smkettner
Well-known member
Still sounds like a GE issue.
jpokoraw1 said:I had another visit from the engineers from Japan. They explained the cause... and while I was not able to completely understand the explination, I'll relay the information I can remember.
It has something to do with the power button. If you turn the wattstation off quickly after disconnecting the charger from the leaf, then the next time you turn the wattstation on, there is something about the power-on cycle the wattstation goes through that when combined with turning off the wattstation earlier, will send a surge of energy to the leaf.
On the instrument the engineers used, to measure the energy coming in from the wall charger, there is an unusual initial push of amps that can measure upwards to 600 amps before settling into a normal alternating current. The wave looks like a tall mountain... then settles into a normal sine wave (is it sine?).
They then patched their test vehicle with a software update they drafted to recognize this kind of behavior... and they appeared to eliminate the problem.
So, once they make this software patch official, they promised to let me know as soon as possible to update my vehicle.
As it stands, I am still using my modified trickle charger until this update is published. I would recommend not using your wattstation until the next software patch is released.
KJD said:Now I understand why I have never had a problem with my GE Wattstation. I NEVER use the off and on switch on the Wattstation. I leave it on all the time. Just plug in when I get home. Unplug it every morning.
Notice that your trickle charger does NOT have an off and on switch. Plug it into the wall first. Connect the J1772 to the car second.
When you are done charging reverse the process and no problem.
jpokoraw1 said:I had another visit from the engineers from Japan. They explained the cause... and while I was not able to completely understand the explination, I'll relay the information I can remember.
It has something to do with the power button. If you turn the wattstation off quickly after disconnecting the charger from the leaf, then the next time you turn the wattstation on, there is something about the power-on cycle the wattstation goes through that when combined with turning off the wattstation earlier, will send a surge of energy to the leaf.
On the instrument the engineers used, to measure the energy coming in from the wall charger, there is an unusual initial push of amps that can measure upwards to 600 amps before settling into a normal alternating current. The wave looks like a tall mountain... then settles into a normal sine wave (is it sine?). ...
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/07/dead-leafs-and-ge-chargers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;siai said:I've been watching this thread for a while and still don't understand what's going on. The Wattstation (like any other EVSE) is just a contactor whose closure is initiated by the charger in the vehicle.
You can't "push" amps. The device (LEAF charger in this case) "pulls" amps. From your description of the waveform, it sounds like there maybe a very brief voltage spike. You can push volts.
siai said:It seems that in normal operation the LEAF charger ramps up line current draw slowly, not all at once so where is the "surge" coming from. The Wattstation cannot create a surge by itself nor can any other EVSE---a 600 amp surge would quickly blow the 40 amp fuses in the unit. It's got to be something in the charger, not the EVSE, when this finally all comes out.
Has anyone heard how the 6kW / 2013 works with the Wattstation? It'd be a sick irony if the fix was never implemented.cwerdna said:^^^
It's just puzzling to me why Nissan hasn't deployed the software fix they mentioned awhile ago. So, people keep blowing their onboard chargers, costing Nissan $ and inconveniencing owners.
financeguy said:Tech said it's be called the GE charger update
smkettner said:financeguy said:Tech said it's be called the GE charger update
Odd name for not being a GE issue :roll:
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