Possible to Jumpstart through the Cigarette lighter?

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Electryic

Active member
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
29
Does anyone know if you can connect a Power pack jumper using a DC Male to DC Male through the cigarette lighter adaptor to give enough power to jump?

I know this would obviously not work with a regular ICE, but I've heard the Leaf only requires around 1/3rd the power to "boot up", wondering if anyone has tried this or heard about it.
 
The LEAF does not need much power to boot up, but the 12-volt power port (AKA cigarette lighter socket) in the dash is switched so it is not directly connected to the battery and will only supply power when the car is in ready mode or accessory mode. Therefore, you need to connect a booster battery to the 12-volt battery under the hood.

Gerry
 
GerryAZ said:
The LEAF does not need much power to boot up, but the 12-volt power port (AKA cigarette lighter socket) in the dash is switched so it is not directly connected to the battery and will only supply power when the car is in ready mode or accessory mode. Therefore, you need to connect a booster battery to the 12-volt battery under the hood.

Gerry
Interesting, I purchased a portable lithium jump starter that I carry around in the boot in case something happens to my 12v Leaf battery, the jump starter came with a cigarette lighter cord which I had planned on using to charge my 12v Leaf battery if the time came, sounds like that might not work?
I believe the jump starter pack also has regular jumper cables to attach directly to the 12v Leaf battery, was just hoping to avoid having to pop the hood, not that big of a deal I guess :)
 
I have a battery trickle charger and when I connected it to the lighter, the trickle charger display said to connect it to the battery. So, I don't think the cigarette lighter is connected to it.
 
Amped said:
I have a battery trickle charger and when I connected it to the lighter, the trickle charger display said to connect it to the battery. So, I don't think the cigarette lighter is connected to it.

The 12v port (cigarette lighter) in the Leaf is not connected to the live 12v system as is done in most other vehicles. It is only active when the car is turned on. If I remember correctly, it also has a 10 amp limit.
 
jjeff said:
GerryAZ said:
The LEAF does not need much power to boot up, but the 12-volt power port (AKA cigarette lighter socket) in the dash is switched so it is not directly connected to the battery and will only supply power when the car is in ready mode or accessory mode. Therefore, you need to connect a booster battery to the 12-volt battery under the hood.

Gerry
Interesting, I purchased a portable lithium jump starter that I carry around in the boot in case something happens to my 12v Leaf battery, the jump starter came with a cigarette lighter cord which I had planned on using to charge my 12v Leaf battery if the time came, sounds like that might not work?
I believe the jump starter pack also has regular jumper cables to attach directly to the 12v Leaf battery, was just hoping to avoid having to pop the hood, not that big of a deal I guess :)

I carry my little lithium booster battery kit in the passenger compartment because I don't want to have to reach for it by folding the rear seats--there is no way to open the hatch without 12-volt power to unlatch it with the button. I have used the little battery cables and the jumper pack to start numerous vehicles from motorcycles to V8 SUVs.

Gerry
 
The other way to enable external power is to install the cable for a battery maintainer. One wire to positive, one to a ground away from the battery. You'd have to leave the maintainer connector end dangling someplace that is reachable from outside the car, without opening the charge port door or hood, or at least under the hood. Then you'd need another SAE battery connector to attach to the jumper cables or jumper cable terminals on the jumpstarter.
 
I bet there's a relay somewhere that disconnects the cigarette lighter. If you remove it and place a permanent jumper wire it could be left connected indefinitely, unless the relay also activates something else. But even then if you don't mind working on your Leaf it is possible to simply rewire the lighter however you want (although keeping it on a fuse is always a good idea.)
 
On my w211, the fuse for the 12V port can go in two positions, one for always on, and the other for switched power. Be nice if other manufacturers did that.
 
philip said:
On my w211, the fuse for the 12V port can go in two positions, one for always on, and the other for switched power. Be nice if other manufacturers did that.
While not always this way almost every American car I've owned have the cigarette(ya I'm that old :lol: ) lighter socket always live, most German, Swedish, Italian and Japanese cars I've owned cut the power to the socket when the ignition is off.
I guess I prefer always hot but do use switched to my benefit also. For example on my Leaf I have a USB nub I plug into the lighter which not only provides 2.5a to either of it's 2 outlets but also has a display that cycles between amp draw for the USB sockets, voltage and temperature. Kind of a cool little thing and because the socket is switched I don't have to unplug it when I turn the car off, I also have one in our Prius used in the same manner. Now a Ford Freestyle SUV I borrow for a yearly camping trip has always on sockets. This comes in handy in two ways, one is for powering up a little pump to pump up our air beds, don't have to turn the ignition or car on. The other is for powering up a portable DVD player, again no need to keep the ignition on which would double the current draw. Again I see advantages of both, just depends and yes the option to chose either would be really nice although I doubt we'll ever see something like that again, companies are constantly trying to cut costs, not spend more on things that probably 1/2 of 1%(or probably less) would care about :(
 
GerryAZ said:
Therefore, you need to connect a booster battery to the 12-volt battery under the hood.

When I first had to jump the leaf, I thought this was the case. However the Leaf would not respond. Turns out, the positive jumper cable needs to be connected to the +ve terminal but the negative jumper cable must be connected to the leaf ground (not the -ve battery terminal). It threw a code and would not start with the negative connected to the battery -ve, however booted up fine once connected to the leaf ground.
 
Aussie said:
GerryAZ said:
Therefore, you need to connect a booster battery to the 12-volt battery under the hood.

When I first had to jump the leaf, I thought this was the case. However the Leaf would not respond. Turns out, the positive jumper cable needs to be connected to the +ve terminal but the negative jumper cable must be connected to the leaf ground (not the -ve battery terminal). It threw a code and would not start with the negative connected to the battery -ve, however booted up fine once connected to the leaf ground.

Interesting. The negative battery terminal is connected directly to chassis ground so there should be no difference. I had the 12-volt battery drained once on the 2011 (ELM unit left in OBDII port during out of town trip) and once on the 2015 (possible telematics issue during 5-day out of town trip). Both times, I used my lithium booster pack connected directly to the LEAF 12-volt battery to jump start the cars--no issues either time.

Gerry
 
Proper jump-starting procedure says to always connect Ground last, and always to a chassis ground, so it makes sense to just follow that. It's because of the slight but real risk of a hydrogen explosion, and that risk is still present (if small) even with a Leaf.
 
Interesting. The negative battery terminal is connected directly to chassis ground so there should be no difference. I had the 12-volt battery drained once on the 2011 (ELM unit left in OBDII port during out of town trip) and once on the 2015 (possible telematics issue during 5-day out of town trip). Both times, I used my lithium booster pack connected directly to the LEAF 12-volt battery to jump start the cars--no issues either time.

Gerry[/quote]

It had me baffled too. Connections were definitely good to the battery. No response at all from the car when connected battery to battery...I was about ready to walk away and call Nissan when I decided to check the manual and voila!
 
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