gshepherd
Well-known member
EVger said:I am planning to leave my Leaf in the garage for four to five months. I would appreciate some information:
Can I just leave the car without the 12v likely to go dead? (Does the electrical system go to sleep and/or does the 12v draw a charge from the traction battery, but not so much as to dangerously drain the traction battery over several months?)
Should I leave the EVSE plugged in to charge the traction battery? (Which would probably maintain a 100% SOC on the traction battery for a considerable time.)
Should I use a battery tender for the 12v battery? If so, what is the most convenient way to make the connection? (Just use the alligator clips? On the negative terminal or the car frame?)
Thanks for your help.
Based on the admonishment I the manual to not leave the LEAF main battery at high charge for extended periods of time, I left my 2016 SV at 60%. I also left it unplugged as that is one less thing subjected to lightning strikes and brown outs on the grid. I did have a Battery Minder desulfating maintainer connected to the 12V battery (yes, that was connected to the grid).
Upon return six months later, the main battery was at 59% and the same capacity as before I left. Always good to check the 12V battery electrolyte levels and top up with distilled water if necessary. First "battery report" from the dealer gave five stars across the board. Interestingly the "extended time at high state of charge" seems to be removed from the report.
I believe the 2015 and newer models top up the 12V battery every 24 hours for five minutes if not driven or charged. I've seen mine do this. Perhaps the battery maintainer was overkill. Nevertheless, it all worked out for my Seattle to Phoenix snowbirding. Granted, my LEAF was stored in practically ideal temperatures.