Airbag warning, then dead 12v then EV system warning

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nesdon

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2016
Messages
7
I have a 2013 Leaf I recently bought used from a Nissan dealer, which have only driven a few hundred miles, tho' I towed it cross country and am now in cold upstate NY.

This morning I went to drive it but it would not go into D or R and was showing a flashing airbag warning. I just left it and took our other car. I found an airbag reset procedure by searching these forums, and when I got back this evening, went out to try that process, only to find the car completely dead.

I figured I must have accidentally left it in accessory mode (or even on) after failing to get it to move, and that had discharged the 12 V battery. So I hooked up my charger and later, at about 1/2 charge, checked to see how it was behaving. Now it comes on, everything lights up, but now the EV system warning light is on as well as the master warning lights and pretty much every other warning light, and of course it still won't move.

Do I have to tow this thing to the dealer? Can I get an ODB scanner and reset this, or is there some other "pull this fuse" sort of reset? Maybe something else is wrong and these are all symptoms of that.
 
After my last "turtle" experience I had similar warnings. Discovered that the negative battery cable was loose. With 4-ways on and a poor connection battery only showed 11.8V. There was hardly a code the wasn't tripped.
Using LeafSpy I reset all the codes (after taking a screen shot of the list) and all worked fine with no codes returning.
You will need a bluetooth ELM to work with LeafSpy though. If you're not set up already perhaps you can find a wired code reader to use.
 
When the 12 volt battery is low or dead, it has to be charged separately - just plugging the car in won't usually do the trick. If the 12 volt battery looks original, replace it. I also suggest you add a wired connection for a battery maintainer/charger. You can lengthen the lead and run it into the front charge port, so it's easy to connect the maintainer. Use the maintainer at least once a week in Winter, and leave it connected if the car will be connected but not charging for more than an hour or two.
 
Thanks, good to hear that I can reset using the OBD2, as the manual says to consult the dealer if the EV System light is on. I have a vag com that I think only works on VW Audi Skoda, and gave away my old wired scanner before I moved, thinking "its an EV I don't need a scanner" (Doh!) though it was old and may not have been compatible anyway. I gave my little BT ELM scanner to my kid to keep in his car, so I've ordered the LELink recommended here, and downloaded the Leafspy.

I guess I'm just stuck for now unless there is some other way to get it to move again. It's unheard of for a code thrown by an IC car to completely disable the whole vehicle. Common to reduce power in limp modes (turtle?), but to just brick the thing seems cruel and unnecessary, especially over a dead 50 Ah battery. Maybe time or a really full charge will help. True that if it is the original battery it is probably shot, lead acid batteries generally only last 3 years, and the tiny thing can't be too expensive.

Tho I have not solved the initial airbag thing or why the EV sys light should be on, although I did try to start it right after attaching the charger, assuming it could run on the charging load, but the dash lit up then dimmed so I shut it off, deciding to wait for it to get more fully charged. It is a high end NOCO smart charger which, while a wonderful device, is only 7 amps and has a lot of its own electronics, sensing and algorithms, so maybe they psyched each other out.
 
A dying 12 volt battery will play hell with the car's systems, throwing all kinds of weird codes, including the ones you've seen. Disconnecting it, charging it fully, then reconnecting it may clear the codes and solve your problems, but no promises.
 
LeftieBiker, hoo rah! I did just that, disconnected and fully charged the battery then reconnected it, and that did it; all back to normal.

I love this car, but this was disconcerting. I was also a bit disturbed when I first got it and found my self sitting in an intersection with it refusing to respond to the shift lever. I was so used to interlocks that won't allow you to move the lever into the D position, rather than just not responding to the selection. It still feels a little too paternal, and makes me wonder what other reasons it may come up with to remove my agency over it.

Re: the airbag warning, I had put a bunch of stuff on the passenger seat, like soda that I had left in the car after shopping that froze solid (welcome to NY, silly Californian), and maybe it thought someone was there and wanted me to turn the airbag on or something. But even after moving it all off the seat it still didn't work. I had, when all the warning lights were on, gone through cycling the start switch 3 times with the airbag light, so maybe I already reset the airbag warning. Still shouldn't I be allowed to decide whether or not the trip i want to take is worth enough to me to risk doing it with a faulty airbag? I have two other cars with messed up airbag systems, and they both drive fine, if only as safe as a car from the 70's.

Funny, I had not really wanted to get a leaf because I had thought they were so ugly, but once I realized and could see that both the front and back are clearly and intentionally anime faces (the back a bit monsterly and the front cute as a bug) I've come to really like the way it looks.
 
It's likely that the weak 12 volt battery was responsible for all of the symptoms, including the airbag warning. Again, unless the battery looks almost new I suggest you replace it, and keep it charged. It's unfortunate that Nissan didn't get the charging system for the accessory battery right (it may finally have been fixed in 2015 or 2016) so that at least occasional charging is needed by many Leaf drivers. There are multiple topics on that here.
 
I had all of these types of things happen to me 2 weeks ago in Delaware, as the weather turned cold. I have a 2013 SL, which was 37 months old.. I frutzed around with it for a week, but it it was the 12v battery (inexplicably a Lead-acid battery).. It is smaller ( ~2/3 size) than "normal" car batteries I am familiar with. I had it replaced, and all the problems went away.
 
The airbag recall is for a faulty sensor and classification software on the passenger seat. AFAIK, it doesn't cause any warnings. I am still waiting for the parts, and get no warnings.
 
Many, many posts about the 12 volt system and problems with the charging system that (can, but not necessarily) cause premature 12 volt battery failure. My actual experience is that the DC/DC converter that charges the 12 volt battery keeps my battery at only a 60-70% state of charge which is low enough to cause (eventual) sulfation and failure of the battery. As I live in Texas, it does not get suddenly/very cold (rarely below freezing), however, most of my battery failures have been around the first "real" cold front and near freezing temperatures. It is common for weak batteries to fail when temperatures drop significantly - could be the reason for the two cases in this series of posts.
 
All the warnings were on again this morning after my daughter tried unsuccessfully to move the car. The battery was back under 12V, so I pulled and recharged it again, then did a load test which it flunked, dropping to under 10V in a few seconds. Definitely shot.

Odd that these little group 51R's are so expensive, guess it's that they are slow moving. The battery currently in it (or sitting n the ground next to it at this moment) is a bit smaller than the group 51 specs (9.4x5.1x8.1) , but it looks like the box is exactly right for the 51. I do have the solar panel, and may make a ritual of topping it up once in a while with my NOCO G7200, which has a the best desulfating mode I've seen on a charger.

I'd kind of like to have a little float charger mounted in there and pulling a leg off the main charger connector to keep it topped up all the time. I need to study the tips on here for best charging practices for the main Li batts. I chose this particular car because despite having 34K miles, it had the best capacity of all the used leafs they had at this dealer, who had over a dozen of them. It looked absolutely brand new, so I suspect the owner may have garaged it and had an commute with optimal battery use. My daughter's may be similar with a free charger available at her job about 25 miles away.

These 2013s have been coming off lease by the droves, so I was surprised how cheap they were. Got this one certified from a dealer, for $10k with a 100 kmile extended warrantee. I imagine it is an SV as it has nav, CHAdeMO charger, leather, 17" wheels, BT, and seat heaters, only seems to be missing the back up and lane cameras.

I happen to have a friend, unrelated to Leaf ownership, but who advised me to get a Leaf instead of a Mitsubushi, who knows these things very well and who hooked me up with his really wonderful https://evseupgrade.com/. He's moved on to Teslas, and is doing similarly wonderful things with them. Hoping to move up sometime as well, being now a firm EV convert after decades with grease up to my armpits. He took me for a ride in his S95 with Ludicrous mode, and it blew my mind.

Anyway thanks for all the help.
 
You have an SL - no leather on an SV. I suggest you get a better battery than OEM, if they are expensive, because they are not good batteries. Even with Optimas being worse these days, they are probably a step or two up.
 
It's already been said, but since you continue to have problems: get a new 12v battery! If you want something you don't have to worry about, search the forum for Lithium 12v replacements (see sig).
 
I did get a new battery. Just diehard, which was only $108. I always use large chain batteries as there are Sears and Autozones all across the country who will service the warantee with few questions and have an online record.

Lead acid batteries are just not that reliable. Having an easily servicable 3 yr replacement warratee is the way to go imho.
 
Lead batteries are quite reliable if kept within their best operating parameters. The problem here is that unless you obsessively use a maintainer (like me) the Leaf tries to keep them well below optimal charge, at least with many driving patterns. Using a higher capacity battery, and charging it fully at least once a month (preferably once a week), should guarantee no more 12 volt system problems. Just remember that you can't leave the car plugged in and not charging for many hours, especially on a regular basis, as this will drain the accessory battery - the car keeps checking the connection.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Lead batteries are quite reliable if kept within their best operating parameters. The problem here is that unless you obsessively use a maintainer (like me) the Leaf tries to keep them well below optimal charge, at least with many driving patterns. Using a higher capacity battery, and charging it fully at least once a month (preferably once a week), should guarantee no more 12 volt system problems. Just remember that you can't leave the car plugged in and not charging for many hours, especially on a regular basis, as this will drain the accessory battery - the car keeps checking the connection.
Seems like this is another problem that has been corrected in newer models. I have a 2014 and the original 12V battery. The only time I've had trouble is when the dealer left the battery cable loose after service. And then only with very low SOC in the HV battery. That is the only time I've used a charger on the 12V.
I always leave it plugged in until I am going somewhere. It appears to me that the Leaf keeps it charged to the proper level automatically.
As I've said elsewhere, I don't baby this car, I use it. If I had a car that needed a 12V charge maintainer I'd get it fixed. Plugging in 2 separate cords to the car can't be the way it was designed to work.

I'll let you know though if my battery dies next week! :D
 
There is a lot of discussion in several threads about LEAFs not adequately charging their 12-volt batteries. My experience has been different. I frequently park for extended time at the office or airport and use the LEAF as a daily driver when home. I drove the 2011 over 50,000 miles in 3-1/2 years and have driven the 2015 almost 32,000 miles in 22 months. I have never connected an external charger to a LEAF 12-volt battery and the only issue I had was once when I left the Bluetooth adapter plugged in to the OBDII port (along with an Android device running LEAF Spy Pro on the passenger seat) in the 2011 during an out of town trip. In that one case, I returned to the office to find the LEAF unresponsive because the 12-volt battery was completely dead. I jump started it from my office vehicle and drove home. The battery was recharged by the time I got home, but it failed a month later (probably due to being deeply discharged and left that way for some time).

Gerry
 
They may have improved the charging algorithm sometime after 2013, but it's also true that the way the car is driven seems to make a big difference. Lots of short trips seem to drain the 12 volt battery much more than regular longer ones. As for what is happening when IbLeaf2 leaves the car plugged in for long periods, would you be willing to check the 12 volt battery voltage before you unplug it one of these days?
 
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