the big cooling question

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odysseus

New member
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
1
Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie and about to buy my first Leaf.

I've read widely about how Nissan made a major design mistake in not providing for battery cooling in the Leaf, which limits speed and charge rate when the battery gets hot.

However, it's clear that the Leaf has a cooling system under the hood. So what is that used for? To cool the electric motor?
 
I have not hit a problem yet, in spite running a high battery temp during a 90+ degree day across Iowa. That said, there is a video from Germany, where he saw reduced charging at high temps.

Here in Chicago, we usually only get 5-10 90+F days a year (and its usually cooler at night), so its rarely a concern. If I lived in Phoenix, I might think about where I park my car before making a call. (if you are usually in a garage, your probably ok), but if in 120F sun every day, I might pick a Tesla with the overheat cooling, even though it costs a fair amount of range.
 
odysseus said:
Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie and about to buy my first Leaf.

I've read widely about how Nissan made a major design mistake in not providing for battery cooling in the Leaf, which limits speed and charge rate when the battery gets hot.

However, it's clear that the Leaf has a cooling system under the hood. So what is that used for? To cool the electric motor?

The cooling system is for the onboard charger and inverter-controller. Older Leafs have a second loop for heat for the cabin, but from 2013 on it's just the one loop for the hotter electronic components. That can't be connected to the battery because it would often make it hotter rather than cooler.
 
The liquid cooling system cools the DC-DC converter, onboard charger, inverter, and electric motor. It is just liquid coolant circulated through the radiator and components so it can only cool the components to a little above ambient air temperature. This is ideal for power electronic modules and electric motors, but too hot for batteries. For the most part, other electric cars which have battery cooling systems use refrigeration compressors (usually integrated with air conditioning systems).
 
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