I think I broke my fob

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Mrmstage

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
11
Hi all,

I just brought home my 2013 Leaf SV yesterday. I bought it at Carmax and it only had one fob with it, but they said they guarantee 2 keys, so they are ordering me another one.

Anyway... while the fob that came with it seemed to work fine, the dash warning light indicating the battery was low would come on whenever I would start it, so I decided to change the battery.... now the fob won't work.

I tried every orientation, and even put the old battery back in thinking the new battery may be dead. I can start the car if I hold the fob next to the start button (thank goodness) but none of the buttons work and the car won't otherwise recognize it.

Does anyone have any suggestions??
 
Completely different subject: the small length of cord between the wall and the block on my level 1 charger gets really warm. Nothing else, not the plug or the box, just that short piece. Normal?
 
Something must be wrong in the battery connection. The car will not forget the key and the key would not change by removing the battery. Maybe you are installing the battery facing the wrong way.? Or your new battery is dead.? But then you think it would work with the old battery. At least you can hold the key fob to the start button to make the car turn on and you can use the manual key that comes out to lock and unlock the doors.
 
Darryl said:
Something must be wrong in the battery connection. The car will not forget the key and the key would not change by removing the battery. Maybe you are installing the battery facing the wrong way.? Or your new battery is dead.? But then you think it would work with the old battery. At least you can hold the key fob to the start button to make the car turn on and you can use the manual key that comes out to lock and unlock the doors.

True.

I also figured out that the reason my cord is getting hot is because it has an aftermarket wall plug on it. (Or I assume this to be the reason anyway.)

I ordered an OEM charger from EBay last night in a panic.
Going to baby it and charge as little as possible until it gets here.
 
Mrmstage said:
Completely different subject: the small length of cord between the wall and the block on my level 1 charger gets really warm. Nothing else, not the plug or the box, just that short piece. Normal?

Does the long cord with the J1772 plug that goes to the car get warm while charging? If so, the car may be drawing too much current. If not, then the short cord must be damaged because it should not get hot.

Regrading your key fob--check the battery connections and make sure you are inserting the battery correctly. I have had new batteries which were defective right out of the package.
 
GerryAZ said:
Mrmstage said:
Completely different subject: the small length of cord between the wall and the block on my level 1 charger gets really warm. Nothing else, not the plug or the box, just that short piece. Normal?

Does the long cord with the J1772 plug that goes to the car get warm while charging? If so, the car may be drawing too much current. If not, then the short cord must be damaged because it should not get hot.

Regrading your key fob--check the battery connections and make sure you are inserting the battery correctly. I have had new batteries which were defective right out of the package.


Hi Gary,

The long cord did not get warm, just the short bit between the block and the wall, and the plug that goes into the wall itself. The prongs were so hot when I pulled them out of the outlet last night that I could have branded someone with them. After looking at the photos of the OEM charger I ordered from Ebay last night, it's apparent the factory plug was lost at some point, and one from a hardware store had been put on. I'm sure that was the root of the issue.

In the meantime I went to the service desk at Carmax to ask about a replacement. They did not have any Leaf chargers laying around, so I asked if they had any EV chargers at all by chance. He brought me out one for a Ford, and it seems to be working like a champ. Only the box gets a little warm, but nothing else.

I will forever worry about my battery now I suppose. I remember having a faulty phone charger once upon a time that greatly reduced the total lifetime of the battery. (Maybe the Leaf has safeguards against such things??)

I asked them about my fob when I was there too, and they are going to get me 2 replacements, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
 
Don't worry about your traction battery. No issue with an EVSE (electric vehicle service equipment--what many people call a charger) can possibly damage the battery because the onboard charger takes alternating current from the EVSE at 100 to 250 volts and converts it to direct current at the proper voltage to charge the battery. If neither the wall receptacle nor the plug of the Ford EVSE get warm, then your receptacle should be OK and your Nissan EVSE can probably be repaired by replacing the defective plug with a high quality, heavy duty plug (Leviton or Pass and Seymour are good brands). You will need to cut an inch or two off the end of the cord because the severe heating has likely damaged the copper and insulation. Connections to the plug must be absolutely clean and tight.

Since you have a 2013 SV, your onboard charger is rated 6 kW so it will charge the battery up to 4 times faster with 240 volts input from a suitable circuit and 240-volt EVSE compared to the 1.44 kW rate with 120 volts input and trickle charge EVSE. You really should consider 240-volt charging if you have a way to route a 240-volt circuit to your parking location.
 
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