Replaced my LEAF 12v battery after 4 years

[Nubo]

For the LEAF I didn't see an Odyssey solution fit well, so I eventually came up with the battery below. Since LEAF has no need for "starting current" I selected a full-on deep-cycle design that is used for solar power installations.

http://www.solar-electric.com/batteries-meters-accessories/batteries/concorde-sun-xtender-pvx-solar-deep-cycle-batteries/12voagmba/concorde-sunxtender-pvx-420t.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any issues installing this? Looks like a perfect solution.

A couple of minor things. This post has most of the info. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&p=257288" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Install on the 2015 was easier than the 2012 -- didn't have to mess with the cable routing.

The battery doesn't come with SAE posts, so I picked some up that are made for some of the odyssey batteries. Easy to find by looking for "SAE Terminal Adapters". There are a number of batteries that use these. They should have M6 bolts.

Oh, and I peeled off the labels just to prevent any potential belly-aching from the Nissan service guys. :roll:

 

[69800]

I finally put in an Exide Edge AGM 51R. Because these batteries spend so much time not fully charged they are always slowly sulfating. The gas mat batteries stand up to this much better. I also charge it fully once a week with the Battery Tender. Exide's are not made by Johnson Control. Yellow top Optima's are. Do not bother with them.
I am hoping to get 6 years with the Exide. The one in my diesel tractor is an old Exide orbital and Is just no failing but it is 15 years old.

 

[lkkms2]

Nubi, how is your 12 V sun tender battery doing in your Leaf? Holding up well?

Also, Did you say it fit in easily?

Thanks. My current 12v is still holding up with occasional desulfating charging, but starting to look for replacement to be ready....

Larry

Optimas are no longer what they once were before the company was sold. The quality has declined dramatically and there is now little to recommend them...

I'd be tempted to replace with an Optima yellow-top deep-cycle battery

They sold out to Johnson Controls and the manufacturing was moved to Mexico. I have also read complaints and personally had an Optima Yellow-top that did not provide very good service. I switched to an Odyssey battery on that car; they are still highly regarded.

For the LEAF I didn't see an Odyssey solution fit well, so I eventually came up with the battery below. Since LEAF has no need for "starting current" I selected a full-on deep-cycle design that is used for solar power installations.

http://www.solar-electric.com/batteries-meters-accessories/batteries/concorde-sun-xtender-pvx-solar-deep-cycle-batteries/12voagmba/concorde-sunxtender-pvx-420t.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Nubo]

Nubi, how is your 12 V sun tender battery doing in your Leaf? Holding up well?

Also, Did you say it fit in easily?

It did great on our 2012, and I should have saved it when I returned the lease!

Instead I ended up purchasing another when I leased the 2015. And that's when the seeds of its demise were sown.

Installing isn't hard, but it does require fitment of SAE terminal adapters. I ended up over-tightening the adapters and heard a faint "crack" but continued with my install. Actual problem was that the adapter bolts I ended up with were just a little too long, which made it hard to get a good snug fit and I overtightened instead of stopping to think why.

About 10 months later the battery failed. I suspect the crack had allowed the electrolyte to eventually dry out.

I still think it's a worthwhile solution, but anything unorthodox can present challenges.

I ended up replacing with the Bosch AGM I listed recently above.

 

[Flyct]

Solar chargers work very well to maintain infrequently used car batteries.

I had an "Airport Car" that I would leave parked at a General Aviation airport for months at a time unused. We had a VW Solar charger plugged into the OBDII port and suction cup attached to the inside of the front windshield. That car never failed to start and the battery was always ready to go.

VW used them when they transported their cars via ships across the ocean. Used ones are available at Ebay all the time for less that $30. There are both OBDII versions and cigarette lighter versions.

 

[Newporttom]

I just did a price check online. This appears to be the same battery but going for $109 now.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Extreme-51R-Auto-Battery-51RX/204852603

How much do dealers charge?

Did some research and called one dealer in town and he said $137.50 out the door. Went to my regular dealer who was apparently so busy service wouldn't pick up the phone...and they said $117 and some change.... So made appt for tomorrow.

 

[TimLee]

... Went to my regular dealer who was apparently so busy service wouldn't pick up the phone...and they said $117 and some change.... So made appt for tomorrow.

But the dealer will be standard lead acid battery, the Exide Edge AGM is a better choice :?:

I did not know Home Depot carried batteries.
But Exide Edge AGM at $109 is a good price.

They probably do free install like the car parts places.

So why go to the dealer for standard lead acid :?:

 

[Foschas]

The Edge AGM and the Extreme are different batteries.

The Extreme for $109 at Home Depot is a "Heavy Duty" lead acid flooded battery.

http://www.exide.com/Media/files/Downloads/TransAmer/Transportation%20Americas%20Brochures%20for%20Download/Extreme%20Heavy%20Duty%20Batteries.pdf

The Edge is an AGM and usually about $150


http://www.exide.com/Media/files/Downloads/TransAmer/Products/Edge%204%20page%20booklet%20non%20spread.pdf

 

[powersurge]

I am surprised that so many people are so worried about what battery to put into their Leafs... Seems like some will even chuck a perfectly good battery to get that "special" battery. I have been driving and fixing my own cars for 40 years, and can tell you that the need to get that "best" battery is over with the Leaf.

Let us reason that the biggest test of a car's battery has always been to supply those ever-popular "cold-cranking-amps" in the dead of winter. That is gone with the Leaf... No cranking. The only real drain on the battery are the accessories on the car - lights, radio, and the biggest, the a/c. If the Leaf has been designed correctly, it will recharge the 12v battery from the main batteries at an acceptable rate. The only real consumer issue is to maintain the battery fully charge all through the year. I have had my car batteries last 8-10 years on my CAR batteries, which test the power of the battery a lot more. Get a good, cheap battery from Costco or Walmart.

To keep your battery in top shape, I suggest the following:

Wire this solar battery charger to the car and place it with double sided sticky tape on the dashboard. It will keep the battery at 100% even after MONTHS of car non-use. I have 4 cars, and always get them to start.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html

Another way to keep the battery charged is to connect a "Battery Tender" charger to the battery every few weeks.

Every 6 months, to keep your peace of mind that your battery is still "strong" and holds a good charge (e.g., your battery is still good), use the battery meter below. It will put an electrical load on the battery and tell you if the battery itself is "good".

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/battery/100-amp-6-volt12-volt-battery-load-tester-69888-9193.html

Someday, after 6-8 years (or even 10 years in my experience), it will give your a "weak" reading, and then you go to Walmart or Costco and get another cheap battery.

This has worked for me over the years, but I would welcome any comments....

 

[LeftieBiker]

If the Leaf has been designed correctly, it will recharge the 12v battery from the main batteries at an acceptable rate.

Therein lies the problem. No, we aren't obsessing over batteries for no reason, believe it or not. The Leaf's charging algorithm is not optimum, and often allows the accessory battery to go dead if the car is driven for mainly short trips with lots of accessory power used. There is some evidence that the issue is with the batteries themselves: they may be much lower in capacity than what the charging system was originally designed to pair with, and larger capacity batteries actually may stay charged. In any case, if your driving habits result in a chronically low battery charge of 12.6 volts or less, it's well worth either using a battery maintainer (as I do) or installing a larger AGM battery...and occasionally using a maintainer anyway.

 

[Newporttom]

Went to dealer and they checked battery before selling me the new one and they said I didn't need one. Battery Health good, CCA 323. Only issue they saw was 12.38 v reading.

Car is 4 years old. 50K miles. New traction battery 1 month ago. Morning of the check it finished 100% at 6;30. I them drove it to dealer 10 miles away at 1 PM. Radio and driver seat heat on low were on.

There suggestion was to check again in 3 months. Any thoughts?

 

[TimLee]

... but I would welcome any comments....

Well, you have only been driving a LEAF for about a year.
Only joined MNL October 2015.

Years of experience with ICE vehicle 12V batteries doesn't translate into detailed knowledge of LEAF 12V issues.

But the 12V battery maintaining practices do translate to the LEAF.

But for some peoples driving patterns and usage and with the LEAF 12V charging algorithm, it needs to be done much more regularly.
Some have gone nearly five years doing nothing.
But for many weekly or monthly trickle charging may be needed to get five plus years on a LEAF 12V battery.

 

[TimLee]

Went to dealer and they checked battery before selling me the new one and they said I didn't need one. Battery Health good, CCA 323. Only issue they saw was 12.38 v reading.

Car is 4 years old. 50K miles. New traction battery 1 month ago. Morning of the check it finished 100% at 6;30. I them drove it to dealer 10 miles away at 1 PM. Radio and driver seat heat on low were on.

There suggestion was to check again in 3 months. Any thoughts?

You never provided much information on why you thought you needed a new 12V battery :?:
Why do you think you need one :?:
Did you discuss that in another topic :?:

I would be more confident in the dealer if their battery test gave you an estimate of 12V capacity rather than CCA.
But possible the 12V is OK.

 

[RegGuheert]

I am surprised that so many people are so worried about what battery to put into their Leafs... Seems like some will even chuck a perfectly good battery to get that "special" battery. I have been driving and fixing my own cars for 40 years, and can tell you that the need to get that "best" battery is over with the Leaf.

I agree with that.

If the Leaf has been designed correctly, it will recharge the 12v battery from the main batteries at an acceptable rate.

As LeftieBiker said, that's a big "if". The charging system in the LEAF has all of the capability to properly maintain the battery, but the programming is lacking. As you say, the demands on the LEAF's battery are minimal. As such, we should see superior battery life to normal ICE chargers. Unfortunately, many have failed after only two years.

The only real consumer issue is to maintain the battery fully charge all through the year.

Exactly! Unfortunately, with the built-in charger, for many applications the LEAF battery will spend its life at about 60% SOC if not attended to by its owner.

I have had my car batteries last 8-10 years on my CAR batteries, which test the power of the battery a lot more.

Eight years is normal for my vehicles, too. But frankly, most of my other vehicles require NO additional effort on my part to achieve this amount of battery life.

Get a good, cheap battery from Costco or Walmart.

That's where I get mine. Recently Costco has offered the best combination of cost/warranty. About $73 for a LEAF-suitable battery with a great warranty.

To keep your battery in top shape, I suggest the following:

Wire this solar battery charger to the car and place it with double sided sticky tape on the dashboard. It will keep the battery at 100% even after MONTHS of car non-use. I have 4 cars, and always get them to start.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html

My LEAF already has a built-in PV module to maintain the 12V battery. It is insufficient to do the job, however, since the car is usually parked in the garage.

Another way to keep the battery charged is to connect a "Battery Tender" charger to the battery every few weeks.

That's the best advice for a LEAF owner, IMO.

Every 6 months, to keep your peace of mind that your battery is still "strong" and holds a good charge (e.g., your battery is still good), use the battery meter below. It will put an electrical load on the battery and tell you if the battery itself is "good".

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/battery/100-amp-6-volt12-volt-battery-load-tester-69888-9193.html

Someday, after 6-8 years (or even 10 years in my experience), it will give your a "weak" reading, and then you go to Walmart or Costco and get another cheap battery.

Also good advice. Another simple test is to simply let your LEAF sit for a day with the hood up after a full trickle charge (don't open the doors during this period). If the voltage is below 12V after one day, then you are in serious need of a new battery.

This has worked for me over the years, but I would welcome any comments....

Very good advice! Thanks!

 

[Newporttom]

Went to dealer and they checked battery before selling me the new one and they said I didn't need one. Battery Health good, CCA 323. Only issue they saw was 12.38 v reading.

Car is 4 years old. 50K miles. New traction battery 1 month ago. Morning of the check it finished 100% at 6;30. I them drove it to dealer 10 miles away at 1 PM. Radio and driver seat heat on low were on.

There suggestion was to check again in 3 months. Any thoughts?

You never provided much information on why you thought you needed a new 12V battery :?:
Why do you think you need one :?:
Did you discuss that in another topic :?:

I would be more confident in the dealer if their battery test gave you an estimate of 12V capacity rather than CCA.
But possible the 12V is OK.

The only reason I was going to replace the battery was because the car was 4 years old. I've had no issues. Here's the printout if it helps any.

 

[RegGuheert]

The only reason I was going to replace the battery was because the car was 4 years old. I've had no issues. Here's the printout if it helps any.

It seems you have the typical LEAF 12V battery: "Needs charge". 12.38V is close to what I typically see when I open the hood of our LEAF, let it sit for a couple of hours and then take a reading. On other vehicles we own, I see 12.6V or above.

Simply put, that's what "charging" at 13.1V gets us. Nissan needs to reprogram the LEAF 12V battery charger to spend more time in the absorption phase (~14.5V).

 

[GerryAZ]

Nissan needs to reprogram the LEAF 12V battery charger to spend more time in the absorption phase (~14.5V).

Nissan has changed the charging profile. My 2011 would switch to float when the absorption current dropped below about 10 amperes. The 2015 keeps charging at ~14.5V until the absorption current drops below about 5 amperes.

Gerry

 

[RegGuheert]

Nissan has changed the charging profile. My 2011 would switch to float when the absorption current dropped below about 10 amperes. The 2015 keeps charging at ~14.5V until the absorption current drops below about 5 amperes.

Thanks! That's good to hear!

Do you find that your 2015 keeps the 12V battery fully charged?

 

[TimLee]

... The only reason I was going to replace the battery was because the car was 4 years old. I've had no issues. Here's the printout if it helps any.
...

I don't know which 12V battery tester they are using, but it is pretty lacking in clear information.

Not sure how they are defining State of Health.

But at just a bit above 50% that doesn't seem too great, but may be normal for a four year old battery.

As others said, with the charge being low would be smart to trickle charge monthly or every couple weeks.

You might get a couple more years out of it.
But if you don't do that and it being four years old State of Health of 50% your chances are quickly increasing that at some point it will fail to start or you might experience some of the scary likely low 12V battery voltage caused issues.
Such as no or really poor braking.
Or vehicle shutdown while driving.

Better to avoid that.

If it was me, I would get a free battery test at a couple car parts places and see what they say compared to the dealer.

 

[GerryAZ]

Nissan has changed the charging profile. My 2011 would switch to float when the absorption current dropped below about 10 amperes. The 2015 keeps charging at ~14.5V until the absorption current drops below about 5 amperes.

Thanks! That's good to hear!

Do you find that your 2015 keeps the 12V battery fully charged?

With my driving and charging pattern, both 2015 and 2011 keep (kept) the 12V battery charged. I have never used an external charger to charge a 12V Leaf battery (I must charge batteries in other vehicles since they get little use) in over 65k miles of driving electric. My commute is 52 miles round trip so I typically drive 55 to 75 miles on a charge with evening errands. This means the 12V battery is charged for several hours at night (while charging traction battery) and at least 30 minutes each way commuting in addition to a few short trips. The charging algorithm on the Leaf (either 2011 or 2015) is ideal for my use because it keeps the battery charged and does not cause enough gassing to require frequent addition of distilled water.

I had to replace the 12V battery in the 2011 after about 2-1/2 years (actually better than average life for OEM 12V batteries in Phoenix heat). I inadvertently left the ELM unit connected to the OBDII port and the Kyocera Event running Leaf Spy on the passenger seat when I parked at the office for a business trip. The combination of Leaf Spy keeping the CAN bus active (probably interfered with the automatic 12V charging every 5 days while parked) and the power draw of the ELM unit completely discharged the 12V battery by the time I returned after 6 days. I jump-started the Leaf from my office vehicle and drove home. The 12V battery was recharged by the time I got home, but it failed about a month later. I am sure it would have lasted longer if it had not been completely discharged.

Gerry