Charging issues and EV system warning light

[cornbinder89]

My EV warning light is on, originally due to a failed water pump. Replaced that 6 mths ago, but wasn't able to clear that code using LeafSpy. A week ago the car was DOA in the garage. 12V was nearly completely discharged. But after a long charge and desulfation, the battery tests A-OK using my Shumacher load tester, but was nearly discharged once again the next morning. Also noticed a larger than normal spark when I reconnect the battery post. Wondering if the TCU might be to blame or where else to look. Before and after Clear Leaf Spy readings attached. Like many owners, my 2012 Leaf eats 12V batteries like candy. Probably on my 5th one by now.... Currently I attach a trickle charger whenever I'm not planning on driving in the next 24 hours, but there certainly has been a change in the 12V circuit this past week.

Your situation is so far removed from the original posters problem it would likely be best to start a new thread on your problem alone, so things don't get mixed up.
That said you have a laundry list of codes, until you know which are active, which are more or less duplicate, where the original device trips a code and that code will trip another code from PDL.
Something seams to putting an excess draw the 12 volt.

 

[Aragorn]

indeed, get your self a current clamp meter and go find the parasitic drain.

 

[Stanton]

Wondering if the TCU might be to blame or where else to look.

The TCU has been useless for a while in a 2012 Leaf (the 3G network was long ago shutdown in the US).
Beyond that, I agree with @cornbinder89: your situation requires a new thread (or start by reading one of the TCU threads).

 

[LanguidSphinx]

Not sure if its the sole cause yet or not...

You had a charging related issue, and found a huge smoking gun with the EVSE. Good troubleshooting process is to fix/replace the EVSE then start afresh with any further codes that may come up - but it would be a huge coincidence if there was some other fault too!

The RCD tripping is a big clue here - caused external to the car, by the water ingress in the EVSE. The EVSE shutting off in an unusual way, or the water affecting readings at the car end could set all sorts of charging related codes. Please post back in say 2 weeks or a month to confirm the root cause

 

[cornbinder89]

I'll try the OEM EVSE sometime and see if that code shows up or not.

Tonight, I am putting it on the Nissan 120 Volt EVSE and for the std 2 hr timer setting that I always use. I'll see in the morning if it sets a code or not.
Cleared the old codes, so it will start fresh.

 

[cornbinder89]

The test set-up:
Car timer on for 2hr starting just after midnight. This is the same charge protocol I use for level 2 charging.
normal level 2 for me consists of 2hr at 16 amps 240 volt. This provides just over 7 Kwh to the battery
Test used the same 2hr charge but with the 120 volt factory provided charger.

Test results:
No charger or PDM codes stored., and charge did happen (just a smaller amount from the reduced input)
So it seams that the codes I am seeing, and possibly other as well, after charging may well be due to the aftermarket EvSE shut down procedure.
I am not extremely surprised by the results, as the code "clears" when the car is turned off and back on, and has no effect on driving if you drive with the yellow triangle illuminated from the code.
Without the B29C1 code setting, the three P codes don't show either.
All in all good news.
Not sure it applies in every circumstance but for those that don't show any other symptoms and are using some aftermarket EVSE it could be the cause.

 

[thanar]

Hi.

2013 owner here, been getting some issues charging off my wall box since a week or so. Faults I am sourcing through LeafSpy are as follows:

B29C1-23 08 CHARGER EVSE VC-98
P3171-00 08 EV/HEV PD Module System EVC-241
P3170-00 08 EV/HEV PD Module System EVC-241

I am using a WallBox Commander 2 wall-mount EVSE that I've owned for 3 years. What I've noticed is that, when under car's schedule, there seems to be a delay between the first two beeps that normally sound when the battery contactor closes and the second pair of them, when the contactor opens to start the timer. Every time I notice the delay, there's a high chance the charging procedure will fail and I will get the errors in the morning. Sometime this also happens even if I cancel the timer. When this happens, the charger reports that it's still "waiting for the vehicle" to start, although the LEDs on the windscreen flash like it's charging and not still on schedule. Strange.

I haven't been able to identify the source of the problem. A close friend of mine had a similar issue with their WallBox Pulsar Plus wall box, which we tracked down to the pilot cable being damaged, because they were twisting the cable too much. It was easy to spot, since changing the cable orientation would interrupt the charge session. However, on my case, fiddling with the cable once the session has started doesn't seem to do anything.

Yesterday, I was unable to start charging using the wall box, no matter what I did. SoC was at 80% and I wanted a full pack. I tried numerous times, session wouldn't start. I ended up filling up using a cheap Schuko portable EVSE with no issues.

 

[cornbinder89]

Using another EVSE and having it charge is a good indication that the WallBox is the problem.
I am finding that there is a large difference in quality in EVSE's. It is hard to know which are good and which are crap. Esp since many seam to be clones of one another with a different lable slapped on them.
I keep the OEM (Panasonic) trickle EVSE in the car as an emergency cord but use it more to diagnose charging issues when the pop up. Don't overlook the connector plug and pins as a source of a problem either.