Power Steering Works Intermittently... ideas?

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wired1000

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
9
Hi Folks,

2011 Leaf, 65k miles. The 12V battery was JUST replaced (like a week ago) ... seeing that this can cause a lot of problems so I thought I'd mention it.

Regardless of SOC, my car has over the past week, sometimes had power steering. I first noticed it while driving. The PS light came on and sure enough, no power steering. I continued driving and noticed later in my trip that it was working again.

Later, sometimes the car will start with PS light on and it will stay on... no Power steering. Other times it'll work from start throughout the trip. Others it'll come in and out. Lately it's been more "out". :(

I've noticed when I power the car on into drive mode, I'll hear a "click click click click click" right before the PS light comes on, as if it's trying to start it several times before giving the error.

Just spent a fortune replacing the onboard charger and have decided I really need to try to DIY it before going into a shop again.

THanks in advance!!
 
Have you checked the voltage from this new battery?

One thing that might help is getting an OBD2 dongle and the LEAFSpy app, to read and reset any error codes. They can point you towards what might be failing.
 
will check battery voltage

I have a USB dongle but after my recent dealer visit it no longer connects... will look around the forum for a better kind i guess?
 
I second the voltage check. Dealerships are used to installing partially-charged 12 volt batteries in ICEs, because the car will immediately charge it right up. Not the case with the Leaf, of course. Nissan should have instructed their dealers to always fully charge replacement 12 volt batteries before installing them, but I doubt that they did.
 
Apparently my OBDII thingy is too new of a firmware version. I've got an older one kicking around somewhere...

It has been over 2 weeks since I got the car back from the dealer and the problem's only gotten worse. Seems weird that the 12V battery wouldn't have charged up by then (it's plugged in every night).

I will get a multimeter on it... what voltage range am I looking for? Would there be any value in hooking a jumper pack to it and seeing if the PS works with that "helping" the 12V battery?
 
Check the voltage 15 minutes after turning the car off and releasing the hood. If they fully charged it then it should read near 13 volts. Anything above 12.5 is acceptable, but if it's down near 12.0 volts then the battery is close to dead.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Check the voltage 15 minutes after turning the car off and releasing the hood. If they fully charged it then it should read near 13 volts. Anything above 12.5 is acceptable, but if it's down near 12.0 volts then the battery is close to dead.

Also, turn the headlights on and re-measure with that load. I've had batteries masquerade as having a charge but as soon as a load was put on they fell on their face.
 
I've had batteries masquerade as having a charge but as soon as a load was put on they fell on their face.

Yeah, that's called "surface charge" and it happens when sulfated batteries can support the charging chemical reaction only on the very surface of some or all of the plates, with little of the penetration of the reaction that is supposed to occur. That usually happens with old batteries, but it can also happen with new ones that have been damaged by full discharge. I'm guessing that this battery is usable, but was never fully charged and has now discharged to about 12.0 volts. It may have developed a surface charge, but I don't think so because that wouldn't result in low voltage gremlins...
 
OK so finally an update!!

I tried to trickle charge the 12V battery with a battery maintainer I had leftover from an old motorcycle that I really need to fix (the motorcycle). It did not seem to recognize that the battery needed charge.

I then put a 12V battery charger (2A) on it and it behaved VERY strangely... periodically the charge needle would peg momentarily and then resume. I didn't want to damage anything so I unplugged it. (note I left the 12V hooked up to the leaf during this... which seemed like people do?)

If I were to test the battery voltage via multimeter, what range am I looking for there?

Last thing I tried was straight up hooking a jumper pack to it. Power Steering still did not function.

I own several ELM327 devices but mannn... I had to buy three different new ones before I finally found one that works! JEEZ!!

I've attached the DTC's and the ECU info here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vPrswD50eHe8K4H22

Any further help / details / things to try would be much appreciated!!!
 
If I were to test the battery voltage via multimeter, what range am I looking for there?

As I wrote few posts earlier, above 12.5 volts is ok, 12.4 to 12.5 is marginal but not likely to be the culprit, and voltage in the vicinity of 12.0 is too low, indicating a nearly dead battery.
 
The only error code for the EPS (electric power steering) is battery voltage. The power steering runs from the 12-volt battery so double check the battery voltage, negative ground connections (I found an issue with the chassis ground on my 2011), and all wiring harness connections associated with the power steering unit. Since your problem was intermittent at first, there is likely a loose connection somewhere in the 12-volt circuit.

Edited to add: If you connected the booster battery directly to positive and negative terminals of the LEAF battery, a loose or corroded chassis ground connection would still cause voltage drop to the auxiliary systems in the car. Use your multimeter to check the chassis ground connection by measuring the voltage between the negative battery post and the body of the car with the car in Park, parking brake set, in Ready mode, and with high beam headlights on. Any voltage reading higher than about 0.2 or 0.3 volts is cause for concern. Voltage from positive battery post to car body under these conditions should be about 13.0 volts (or higher if ambient temperature is low). I found paint under the chassis ground connection of the negative battery cable (it looks like a cable support clamp, but is actually the ground connection) so the actual ground connection was only through the threads of the bolt. I removed paint under the lug to provide more electrical contact area and reduce the voltage drop in that ground connection.

I suggest that you clear all of the codes and see which ones come back. The HVAC error codes associated with the EV system could be concerns if they come back.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I second the voltage check. Dealerships are used to installing partially-charged 12 volt batteries in ICEs, because the car will immediately charge it right up. Not the case with the Leaf, of course. Nissan should have instructed their dealers to always fully charge replacement 12 volt batteries before installing them, but I doubt that they did.

In a lead acid battery???

Cmon Man!!
 
Have you been drinking? There is nothing funny about what I wrote. Lead-acid batteries lose charge on the shelf, often a lot of charge. Since ICE cars will charge them right up to full with an hour or two of driving, service technicians usually skip charging them. The Leaf doesn't provide a strong enough charge to top off a battery that is down 25% or more if the driver's habits don't allow for long charging periods while driving. Do I need to use smaller words...?
 
LeftieBiker said:
Have you been drinking? There is nothing funny about what I wrote. Lead-acid batteries lose charge on the shelf, often a lot of charge. Since ICE cars will charge them right up to full with an hour or two of driving, service technicians usually skip charging them. The Leaf doesn't provide a strong enough charge to top off a battery that is down 25% or more if the driver's habits don't allow for long charging periods while driving. Do I need to use smaller words...?

DC-DC converters in both my 2011 and 2015 deliver at least 80 amperes to a discharged battery. They would easily charge a depleted battery (that is not defective and will accept current) in an hour of driving or while charging the traction battery overnight. I have NEVER used an external charger on the 12-volt battery in a LEAF. I just drove the car and charged the traction battery normally after either jump starting when the battery was drained or after replacing a defective battery.
 
And whenever I connect my maintainer - which is often - the battery is usually down two or more amp-hours. The degree to which the charging system maintains the 12 volt battery is all over the map, depending on year and driving habits. It would then be foolish to just assume, at least on pre-2015 cars, that a new 12 volt battery, especially one that is older stock, would get fully charged after installation. Charging it up is cheap insurance.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Have you been drinking? There is nothing funny about what I wrote. Lead-acid batteries lose charge on the shelf, often a lot of charge. Since ICE cars will charge them right up to full with an hour or two of driving, service technicians usually skip charging them. The Leaf doesn't provide a strong enough charge to top off a battery that is down 25% or more if the driver's habits don't allow for long charging periods while driving. Do I need to use smaller words...?
Maybe where u live dealers are ok with ruining batteries and eating the loss but here batteries are topped off regularly to insure they don't suffer permanent loss.

Lead acid has to be stored at full charge
 
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