'15 Leaf - Best place to tap 12v system for 1500 watt AC inverter use?

[summetj]

If I wanted to use my 2015 Leaf's traction pack to power a 12 volt AC inverter to run my fridge in a power outage type situation, where would the best place to tap in be?


Connecting lugs above the existing wires on the terminals at the power distribution module / charging module seem like the easiest place to connect up, but wanted to ask here for insight before I made up an Anderson connector and fuse block with terminals, etc....

Thanks,
Jay

[Nubo]

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=13097

[summetj]

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=13097

So in that thread it appears that everybody attached + to the battery positive, and - to the vehicle ground (body).

My question:

Can I bolt directly to the power distribution module + and - terminals instead? The - terminal goes right to the vehilce body, so that appears to be the same to me. I'm just interested to know if the + goes directly to the battery + and is electrically equivalent, or not?

Jay

[arnis]

Plus is pretty much direct. Be sure you connect BEFORE fuses.
Negative has a current sensor at the battery terminal (there is an extra connector nearby).
Some say that it is not ok do connect to negative battery terminal, I will not confirm that.
I would rather connect before that sensor rather than after.

[LeftieBiker]

There is a power tap under the dash somewhere for the Bose stereo option. Some people have used that. I have no details.

[GerryAZ]

There is no wiring under the dash that would support the 125 amperes continuous current needed to run a 1500 watt inverter. Connections at the battery should have short circuit and overcurrent protection (fuse or breaker) in accordance with manufacturer recommendations for the inverter. If the negative connection is made directly to the battery, the current sensor will be measuring the current flowing to the inverter. This will cause the DC-DC converter output to be about 14 volts (battery charging voltage) instead of the normal float voltage of about 13 volts. The higher voltage may overcharge the battery. If the negative connection is made to ground (chassis side of the current sensor), then the DC-DC converter output will be normal since the current sensor will only measure current flowing into the battery.

[knightmb]

If I wanted to use my 2015 Leaf's traction pack to power a 12 volt AC inverter to run my fridge in a power outage type situation, where would the best place to tap in be?


Connecting lugs above the existing wires on the terminals at the power distribution module / charging module seem like the easiest place to connect up, but wanted to ask here for insight before I made up an Anderson connector and fuse block with terminals, etc....

Thanks,
Jay

Unless you plan not to max out that 1,500 watt inverter, the system can't handle that currently with it's 2,000 watt max limit. To have the vehicle running in drive mode to keep the 12 volt system powered still uses some of that power (even with all the lights, heater, radio, off) and for a 1,500 watt inverter to deliver that much power would overload the 2,000 watt 12-volt system because of inverter losses. The reason I know because I've already had relatives try that with a 1,400 watt inverter (yes, 1,400 watt), it basically kills the car and puts up an error code that the 12 volt was overloaded. A safer bet is to setup a 1,000 watt inverter, requires smaller cables, no issue of overloading the 12-volt on the car.

Just for reference here is mine, I have a NEMA 50 amp box where I used all 4 lines to split positive and negative loads across the 12-volts needed for my 1,000 watt inverter. Even at a max load of 1,000 watts, the cables remain ambient temperature, even in the middle of a hot summer. Yes, that is a lithium 12-volt battery in the picture, ditched my lead over half a decade ago

[xsnapshot]

All,

Glad to finally join the leaf family! I have a 2020 SL Plus and have a question.

I've done a fair bit of research on this topic, but I'd like to install a 12 v DC to AC inverter underhood that connects to the leaf 12v battery. I can then use the leaf as a mobile power generator or plug my deep freeze in my garage to it, in the event of a power failure.

I've seen some mention that the stock battery is actually undersized and that the leaf prefers charging a larger AGM type battery. That sounds like a great plan, but my questions are as follows.

1.) What is the Amp hours of the OEM battery? For the life of me I can't find this exact spec. Maybe I'm just terrible at searching?
2.) I've seen some recommend a yellowtop AGM replacement. It appears as though the drop in size (51R) is only a 38ah battery. I'd love to put in a larger AGM battery to act as more of a buffer to loads from the inverter. Thinking more of around 50-60 ah would be nice. Since consensus seems to be that the leaf likes charging a bigger battery more than small, does the drop in yellowtop (51R) really solve that issue?
3.) I've read that the leaf's onboard high voltage DC to 12v DC converter can push a max of 1800 watts to the 12v battery. Therefore I'm going to purchase a 2000 watt inverter but be mindful to keep loads around 1500 watts or less.

I'm fairly competent with electrics as my career field is mechanical engineering. However I am a newbie when it comes to the idiosyncrasies and nuances of the leaf.

I've been pretty pleased with the car so far. I'm enjoying the pep it has and the ability to remotely control the climate controls. Game changer!

Thanks for any assistance/recommendations!

[LeftieBiker]

Another possible approach would be to use a large 'buffer battery' that is charged by the Leaf, to provide more than 1000 watts for brief periods.

[LeftieBiker]

I'm going to merge this with a similar, existing topic. ''15 Leaf Best Place to Tap..."