DanKegel
Member
Hi! Last time my car wouldn't start, I took it as an excuse to buy an EV 
Now the same thing happened to my EV. Oh noes!
But all is well, and I got a chance to play with gadgets, which was fun.
Here's an OCD-level writeup in case it helps anyone else someday.
We stopped driving my 2013 Leaf for a couple months (my wife switched back to our other car, and I'm working at home now), and the 12v battery died, yielding the dreaded T/M Vehicle System Malfunction warning when powering up.
Thanks to this forum, I realized that warning probably meant the 12v battery was dead.
Sure enough, it was at 7 volts or something like that. Yikes!
It looks really good, though, with no corrosion. And it's marked Nissan, so I suspect it's an original Nissan AGM battery.
I can't blame it for going out after eight-odd years.
So I walked over to the car parts store & got a fancy 3 amp Schumacher trickle charger for $50 (inflation!).
There were cheaper ones, but they were only an amp or so, and I don't know if I want *that* trickle-y a charger.
At first even the charger thought it was a goner, but I rebooted the trickle charger after each try, and after a try or two it deigned to charge the battery. After charging for an hour, it came up to a more nearly normal voltage.
I think the car started working at 11.5 volts or so, and the battery warning light went off around 11.9 volts, but don't quote me on that.
After charging for 10 hours or so, and then sitting overnight, it appears to sit at a usable 12.2-12.4 volts.
Turning on the LED headlights brings the voltage to 11.9 or so, ick.
I'll probably replace it when I have a little more cash next month.
I think the local car parts store (Autoz*ne) has a suitable AGM lead-acid battery in stock, "Duralast Platinum AGM Battery 51R-AGM Group Size 51R 435 CCA", even though its parts finder claims that won't fit a 2013 Leaf.
All of the above troubleshooting was done using my trusty 1980-vintage voltmeter.
Didn't need Leaf Spy, but since I have it and a working OBDII dongle, I plugged it in and intimidated the bluetooth into working.
It shows the 12v voltage and current in the lower left, huzzah.
The current goes up to 10-12A for 30 seconds when I plug in the L1 charging cable, then goes down to zero.
(It never shows a current even when I turn on the LED headlights with the car off, or press the go button twice without the brakes (to turn on accessory mode) and run the AC.
So I assume the current shown is solely charging current for the 12V battery.)
Now I can keep an eye on the voltage before, during, and after a drive if I want without getting my hands dirty.
Now the same thing happened to my EV. Oh noes!
But all is well, and I got a chance to play with gadgets, which was fun.
Here's an OCD-level writeup in case it helps anyone else someday.
We stopped driving my 2013 Leaf for a couple months (my wife switched back to our other car, and I'm working at home now), and the 12v battery died, yielding the dreaded T/M Vehicle System Malfunction warning when powering up.
Thanks to this forum, I realized that warning probably meant the 12v battery was dead.
Sure enough, it was at 7 volts or something like that. Yikes!
It looks really good, though, with no corrosion. And it's marked Nissan, so I suspect it's an original Nissan AGM battery.
I can't blame it for going out after eight-odd years.
So I walked over to the car parts store & got a fancy 3 amp Schumacher trickle charger for $50 (inflation!).
There were cheaper ones, but they were only an amp or so, and I don't know if I want *that* trickle-y a charger.
At first even the charger thought it was a goner, but I rebooted the trickle charger after each try, and after a try or two it deigned to charge the battery. After charging for an hour, it came up to a more nearly normal voltage.
I think the car started working at 11.5 volts or so, and the battery warning light went off around 11.9 volts, but don't quote me on that.
After charging for 10 hours or so, and then sitting overnight, it appears to sit at a usable 12.2-12.4 volts.
Turning on the LED headlights brings the voltage to 11.9 or so, ick.
I'll probably replace it when I have a little more cash next month.
I think the local car parts store (Autoz*ne) has a suitable AGM lead-acid battery in stock, "Duralast Platinum AGM Battery 51R-AGM Group Size 51R 435 CCA", even though its parts finder claims that won't fit a 2013 Leaf.
All of the above troubleshooting was done using my trusty 1980-vintage voltmeter.
Didn't need Leaf Spy, but since I have it and a working OBDII dongle, I plugged it in and intimidated the bluetooth into working.
It shows the 12v voltage and current in the lower left, huzzah.
The current goes up to 10-12A for 30 seconds when I plug in the L1 charging cable, then goes down to zero.
(It never shows a current even when I turn on the LED headlights with the car off, or press the go button twice without the brakes (to turn on accessory mode) and run the AC.
So I assume the current shown is solely charging current for the 12V battery.)
Now I can keep an eye on the voltage before, during, and after a drive if I want without getting my hands dirty.
