2013 Leaf - Dead 12-Volt Battery every 2 Weeks

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Hi.

I have a 2013 Nissan Leaf. I have been driving my leaf for almost three years without any problems. Suddenly one day it didnt start. I called recovery, he charged my battery and the car was working fine for few hours. I thought this is defenetly a battery problem so I went and bought a new battery. The car was fine again. For half a mile. I parked the car to do my shopping (5 minutes) came back to the car and the car didn’t start again. Have someone experienced this? I get the PS light and ELECTRICAL FAULTY sign on my dashboard. There must be something that draining the battery. I have not changed any habit since I bought the car. So it must be electrical problem somewhere.
 
Kevin78 said:
Hi.

I have a 2013 Nissan Leaf. I have been driving my leaf for almost three years without any problems. Suddenly one day it didnt start. I called recovery, he charged my battery and the car was working fine for few hours. I thought this is defenetly a battery problem so I went and bought a new battery. The car was fine again. For half a mile. I parked the car to do my shopping (5 minutes) came back to the car and the car didn’t start again. Have someone experienced this? I get the PS light and ELECTRICAL FAULTY sign on my dashboard. There must be something that draining the battery. I have not changed any habit since I bought the car. So it must be electrical problem somewhere.

As suggested in the other thread which you thread-jacked, please POST A NEW THREAD. Click on the "NEW TOPIC" button to do that.
 
Is there a software fix for the TCU issue in the works, or is this something we will have to live with forever?
 
The update worked for me. I had drained 12v battery every 4-5 days. I suspected the new 3G modem and turned off the overnight charging station Carwings update. The battery issue went away. I learned of update and took Leaf into shop. Tech initially questioned my analysis until I used Nissan app to remotely check battery status while he had meters connected. The 12v current spiked high and stayed high through the update. If the circuit remained open for some reason, I would have a dead 12v waiting for me in AM. He made the software change. No recurrence of problem with daily overnight status updates and frequent remote checks.
 
I pointed to a PDF of NTB18-045 at http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=546503#p546503 that should fix the TCU lockup problems and 12 volt battery drain. There's been at least a revision or two (latest is NTB18-045b, I think). Not sure what changed from b vs. original.
 
It fixed it. They said I was the first one in the Seattle area dealer (seems odd), but they did it for free.
 
Hi everyone!

I have been dealing with this issue for YEARS! Just got the car back from the dealership for the umpteenth time and following a week of diagnostics they still insist there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and told me to purchase another 12V for $200. I'm sorry, what??? Has anyone managed an easy fix for this? I'm not tech savvy, and don't have access to a plug overnight, so some of the aforementioned "solutions" wouldn't work for me. My intention was to get a new main battery for the car and pass it on to my daughter, but with its unpredictability I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I otherwise LOVE the car, so this is extremely frustrating. Hopefully something new has been discovered regarding this issue since 2013. At this point I'm ordering an ID.4, but was hoping to keep this for my daughter if feasible.

TIA,
Kimberly
 
Get an AGM type lead-acid battery, and make sure they fully charge it before installation. (Don't get it from the dealer.) These batteries are more tolerant of low charge, and seem to charge better with the Leaf. Further, 'blip' the wipers once per drive, or wash the windshield using them. This triggers a voltage increase that charges the 12 volt battery for minute or two. If you are using the Accessory mode when the car is parked, don't. Always use Ready mode, the mode in which you drive the car. This keeps the 12 volt battery charged instead of draining it like Accessory mode does.
 
Kimbot68 said:
I have been dealing with this issue for YEARS! Just got the car back from the dealership for the umpteenth time and following a week of diagnostics they still insist there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and told me to purchase another 12V for $200.

Did you ask them if the NTB18-045b TCU patch had been applied?

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10145516-9999.pdf

Also, try a different dealership - the one you've been using doesn't sound very competent.
 
Nice find Alozzy but I just wanted to forwarn people on a slow or metered internet connection, the link opens up a rather large 22-page pdf that took 15? seconds, even on my faster connection. Still worth it for a look, just forewarning anyone, probably no one using dialup anymore but I can only imagine how long it would take with 56k :D
BTW the pdf talks about the telematics issue with it frequently searching and draining the battery, I also agree with Leftie, this would also be a good use of an AGM battery(like Optima yellow top or others) but if the telematics is causing the drain, that is the first thing to fix.
 
jjeff said:
Nice find Alozzy but I just wanted to forwarn people on a slow or metered internet connection, the link opens up a rather large 22-page pdf that took 15? seconds, even on my faster connection. Still worth it for a look, just forewarning anyone, probably no one using dialup anymore but I can only imagine how long it would take with 56k :D

Filesize is only 8.6MB (at least now) so either they replaced the larger file or there was some kind of slowdown when you tried to access it.

But what a honking procedure! 22 pages just to update some doggone firmware. :roll:
 
Nubo said:
jjeff said:
Nice find Alozzy but I just wanted to forwarn people on a slow or metered internet connection, the link opens up a rather large 22-page pdf that took 15? seconds, even on my faster connection. Still worth it for a look, just forewarning anyone, probably no one using dialup anymore but I can only imagine how long it would take with 56k :D

Filesize is only 8.6MB (at least now) so either they replaced the larger file or there was some kind of slowdown when you tried to access it.
It's possible I had a temporary slow connection, I tried to look for the file size but couldn't easily see it. 8.6MB isn't bad at all, probably no need to forwarn anyone but I agree, one heck of a procedure :D
 
I shouldn't even type this, but I haven't had an issue in about 2 years now. I have done a couple of things, not sure which or all of them that helped. I did swap the battery to a larger battery, more to drain before it is dead.

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18129&p=439206#p439206

Because we are down two bars we pretty much have to charge to 100% all the time, I believe this gives longer time to also charge the 12v, when I used to charge to 80%, it might only charge for 90 minutes tops, again not sure how much that is adding to the 12v charge.

Lastly I disconnected the 12v battery sense lead. If I recall correctly it is the smaller black connector on the negative lead. If you disconnect that lead the car will always try to keep the 12v battery at the 14.4v becasue it thinks there is a large load on the battery or really it doesn't know the load so it keeps charging all the time.

I have a base S, so no telematics for me.
 
BrockWI said:
...
Lastly I disconnected the 12v battery sense lead. If I recall correctly it is the smaller black connector on the negative lead. If you disconnect that lead the car will always try to keep the 12v battery at the 14.4v becasue it thinks there is a large load on the battery or really it doesn't know the load so it keeps charging all the time.
...

Interesting approach, and probably why you haven't had any more 12V problems.

How did you come up with that idea?

I never thought of doing that, probably assuming disconnection of the 12V battery current sensor would cause some problematic fault.

What does the CANBUS show the 12V current to be with the current sensor disconnected (as read using LEAF Spy with OBDII bluetooth or WIFI adapter)?

Does it just show missing value?

Depending on how the sensor works, the CANBUS might see zero, or infinite, but if it is digital the CANBUS may just show data unavailable.
 
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