Newbie battery question

Hi there,

I got a 2019 Leaf SV a week ago and I haven’t been charging it overnight. I have noticed that the battery loses a couple percentage points of its charge after sitting for eight or ten hours. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I lose some SOC after the battery sits, cools off a little and the voltage stabilizes.

forcedexposure said:

Hi there,

I got a 2019 Leaf SV a week ago and I haven’t been charging it overnight. I have noticed that the battery loses a couple percentage points of its charge after sitting for eight or ten hours. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Click to expand...

If the pack temperature falls into the single digits (F) then the battery warmer comes on. It turns back off when the pack warms up a little. How cold have your nights been?

I am in the Boston area and the temperature has been in the 30s for the last week. On the day that I bought the car, it did get down to zero degrees Fahrenheit, but that's the only day that it got into the single digits. It's been much warmer since then.

If the temperature was 50 degree F, would you expect that the battery loses no charge overnight while it is not turned on?

Thanks so much for your input.

I wouldn't expect loss of charge under any conditions other than "frigid." Mine stays put as long as the battery warmer isn't running.

Thanks for your input. I’ll talk to my awesome Nissan salesperson about this and see what he thinks.

I think I can predict that he will think it's "normal." You may have to wait until it's happening in 60 degree weather to get any help from the dealership. What may it be? Look to see if a single blue charging light comes on above the dash overnight. That means, depending on the side, that either the battery warmer is running (improperly in this case) or the car is charging the 12 volt battery more than expected.

forcedexposure said:

Hi there,

I got a 2019 Leaf SV a week ago and I haven’t been charging it overnight. I have noticed that the battery loses a couple percentage points of its charge after sitting for eight or ten hours. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Click to expand...

The car should lose very little charge overnight unless temperatures are down near 0 F so the battery heater operates. I have parked for up to a month at my office without noticeable loss of charge. The SOC percentage display is not really accurate so you would need to let it sit for 2 or 3 days to see if it loses 2 or 3 times as much as just overnight. As LeftieBiker said, the dealer will say it is normal.

forcedexposure said:

Hi there,

I got a 2019 Leaf SV a week ago and I haven’t been charging it overnight. I have noticed that the battery loses a couple percentage points of its charge after sitting for eight or ten hours. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Click to expand...

I’ve only experienced phantom drain once. I lost 6% over night, but it was about -13C outside and snowing. Sounds like you may have an issue.

Thanks for your help! I'm new to this and still assuming (and hoping!) that I'm doing something wrong.

According to my Nissan Connect EV & Services app, there was no "phantom drain" last night, after trickle charging the battery to 85%. The car is left outside overnight and the temperature got down to 25 degrees F.

I've ordered equipment for Leaf Spy Pro, which arrives tomorrow. Hopefully it'll reveal that everything's ok with the battery and I'm misreading the info when starting the car.

Let's look at this realistically... You just bought this car. Also, you have a 3 year warrantee..

So.....

1) The battery has not even been used yet, you are only now STARTING to exercise the battery. There may be some fluctuation in the battery when brand new.

2) Gauges and meters are NOT precise measures of any aspect of what is measured... They are only a general indicator.

3) You are a new buyer, and are paranoid that you will find a problem!!! Relax, observe and note what is a real indicator of a problem... If your Battery % goes from 100 to 99, or 98%... Then keep an eye on it. It will never be an exact measure.

4) And when you get LEAFSPY.. Don't go crazy when the car gauges don't match EXACTLY with leafspy... THEY WILL NOT..

PS - congratulations on your new car.

I’m pretty sure now that the reason I was losing battery is that I was turning the car on with the cabin heat on.

Here’s what my awesome EV geek / Nissan salesperson said about it:
“It is not my experience that a LEAF will lose any measurable amount of charge overnight, unless it is quite cold. It will use battery power to keep the battery pack from risk of freezing damage”