Does the Leaf have a radiator?

[garygid]

Wire cooling in the LEAF sounds like BS (incorrect information) to me.

It might be difficult for newcomers to sort out what is true?

[smkettner]

Message board is more conversation than encyclopedia

[EVDRIVER]

Wire cooling in the LEAF sounds like BS (incorrect information) to me.

It might be difficult for newcomers to sort out what is true?

As long as manufacturers hire PR firms that spout utter nonsense people will think it's true. EVs are very simple machines and are all built about the same, there is no magic tech, no radical cooling deviation and no miracle motor that doubles range. When these people and the Nissan CS do this type of thing it explains why cords are called chargers and cables have water cooling. Non-tech people should just stop making things up, because someone can change their air cleaner on their car it does not make them a mechanic and reading all the hype on ABG or forums does not make one an EV expert. The problem with forums is that people unknowingly post inaccurate info or things they read on the web. It's easy to get accurate EV info via books and the web, just skip the articles from people who are "experts" because the drove one and wrote a review, we see that every day.

[EVDRIVER]

I do need to clarify to avoid confusion about one wire, the wires to the usb port are likely cooled, a computer expert told me that is typical on high-speed connections. I'm sure the CAN bus is as well for speed, surely a loop to the inverter cooler.

I think he was talking about this wire cooling (rack) that comes with the accessory NA721 which is the solar cooking option.

You always know what I'm thinking! It's been difficult to get things straight since my coiled EVSE cord gave me a bad dose of EMF and burst into flames from heat while just sitting on the ground! I also have a detached retina from looking directly into an LED tail light too long, don't do that! I'm also going to put a bank of fans on the front of the car to generate power to charge the pack when I drive on the freeway:)

[wgs1912]

It appears that the charger is also cooled. In a video at work it shows coolant lines under the car going into the bottom of the charger.

[EVDRIVER]

It appears that the charger is also cooled. In a video at work it shows coolant lines under the car going into the bottom of the charger.

That is very common on factory cooled EVs with water cooled inverters and motors. This allows chargers to be placed in confined spaces and when charging there is no loud fan noise since the radiator fan is not needed and the pump is silent.

[23doctor]

To clear everything up:

there are two seperate glycol based systems in the Nissan Leaf.
#1 HV cooling system. This is exactly as it sounds. Think ICE, but in place of the actual engine you have the traction motor, invertor, DC-DC convertor, on-board charger, etc.

There are two coolant pumps that are run in unision, albeit at different speeds (to prevent harmonics/NVH issues). Both pumps always run unless there is a pump failure, in which case the remaining pump is run at 100% duty cycle to prevent HV overtemperature conditions.
There is a traditional radiator, though it is a cross-flow style... and appears to be a triple pass unit!
The actual HV battery is air cooled.

#2 cabin heater system. This consists of a coolant pump and the actual "heater assembly". There is no heat exchanger (radiator) for the heating system.

Both systems have seperate swirl pots (burp tanks, call it what you like - with pressure caps), but share an overflow bottle.

Both systems use the "super dooper" new Nissan LLC - this is blue (not the old school green) and comes premixed in a 50/50 solution from Nissan. Both systems are claimed to be "lifetime" - worded proplery - maintanence free.

The A/C system is exactly like Altima Hybrid - uses a HV compressor and has a traditional system layout.


Hope that clears everything up!

-n-

there is absolutely no wire cooling of any sort in this vehicle. that is obsurd and i would mope around all day if i had to deal with diagnosing that nonsense!!

[smkettner]

The difference in the Leaf is that the coolant isn't under pressure like a traditional engine radiator system, thus it is very unlikely to develop a leak. Sure, you'll have to glance it, but it shouldn't need anything more than annual maintenance.

You probably don't need to do more than check the fluid levels more than a couple times a year.

Coolant these days typically lasts at least 3-years 36k miles before a change - and usually a lot longer. For example, on the Prius, you only need to change the engine and inverter coolant after 10 years / 100,000 miles and every 5 years / 50,000 miles after the first one.

I believe the service manual said 125,000 for first fluid change and 75,000 thereafter.
Forgot the related time interval.

[GroundLoop]

Excellent info! Thanks!

I am curious about the design of the cabin heater, and why it benefits from having an indirect (coolant) stage. Why not just resistive heat in the cabin airflow directly? Seems like it would take longer to heat fluid than just glow into a fan.

The A/C compressor.. runs directly of HV battery pack power?

[kmp647]

Excellent info! Thanks!

I am curious about the design of the cabin heater, and why it benefits from having an indirect (coolant) stage. Why not just resistive heat in the cabin airflow directly? Seems like it would take longer to heat fluid than just glow into a fan.

The A/C compressor.. runs directly of HV battery pack power?

Heater is safer as water coolant instead of coil , also provides more consistent temp and holds some heat when the heating elemnt is de activated
This is good news