2014 Leaf, lost battery bar #12, is this about right? Future battery health

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DungenessLeaf

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Messages
20
This March, we purchased a used 2014 Leaf with 21,000 miles. This Leaf did not have the fast charging plug so it was only charged on Level 2 during its 21,000 miles before we bought it, and still only a Level 2 today. We use it almost every day driving about 30 miles on average and charge it every night with a Level 2, 20 amp charger. Range has always shown 90 ~ 95 miles and the battery indicator always shows 100%. The computer shows 4.4 miles per kWh. The car lived its first three years in GA, rather warm climate, but we now live in a cool climate in WA State.

Just last weekend, June 5, 2017, we noticed bar 12 was not on. It has been 3 years, 3 months since the car was purchased. The dealer said this is about normal, 3 years for the first bar to go on a 2014 Leaf.

Does this sound about the right time to loose the first bar on the battery?

Does anyone know if charging less than 100%, (timing the charge and unplugging it when it gets to 80%), can extend the future life of the battery?

What about running it down low a few times? Any chance of getting the battery capacity back or extending battery life?

We will bring it in to Nissan for the first 6 month check in a few months.
 
The good news is that it should stay an 11 bar car for quite a few years, in your climate. Just try to avoid charging it when the pack is hot (7+temp bars) and don't let it sit for many hours at 100% charge if possible, especially in Summer.
 
SageBrush said:
Sounds right for a GA car.
Do not bother wasting your money on the dealer check.
Yep.

OP: Your subject line is confusing. You have a 2014 Leaf, not a 2017. Can you please fix it? Thanks!
 
Oops. Fixed it to 2014. The dealer check is free, first one. I do have the slight click when stopping, so I will get them to look at that. ntb12-055b

So leaving it at 100% for a while is not good. OK, we'll address that. To bad the state of charge can't be limited like I heard the older Leafs. I heard they could be set up to charge to only 80%. Is there any way to hack the 2014 to only charge for a time limit or to a certain capacity?
 
DungenessLeaf said:
Is there any way to hack the 2014 to only charge for a time limit or to a certain capacity?
Hacking is for smart people, I suggest a little arithmetic.

You know ...
Charge divided by charge_rate = time
The car has a timer
 
Sagebrush seems to be having a bad day, and sharing it.

No, there isn't a way to get an 80% charge limit, so you have to either use a charge timer (the easiest way may be to set a departure time 2 hours later than actual) or manually unplug the car after the number of hours that will give a roughly 80% charge. That and the headlights are why I'd be reluctant to lease a 2017.
 
LeftieBiker said:
manually unplug the car
Unnecessary

2014 LEAF user manual, pp CH21 - 25

Example:
You want to cycle the battery in the 30% - 80% range, equal to about 10 kWh
Your home EVSE is 3.3 kW, so it takes 3 hours to put 10 kWh into the battery
Set the start timer 3 hours before the end time.

Plug-in when the SoC is ~ 30%
You could fiddle with the timing every charge but that is overkill. So long as you plug-in between 20-40% SoC the battery will charge up to 70-90% SoC which gives you the benefit.
 
Yes, the in-car timer will work, but it is a bit cumbersome to use on a daily basis, especially when car use varies.

Would LeafSpy be recommended or is there another method to monitor the battery?

Also, has any one heard of a battery bar re-appearing by treating the battery nice?
 
Bars will sometimes briefly reappear, but I haven't heard of one returning and then staying.

Unnecessary

Yes, but not everyone wants to set a timer every day - they are a PITA. Manually unplugging is sometimes the optimum way to end a charge.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Bars will sometimes briefly reappear, but I haven't heard of one returning and then staying.

Unnecessary

Yes, but not everyone wants to set a timer every day - they are a PITA. Manually unplugging is sometimes the optimum way to end a charge.
You misunderstand, which might be why you have a recurring negative attitude about this.

1. Set the timer once
2. Charge up when SoC is 20-40%
 
What is the manufacture date for your car? I have a 2014 SV, manufactured in January 2014, that i bought new. It has 31,463 miles and all 12 bars. I live in Southwest Tennessee ... a climate similar to Atlanta and the areas to the north in Georgia.
 
jamieo, Our 2014 Leaf is a few months younger than yours. That is great that you have all 12 bars. Can you describe how you have charged? What level? How often? At what SOC?

We are going to start using the timer to try to stay within the 30% to 80% range most of the time when possible. Most of the time the car only travels 30 miles a day.
 
DungenessLeaf said:
jamieo, Our 2014 Leaf is a few months younger than yours. That is great that you have all 12 bars. Can you describe how you have charged? What level? How often? At what SOC?

We are going to start using the timer to try to stay within the 30% to 80% range most of the time when possible. Most of the time the car only travels 30 miles a day.

I bought the car new in February 2015, after it had been sitting at the dealer for a year. For the first year that I owned it, I charged almost exclusively on a 120 outlet in my garage (L1) ... I added an RV plug a year later and got a JuiceBox 40 pro. I've always charged to 100% and charge virtually every night. For the first year, I would be down to 50%-60% or so each day, after my normal commute. this past August, I moved and my commute increased. Now, I get home with 30%-40% charge remaining, and sometimes less, depending on what else I've done. On at least one day a week, I go down to 18% or so, as I drive about 72 miles on a normal Tuesday.

I have not babied my battery, and I always charged to 100%.

I have been mindful of the temerature however, but not obsessivley so. In this part of Tennessee, sometimes you don't have a choice about charging while the battery is warmer than average. I also do not use L3 charging very often, but I do use it when I need to (there's a thread where I've been reporting my battery stats over time http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22312)
 
I also have a 2014 (man. January). It has just over 37,000 miles and all 12 bars. I bought it from a dealer this past February and have driven it only about 2,000 miles in 4 months. My commute is 1.5 miles by bike.

I charge about equally on Level 2 nearby, and on the 110 wall outlet at home. At home it's fairly easy to stop charge at 80% and I often do. Not infrequently I will allow it to charge to 100% when I've traveled in it out of town and don't get back to the car in time to unplug. The car has been in the MA & CT area all its life. Based on the charge stats, I think capacity is close to 20 kWH. Obviously it's likely to lose the 12th bar this year. But all in all I'm pleased with its capacity. And getting about 4.8 mi/kWH around town these days.
 
DungenessLeaf said:
This March, we purchased a used 2014 Leaf with 21,000 miles. This Leaf did not have the fast charging plug so it was only charged on Level 2 during its 21,000 miles before we bought it, and still only a Level 2 today. We use it almost every day driving about 30 miles on average and charge it every night with a Level 2, 20 amp charger. Range has always shown 90 ~ 95 miles and the battery indicator always shows 100%. The computer shows 4.4 miles per kWh. The car lived its first three years in GA, rather warm climate, but we now live in a cool climate in WA State.

Just last weekend, June 5, 2017, we noticed bar 12 was not on. It has been 3 years, 3 months since the car was purchased. The dealer said this is about normal, 3 years for the first bar to go on a 2014 Leaf.

Does this sound about the right time to loose the first bar on the battery?

Does anyone know if charging less than 100%, (timing the charge and unplugging it when it gets to 80%), can extend the future life of the battery?

What about running it down low a few times? Any chance of getting the battery capacity back or extending battery life?

We will bring it in to Nissan for the first 6 month check in a few months.


your first bar is worth 15%. the next one is worth 6¼ so expect to lose it in a year or two. I would consider using the 80% charging level during Summer. That would help a bit and Summer range will cover your commute easily. You probably have several years before you have to worry about it. I know a guy who has lost FIVE bars and still says 40-45 miles is easily doable.
 
Well that is a bit disappointing. I would have thought 1/12th per bar. We still show 100 mile range sometimes on 100%. We are going to start charging to 80% when possible. When we got the car, the dealer mechanic said just don't worry about charging it so we were charging to 100% all the time and letting it sit for the night and leaving the next morning on the weekdays. Weekends it was left at 100% for the night and the day. Probably not good. It is cool here in the Sequim Valley even in the summer so that is good.
 
DungenessLeaf said:
Well that is a bit disappointing. I would have thought 1/12th per bar. We still show 100 mile range sometimes on 100%. We are going to start charging to 80% when possible. When we got the car, the dealer mechanic said just don't worry about charging it so we were charging to 100% all the time and letting it sit for the night and leaving the next morning on the weekdays. Weekends it was left at 100% for the night and the day. Probably not good. It is cool here in the Sequim Valley even in the summer so that is good.

yeah, charge to 80% during Summer, 100% during Winter. the issue of charging to 100% is HIGHLY dependent on the ambient temps and so no reason to not charge to 100% in Winter.

As far as leaving it charged to 100% on weekends? If the temps were in the mid 40's or less, you did very little damage. Keep in mind, Nissan only charges to 97% so there is a fudge factor as well
 
When we bought the car in Feb 12, 2017, we only saw 4 temp bars on the battery, except 5 bars when charging on 40 amps in Port Townsend. We only have a 20 amp level two at home. Now that it has warmed up, for the last two months the battery temp has been on 5 bars, even when charging on 20 amps. We are now trying to only charge to 80 - 90 percent in the hope of extending the battery. One thing to note is that we rarely run it down to less than 30%. Should we be occasionally running it low to help with battery life?

Even when we charged in the winter, it was in a garage attached to a passive solar house so the garage temp stayed in the 50's. So not really cold, just cool. In the summer it might not get to 70 even on an 80 degree day.
 
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