Headlamp Power Draw

[GerryAZ]

I am fairly sure the Leaf will turn its lights off after a short period of time no matter what you do (unless you turn them off/on again after they time out). I know that 2011 had LED low beam with halogen high beam and 2015 SL was the same. They also have a small halogen bulb in each headlight for parking lights (which I replaced with LED bulbs shortly after purchase). My 2019 has LED for both low beam and high beam and LED for park lights. I know that halogen low beams became standard on lower trim models beginning in 2013.

If you want to put a continuous load on the battery to test it, just get a halogen headlight bulb and connect it directly to the battery. If you buy the same bulb as your car uses, you can keep it for a spare.

[SageBrush]

If you want to put a continuous load on the battery to test it, just get a halogen headlight bulb and connect it directly to the battery. If you buy the same bulb as your car uses, you can keep it for a spare.

I had the same idea, but I was unsure how to make solid connections. Advice ?

[GerryAZ]

If you want to put a continuous load on the battery to test it, just get a halogen headlight bulb and connect it directly to the battery. If you buy the same bulb as your car uses, you can keep it for a spare.

I had the same idea, but I was unsure how to make solid connections. Advice ?

Buy a headlight connector with pigtails (available at auto parts store), attach alligator clips to the ends of the wires, and clip to the battery. You could also use spade terminal connectors on the ends of the wires and push them on to the terminals of the bulb.

[SageBrush]

You could also use spade terminal connectors on the ends of the wires and push them on to the terminals of the bulb.

Thanks, I think I've found an H13 bulb socket with 3 wires for about $7 on Amazon

Sound about right ?

[nlspace]

For anyone interested in my battery evaluation games:
All battery readings are from a battery tester doodad I have connected to the battery all the time. I read the voltage and "SoC" from a bluetooth connected app that also logs voltage readings every couple of minutes.
I charged the battery to 'full' on 12/30 -- 12.6 volts
The next day the car was driven ~ 45 minutes
Two days later the battery is at 12.2 volts
-- a 90 watt load (~ 8 A)(low beams) dropped the battery to 11.7 volts
-- fiddling with the headlights for under 5 minutes dropped the estimated SoC by 10%
--- So from a short test the battery capacity is ~ 8*5/6 = 7 Ah. Out of perhaps 35 - 40 Ah when new

Looks like you have an old, weak and worn out aux battery and probably time to be looking for a replacement soon.

[SageBrush]

For anyone interested in my battery evaluation games:
All battery readings are from a battery tester doodad I have connected to the battery all the time. I read the voltage and "SoC" from a bluetooth connected app that also logs voltage readings every couple of minutes.
I charged the battery to 'full' on 12/30 -- 12.6 volts
The next day the car was driven ~ 45 minutes
Two days later the battery is at 12.2 volts
-- a 90 watt load (~ 8 A)(low beams) dropped the battery to 11.7 volts
-- fiddling with the headlights for under 5 minutes dropped the estimated SoC by 10%
--- So from a short test the battery capacity is ~ 8*5/6 = 7 Ah. Out of perhaps 35 - 40 Ah when new

Looks like you have an old, weak and worn out aux battery and probably time to be looking for a replacement soon.

My conclusion as well.

I charged the battery to 'full' -- 12.7v and headed to Autozone. Their device reported a drop in voltage to 12.6v with a 250 A load. I asked the woman to test again and the same result came back. So now I am unsure, and decided to buy the bits I needed for a load test. I took Jerry's excellent advice and bought a 12v lightbulb at Walmart (55 watt, H7) for $10 and a $5 H7 connector at Autozone. Flush with anticipated adventure I splurged $4 on a pair of alligator clip wires.

To my pleasant surprise the rig lighted up and I was ready to declare success when smoke started to come out of a wire. I think the wires touched each other and shorted so now I have to buy a new set of alligator wires and try again.

Question though: I attached one wire to the negative terminal of the 12v battery. Should I have connected it to the car as ground instead ?

[nlspace]

It wouldn't matter where you attach the return, either to battery terminal or chassis.

what size wires (gauge and length) are used in the alligator clip kit? The initial inrush current will be somewhat higher for a brief period until the filament heats up, but then you will be passing about 4.5 A for a 55W lamp. So any high resistance junction, solder or wire crimp in the clip assembly could be getting quite warm.

Can you check the fluid level of the cells in the battery? What is the age?

[jjeff]

Yes some cheap alligator clip leads use 22 gauge wire, which might not be enough for 4.5a, they are more for signal voltages or very low amperage use. Still shorting a battery out with most any clip leads could smoke the wire pretty quickly.

[SageBrush]

The alligator clip wires used the 14g hole on my wire stripper.
I'm reasonably sure I was the cause of the smoking affair

@nlspace, the battery is sealed

I appreciate everybody's help and advice