Leaf not charging for second time

[tcherniaev]

I second the recommendation for the Leviton unit. The plug-in version is actually portable--hangs on the wall and plugs into a 240v outlet. Sells for $799 on homedepot.com. I recommend getting the installation kit as well, even though it's overpriced. The wall bracket is necessary for a clean installation.

I have Leviton charger, and about two months ago Nissan installed new OBC in my Leaf. Per Nissan, they thought it was related to using an extension cord with my L1 unit, and not related to Leviton EVSE. I've been avoiding using an extension cord, and so far my replacement OBC is not showing any signs of trouble.

I would guess that Nissan replaced a ton of OBC units. The cost is around $3k, so it has not been cheap for them.

 

[timr36]

Just to add to the list, my Nissan Leaf appears to have a dead OBC. The vehicle will not charge via the J1772 port, but can still be quick charged. This happened after charging on the Blink EVSE installed in my garage, The breaker in the electrical panel tripped, and the Blink appears dead now as well (after resetting the breaker). The car is with Nissan where they are waiting to hear back from "engineering" and Ecotality is sending a tech to my home to diagnose the Blink EVSE this afternoon. I'm not sure, does this make me lucky number 13?

What fun. I do see that this is not just GE, and I guess maybe I'm number 4 on a Blink. Man am I grateful for warranties.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

I have Leviton charger, and about two months ago Nissan installed new OBC in my Leaf. Per Nissan, they thought it was related to using an extension cord with my L1 unit, and not related to Leviton EVSE. I've been avoiding using an extension cord, and so far my replacement OBC is not showing any signs of trouble.

I would guess that Nissan replaced a ton of OBC units. The cost is around $3k, so it has not been cheap for them.

I would like to have your opinion about good quality extension cord causing OBC failure

 

[smkettner]

I second the recommendation for the Leviton unit. The plug-in version is actually portable--hangs on the wall and plugs into a 240v outlet. Sells for $799 on homedepot.com. I recommend getting the installation kit as well, even though it's overpriced. The wall bracket is necessary for a clean installation.

My Leviton 160 came with a wall bracket.

 

[RegGuheert]

I would like to have your opinion about good quality extension cord causing OBC failure

I will say there is virtually no chance this could cause the OBC to fail. Think how many feet of wire are already between the EVSE and the panel. At my house, there is about 130' of wire to that receptacle. The reason you should not use an extension cord with an EVSE is because there is nothing to protect the extension cord from ground faults such as being submerged in water (unless the breaker or outlet is already protected).

 

[davewill]

I would like to have your opinion about good quality extension cord causing OBC failure

I will say there is virtually no chance this could cause the OBC to fail. ...

The only scenarios that occur to me would be a cord with a marginal connection that might arc or cause a quick break/reconnect, or one that's under sized and/or too long and causes the voltage to sag too much. But a proper extension cord should be no problem.

 

[timr36]

Well, I have my Leaf back from the shop, and they did have to replace the charging unit. Whatever happened between the Leaf and the Blink Charger blew the fuse inside the Blink. The tech came out and replaced the fuse and the Blink otherwise checked out ok. I've read that many Leaf owners that have had the charger replaced have had the 3NA1A charger replaced with a 3NA5A. Mine already had the 3NA5A and it was replaced with a 3NA7A. I would love to know what the differences in these units are. I bet the3NA7A has a different diode set up. Does anyone have any information on this?

 

[sethr]

Did they also give you a software update? I got just mine, but my understanding from elsewhere on this forum is that the software update applies to more than just the Wattstation (sorry, forget where that was posted). See my posts on the G.E. Wattstation Problem Thread for more on that. And good luck!

 

[timr36]

Yes, they did a software update too. I'm back at the dealership now. The car now has no heat. The theory is that the fuse for the heat may have blow since the climate timer was on when the rest of the happened. We'll see.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
Here is a pic of my replacement charger, installed June 2011. It was the first reported charger failure, the diode in the pilot circuit popped.
3NA0A

Picture removed - Photobucket sucks

 

[Ingineer]

Hello,
Here is a pic of my replacement charger, installed June 2011. It was the first reported charger failure, the diode in the pilot circuit popped.
3NA0A

Clearly NOT an updated part! Nissan's ultimate solution (2013) was to stop using Nichicon. It's possible they don't have a true "fix" for this existing problem and are simply playing the numbers game.

Anyone ever see a 3NA0B?

-Phil

 

[PatrickBauer]

We had our OBC go out as well. We had enough charge left to get it to the dealership without having be be towed. We took it in on 12/14/12. The tech determined that day that it was the OBC but said Nissan would have to approve them to get a new part, so they gave us a loaner car and said it would be about a week. A week turned into 67 days.

We made numerous calls to the Nissan Leaf line and it did not help anything. It was always a run around of it has been shipped, it will be shipped, the dealership has to do the request. At the 30 day more we filed for them to buy back the car under the lemon law. We went back and fourth with them on that and finally got everything arranged. 2 days before we were to meet at the dealership to sign all the paperwork for the buy back, they got the part in. It took the tech 4 hours to in stall, test and charge the car.

We really loved the Leaf, while it worked it was awesome. But the customer service once it broke down was just sad and upsetting.

Patrick

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
I'm a bit confused by your posts, did they finally buy back your Leaf and you no longer have it/one?

Which EVSE were you using? Do you often have power sags/disruptions/glitches/blackouts in your area?

 

[TurboFroggy]

67 days? That is freakin unacceptable. Our local dealers here have pulled parts from brand new Leafs on the lot to get customers going again, the heater element failures being the most common. Did the dealer have any new Leafs on the lot? Did you ever ask or propose this? Were there any other dealers in your area that were able to service your Leaf that had new Leafs in stock that they could have pulled the charger from? It seems like this is a horrible ball droppage from your dealer who didn't even try to exhaust all their own resources to get you fixed. If you haven't already please post the name of this brilliant dealer so we can avoid buying from them and using them for service.

I think after 14 days I would have been calling every dealer in the surrounding area and asking if they would be willing to pull a charger from a new car on their lot to get you going. Did you even attempt that?

 

[PatrickBauer]

^^^
I'm a bit confused by your posts, did they finally buy back your Leaf and you no longer have it/one?

Which EVSE were you using? Do you often have power sags/disruptions/glitches/blackouts in your area?

They did buy it back from us on the 69th day, so we no longer have it.

We had an AV Aerovirvonment EVSE and did not have any power disruptions.

 

[PatrickBauer]

67 days? That is freakin unacceptable. Our local dealers here have pulled parts from brand new Leafs on the lot to get customers going again, the heater element failures being the most common. Did the dealer have any new Leafs on the lot? Did you ever ask or propose this? Were there any other dealers in your area that were able to service your Leaf that had new Leafs in stock that they could have pulled the charger from? It seems like this is a horrible ball droppage from your dealer who didn't even try to exhaust all their own resources to get you fixed. If you haven't already please post the name of this brilliant dealer so we can avoid buying from them and using them for service.

I think after 14 days I would have been calling every dealer in the surrounding area and asking if they would be willing to pull a charger from a new car on their lot to get you going. Did you even attempt that?

They did have at least 1 new Leaf on the lot and we did ask if they could take the part from that one and the response was that Nissan would not allow that.

I feel like the dealer did all that they could and that the Nissan corp. folks dropped the ball and did a lot of double talk.

 

[Epi117]

And i have the GE charger in the garage, waiting for electrician to install on thursday. Damn need to make a decision tonignt.

 

[Gizmoe1164]

I live in Hawaii with a 2012 Leaf and had the same problem. Finally resolved. GE Watstation. Did the song and dance with both Big Nissan and Big GE. Turns out the problem was with the car. Took it back to the dealership. Service manager's name is Frank Ratajacik at King Windward Nissan, Kaneohe, HI. Google for phone number. He knows the FIX. Which is for the dealership to keep your care for about half a day and "reprogram the OBC" then it will work fine with the GE watt station. The problem is in the onboard software, NOT the GE watt station. The dealership replaced my Leaf OBC three times, before they finally figured it out.

Gary

 

[RegGuheert]

Which is for the dealership to keep your care for about half a day and "reprogram the OBC" then it will work fine with the GE watt station. The problem is in the onboard software, NOT the GE watt station.

Is there a service campaign for this issue? If so, does anyone know the number?

 

[cwerdna]

And i have the GE charger in the garage, waiting for electrician to install on thursday. Damn need to make a decision tonignt.

If I were you, I'd return that GE Wattstation in favor of something else that seems less likely to blow the OBC. OTOH, I don't have any recommendations, but it seems like the Aerovironment units should be a safe bet, since Nissan selected them.