Time Out of Use?

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
E

ElectriCute

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 29, 2021
Messages
72
I know from the years of owning a gas powered car, it's not good, or they say it's not, to let it sit for a long time without giving it a run.

Still learning about my new Leaf, I'm wondering about the car sitting and not being used. I don't drive a lot, maybe a minimum of once or twice in a two week period. Would that be OK, or does it need to used more often than that?

Thank folks.
 
i have found that the 12V starter battery tends to degrade unless it is kept fully charged, so i check and charge my 12V frequently. The laef doesn't keep it fully charged.
 
ElectriCute said:
I know from the years of owning a gas powered car, it's not good, or they say it's not, to let it sit for a long time without giving it a run.

Still learning about my new Leaf, I'm wondering about the car sitting and not being used. I don't drive a lot, maybe a minimum of once or twice in a two week period. Would that be OK, or does it need to used more often than that?

Thank folks.
Click to expand...

There are far fewer issues with a Leaf being inactive - the one exception being, as noted, the 12 volt battery. If you either top it off weekly with a 12 volt battery maintainer, or hardwire a 'pigtail' for said maintainer to the battery (using a metal part of the motor/inverter assembly for ground) so it's easy to connect, then you can just leave the maintainer connected when the car isn't in use. Some of us drill a small hole in the interior charge port cover plastic so we can run the connector into the charge port compartment, for convenience.
 
You could also trickle charge using a small solar panel, especially if you keep the car parked outdoors rather than in a garage.

Here's just one example (not an endorsement):

https://sunforceproducts.com/products/10-watt-12v-solar-battery-trickle-charger/
 
From the above:

(1) Connects to vehicle's 12V socket with included 12V DC plug
Click to expand...

That can't be used with cars like the Leaf (and most others, these days) that turn off the accessory socket with the car.

(2) Connects directly to battery with included battery clamps
Click to expand...

That's what you'd have to do.

First, though, I'd make sure that the panel has a blocking diode to prevent reverse current drain at night.
 
Thanks everyone. If I was to get a battery trickle charger, how long to keep it connected? Overnight, perhaps?
 
LeftieBiker said:
The smart ones can stay on as many days as you like. A typical top-up charge usually takes no longer than overnight.
Click to expand...
Agree, my battery minders with the small transformer on the plug are meant to be left on for months at a time. They are often used for 12v trolling motors that aren't used for 6+ month periods of time, at least in my state :( that or collector cars that again need to sit for more than 6 months during our snowy season :(
They start around $20 and for around $30 you can find one that occasionally pluses the battery to break off any junk that might have built up on the battery plates.
And to the OP, when your OEM 12v flooded acid battery finally dies, many around here and I suggest an AGM or gel-cell 12v battery as they are better suited for the 12v charging algorithm of the Leaf. A 12v Lithium battery is probably the best but a fair amount more expensive even than AGM batteries and they can also have issues in below zero temps charging them, but hopefully if you take care of your OEM battery you'll get many years out of it, like a half a decade or more.
 
jjeff said:
LeftieBiker said:
The smart ones can stay on as many days as you like. A typical top-up charge usually takes no longer than overnight.
Click to expand...
Agree, my battery minders with the small transformer on the plug are meant to be left on for months at a time. They are often used for 12v trolling motors that aren't used for 6+ month periods of time, at least in my state :( that or collector cars that again need to sit for more than 6 months during our snowy season :(
They start around $20 and for around $30 you can find one that occasionally pluses the battery to break off any junk that might have built up on the battery plates.
And to the OP, when your OEM 12v flooded acid battery finally dies, many around here and I suggest an AGM or gel-cell 12v battery as they are better suited for the 12v charging algorithm of the Leaf. A 12v Lithium battery is probably the best but a fair amount more expensive even than AGM batteries and they can also have issues in below zero temps charging them, but hopefully if you take care of your OEM battery you'll get many years out of it, like a half a decade or more.
Click to expand...

The biggest killer of batteries where I live is the excessive heat of the summer. Hopefully it will last as long as you say, as long as it's maintained properly. Thanks.
 
My LEAF's (first 2011, then 2015, and now 2019 Plus) have often been parked for extended time at either my office or the airport during business trips or vacations without incident (sometimes for over a month). I may be in the minority, but I have never connected an external 12-volt battery charger to any of my LEAF's. The only time I had a problem was when I forgot to unplug the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port during a short out-of-town trip. I came back after only 6 days to a completely dead 12V battery in my 2011 because the adapter along with LEAF Spy running on an Android device left in the car kept the control modules from sleeping and kept the automatic 12V charging algorithm from functioning. I jump started the LEAF from my office vehicle and the 12V battery was recharged by the time I arrived home. I recently left my 2019 at the airport for over 2 weeks and it used about 1.2 kWh from the traction battery to keep the 12V battery charged (along with associated control modules active) so it could sit for several months without discharging the traction battery too far, if necessary.

My recommendations if a LEAF will be parked for extended time:
1. Have traction battery at between 40% and 80% SOC (State Of Charge) to minimize deterioration.
2. Unplug any devices from the OBDII port to avoid power draw and interference with the car's systems while parked.
3. Make sure the car is turned completely off.
4. Make sure that a key fob is not left in or near the car.
5. Make sure the doors and hatch are completely closed and locked.
6. Verify that the dash goes dark with only the alarm LED blinking before you walk away (to make sure the car is completely off).

If the car is being parked in extremely cold conditions, then it may be best to keep it plugged in so that the traction battery heaters can function without discharging the traction battery. In this case, it may be advisable to connect a trickle charger to the 12V battery to make sure the car's systems remain active to keep the traction battery heaters functional. Since I live in Phoenix, I have no experience with LEAF's in extremely cold temperatures.
 
GerryAZ said:
My LEAF's (first 2011, then 2015, and now 2019 Plus) have often been parked for extended time at either my office or the airport during business trips or vacations without incident (sometimes for over a month). I may be in the minority, but I have never connected an external 12-volt battery charger to any of my LEAF's. The only time I had a problem was when I forgot to unplug the Bluetooth adapter from the OBDII port during a short out-of-town trip. I came back after only 6 days to a completely dead 12V battery in my 2011 because the adapter along with LEAF Spy running on an Android device left in the car kept the control modules from sleeping and kept the automatic 12V charging algorithm from functioning. I jump started the LEAF from my office vehicle and the 12V battery was recharged by the time I arrived home. I recently left my 2019 at the airport for over 2 weeks and it used about 1.2 kWh from the traction battery to keep the 12V battery charged (along with associated control modules active) so it could sit for several months without discharging the traction battery too far, if necessary.

My recommendations if a LEAF will be parked for extended time:
1. Have traction battery at between 40% and 80% SOC (State Of Charge) to minimize deterioration.
2. Unplug any devices from the OBDII port to avoid power draw and interference with the car's systems while parked.
3. Make sure the car is turned completely off.
4. Make sure that a key fob is not left in or near the car.
5. Make sure the doors and hatch are completely closed and locked.
6. Verify that the dash goes dark with only the alarm LED blinking before you walk away (to make sure the car is completely off).

If the car is being parked in extremely cold conditions, then it may be best to keep it plugged in so that the traction battery heaters can function without discharging the traction battery. In this case, it may be advisable to connect a trickle charger to the 12V battery to make sure the car's systems remain active to keep the traction battery heaters functional. Since I live in Phoenix, I have no experience with LEAF's in extremely cold temperatures.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this information. Much appreciated.
 
GerryAZ said:
My LEAF's (first 2011, then 2015, and now 2019 Plus) have often been parked for extended time at either my office or the airport during business trips or vacations without incident (sometimes for over a month). I may be in the minority, but I have never connected an external 12-volt battery charger to any of my LEAF's.
Click to expand...
I wonder if all of those being SL's (with the much-maligned tiny solar panel to charge the 12V) is the reason you (and I) never had a problem with our LEAF sitting for a long period of time.

OP is yours an SL?
 
There is no solar panel on the Gen II Leaf SL. I drove one for 3 years, and the battery voltage got as low as 12.25 volts, so you may have a point for the Gen I, at least. We've considered that in the past.
 
jlv said:
GerryAZ said:
My LEAF's (first 2011, then 2015, and now 2019 Plus) have often been parked for extended time at either my office or the airport during business trips or vacations without incident (sometimes for over a month). I may be in the minority, but I have never connected an external 12-volt battery charger to any of my LEAF's.
Click to expand...
I wonder if all of those being SL's (with the much-maligned tiny solar panel to charge the 12V) is the reason you (and I) never had a problem with our LEAF sitting for a long period of time.

OP is yours an SL?
Click to expand...
Personally doubt that tiny solar panel did much. Like GerryAZ, I've had both mine ('14 SV, and '19 SL) parked for extended periods for similar reasons without any 12v battery concerns. Especially with the '14 being range constrained, it got minimal use in the dead of Winter and just left it parked outside under a pile of snow for several weeks. All I did was charge it to @ 70% and let it chill in place. I might have lost a few % of battery charge per week. but nothing alarming or any 12v problems. When ready to start using it again, would do some light driving and L2 charging to get some heat back into the battery to help the overall efficiency. The '19 has ChaDeMo so can DCFC to get the pack temp up to efficient temps.
 
I park under covered parking at my office or the airport so the solar panels on the 2011 and 2015 did not get direct sun while parked for extended time. As LeftieBiker noted, the 2019 does not have a solar panel. I once tried to measure the output of the solar panel (on the 2015, I think) by measuring the 12V battery voltage with the car parked in sun and then covering the solar panel with a towel to see how much the voltage dropped. The voltage did drop a few millivolts so I could see that the solar panel was supplying some current, but it was too low to accurately measure with a Hall-Effect clamp-on ammeter.

I think that my 12V battery success without external charging is due to my driving/charging patterns. I generally charge fully and then drive the car until the traction battery is fairly deeply discharged. By doing that, the L2 charge takes several hours overnight so the 12V gets fully charged while the traction battery is charging. My driving trips are normally at least 5 miles (usually more) so each trip is also long enough for the 12V battery to get recharged.

Although I did not have problems with the 2011, the charging algorithms of the DC-DC converters have been improved over the years. The 2011 would drop back to float charge (about 13V) when the current into the battery dropped to about 6A, the 2015 would not drop back to float until the current dropped to about 3A, and the 2019 keeps charging at 14V until the current drops to somewhat below 2A.
 
GerryAZ said:
...
the charging algorithms of the DC-DC converters have been improved over the years. The 2011 would drop back to float charge (about 13V) when the current into the battery dropped to about 6A, the 2015 would not drop back to float until the current dropped to about 3A, and the 2019 keeps charging at 14V until the current drops to somewhat below 2A.
Click to expand...

That is really interesting and helps explain the problem: the Leaf has neither a Bulk charge mode nor an Equalization mode, it is only doing an Absorption mode and some kind of float. The result is a never fully charged battery.

If too low a charge voltage is applied, the current flow will essentially stop before the battery is fully charged. This allows some of the lead sulfate to remain on the electrodes (sulfation) which will reduce battery capacity.

Bulk: In this mode most of the energy is returned to the battery by the charger in maximum power or current mode. Also know as CC, constant current. Normally, a conservative target voltage is selected to exit bulk.

Absorption: This is a Constant Voltage (CV) phase to allow the battery to naturally "absorb" current and taper down as the lead plates begin to recharge more fully. The exit for this mode is a selected current level such as 0.1C.

Equalization: To prevent cells becoming unbalanced, an Equalization mode is used to provide a low-current overcharge voltage, or to wait until the voltage of the cells reaches a certain level for a specific period of time (e.g. the 14.4 hydrolysis voltage). At the completion of this mode the battery is fully charged and can exit to a standby or float mode.

Standby or Float: This is a constant voltage mode to keep the battery constantly charged to replace the energy that is expended due to internal losses and deterioration of the battery itself. Typically held at 13.5 to 13.8V.
 

Similar threads

R
Best battery practices?
Replies
0
Views
140
RogerRDalTx
R
R
Resetting of time (occasionally)
Replies
0
Views
167
Rudynfld
R
F
12 Volt Battery Lead/Acid Replacement
Replies
3
Views
1K
fotajoye
F
L
Bits & Pieces
Replies
18
Views
3K
SageBrush
S
M
Hello from Wales
Replies
1
Views
143
Jamesjeff
J

Latest posts

Back
Top