First Impressions of '21 Leaf SV

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jjeff said:
A 30a breaker will get quite hot pulling 27.5a(what the Leaf EVSE generally pulls) after a short while. If the wiring is 10g which generally a 30a circuit has, it will also get warm but may be harder to feel that. All in all not a good idea to run the OEM Leaf on a 30a circuit, besides being against code.

In my case the 30a circuit that my Nissan EVSE is on comes from a subpanel in my detached garage. The subpanel itself is fed from the main panel in the house, with a 40a breaker on it. Hypothetically, could I pull the 30a breaker out of the subpanel and replace it with a 40a breaker? That would handle the 27-28 amps the EVSE draws without going over the 80% capacity (32a) of the breaker. Would that be a reasonable solution?
 
Only if you have wire thicker than 10 gauge there, like AWG #8. It might be a little safer to do what you propose, but it would still be a code violation. Safety-wise, never charging for more than 3 hours straight would be second best to fixing the circuit.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Only if you have wire thicker than 10 gauge there, like AWG #8. It might be a little safer to do what you propose, but it would still be a code violation. Safety-wise, never charging for more than 3 hours straight would be second best to fixing the circuit.

Since the electrician told me he was putting in a 40a subpanel, I think there's a pretty good chance the wiring to the subpanel is appropriate. I'll have to check on the wiring from the subpanel to the receptacle to make sure it can handle 40a. If it can, then I imagine it's safe to put the 40a breaker in the subpanel for the Nissan EVSE. If not, then I guess either I have to pull new wire or, as you say, limit charging sessions to 3 hours. Thanks for the advice!
 
Unfortunately, while it's possible that the EVSE circuit has heavier cable that was needed (maybe because he had a big roll of it left when installing the subpanel) it's more likely that he used #10 for the EVSE run.
 
Note #10 wiring is capable of 30a continuous it's just the breaker is almost surly 80% duty rated. It's possible to find breakers rated for 100% duty cycle but they by far are not the norm and I'd think the only place you could find one would be a wholesale/commercial place or probably online.
So again as long as you had a 30a 100% duty rated breaker, #10 wire, all connections secure and a quality 30a outlet, you should be able to get away with a continuous 27.5a(what a Nissan draws) load. If any of these are not the case things will get very warm and would be unsafe.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Note #10 wiring is capable of 30a continuous it's just the breaker is almost surly 80% duty rated.

Thanks for the correction - I had forgotten that.
I googled "continuous rated circuit breakers" and found plenty of references to it, but not much on where to purchase them. Amazon was mostly a dead end. So while I believe they are available for some panels, saw references to Square-D and Seimens, they seem to be a rather rare commodity and I believe it's very safe to assume when you see a 30a breaker in a panel it will NOT be 100% duty rated.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The best feature of Nissan Connect is the remote climate control access, and this continues for free after the trial period. I suppose the second best feature is either the ability to locate the car easily, or the ability to check the state of charge by opening the app and refreshing the data.

Leftie;
New problem with the new SV Plus:
My OpenEvse LCD started flashing red while charging at the 24 amps setting. I shut it down and tried retarting and it now shows L1 (its set up for L2). I think I've found the problem - the spade connector on one leg of the 240 VAC output to the J-1772 is charred - obviously a bad crimp originally that has been exacerbated by going to the higher amp settings.

Now - the issue is that the Leaf will not release the J-1772 connector. The 3 charge lights flash and beep. I've used my key fob to lock/unlock and does not work. I've disconnected the internal EVSE output (L1 and L2) to the J-1772 connector - so no feedback from the EVSE. Is there a way to "unlock" manually. I'm going to use the Nissan CC (unfortunately L1 only - no L14-50 receptacle installed yet). But I believe that will prove the OpenEVSE is malfunctioning - not the Leaf.

Could call the dealer - but likely get nothing but "bring it in" (somewhat difficult!!).
 
Status - got the J-1772 conn to release - hooked up the NIssan "trickle" charger and it works fine. My guess is that upping the amperes on the OpenEvse caused the spade connector to severly overheat and lose connection - possibly even the voltage sensor small gauge wiring - and that caused the overheating issue and also possibly a fault signal in the charging system (just guessing). Will get a more robust spade connector and try again.
 
I never use eco.

I like one-pedal drive but don't use it because it constantly throws the brake lights, whereas B-mode, which although not as aggressive with braking, does not. This makes me look less like a spaz to people behind me.
 
I wondered about the brake lights with e-pedal. If just slowing down normally, I'd hoped the brake lights are not activated - going to pay more attention - as people riding the brake pedal with the left foot are quite annoying :mrgreen:
 
Marktm said:
I wondered about the brake lights with e-pedal. If just slowing down normally, I'd hoped the brake lights are not activated - going to pay more attention - as people riding the brake pedal with the left foot are quite annoying :mrgreen:

Brake lights are quite reactive. The slant of the hatch glass makes monitoring the lights easy if you are on a dark street. You can see the lights activate thru the rear view mirror quite easily. I also only use E Pedal when slowing quickly or coming to a full stop. But I do use Eco all the time. Eco is the only thing that is constant as I regularly use D N B and E Pedal...with an occasional R thrown in as needed ;)
 
Marktm said:
I wondered about the brake lights with e-pedal. If just slowing down normally, I'd hoped the brake lights are not activated - going to pay more attention - as people riding the brake pedal with the left foot are quite annoying :mrgreen:

Regen has to get over 35 kW to activate them, from what I noticed (at night where it is easy to see the brake lights in the rear view mirror) but if the speed is low enough where little regen is left, you get brake lights. As the other poster here said, regular stop n' go driving will make it seem like you are brake crazy to drivers behind you, but I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't bother you. :lol:

I tried ePedal for a while, but the acceleration hit was too great (for safety reasons I'm sure) and just driving in B mode made the driving experience smoother for me. I have a couple of times in the past used ePedal for long and very slow, stop n' go driving (when a car wreck ahead has everyone advancing one car space at a time slowly). So, it see it more as another mode that can be useful for the Leaf, not something to put down as useless. You never realize how useful all these configurations for driving are until you are without them (in a gas vehicle or another EV with limited driving features).
 
knightmb said:
Marktm said:
I wondered about the brake lights with e-pedal. If just slowing down normally, I'd hoped the brake lights are not activated - going to pay more attention - as people riding the brake pedal with the left foot are quite annoying :mrgreen:

Regen has to get over 35 kW to activate them, from what I noticed (at night where it is easy to see the brake lights in the rear view mirror) but if the speed is low enough where little regen is left, you get brake lights. As the other poster here said, regular stop n' go driving will make it seem like you are brake crazy to drivers behind you, but I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't bother you. :lol:

I tried ePedal for a while, but the acceleration hit was too great (for safety reasons I'm sure) and just driving in B mode made the driving experience smoother for me. I have a couple of times in the past used ePedal for long and very slow, stop n' go driving (when a car wreck ahead has everyone advancing one car space at a time slowly). So, it see it more as another mode that can be useful for the Leaf, not something to put down as useless. You never realize how useful all these configurations for driving are until you are without them (in a gas vehicle or another EV with limited driving features).

35KW? Uhhh... not quite what I observed. "low enough" needs to be defined because I saw regen over 50 KW at 35 mph. I personally drive with minimal brake light activation anyway choosing to shift to B only using E Pedal at the last second. It has created a situation where I notice people creating greater following distances when behind me. Besides, brake lights are nothing but tailgate enabling crutches and i see no reason to make it easier for them ;)
 
brakes lights come on at a certain level of deceleration when in E-Pedal measure by G loads....B mode does not activate the lights in the same way and that is why I believe they should only be used in downhill situation...for safety reasons.

There are a few youtube videos on this...here is just one of them https://youtu.be/-GwYWuoQO0g
 
Learjet said:
brakes lights come on at a certain level of deceleration when in E-Pedal measure by G loads....B mode does not activate the lights in the same way and that is why I believe they should only be used in downhill situation...for safety reasons.

There are a few youtube videos on this...here is just one of them https://youtu.be/-GwYWuoQO0g

"in the same way?"

safety reasons? Care to elaborate?
 
LeftieBiker said:
AFAIK, B mode doesn't activate the brake lights at all. It's equivalent to shifting a transmission to a lower gear.

yes...that is what I'm saying...I would rather have brake lights come on....I don't like getting rear-ended ....brake lights tend to help avoid that :)
 
Learjet said:
LeftieBiker said:
AFAIK, B mode doesn't activate the brake lights at all. It's equivalent to shifting a transmission to a lower gear.

yes...that is what I'm saying...I would rather have brake lights come on....I don't like getting rear-ended ....brake lights tend to help avoid that :)

LOL!! Brake lights is nothing more than a tool used by tailgaters and actually INCREASE the likelihood of you getting rearended.

Look at the statistics. Have rear end collisions increased with the level of regen in B mode? :lol:
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Learjet said:
LeftieBiker said:
AFAIK, B mode doesn't activate the brake lights at all. It's equivalent to shifting a transmission to a lower gear.

yes...that is what I'm saying...I would rather have brake lights come on....I don't like getting rear-ended ....brake lights tend to help avoid that :)

LOL!! Brake lights is nothing more than a tool used by tailgaters and actually INCREASE the likelihood of you getting rearended.

Look at the statistics. Have rear end collisions increased with the level of regen in B mode? :lol:

I think its also been proven that your don't get more regen from B mode.

Not sure if you are being funny are what about the tailgaters...but whatever you want to think....I have no problem with tailgaters...just don't look in the rearview mirror....problem solved...LOL
 
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