles, as I tried L1 again: just a beep, no charge. I'd be otherwise dead in the water.

 

[arnis]

Options, Settings, Enable service screen, go to 4th tap, Read DTCs.

 

[JimSouCal]

Options, Settings, Enable service screen, go to 4th tap, Read DTCs.

thanks. getting codes
B29C1 3168 charger EVSE VC-98
B29C1 2368 charger EVSE VC-98
U1266 0208 multi av tcu conn AV-92
U1A05 0008 tcu USB comm AV-199

The first two seem the relevant ones

2pm update

Disconnected 12v battery for 20minutes. Rebooted.
Cleared error codes.
L1 charge attempt results in no new error codes.

Same symptom: single beep on inserting charge handle (EVSE 120V source upgraded brick) but also would not charge on public Clipper Creek L2.

I feel a trip to the dealer coming on.

230pm update
Made appt with dealer
Confirmed warranty is in place for charge system.

ANY ONE HAVE ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS?

Would a weak 12v battery cause this? Every thing else works fine.

Thanks so far.

 

[JimSouCal]

Ok. Any guesses what is wrong? I'd hate to go to the dealer, spend the time and money, and find out there is an easy fix.

Otherwise I'll share the diagnosis.

Thanks.

 

[arnis]

Either something wrong with the socket or most likely charger. Fuse or diode or something.

http://www.plugincars.com/nissan-dealer-warns-customers-using-ges-wattstation-charger-can-damage-your-leaf-123121.html
Haven't used any GE wattstations?

 

[JimSouCal]

Either something wrong with the socket or most likely charger. Fuse or diode or something.

http://www.plugincars.com/nissan-dealer-warns-customers-using-ges-wattstation-charger-can-damage-your-leaf-123121.html
Haven't used any GE wattstations?

No wattstations. Yes, I've read the thread. Maybe I should see if there is anything contamination in the female plug. Easy enough.

Edit: well both plugs are whistle clean

 

[91040]

A multimeter can be used to check if the diode in the onboard charger is bad. There should be continuity between the pilot and ground in one direction but not the other.

If memory serves, the Nissan portable L1 and the original AV L2 units did not do the diode check. So that might help diagnose the problem if your car charges on those but not others.

Why not come to the Cerritos meeting this Saturday morning? You can get a lot of info and help there.

 

[JimSouCal]

A multimeter can be used to check if the diode in the onboard charger is bad. There should be continuity between the pilot and ground in one direction but not the other.

If memory serves, the Nissan portable L1 and the original AV L2 units did not do the diode check. So that might help diagnose the problem if your car charges on those but not others.

Why not come to the Cerritos meeting this Saturday morning? You can get a lot of info and help there.

Thanks for the invite. I will be out of town on Saturday. Fwiw, hasn't charged on any L1 or an L2 (public clipper creek) since acting up and then failing.

I've considered that the 12v battery might have voltage but not enough amperage to close the contacts.

Aside from the no charge on L1 and L2, the car is behaving normally.

The original EVSE brick is upgraded, but in this location it's just used at trickle.

Any way to have hidden timers that are not on board the car?

 

[91040]

I defer to the NSA on your question.

Posted a request for help from the brain trust on the SoCal Leaf thread.

Any way to have hidden timers that are not on board the car?

 

[JimSouCal]

Well. Before investing time with dealer....

I decided to try L2 again. Drove to the same unit at the park in Santa Monica. It charges. So I sit 15 minutes. Then drive back home.

Try level 1. Handshake. Charge. Ok. Then I decide to unplug it. Plug back in. No charge. Gggggrrrrrr.

Back to park. No L2 charge. Back home. L1 doesn't work.

Not altogether convinced it's not the 12volt battery. Just a hunch.

This is testing my sense of acceptance. For sure.

 

[cwerdna]

I've considered that the 12v battery might have voltage but not enough amperage to close the contacts.

Have you at least measured its voltage?

 

[GerryAZ]

I doubt that it is 12-volt issue since starting car draws more than just charging (more control modules boot up and ABS system/brake booster draws power during start of car). Also, I don't think QC would work if 12-volt was too weak to start charging. You say you get a single beep when plugging in; what do the 3 blue lights on top of the dash do when charging fails? Did you get the same DTC codes again after charging failed?

 

[arnis]

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/563550/Nissan-Electric-Power-Train.html?page=103

Error code suggest that something is wrong.
Weak 12V battery usually will have other problems too, contactor is not hard to connect.

 

[garygid]

Check that the Pilot line (which has the PWM signal on it) is not broken or
poorly or intermittently connected, either in your L1/L2 charging socket,
or in the wires coming from the socket into the car, or (most likely) that
the connector on the end of those wires is loose or damaged.

Easiest is to try to unplug that connector, carefully examine the contacts
and the wires, and plug it back in (and out) a couple of times to try to
clean the pins (contacts) in the plug.

I live in Laguna Hills, if I might be of help, let me know ... PM your phone #
and when it is best to call you. Cheers, Gary

 

[EVDRIVER]

It's unlikely this is the case on tow EVSE units, in some cases the pilot wire can break on the EVSE cord if the cord has been twisted quite a but over and over (improperly wound). You can easily test this if you have tow cars there you can plug the EVSE into. If your cabe is really squiggly then this can be an area to check. Since you checked on another unit is is more likely the inlet or the charger onboard.

 

[miscrms]

Agreed, unlikely on two units. But it sounds feasible that there is a problem with the home unit that resulted in the DTC. According to service manual B29C1 is a failsafe code for the charger, so it may lock out charging as long as that code is registered. It may have been resetting the code that allowed the successful charge on the public L2 charger, but then once the error occurred again using the home L1 it was once again locked out. The unsuccessful charge on L1 that did not result in DTC may have resulted from communication failure, but not in such a way as to throw the DTC.

If you're using a modified L1, is it possible you have a loose wire/connection inside related to the pilot signal? All the flavors of B29C1 seem to have to do with pilot signal related issues.

A- PWM signal interrupted during charge
B- PWM stuck low (says ready to start charge, but no AC detected)
C- AC Power detected but EVSE com does not start
D- AC power still detected after OBC stops
E- Error detected in PWM during charge

Also seems possible could be an issue with the relay/contactor or AC wiring in the EVSE.

Rob

 

[JimSouCal]

Ok, just plugged in the upgraded EVSE brick, and it began successful charging L1. All Normal appearing now--I'm going to top off while I have the chance.

The problem is "swinging".

To any earlier helpful questions, when plugging in the handle during failure, no blue lights. The car annunciation shows the plug symbol on the dash, but the online status of Nissan Connect indicates the EVSE may be unplugged. As a matter of fact, plugging in the handle with the EVSE unplugged generates the same single beep as failure L1.

I'm going to be out of town starting Saturday. At this point I'm going to try to top off to 80%. Then I'm going to verify isolate the problem to the car only at a public L2 station.

Unless someone has a better idea. I'm also going to get a new 12v battery. I don't thinks it's the current problem based on your guys thoughts, but it's a looming problem. One less thing a dealer will be selling me.

I really appreciate the help.

EDIT: it stopped charging.... Ok, thankfully I'm not in the middel of nowhere... Will check for fresh error codes

 

[JimSouCal]

Ok. One issue is the power side of the EVSE has an intermittent break.

I'll set up an RMA with them.

Now to figure out the second issue that prevents charging at public L2

No error codes.