Non starter after leaving in accessory position taking key

[truckstop55]

I did a short journey into town today. After parking and switching off, afterwards I tend to push the ignition switch (once only) to gain access to the radio. On this occasion, I left the vehicle in such a mode, getting out to help a family member to carry goods back to the vehicle. On return, I pressed the brake pedal and the ignition key with a view to starting and driving away. The brake pedal 'clicked' and felt limp, and the vehicle would not complete its musical sequence and start. All warning lights remained on. I attempted to 'start' the vehicle a number of times, even getting out, closing the doors and attempting to lock the vehicle and unlock it (I could not perform this either). After about 5 minutes of trying, I finally got out (again), and found that I could lock the vehicle. I unlocked it, got in, pressed the brake pedal as usual, pushed the ignition button and finally the musical ignition sequence chimed, and I was able to accelerate away, but even then, for a second, it felt like the brakes were not working (we were starting on an incline, travelling downhill to a junction).

The key was in my pocket when i went to help out. When back in the vehicle, it was in the drink holder well. The radio was the only thing which was running. I did not attempt to lock the vehicle the first time I left it to help out. I was at max, 50 yards away from the vehicle, for no more than 4 minutes when helping out. I had an 80% charge that day, and the journey was only 2 miles into town. Battery temperature was healthy at 4 bars. Outside temperature at 10 degrees C (50 degrees F). It has never happened before. I suspect that I should have switched everything off before moving so far from my vehicle in the first place (as I have always done in the past).

Can anyone explain what happened here?

2011 Leaf Ocean Blue
Owned since Dec 2013
Purchased with 10579 miles
Now at 14800 miles
12 bars capacity still available
16A charge point fitted (230v AC - UK standard)
3.6KW solar array

 

[derkraut]

Hmmmmmm? I'm intrigued. But I suspect someone here will have the answer for you. Welcome to the forum!

 

[EVDRIVER]

People that frequently use the 12V only position usually have batteries that end up dying. I have never ran the car without the dc/dc on and never a battery issue in 3 years.

 

[gbarry42]

Mostly, this sounds like the 12 volt battery is dying. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the short amount of time the car was left on. But if it's the original battery, it's 3 years old, and their charge level is not maintained all that well. If this is the problem, you will be able to recreate it easily. You didn't say, but if you were able to turn the car off in the interim, then the battery could regain some surface charge and get the car "booted up" on the next try. Because all that's needed to "start" the car is to hold the 12V up until the big battery is connected. After that, the inverter will recharge the 12V and everyone's happy again. And yes, things go wonky if the 12 volts drops too low.

 

[truckstop55]

Many thanks to all replies. I think what you are all saying is that I should look into replacing the 12v battery.
I thought that when charging the vehicles lithium ion batteries, that the 12v battery was recharged also, so I didn't have to worry about maintaining it in that respect. Also, it just got through it's first MoT (1 month ago), so I thought any problems with the battery should have been picked up by the testers then. (In the UK, cars 3 years old or over have to have to be tested annually for road worthiness via the Ministry of Transport, or MoT - a federal government approached agency. I'm not sure if the US has the same).

People that frequently use the 12V only position usually have batteries that end up dying. I have never ran the car without the dc/dc on and never a battery issue in 3 years.

EVDriver - Please can you explain more? I don't understand this. Are you saying that you only run the radio when everything is 'booted up' and never in accessory position?

 

[BrockWI]

The short of it is depending on the situation sometimes the 12v battery is not charged fully, it is a know issue and many folks have resorted to charging the 12v aux battery every once in a while to avoid it.

See this discussion

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=12448" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GlennD]

The 12V battery is used by the car for temporary storage and it is not fully charged. In my Leaf DD will report the voltage. When the car is turned on you can see the inverter at 14.1V. While driving it will drop as low as 12.8V before supplying current again at 14.1V. In the interval of a few seconds that the display remains active when the car is turned off you can see the battery voltage drop to 12.4-12.5V. A fully charged battery should be 12.8V.

If you are concerned with having a fully charged 12V battery the suggestion of externally charging it is a good one.

A couple of weeks ago after a long drive I got the red battery icon after a short stop and the car would not turn on. DD showed the voltage at 11.5V. I turned off the radio and air conditioner and that brought up the voltage enough to turn on.

My battery was replaced a couple of months ago. I am hoping I do not have another bad battery. In the meantime I am charging the battery and watching it.

 

[gbarry42]

The 12 V auxiliary ("aux") battery is charged when the traction battery is connected. This is during charging, and when the car is Ready to drive. It's not charged in either of the accessory positions. You should be able to run the radio on just the aux battery, but only if it is good and it is charged. As I said, it's not conclusive because yours appeared to go dead awfully fast. The test is to try it again while watching the voltage--you'd need some kind of meter, diagnostic light, or gauge to really see it. Or repeat your original situation, knowing that you can leave it off for a few minutes and get it started again.

In theory, they check the battery when you have the car serviced, but I don't know what this check consists of. Let's just say that the having an OK box with a check mark next to it doesn't make me think I really know the condition of the battery. After all, most people's standards are simply, "does it start the car?"

If you do get a new one put in, you will be able to run the radio as you expect. But it's good to know whats really going on in the electrical system, so you won't overdo it.

 

[truckstop55]

Once again, many thanks for all your responses.

 

[truckstop55]

Update: Had new 12v lead acid fitted today. The Nissan engineer was surprised when he put his voltmeter on the old one, as it only registered around 50% SoC. He said that they should really last 7 years as opposed to its current age of 3 years. The new one tested at around 90%, but he reckoned it should hold more charge when it settled in, as it was probably in storage for a while. The other point is that my windows now wind up a lot quicker. I assume this is down to the new battery also.
Other news (for UK customers anyway), the dealership told me that Nissan had a review of prices recently, and as a result, I paid £49.99 (plus 20% purchase tax) for the battery. Only days before, it would have cost much more - apparently.