Heater problem?

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WigWoo1

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
12
Hey everybody I'm new to this forum and I'm ready to start contributing but first I have a question. It is 65 degrees outside and I am trying to run my heater on full blast it initially starts up by going up to 3 kilowatts of energy usage and then it goes down to 0-.5kw of energy. I had the heater set to 90 degrees and it barely blows somewhat warm air when I'm trying to get it to blow its hottest. Does the heater not work above a certain outside temperature or is there something wrong. I have a 2013 SV model. Thank you
 
I also forgot to mention my leaf only has 8000 miles on it so I feel like it's not old enough to fail
 
Hi WigWoo1, welcome to the forum.

Interesting question. What fan speed is it on? If you set it at 90 and use a low fan speed, is it warmer?

You have a heat pump, so it may be related to outside temperature, but it's been a while since I read the manual.
 
This is a weird sitch. When the outside temperature is high, the heat pump should have *less* difficulty pumping heat into the car, unless the software won't let it run above a certain outside temperature (which I guess is what you are suggesting by reading the manual for an explanation).

Maybe try running it in defog mode, with the heat and AC both on? I'm not even sure how that works (pathetic noob who needs to read the manual), but it seems like what it *should* be doing is running the air through the cold (AC) coil to dehumidify it, then through the hot coil to warm it (so BOTH sides of the heat pump system are working on air bound for the cabin, not the usual where one is outside exchanging heat with the exterior), but if the system doesn't route that way, it might use the cold heat pump coil (AC mode) followed by the resistance heater, which would be a real energy hog. When I turn on my defogger, I smell something like a hot resistance element, so I'm betting on the latter mode of operation.
 
I run with the fan speed at maximum and turning the fan speed lower doesn't change the temperature of the air. Also when I turn the AC mode on it does help for defogging but it actually makes the air cooler even when it's set to 90. I was even having the same problem at 55 degrees outside so I'm not sure if it's a temperature thing or not
 
I have a theory, but I'm not at all sure it's correct. Your leaf has both a heatpump and a resistance (PTC) heater. I think that your PTC heater has failed, and the climate control, instead of having the heatpump take up the load, is still "expecting" it to provide initial heating, keeping the heatpump throttled back. It makes little sense, but then so does this situation.
 
I suspect that the controls look at the ambient temperature and decide it is warm enough to use heat pump only without running the resistance heater. You can confirm that the resistance heater is working by setting the remote climate control temperature set point as high as possible (90 degrees F, I think) in the CarWingw/EV Connect menus on the navigation unit. After setting the set point, start climate control while the car is plugged in. I found that remote or timer climate control operation while plugged in will always run the resistance heater (probably to minimize noise from the fan and save wear on the compressor). You should get hot air discharge from the vents if the resistance heater is working during remote climate control operation.

If it gets down to anywhere near 65 F tonight, I will try running the heater for a couple minutes in the morning to see what power draw and discharge temperature I get on my 2015 SL.
 
Usually the heater function the exact same way if I'm plugged into a charger. I can't use the car wings that because the 2G and the car has been shut down by AT&T. Does any of your Leafs blow hot air when you crank up the heat all the way and what is your kilowatt readings after a few minutes of running
 
If you manually turn the heater on while plugged in, the car will run the heater the same as if you were driving (heat pump preferred). It needs to be climate control timer start (or remote start via EV Connect) to force the resistance heater to run. You can set the climate control timer and associated set point through the CarWings (EV Connect) menus on the navigation screen even if the car cannot connect via cellular. After setting the climate control timer, make sure the car is off and plugged in before the start time. The climate control will start at the set time and use the resistance heater. If the resistance heater does not function, I think the car will then use the heat pump system to try to heat during the timed period.
 
The coldest temperature I had last night was 75 degrees F. My car did the same as you noted in your original post when I tried the heater set to 90 F. I know my resistance eater is OK so I suspect the HVAC controls decide to use heat pump only when the ambient temperature is high.
 
I have the same problem as the OP. My heater never gets hot, and only consumes about 0.5 - 1 kWh. The outside temp has been about 40°F.

Also, once I turned on the A/C and the kWh dropped to 0 and it blew cold, moist air (fogged up the windshield). I turned A/C off and it jumped back up to about 0.5 kWh. I toggled it a few times and it was consistently dropping to 0 with A/C enabled.

I have the climate control timer set for the morning, while plugged in, and it is never warm when I get in. I'm hoping this is just a matter of replacing a fuse. Any ideas?

(Used 2013 Leaf SL)
 
I think the PTC heater simply uses more juice to warm up initially and then only draws what it needs to stay hot. That's how resistance heaters work, afaik.
 
No, there is nothing wrong with your heater..... I believe it is a quirk in the car's computer.

I discovered this when I forgot to unplug my charger, and the car was at 100% when I was not driving anywhere. On a nice, warm day 75+, Ileft the car on, and wanted to run my heater full blast to use up some battery..... A while later, - - - Cool air just came out.

I believe that the computer senses that if the outside temperature is warm, then there is no reason for you to be blasting heat. So I believe that the Leaf only gives heat when it is sufficiently cool in the fall and winter... Maybe there is a chance for the system to overheat if the heat is blasted in warm weather..

Don't think that your car is broken, I believe it is too smart.
 
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