2013 Nissan Leaf - won't start

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Now that you have a well-charged 12V battery and have cleaned the ground connection, try again to clear codes using the following process:

1. Clear codes using Leaf Spy Pro.
2. Disconnect ground terminal of 12V battery.
3. Turn on headlights (high beam) and leave doors open for 5 minutes. This will discharge any capacitors and power supplies in various modules.
4. Reconnect 12V battery.
5. Clear codes using Leaf Spy Pro.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 twice more.

This procedure should clear any codes related to communication and/or power supply problems of the various computer modules. Record any remaining codes, try starting the car, and then report the results back to this thread. As I have reported in other threads, I had to clear codes and disconnect the 12V battery at least twice to clear codes related to periodic intermittent intelligent brake controller CAN bus communication failures before having the controller replaced in January.
 
GerryAZ said:
Now that you have a well-charged 12V battery and have cleaned the ground connection, try again to clear codes using the following process:

1. Clear codes using Leaf Spy Pro.
2. Disconnect ground terminal of 12V battery.
3. Turn on headlights (high beam) and leave doors open for 5 minutes. This will discharge any capacitors and power supplies in various modules.
4. Reconnect 12V battery.
5. Clear codes using Leaf Spy Pro.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 twice more.

This procedure should clear any codes related to communication and/or power supply problems of the various computer modules. Record any remaining codes, try starting the car, and then report the results back to this thread. As I have reported in other threads, I had to clear codes and disconnect the 12V battery at least twice to clear codes related to periodic intermittent intelligent brake controller CAN bus communication failures before having the controller replaced in January.
I'm pretty sure I've tried this combination like 4 times already.

I don't have the money to pay someone professionally to diagnose this at the moment, so the car is sitting for a while.

But a small update: I had the dealership call to take a survey about my service. I didn't rate them well. I got an email from their service manager, who forwarded me the service log from when they had it (which they didn't originally give me). And it showed two things:

A CUSTOMER CONCERN HAD T/M MALFUNTION LIGHT COME ON - VEHICLE WONT
START SINCE THIS WARNING CAME ON - CUSTOMER REPLACED BATTERY TO
TRY TO FIX STILL NOT STARTING - PLEASE INSPECT AND ADVISE
800 *****GENERAL DIAGNOSIS***** - $144.95/HR
771 C 144.95 144.95
PARTS: 0.00 LABOR: 144.95 OTHER: 0.00 TOTAL LINE A: 144.95
55152 VEHICLE WILL NOT GO INTO READY MODE 1.00 CONFIRMED VEHICLE
WILL NOT GO INTO READY MODE AND HAS WARNING LIGHTS ON - P31E1 HV
INTERLOCK ERROR - HV SYSTEM OPEN CIRCUIT - FOUND NO VOLTAGE AT SERVICE
PLUG - TEST SERVICE PLUG AND FOUND GOOD - DISCONNECT HIGH VOLTAGE
HARNESSES AND TEST INSULATION AND FOUND NO FAULT - ISOLATE OPEN CIRCUIT
WITHIN HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY - ADVISE TO REMOVE/OPEN/INSPECT HIGH
VOLTAGE BATTERY PACK AND ADVISE FAULT

1) They disconnected HV harness I'm assuming? So potentially they might not have re-plugged it in?

2) They also diagnosed it as P31E1, so if that was the case, it should be still under the battery warranty, so why would they want to charge me 4 hours / $600 to diagnose the HV battery?

I sent an email to the service manager with the process so far, and will update if I hear more...
 
As I understand it, if they find and fix a problem that is covered under the battery warranty, it's free. If they poke around but can't find out exactly what is wrong, they can charge you. Nice, eh?
 
Curious. I have trouble seeing how it could NOT be a battery warranty issue, short of some sort of trauma like a wreck or super bad pothole or something. I'd discuss it in more detail with the service people in order to understand what the possible outcomes of the diagnostic could be. Assuming I liked what I heard, I'd probably go through with the diagnostic, despite the potential bill.
 
davewill said:
Curious. I have trouble seeing how it could NOT be a battery warranty issue, short of some sort of trauma like a wreck or super bad pothole or something. I'd discuss it in more detail with the service people in order to understand what the possible outcomes of the diagnostic could be. Assuming I liked what I heard, I'd probably go through with the diagnostic, despite the potential bill.
Service manager still doesn't want to even commit to saying it's a warranty issue. Given the other battery-pack related issues people have had on the forum, and how many dealerships will just deal with it right away, I feel like feet are being dragged unnecessarily.

Also now that there is the recall notice for the battery bonding plates, I forwarded that info to the service manager in the hopes that it would help them justify taking the time to drop my battery and inspect it (given its on warranty AND under recall).

Four business days later and no response.

Come Monday I'll be contacting Nissan Canada to see if I can't get this matter progressing further...
 
And Nissan Canada and North America's computer systems are down. No ETA for being fixed. Uggggh. Sorry needed to vent.
 
OK quick update - tomorrow I will go to pick up the car. They say they've fixed the problem (and have said the bill will be an additional $359 CAD on top of the $180 I spent originally, and also did the battery bonding plate recall. I'll get the full service log when I go there, but I wanted to get your opinions before I do.

Small note: My heater hasn't worked since the fall of 2017. Took it to a different Nissan dealership, and they said it would be $3,200 to fix it with a new heater.

For today, I asked what the problem was, and they said the connection to the heater was corroded and giving the circuit open fault.

Does anyone have an idea of where this connection could be? Again, I'll try and get more info from them tomorrow, but I'm curious if it is something that could be under the dash or indeed in the battery pack. Has anyone needed work to this kind of connection before, and would you think it could be then considered out of warranty if it was in the battery pack?

Fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe it has fixed the heater problem as well.
 
danowpg said:
OK quick update - tomorrow I will go to pick up the car. They say they've fixed the problem (and have said the bill will be an additional $359 CAD on top of the $180 I spent originally, and also did the battery bonding plate recall. I'll get the full service log when I go there, but I wanted to get your opinions before I do.

Small note: My heater hasn't worked since the fall of 2017. Took it to a different Nissan dealership, and they said it would be $3,200 to fix it with a new heater.

For today, I asked what the problem was, and they said the connection to the heater was corroded and giving the circuit open fault.

Does anyone have an idea of where this connection could be? Again, I'll try and get more info from them tomorrow, but I'm curious if it is something that could be under the dash or indeed in the battery pack. Has anyone needed work to this kind of connection before, and would you think it could be then considered out of warranty if it was in the battery pack?

Fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe it has fixed the heater problem as well.

Thanks for posting the root cause. That helps if we have any other fellow northerners with HV battery issues. ;) Btw, $359+$180 is CHEAP compared to some of the diagnostic costs I've seen around. I would be very happy about that (and leave them a good review). This is why they quoted you $600 originally--turns out it wasn't a battery warranty issue and it's better to be up front about costs than to have a surprise.
 
Lothsahn said:
Thanks for posting the root cause. That helps if we have any other fellow northerners with HV battery issues. ;) Btw, $359+$180 is CHEAP compared to some of the diagnostic costs I've seen around. I would be very happy about that (and leave them a good review). This is why they quoted you $600 originally--turns out it wasn't a battery warranty issue and it's better to be up front about costs than to have a surprise.

Yeah, that's why I wanted to post everything was so that if someone else had an issue, they could learn from it.

My big question is still what IS the main cause?

How did it get corroded?

Is it related to the battery plate recall where corrosion could be introduced?

Where was the actual connection that was corroded - is it within the battery pack enclosure? If so, where does the battery pack warranty end and the electrical warranty stop?

This last question I think is really important. I'm assuming there's a connection somewhere in the battery pack for the main heater?

On the flip side, if I do find out that it has fixed my heater, I still have a quote from 1.5 years ago when my heat stopped working for $3,200 Canadian to replace the heater. Maybe it's still broken, we will know more tomorrow.
 
danowpg said:
Lothsahn said:
Thanks for posting the root cause. That helps if we have any other fellow northerners with HV battery issues. ;) Btw, $359+$180 is CHEAP compared to some of the diagnostic costs I've seen around. I would be very happy about that (and leave them a good review). This is why they quoted you $600 originally--turns out it wasn't a battery warranty issue and it's better to be up front about costs than to have a surprise.

Yeah, that's why I wanted to post everything was so that if someone else had an issue, they could learn from it.

My big question is still what IS the main cause?

How did it get corroded?

Is it related to the battery plate recall where corrosion could be introduced?

Where was the actual connection that was corroded - is it within the battery pack enclosure? If so, where does the battery pack warranty end and the electrical warranty stop?

This last question I think is really important. I'm assuming there's a connection somewhere in the battery pack for the main heater?

On the flip side, if I do find out that it has fixed my heater, I still have a quote from 1.5 years ago when my heat stopped working for $3,200 Canadian to replace the heater. Maybe it's still broken, we will know more tomorrow.

I wouldn't be surprised if this fixes your heater problem too. The heater failure would have been real good clue to provide service with before they started diagnosing. Not sure where they fixed corrosion, but the HV connectors plug into receptacles on the front of the battery case. Whether or not that is covered by the "battery warranty" I can't say. As to root cause, corrosion suggests water. Perhaps it was driven through high water at some point? Was it a new or a used car?
 
danowpg said:
Lothsahn said:
Thanks for posting the root cause. That helps if we have any other fellow northerners with HV battery issues. ;) Btw, $359+$180 is CHEAP compared to some of the diagnostic costs I've seen around. I would be very happy about that (and leave them a good review). This is why they quoted you $600 originally--turns out it wasn't a battery warranty issue and it's better to be up front about costs than to have a surprise.

Yeah, that's why I wanted to post everything was so that if someone else had an issue, they could learn from it.

My big question is still what IS the main cause?

How did it get corroded?

Is it related to the battery plate recall where corrosion could be introduced?

Where was the actual connection that was corroded - is it within the battery pack enclosure? If so, where does the battery pack warranty end and the electrical warranty stop?

This last question I think is really important. I'm assuming there's a connection somewhere in the battery pack for the main heater?

On the flip side, if I do find out that it has fixed my heater, I still have a quote from 1.5 years ago when my heat stopped working for $3,200 Canadian to replace the heater. Maybe it's still broken, we will know more tomorrow.

Ask them where the corrosion was present. If it was located around the heater plugin, then definitely no. If it was near the battery, maybe?

My understanding is that the recall was only to fix an issue where the battery pack could corrode through, break open, and expose people to high voltages. They basically replaced some plates and brackets to deal with potential corrosion issues. I highly doubt that had anything to do with your corrosion--corrosion around HV connections and plugs.

Also, the battery is fully sealed, so even if the car was driven through high water, it wouldn't have affected components inside the battery (unless something crazy happened). I know someone with 3 flood damaged Leaf's (from Katrina), and when he took the batteries out, they were 100% functional. The rest of the car, not so much. The cars were submerged, in some cases, up to the windows.
 
So this is what the service log says:

Continue diagnosis for current code of P31E1 HV System Interlock Error - Test All harnesses insulation and circuit resistance - good - Asper techline support test HV connector shorting bar circuit and found open wire from corrosion on heater harness to HV battery - repaired damaged wire and retest shorting bar circuit - good - reconnect high voltage system and codes cleared - vehicle goes into ready mode and drives normally - verified fix - good.

Car works. This did not fix my heater problem.
 
danowpg, Having taken mine apart, I think I see what happened to yours. Congrats on having it running again.

There is a high voltage interlock circuit in the battery pack and connectors: there are two small pins and a wire or bar on each plug, the HV heater, the service disconnect, and the main cable to the front. The purpose is to detect if any of the HV battery pack connections are not plugged in, before allowing to close the contactors (and give the ready light). It is a loop within the battery pack and the controller expects to see continuity through the whole loop (all connectors and the service plug are plugged in).

The HV heater plug has a loop of several inches hanging out of the connector. I think mine was tucked into the orange plastic conduit, but it is outside of the plug body. Could have been pinched or nicked and let moisture past the wire insulation. That wire must have gotten moisture in it or the connector, not maintained the circuit closed, and set the code. Fixing that loop of wire solved it.
 
Heater failures are a well known issue. If you do a search you will find detailed teardown that locate the source of the failure. My memory is that Toyota used the same unit and Toyota has been taken care of customers who experienced failures. This appears to be design or manufacturing defect.
 
Edelman said:
Heater failures are a well known issue. If you do a search you will find detailed teardown that locate the source of the failure. My memory is that Toyota used the same unit and Toyota has been taken care of customers who experienced failures. This appears to be design or manufacturing defect.
And so far there hasn't been a word from Nissan on the heater issue :/
 
Wow, a dealer didn't figure out this other case of the same problem very well, IMHO.

https://www.reddit.com/r/leaf/comments/el6dwz/my_15_was_finally_towed_to_the_shop_for_1800_in/
 
danowpg said:
But a small update: I had the dealership call to take a survey about my service. I didn't rate them well. I got an email from their service manager, who forwarded me the service log from when they had it (which they didn't originally give me). And it showed two things:

A CUSTOMER CONCERN HAD T/M MALFUNTION LIGHT COME ON - VEHICLE WONT
START SINCE THIS WARNING CAME ON - CUSTOMER REPLACED BATTERY TO
TRY TO FIX STILL NOT STARTING - PLEASE INSPECT AND ADVISE
800 *****GENERAL DIAGNOSIS***** - $144.95/HR
771 C 144.95 144.95
PARTS: 0.00 LABOR: 144.95 OTHER: 0.00 TOTAL LINE A: 144.95
55152 VEHICLE WILL NOT GO INTO READY MODE 1.00 CONFIRMED VEHICLE
WILL NOT GO INTO READY MODE AND HAS WARNING LIGHTS ON - P31E1 HV
INTERLOCK ERROR - HV SYSTEM OPEN CIRCUIT - FOUND NO VOLTAGE AT SERVICE
PLUG - TEST SERVICE PLUG AND FOUND GOOD - DISCONNECT HIGH VOLTAGE
HARNESSES AND TEST INSULATION AND FOUND NO FAULT - ISOLATE OPEN CIRCUIT
WITHIN HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY - ADVISE TO REMOVE/OPEN/INSPECT HIGH
VOLTAGE BATTERY PACK AND ADVISE FAULT

1) They disconnected HV harness I'm assuming? So potentially they might not have re-plugged it in?

2) They also diagnosed it as P31E1, so if that was the case, it should be still under the battery warranty, so why would they want to charge me 4 hours / $600 to diagnose the HV battery?

I sent an email to the service manager with the process so far, and will update if I hear more...

Why would they want to charge for dropping the battery pack, for P31E1? I read the service manual very carefully. It does not say to check the PTC heater HV connector continuity of the interlock loop (the little broken wire). It skips that. I think it's skipped because this part of the service manual didn't get updated after '11-12 cars which didn't _have_ this connector and section of the interlock loop!

So the service manual says bend over the customer by accident, and drop their pack! lol Wow!

Good thing you said no way dano! The guy from reddit had the same thing happen. doa!
 
danowpg said:
C118C 0109 ABS EV/HEV System BRC-126
C1A6E 0109 Brake EV/HEV System BR-146
C1A70 0109 BRAKE Brake control system BR-160
P31E1 000B EV/HEV HV System Interlock Error EVC-305

I had the exact same codes on a 2013 leaf. It was a bad connection of the safety (interlock) circuit for the main battery plug on the traction battery. Once this was corrected, all the above codes could be deleted

All the safety (interlock) connections must be working correctly as they are wired in series. For the 2013 MY there are 3 - main battery plug, heater plug, safety cut out link (aka battery fuse)
 
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