Can't remove charging unit - Resolved

Yes, pay attention to everything they do and let us know the outcome!

If you can take pictures, that's even better!

-Phil

OK, I have resolution. It was a bad EVSE unit and it was the button lever on the handle that went out locking it in place. Likely it was the plastic pin that broke or got deformed locking it halfway depressed. They wanted to take it apart in front of the manufacturer to confirm the issue with them. Good news is they were able to safely remove the charger and confirm there was nothing wrong with the car and didn't have to tow it. They provided me with a new EVSE, took the broken one and I'm good to go.

When the person from Nissan corporate came down with the local rep and a tech, they wanted to document everything so that their manufacturer could be made aware and to confirm it was not a case of abuse of the EVSE. (i.e. it was only a few months old and I didn't drop it from 10 feet or run over it with the car) So likely a bad part supplier or error in manufacture.

They took plenty of pictures and were nice enough and we spent an hour or so talking through everything. The process of removing the charger required taking off the plastic protector from the hood and only took a few minutes to pop the charger out. However, this was easy because it was not a hot system because the other end of my EVSE was disconnected from the wall. IF THIS WAS LIVE SYSTEM YOU COULD EASILY KILL YOUSELF TRYING TO DO THIS. For this reason, the process to remove the plug is not something that is documented in the manual and not somehting I should describe here lest somebody try it and kill themself.

Suggestion for Nissan from me is to design a way to safely "pop out" a charger if it gets stuck in place like this again. Something like a safety release button under the hood. Seems like a smart thing to do because there are plenty of 3rd party manufacturers of these handles and cords and they can't control the quality on all of them. It would be quite a hassle if this were to happen on a live level 2 charger in a public place. If that were to happen a registered tech would have to come out, confirm that power has been disabled on the cord from the charger, then perform the procedure. Could be quite an involved process and something somebody would be tempted to try on their own with possibly dangerous results. A safety release somewhere in the car would be a better idea.

BTW - sorry about the typos in the above post. I should really use spell check instead of typing off the top of my head. Writing this because I know Nissan monitors these boards pretty closely.

Make and model of EVSE?

This is the EVSE that is supplied with the car on 2013 models in that little black bag in the back. Believe it is a Panasonic model but the issue is actually with Yazaki who is the manufacturer of the handle or gun at the end.

tjlyerly said:

Suggestion for Nissan from me is to design a way to safely "pop out" a charger if it gets stuck in place like this again. Something like a safety release button under the hood. Seems like a smart thing to do because there are plenty of 3rd party manufacturers of these handles and cords and they can't control the quality on all of them.

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This is the very first report of a Yazaki handle failing in this manner. We've had a few reports of "no-name" Chinese handles getting stuck, but never an OEM brand. I chalk it up as a one-time defect. It would therefore be silly to add some method to remove a latched handle when it's an extremely rare problem. Given that the lock pawl on the new Yazaki handle is plastic (the older ones were cast metal), It's a trival matter to pop it off with a flat blade. I bet you don't even need to remove anything if you're adept.

Despite being plastic, these handles are very rugged and routinely survive being dropped, dragged, and ran over.

-Phil

It wasn't a one off event. It's happened enough that Nissan corporate cared enough to fly somebody down to document the issue so it can be presented to the manufacturer. Still think the safety release is a good idea for Nissan and all plugin manufacturers. My materials engineering background tells me that many of these EVSE handles will be stationed in extreme temperatures and over long periods of time even some of the best metals and plastics will deform, crystalize and break. I think over time you'll have more reports of handles getting stuck. Should be an easy way to safely and quickly remove a stuck handle by a lay person.

If the release breaks, it's almost always going to be in a way that allows handle removal. I disagree with your logic; if it was a common occurrence, they wouldn't be flying people around to look at it! Here at EVSE Upgrade, we have probably talked to more LEAF owners than anyone (even Nissan) about the OEM (Panasonic) charger, and if there was a problem with the gen 2 unit, we'd know about it by now, as we already have almost a thousand upgrades out there using this same model.

The only way I can see a failure resulting in inability to remove is something interfering with the latch release, such as a foreign object, or another piece that has ended up in a bad location. The release mechanism is one piece of plastic from the pawl to the button, and there is a spring and pivot. 3 parts.

-Phil

By the way...now that's it's all over...there was something I remembered from an old thread; someone complaining that you could still run people over with the EVSE attached. So I went home and tried it. With the EVSE attached, the car still powers up, and it can be put in Neutral. This suggests that the car could be pushed out of the garage.

Since no one else mentioned this, I suppose a firmware change may have removed this option. Mine's a 2011.

Yeah, In 2012 the issued a firmware update that removed the N capability. I suspect the 2013's are this way too.

-Phil

sounds like a happy resolution. you might want to update subject to 'resolved'.

gbarry42 said:

someone complaining that you could still run people over with the EVSE attached. So I went home and tried it.

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Is it too much trouble to unplug before running people over? Some people are pretty lazy.

Greetings everyone, I use a Bosch Portable charger I financed the entire project including them recommending their electrician because it is warrantied for the 3 years; if I had my electrician install it they will not warranty the unit if they believe the problem could be due to improper installation (we all know they will blame it on that). The entire cost with an 18' cord was under $1600. Everything was shipped to the electrician.

Installation was smooth and everything worked well......Until about 2 weeks ago.......all of a sudden the charger plug in nozzle will not release from the Leaf. (And I was running late for work that day) I tried all tricks I could think of, even turning the Breakers on the electrical panel off. At first I pressed and hold the "Charge off Button" (see picture), that didn't worked, and then I started the vehicle and deleted the timer settings to charge vehicle at certain hours, that didn't helped.

then I pressed the charge off button again for at least 1 minute until I heard a faint sound of something releasing, then I tried removing the charger from the vehicle and finally it released, ever since that day I’ve been having the same issue, sometimes it releases after pressing the charge off button a couple of tries and combination of turning off the Breakers. That weekend (Saturday) I was not able to release at all, I read the manual and followed their instructions for releasing etc.. and also changed the charging timers (I had my timers set to (1) to start charging after 9:00pm until 11:50pm ( I have a special meter that charges me .06 cents between 9:00pm and 7:00am) and (2) from 12:00 am to 6:50am), I removed setting # 1 and was only charging between 12:00am to 6:50am (plenty of time). It took me about 2 hours before I was able to remove the plug.

For the past 3 days I was (from my phone) enabling the car to start charging after 9:30pm) the next morning the vehicle only charged up to 65% (I usually end up with about 30% charge by the end of the day). During this week (mon-fri) the charge plug released within 5 minutes of playing with the button and turning vehicle on/off. Friday night I started charging again from my phone after 10:00pm. On Saturday morning around 8:00am I checked the phone to see how much it had charged it was up to 65%.

I (thru the phone) started charging the vehicle, around 1:00pm I checked the phone and it showed fully charged (whatever fully means) 96%. When I went outside to remove the charger plug, it would not come out no matter what I pressed or turned off. This time I disabled all timers, read the instructions on the manual (again) and the car still won’t release the plug. Again it took about 1+ to finally remove the plug.

Today September (Sunday) 22nd 2013 I had a time to Google this issue and found this post. I tested this theory on my charger, since I had disabled all timers and the car had 75% charge I plugged the charger and charged the vehicle until full. (Note: that if you connect the charger and remove it a few minutes later it comes right out with no problems) when I went to remove the plug …AGAIN same issue, I went straight to the panel and pressed the Charge Off Button, this time it made a louder noise , flashed the lights (blue lights) and I was able to remove the plug a little pressure but it came out. i will be testing this theory with the trickle charger once i deplete some of the charge

Not sure if the issue is the charger’s plug or the car just locks it and won’t release automatically once it finished charging, I’m calling Bosch and Nissan tomorrow and I will update this forum with whatever I find.

[url=http://s1019.photobucket.com/user/armandb/media/Nissan%20Leaf%20Bosch%20Charger/2013-09-22113115.jpg.html][img]
[img]http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af317/armandb/Nissan%20Leaf%20Bosch%20Charger/2013-09-22113115.jpg[/url][/img]

Update:::: Since the weekends are hell for me when removing the charger plug from the car, this Saturday after messing around with it for 2 minutes the lock that holds the J1772 to the car finally released. It moved to the side allowing the charger to release normally. Spoke too soon, I let the car charge for over 2 hours and when I went to remove the plug (after all blue lights were off) and the plug won't come out. After a few minutes of trying it finally release, the lock that locks the J1772 to the car was still to the side (not in the lock position), at this time I don't know what's holding the plug from releasing. after carefully studying the charger plug, I noticed that inside the car charging area there is an area that holds the plug in place (I guess so that the plug just won't come out if anyone or aanything hits the charger plug) however it seems that the charger plug unit has a button that when pressed it pushes a metal stick with a rubber at the end, (not sure what to call this section) up in order to come out of the holding area (see picture of the plug) but is does not lift high enough to release from the car.

I ended up calling Bosch technical support and explained the situation, they wanted me to go thru a bunch of testing before taking my issue to the next level, I explained what was said in this forum from "tjlyerly" and that seemed to convince the tech so I was moved to the second level support to supposedly send me a replacement plug (cable and all)..I'll post with the results.

Other issues I have ...
the car stops charging about an hour to 1-1/2 after I plug the charger, when I check the progress on the cell phone using the Nissan software the car shows that it charged up to 72% and that it will take another 2-1/2 hours to fully charge (normally up to 96%) i have to re initialize charging again.

I finally started receiving email and text updates when i send a command thru the phone to the car this never worked before). the car won't play music from the iPod even though it reads the ipod.

Today i was driving and I see in the display a picture of a coffee mug with a message to "Take a brake".. never seen that before

blue tooth disconnects and re connects automatically and in the middle of a conversation (phone battery fully charged)

Once I get this plug thing fixed I'm calling Nissan to see if they take a look at it..hopefully they won't charge me for that.

Strange things, I feel someone is screwing with my settings remotelly.

Thank you

I welcome any thoughts and comments.

isthmus said:

Today i was driving and I see in the display a picture of a coffee mug with a message to "Take a brake".. never seen that before

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That was "Take a break". This is the "Driver alert" option you can set under "Alarms" in the Trip Computer Options menu. The Trip Computer is the display in the bottom center of the dash, controlled by the top two buttons in the group of four on the left side of the steering wheel. I always turn that option off.

Ray

I had the same issue as was described in the original post. Luckily, I was able to unhook the EVSE with a clothes hanger. It seems like the EVSE release button won't depress all the way down. I took the charger to the dealer's service dept and they told me that they cannot do anything about it since it's not a Nissan part. Does this sound right? Also, he told me the the charger is made by Aerovironment. Is that correct? Lastly, who else can I contact besides my dealer?

ehwang114 said:

I had the same issue as was described in the original post. Luckily, I was able to unhook the EVSE with a clothes hanger. It seems like the EVSE release button won't depress all the way down. I took the charger to the dealer's service dept and they told me that they cannot do anything about it since it's not a Nissan part. Does this sound right? Also, he told me the the charger is made by Aerovironment. Is that correct? Lastly, who else can I contact besides my dealer?

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Please get your terminology straight. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630#p262630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. For L1 and L2 AC charging, the charger is on-board the car (either under the hood or in the hump in the back if you have a '11 or '12 Leaf).

If have an Aerovironment EVSE (like the 1 at http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/home_charging/nissan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false and the J1772 handle on that is giving you trouble, then yes, they would seem to be the logical contact.

OK, cwerdna, let me rephrase for the uneducated folks like myself. That thing that came in the black bag in the trunk of my Leaf is broken. You know, it plugs into the wall on one end and the other end goes directly into my Leaf. Well, the part that goes directly into my Leaf won't unhook. If anyone has had this problem, I would like to know how you took care of it. My dealer hasn't been much help. I am refraining from using any terminology so that I may get an answer that may be of more help.

ehwang114 said:

OK, cwerdna, let me rephrase for the uneducated folks like myself. That thing that came in the black bag in the trunk of my Leaf is broken. You know, it plugs into the wall on one end and the other end goes directly into my Leaf. Well, the part that goes directly into my Leaf won't unhook.

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So you are talking about the Level 1 (120 volt) EVSE that came with the car, also known as the "trickle charge cable". That should have a manufacturer label on it, but I think they are all made by Panasonic.

I don't recall anyone having a problem with the J1772 connector on their L1 EVSE hanging up in the charging port, though it could be due to a problem in the use of the new locking mechanism that is provided in the 2013 LEAFs. There is a three-position locking switch in the row of four switches low on the left side of the steering wheel. It's the second one from the left. Try setting it off, which is the middle position, and see if you still have the problem. If that switch is in the lock (down) position, you will have to either change the switch position or use the unlock button on the key fob to take the J1772 connector out.

Ray

^^^
Yep. planet4ever's answers are all spot on.

And yep, the L1 EVSEs that Nissan supplies are made by Panasonic (which comes in a black bag w/zipper and hooks into the trunk floor, references in on pages CH-11 thru CH-15 of the '13 Leaf owner's manual). I believe the J1772 handles themselves are supplied by Yazaki (I didn't get a chance to double check myself). If the car's charging lock switch is set for unlock (middle position) and you can't release the J1772 handle by pushing on its trigger, that's something you should take up w/the dealer, esp. since the EVSE was supplied w/the car itself and should have a Nissan part number. And, if the charging lock mechanism is broken, that's also part of the car.

On page CH-20 (69) of the PDF of the '13 Leaf's owner's manual is a procedure for releasing the handle, presumably if the locking mechanism fails/malfunctions. Did you do that? I've never had to do that, but I almost never use the charging lock.