odor after charging, not burning, not AC

2012 LEAF, original batteries. This just started happening. I level 2 charge in my closed garage between midnight and 5AM. In the morning I smell something like ozone with a little something else, not necessarily hydrocarbons. I do not smell it when the car does not charge.

There is a gas water heater in the garage. Source is not paints solvents, etc. that one might normally find in a garage (those are properly stored.)

Has anyone else experienced this?

OSD

Weird, never noticed anything like that. An arcing electric discharge can cause O2 split to split into oxygen ions, which quickly bind to O2 molecules, forming O3. Ozone isn't too healthy, especially when breathed in, as it's a strong oxidizing agent.

Ozone detectors are pricey, but perhaps there's a local company that will do an air quality test.

If your EVSE or the OBC is arcing, then that could be potentially dangerous.

You could try switching to the stock EVSE and trickle charge for a night, to see if you still get the ozone smell in the morning.

Just a guess, but this could be the Leaf's onboard charger 'cooking' as it prepares to fail. If you think it's ozone from something else, ventilate the garage.

LeftieBiker said:

Just a guess, but this could be the Leaf's onboard charger 'cooking' as it prepares to fail. If you think it's ozone from something else, ventilate the garage.

Click to expand...

Ventilate the garage in any case.

But yeah, something in the charging circuit is cooking.
It sounds like a BAD idea to let it continue.

Is the Mains Power circuit breaker box in the garage? Does the Level 2 have its own breaker? It might be worth pulling and inspecting the breaker for arcing on the back side where it plugs in to the mains legs.

If the smell is somewhat sweet or leaves a sweet taste in your mouth, then it might be venting electrolyte from a damaged cell. Or carbon monoxide from the gas WH.

The detection of ozone varies among people and can be mistaken for an electrical burning smell. The problem with electrical burning is the melted plastic usually covers the smell. If you have an IR thermometer, I would start checking temperatures when the charge has been running a few hours.

Also listen for changes in the charging sound. pay special attention to water flow thru the radiator and temperatures thru out the PDM stack. Water pump failure will lead to PDM failure.

The electrolyte from a damaged Toshiba LTO cell smells a lot like latex paint, but different. Without the harshness in latex paint maybe

The 2012 has a separate cooling loop for the onboard charger (located behind the rear seats). I suppose it's possible for someone to associate a coolant smell with Ozone. I'd check both coolant reservoir levels and look for any small leaks. I'd sniff around the coolant pump during charging. (not sure if that uses a brushed motor?) If the charger's coolant loop is low on fluid or the coolant pump is having problems those could be possible reasons for smells directly, or overheating of the charger from lack of coolant flow.

As far as battery electrolyte; I'd describe that as having something of a "pear" smell.

Does it smell more or less strongly in different areas? EVSE? Under-hood? Car interior? Plug handle? Breaker box?