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Marktm

Well-known member
Leaf Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
854
Location
Houston, TX
Going to leave my Leaf at the airport for 7 days. It will be charged while I'm gone on a level II charger. I'm quite sure they will NOT disconnect it unless I specifically tell them to do so as they have multiple stations and only request my fob if only one station is available when I arrive (won't happen!). My 2012 Leaf has the original battery - that I've kept charged/equalized/watered/etc/etc. Any opinions on what might happen IF they leave it on the charger the entire time??
 
Yes, definitely disconnect the car. Far better to leave it unplugged with any level of charge that will get you home than to leave it plugged in and have it drain the 12 volt battery.
 
Could you program it to charge for 10 minutes every day? From what I understand, charging also charges the 12V battery. And at 10 minutes for 7 days you'll only get 1 hour and 10 minutes of charging, not enough to fully charge the battery.

Or set it to 80%, plugged in, and set the climate control to come on each day. The climate control will also activate the 12V battery charger. The only problem is if they do unplug it, your CC will come on every day for 15 minutes.

Do you have NissanConnectEV?
 
IssacZachary said:
... The only problem is if they do unplug it, your CC will come on every day for 15 minutes.

Do you have NissanConnectEV?
The CC will not come on if unplugged, I believe the only way to have CC come on if not plugged in is to use NissanConnect(which I don't have but I believe is the case).
 
I cant see why you would tie up a charging station with a dead car for a week... That is terrible etiquette, and unnecessary. Your car will live another day if you just park it for a week.... It does not have to be hooked up to live-support...
 
powersurge said:
I cant see why you would tie up a charging station with a dead car for a week... That is terrible etiquette, and unnecessary. Your car will live another day if you just park it for a week.... It does not have to be hooked up to live-support...
Good point.

How much charge do you think you'll have when you get to the airport? And how much would you need to get back? You might not need to charge at all. If you're worried about the 12V battery going dead, why not get one of those solar chargers?
 
Marktm said:
Going to leave my Leaf at the airport for 7 days. It will be charged while I'm gone on a level II charger. I'm quite sure they will NOT disconnect it unless I specifically tell them to do so as they have multiple stations and only request my fob if only one station is available when I arrive (won't happen!). My 2012 Leaf has the original battery - that I've kept charged/equalized/watered/etc/etc. Any opinions on what might happen IF they leave it on the charger the entire time??

You could come back and everything will be just fine. You could come back to a discharged 12 volt battery. If you have a charge timer set for every morning, and they leave the car plugged in, it may keep the 12 volt charged up. It also depends on the age and condition of the 12 volt battery. I leave my car plugged in all the time, when not driving, but it is a 2013 model. I had issues with the 12 volt battery, when I first got the car. I quickly learned not to leave the bluetooth dongle connected to the OBD port when the car is off. After topping off all the cells with distilled water, everything has been good since then. I also pack one of these around, just in case. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XQ9MGE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The best situation would be to arrive at the airport with the traction battery between 30% and 80% and just let it sit. Have them plug it in to charge around six or eight hours before your scheduled return time.
 
Car will be fine and periodically turn on DC-DC converter to charge 12-volt battery if you just park it. If you need charging for your return trip, ask the parking lot operator to plug it in the day before your return. I park for extended time at office or airport frequently without issue (be sure to unplug OBDII port Bluetooth device).
 
What I learned;
The Houston, TX Parking lot has 4 level II charger stations with 8 spots. Apparently (not surprisingly) they are seldom used. One other car was connected. No one knows much about them except where they are. I had no option but to hook up and get on the waiting bus!

We got back (after 7 days) and it was still connected with no other EVs at chargers. My guess is if someone needed my charger they would have disconnected and used it as there was an open parking space. The 12v battery survived - even with the LE bluetooth dongle left in place. I had recently equalized the battery and I y charge it regularly. I was a little worried, but I do have one of the lithium "starter" batteries in the trunk just in case.
 
Marktm said:
What I learned;
The Houston, TX Parking lot has 4 level II charger stations with 8 spots. Apparently (not surprisingly) they are seldom used. One other car was connected. No one knows much about them except where they are. I had no option but to hook up and get on the waiting bus!

We got back (after 7 days) and it was still connected with no other EVs at chargers. My guess is if someone needed my charger they would have disconnected and used it as there was an open parking space. The 12v battery survived - even with the LE bluetooth dongle left in place. I had recently equalized the battery and I y charge it regularly. I was a little worried, but I do have one of the lithium "starter" batteries in the trunk just in case.

What would you start with a starter battery?

John Kuthe...
 
You use a portable jumpstarter just as you would with an ICE vehicle. The difference is that it provides power to close the main relays, not crank over an engine.
 
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