battery warranty and charging unit choice

Based on the information here:
http://nissan-leaf.net/2010/11/16/follow-up-nissan-leaf-battery-warranty/

"* Use of incompatible charging devices."

Does this mean they could potentially be forcing us to use the EVSE they specify, or does this mean the warranty would not be affected as long as you use the J1772 to charge?

ie. Would the battery warranty be affected if I buy the Levitton EVSE? Thoughts?

I really want to go third party for the EVSE equipment, as I don't want to support AeroVironment due to the way they handled the installation fees.

The charger is built into the vehicle. The EVSE is what you plug into the car. The EVSE is not the charger. Nissan doesn't want you changing out the 3.3 KW charger with some other brand or unapproved charger...

Using J1772 "UL-listed" EVSEs of any brand should NOT be an issue. Specifically, the AV brand is NOT required.

My reading would be that this applies to improperly home made EVSE or some other "Darwin Award" eligible contraption.

I can't see how they could apply this clause to any commercial made, J1772 compliant, UL listed product. The only thing that could be incompatible would be the control signaling, and then it just won't work.

Sweet.

I hope that Levitton gets their act together to push out their EVSE sooner than later. I do have a friend that works at GE though, and he may be able to get a better price/install... =)

I assume this rules out stopping in campgrounds to use the 240V RV plugs (like a Tesla can do) with a J1772 adapter.

No, does not rule it out, you just need a movable, plug-in L2 (240v) EVSE.

Leviton and SPX claim to have such EVSEs coming "soon".

If this guy can figure out how to put A/C in his car, they we surely can find a way to charge the car.

Electric4Me said:

I assume this rules out stopping in campgrounds to use the 240V RV plugs (like a Tesla can do) with a J1772 adapter.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the confusion is, but Nissan's statement is regarding the "built-in" charger (in the hump behind the back seat), not the J1772 EVSE.

If you're using a compatible J1772 cable at a campground, Nissan doesn't have the right to deem the battery warranty voided automatically. Now if you're hooking up your own Manzanita Micro charger to the battery pack to get a quicker charge (hmm... the PFC 75 amp version sounds nice), that could possibly void your battery warranty with Nissan.

It would be like a computer manufacturer voiding your power supply warranty for using a different 3-prong cable than the one they sell, even if it functions exactly the same.

garygid said:

No, does not rule it out, you just need a movable, plug-in L2 (240v) EVSE.

Leviton and SPX claim to have such EVSEs coming "soon".

Click to expand...

You will still need an adapter to plug into the NEMA 14-50R

Are we really doing another thread on this? Nissan Can't void the warranty no matter what cord one uses. This is completely ridiculous, this violates the Magnuson-Moss act, period. There is no way an EVSE will damage the pack and I challenge anyone to provide one way valid way it could. Even if it could there is no way to prove a non-approved device was used. Can we stop perpetuating this nonsense please.

You would just declare every way "invalid", I suspect.