2013 Nissan Leaf - won't start

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danowpg

Active member
Joined
May 17, 2015
Messages
32
TLDR: Car won't go into run mode. Looking for common reasons for why that might be, or better yet, possible solutions.

Hello everyone, so it has been a while since I've needed to post. About 2 weeks ago my Leaf wouldn't go into run mode, as if it wouldn't recognize that the brake was depressed. I had a quick phone call and the kids in the car, and by the time I came back I had a T/M system malfunction. 12v battery drained.

Replaced with a new one. Made sure it was fully charged, left the car without 12v battery for a while, applied the brake pedal just to make sure no charge in the system, still won't go into run mode. Indicates I need to push the brake and hit start. I hear a click behind the dash, but then wont go into run mode.

Took it to a dealership, and they quoted me 4 hours of diagnosis time at $145/hr (canadian).

I've been trying to get my business going, and haven't had a paycheque in about 2 years, so I'm hoping we can try and solve this together, as I can't afford $600 to not potentially fix anything.

I've searched the forums, but most of the solutions that I have come across just indicate changing the 12v battery, which I already did. I tried hooking up my normal OBD2 scanner, but it just gave me an error. I had bought LeafSpy a while ago, but I can't find my bluetooth dongle. When I get the car back I'll check it asap.
 
Replaced with a new one. Made sure it was fully charged, left the car without 12v battery for a while, applied the brake pedal just to make sure no charge in the system, still won't go into run mode. Indicates I need to push the brake and hit start. I hear a click behind the dash, but then wont go into run mode.

You mean you left the new battery out of the car for a while after removing the old one? You may have error codes that have to be cleared before the car will start. LeafSpy Pro will do that, so your #1 step at this point is to get LeafSpy Pro connected to the car. Has the car ever refused to start, or to go into Ready Mode, before this?
 
LeftieBiker said:
You mean you left the new battery out of the car for a while after removing the old one? You may have error codes that have to be cleared before the car will start. LeafSpy Pro will do that, so your #1 step at this point is to get LeafSpy Pro connected to the car. Has the car ever refused to start, or to go into Ready Mode, before this?

I had first tried just taking out the old one, recharging it, and putting it back in. Which didn't work. After recharging it I took it out and immediately put in the new one. Didn't work. Then I took the new one out, left it out for a while, put it back in, didn't work.

Has always gone into ready mode before this. Everything seemed to be a normal day up until that point.

After reading some threads it started to make me get paranoid that maybe I also hit the start button twice really quickly by accident, but I don't think I did... It's that "did I leave the garage door open" kind of feeling.
 
Have u checked if the brake lights work correctly? A cheap obd bluetooth and the leaf spy will help you findout what may be the problem.
 
So, update: yes brake lights would turn on if I hit the brakes. I felt under the pedal and it seemed as though both switches were working, but that wouldn’t tell me if one isn’t working on the inside.

So once upon a time I had an obd2 reader and had it working with an iPhone. But I can’t find that reader, so I borrowed a friend’s Bluetooth obd2 reader and turns out they don’t like iPhones. So bought another obd2 Bluetooth reader and fetched my android tablet from work.

This time instead of wasting time going across the city to the dealership, I tried it on my other leaf. Turns out leaf spy pro doesn’t like either of the obd2 adapters as they are version 2.1 and it wants version 1.5?!?

So I’m going to borrow another leaf owners obd2 adapter that knows it works, and will try again tomorrow.
 
Ok so did a little digging. Turns out my new battery was drained over the past week at the dealership so might have to come back again with a fresh battery, but was able to use their battery box to get a bunch of codes from the car, and cleared a number of them. These are the ones that seem to keep coming back:

B142A 1609 air bag
B00A0 0008 air bag
C1A62 0109 brake control mod power supply br-53
C1A6E 0109 brake ev/hev system br-146
C1A70 0108 brake brake control system be-160
U100a 8708 charger
P31E1 000B ev/hev hv system interlock error evc-305
P0A8D 000A motor control 14v power supply evc-132/tms-63
P189d 000a shift
U1a05 0008 tcu usb comm av-199

Ugh.
 
Those could all be from low 12 volt system voltage. You didn't try recharging the 12 volt battery in the car, or checking its voltage there?

EDIT: from what you wrote it appeared that you did try that, but if the battery you charged was dead, that could have failed to solve the problem. Charge the NEW battery, in the car, clear the codes again, and try to start it.
 
Had the car towed back to my place, charged the new battery in the car overnight. Accessed via leafspy and had these codes that didn’t want to clear:

C118C 0109 ABS EV/HEV System BRC-126
C1A6E 0109 Brake EV/HEV System BR-146
C1A70 0109 BRAKE Brake control system BR-160
P31E1 000B EV/HEV HV System Interlock Error EVC-305
 
My memory isn't great anymore, but those look to me like common codes associated with 12 volt battery failure. They could, of course, also be real. They MAY also be associated with a failed brake pedal interlock, although I thought that the Leaf, like most EVs, uses the brake light switch to sense brake pedal activation to allow a start, and you reported that the pedal switch seems to be working...

EDIT: yes on both of the above. Common 12 volt failure codes, and also possible actual ABS or charging system failure. Essentially, the C- codes register whenever the 12 volt system loses power, so it's the last one you should focus on. A failed pre-charge resistor may (or may not) be the culprit.
 
I agree--all of the "C" codes you listed are common with low 12-volt battery. It won't hurt anything to try clearing all of the trouble codes with LEAF Spy Pro after making sure you have a well-charged 12-volt battery in place. You may need to clear codes multiple times and disconnect/reconnect the 12-volt battery once or twice with code clearing processes repeated each time to clear all codes. I doubt that the car will go into ready mode until the P31 code is cleared.
 
GerryAZ said:
I agree--all of the "C" codes you listed are common with low 12-volt battery. It won't hurt anything to try clearing all of the trouble codes with LEAF Spy Pro after making sure you have a well-charged 12-volt battery in place. You may need to clear codes multiple times and disconnect/reconnect the 12-volt battery once or twice with code clearing processes repeated each time to clear all codes. I doubt that the car will go into ready mode until the P31 code is cleared.

So I tried doing this twice today, and those four codes would not clear. I also went through all the fuses I could get access to, in the cabin, and in the front bay the main fuse box there as well as the two sub panels. All seemed to be fine.

Has anyone had the codes and not been able to clear them? What were your next steps? I was reading the P31 code and I might have to troubleshoot part of the high voltage system? And the other ones about the brakes? Are there common problems or parts that I could possibly order to just replace and see if it fixes the issue?
 
danowpg said:
GerryAZ said:
I agree--all of the "C" codes you listed are common with low 12-volt battery. It won't hurt anything to try clearing all of the trouble codes with LEAF Spy Pro after making sure you have a well-charged 12-volt battery in place. You may need to clear codes multiple times and disconnect/reconnect the 12-volt battery once or twice with code clearing processes repeated each time to clear all codes. I doubt that the car will go into ready mode until the P31 code is cleared.

So I tried doing this twice today, and those four codes would not clear. I also went through all the fuses I could get access to, in the cabin, and in the front bay the main fuse box there as well as the two sub panels. All seemed to be fine.

Has anyone had the codes and not been able to clear them? What were your next steps? I was reading the P31 code and I might have to troubleshoot part of the high voltage system? And the other ones about the brakes? Are there common problems or parts that I could possibly order to just replace and see if it fixes the issue?

I suspect the p31e1 is the root problem and the brake codes are subsequent to that.

The code lists 3 possible causes
"Harness and connector (Connection detecting circuit within Li-ion battery)"
"High voltage harness"
"Service plug"

Best I can recommend is read the service manual thoroughly. I don't know your level of expertise but working on 400V DC is not to be taken lightly and can easily kill you.

The first part of the diagnosis is making sure the 12V battery is supplying adequate power. Have you ensured this is the case? Are the battery terminals clean and tight, and how about the ground cable; is the bolt clean and tight? Might be worthwhile to remove the ground bolt and make sure the connection area is clean before retightening. Loose or dirty connections at the terminals or ground point can cause 12V problems even if the 12V battery is healthy. What is the 12V reading on LeafSpy? Turn headlights on HIGH. Does the 12V drop significantly?
 
Nubo said:
danowpg said:
GerryAZ said:
I agree--all of the "C" codes you listed are common with low 12-volt battery. It won't hurt anything to try clearing all of the trouble codes with LEAF Spy Pro after making sure you have a well-charged 12-volt battery in place. You may need to clear codes multiple times and disconnect/reconnect the 12-volt battery once or twice with code clearing processes repeated each time to clear all codes. I doubt that the car will go into ready mode until the P31 code is cleared.

So I tried doing this twice today, and those four codes would not clear. I also went through all the fuses I could get access to, in the cabin, and in the front bay the main fuse box there as well as the two sub panels. All seemed to be fine.

Has anyone had the codes and not been able to clear them? What were your next steps? I was reading the P31 code and I might have to troubleshoot part of the high voltage system? And the other ones about the brakes? Are there common problems or parts that I could possibly order to just replace and see if it fixes the issue?

I suspect the p31e1 is the root problem and the brake codes are subsequent to that.

The code lists 3 possible causes
"Harness and connector (Connection detecting circuit within Li-ion battery)"
"High voltage harness"
"Service plug"

Best I can recommend is read the service manual thoroughly. I don't know your level of expertise but working on 400V DC is not to be taken lightly and can easily kill you.

The first part of the diagnosis is making sure the 12V battery is supplying adequate power. Have you ensured this is the case? Are the battery terminals clean and tight, and how about the ground cable; is the bolt clean and tight? Might be worthwhile to remove the ground bolt and make sure the connection area is clean before retightening. Loose or dirty connections at the terminals or ground point can cause 12V problems even if the 12V battery is healthy. What is the 12V reading on LeafSpy? Turn headlights on HIGH. Does the 12V drop significantly?

I have installed a brand new battery and have ensured it was fully charged and connections secure. I have a battery charger at home. I had not checked the ground cable, and while tight, it does looks not a lot, but a little corroded where it meets the body. I'll see if a friend of mine can make me some new ground cables and see if that helps.

I don't have high-voltage experience, so that's something I don't want to really deal with too much. Im sure by following instructions for dealing with it I would be fine, but I do heed your caution. I have been busy with life for the past little while, so I'll try the ground cable and see if that helps...
 
After a new battery, the next step is to try to clear ALL of the error codes with LeafSpy Pro. Any codes that show after that, if any, should be real problems.
 
LeftieBiker said:
After a new battery, the next step is to try to clear ALL of the error codes with LeafSpy Pro. Any codes that show after that, if any, should be real problems.
Yes. That's what I've done several times. The four I listed before (and below) are the ones that persist...

C118C 0109 ABS EV/HEV System BRC-126
C1A6E 0109 Brake EV/HEV System BR-146
C1A70 0109 BRAKE Brake control system BR-160
P31E1 000B EV/HEV HV System Interlock Error EVC-305
 
If the codes come back with a fresh, charged battery, and after being cleared, then something in those systems needs to be replaced. The question is...what? My guess - and it is only a guess - is that you have one faulty component causing all of those related messages.
 
danowpg said:
Yes. That's what I've done several times. The four I listed before (and below) are the ones that persist...

C118C 0109 ABS EV/HEV System BRC-126
C1A6E 0109 Brake EV/HEV System BR-146
C1A70 0109 BRAKE Brake control system BR-160
P31E1 000B EV/HEV HV System Interlock Error EVC-305

According to the service manual, P31E1 is caused by:
High voltage harness
Service Plug
Harness and Connector (Connection detecting circuit within Li-ion battery)


Steps to diagnose:
1) Ensure the service plug is installed and seated properly, and has not come loose. It's located underneath a panel in the floor between the two rear seats.
2) Turn off car and wait >30 seconds. Check 12V voltage is 11V or more. Personally, I'd make sure it's 12.4V or more.
3) Check the high voltage connector harness to the battery.
4) Using a 500V DC meter and HV gloves, check that the HV terminals on the battery read 5v or less.
5) Visually inspect, check continuity of HV cabling harness from end to end, and replace if problems are found.

C1A6E - Indicates a malfunction in the VCM system, caused by a failed VCM, harness or connector, or the electrically driven brake unit

This code recommends, again, checking the 12v battery voltage and multiple steps with the consult tool (which you don't have) to test the brake controller.

C1A70 - Indicates a malfunction in the intelligent brake controller or harness

Again, this recommends checking the 12v battery and then a bunch of diagnostic steps of the brake controller with consult.



I see nothing in the service manual showing these codes trigger each other, but I can't rule that out either. This post showed someone with all the same codes you have:
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=26821

Unfortunately, that person has never posted with the root cause on those codes.


A couple thoughts:
1) The common failure point is the 12v battery. However, you've sworn up and down it's charged, provides good voltage, etc. Double check the battery terminals, make sure there's no corrosion, etc.


2) Another problem that has come up on the forums is the pre-charge resistor, as posted by Leftiebiker. This may be it, as this guy has EXACTLY the same 4 codes you do, and diagnosed it as a failed resistor in the pre-charge circuit, which is located inside the battery:
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=21776

If your pre-charge circuit failed, the failure may still be under warranty. Battery warranty lasts 8 years, 60k miles. If you have <60k miles, you might be able to get a new battery out of this... Be careful not to void the warranty doing work on your own, in case this is the failed component...


3) If #1 & #2 aren't the issue, you're really going to need the consult tool to get to the bottom of it, or start randomly checking connections, wiring harnesses, etc. Because all of the codes involve CAN bus errors (the P31E1 from the BCM--battery), and the rest from the brake controller, I would start checking the can bus wiring from the battery and the intelligent brake controller to the VCM. A disconnect or problem with the CAN bus could cause all of these errors. The primary CAN bus in the leaf has the VCM, DLC, BCM, ABS, Steering, and Dash/Nav. You fault codes involve the VCM, BCM, and ABS, all of which are on this bus.

See here:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4131

So, in short, I think diagnosing with Consult is the way to go, but you've said you really don't want to spend $600 at the dealer for a possible non-fix. Given that, I would start checking electrical continuity between pins between BCM, VCM, and ABS. As always, given the BCM is located in a 400V+ battery, be careful in case there's a short somewhere and there's high voltage somewhere you don't expect.

If you go the self-repair route, you're going to need the service manual. Everyone on this forum has given you the common cause (low 12V battery), but you've pretty clearly stated that it's not your issue. Therefore, some detailed debugging is in order.

Best of luck.
 
Yes, thanks Lothsahn for your post. Before work today I tried cleaning the main ground near the battery - sanding the area where the bolt meets the body, sanding the lip under the bolt head, and both surfaces of the tab that connects to the ground wire. Unless there is a ton of corrosion inside the copper threads where the tab connects, that didn't solve the problem.

Sometimes people have been able to get into the car - I'll double check the disconnect on the floor between the two seats and check back again.
 
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