Gids/bars...

[TomT]

Yep, it would be like an ICE with a fuel gauge that always showed empty to full but with a tank that was constantly changing in capacity... Pretty much useless to figure out how far you could actually go...

The Gid, I predict, will ultimately be more useful to us than real SOC.

Absolutely! The Gid tells us how much "gas" we have in a tank of unchanging size. SOC tells us how much of shrinking tank is filled. Which would you want to know?

 

[thankyouOB]

are some of you guys saying that those of us who charge to 80% 28 or 29 days out of a month NEED to charge to 100% several times a month to "balance" the battery and get it back to as close to FULL capacity as possible?

I dont see anything like that in any of the Nissan material. Not that the manual etc. has full disclosure.

Please clarify about the utility of charging occasionally to 100% to balance the battery!!!
please.

 

[TonyWilliams]

are some of you guys saying that those of us who charge to 80% 28 or 29 days out of a month NEED to charge to 100% several times a month to "balance" the battery and get it back to as close to FULL capacity as possible?

I dont see anything like that in any of the Nissan material. Not that the manual etc. has full disclosure.

Please clarify about the utility of charging occasionally to 100% to balance the battery!!!
please.

If you are not using the full capacity of the battery, it doesn't really matter if the battery is completely balanced. If however, like me, you frequently use all the capacity and then some, I recommend charging to 100% at some interval (weekly, monthly) and LEAVE THE LEAF PLUGGED IN FOR AT LEAST 4 HOURS after the LEAF hits 100%. No, that's not in the manual.

The LEAF automation will take care of the rest. While its entirely possible that the car does a balance routine at 80%, I've seen no evidence to support that (based on actual performance) and plenty of evidence at 100%.

Speaking of Nissan manuals, did it mention anything about 10-20% loss in battery capacity the first year in hot climates? It does have references to things that don't even apply to the LEAF.

 

[thankyouOB]

the one oddity I notice about charging to 80% overnight:
there are times when the car, which will end charging around 11 p.m., starts charging again for a few minutes around 2 or 3 am.

whats that? balancing?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

are some of you guys saying that those of us who charge to 80% 28 or 29 days out of a month NEED to charge to 100% several times a month to "balance" the battery and get it back to as close to FULL capacity as possible?

I dont see anything like that in any of the Nissan material. Not that the manual etc. has full disclosure.

Please clarify about the utility of charging occasionally to 100% to balance the battery!!!
please.

"I" thought i clarified my statement as "just an observation" well enough. i simply dont know what it means. only reporting what i see and its like the 5th or 6th time i have seen it which means just about all the time since i rarely fully charge when i drive the Leaf and i am the primary driver.

i think that if you dont need the range, you should keep your SOC between 40-80% AT ALL TIMES. that is what i recommend. but can that limitation work for you?

now, that only gives you about 25-40 miles depending on how efficiently you drive and that is what i do and i have experienced no loss in capacity (and dont live in an oven!!) but 40 miles does not always work for me, so i charge to 100% or sometimes time it to where i only have 90%. not hard to do.

 

[TonyWilliams]

the one oddity I notice about charging to 80% overnight:
there are times when the car, which will end charging around 11 p.m., starts charging again for a few minutes around 2 or 3 am.

whats that? balancing?

Yes, I believe so. After the charge is complete, the highest cells must be discharged to match the lower ones. Then a charge must be initiated hours later (1-4 hours typical) to "top off" the cells back to 4.05 volts (80%) or 4.1 volts (100%).

Although there are 192 total cells, it only monitors parallel pair voltages, so 96 total.

 

[TomT]

I, on the other hand, do not worry about it at all, and often run it down to LBW. I usually charge to 80 percent, with occasional 100% charges when I need more range. After 18,000 miles and 16 months in the sometimes hot San Fernando Valley, I still have 276 Gids at 100% charge regularly. It is garaged regularly however and I work on the West Side where it sits outside during the day but it is relatively cool...

 

[garygid]

I am working on making a 2-CAN Logging solution
(Logs to a USB Flash Drive) that can automatically Log:

1. Continuously for long periods, or
2. Automatically whenever the LEAF is ON, or
3. On Demand.

That should help us discover what is happening
with these overnight charging episodes.

Last night I charged to 100% again, and I will
check the GIDs when I leave this morning.