2011 Leaf - Sometimes won't start. Violent kickback on brake pedal. OBD DTC Adaptor error code?

Situation:
6 bar 2011 Nissan Leaf.
Works fine for in town trips.

Recently it sometimes won't start. If I get in and press the brake and start, the brake pedal will rather firmly "kick back". I'll hold it in prior to pressing the power button, and my leg will be literally pushed back.

The dashboard error indicator / idiot light will be lit.
The car will not move.
This can repeat 2 or more times, and it might start or not.

I have an LE-Link OBD II adapter, which mostly works with LeafSpy. But no matter the OBD/DTC reading software I try, I get nothing of use from the leaf, and in particular no error codes.

So questions: has anyone see this? What hardware or software do I need to reliably get any trouble codes?

At 6 bars I think you're looking at End of Life for that battery pack. What kind of histogram are you seeing for module voltages?

brycenesbitt said:

I have an LE-Link OBD II adapter, which mostly works with LeafSpy. But no matter the OBD/DTC reading software I try, I get nothing of use from the leaf, and in particular no error codes.

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Leaf Spy Pro can read DTCs. If you have that app, you need to enable the service screen. https://evsguy.com/how-to-use-leaf-spy-lite-and-pro-on-nissan-leaf/, search for service. That sounds right. (I sold my 2nd Leaf back in mid-2021.)

Check 12V battery, it wont start if your 12V is below 11,somethnig.

It heppend to me, once.

What's the voltage of the 12v battery? How old is it? Anything past 5 years is borrowed time

This might be it. Open circuit voltage is 11.83, at idle.
Battery installed 2/2018
We've had problems in the past, as we mostly bicycle, so the car sits charging for days. This leaf apparently has a stupid design decision that the 12V battery only charges when driving, not when, um, charging the rest of the car.

Does the LEAF have any way of showing a "low battery" error?

All I get is: "Visit dealer" on the dashboard at times.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xfqNwLW4oJzwmKSX9

brycenesbitt said:

This might be it. Open circuit voltage is 11.83, at idle.
Battery installed 2/2018
We've had problems in the past, as we mostly bicycle, so the car sits charging for days. This leaf apparently has a stupid design decision that the 12V battery only charges when driving, not when, um, charging the rest of the car.

Does the LEAF have any way of showing a "low battery" error?

All I get is: "Visit dealer" on the dashboard at times.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xfqNwLW4oJzwmKSX9

Click to expand...

That battery is bad, or at least, discharged. It's causing your problems.

I would replace it and get a maintainer. https://www.northerntool.com/products/batteryminder-plus-battery-charger-trickle-charger-desulfator-12-volt-1-amp-model-12117tc-167981

Leave that on when you're not driving the car.

Low 12v can also cause loss of brakes, so get it fixed. It's not something to mess around with.

6 bar batteries often work just fine, minus the range. This has nothing to do with your main battery pack.

Yes, the leaf 12v charging (or lack thereof) is frustrating. The car does top off the battery while not driving, but it shuts off way early, so effectively, it doesn't work.

The 2011 does charge the 12V battery while the traction battery is charging, but it actually discharges the 12V battery slowly if the car is left plugged in after traction battery charging is complete. Therefore, don't leave it plugged in more than a few hours after charging. With your use pattern, the automatic charging of the 12V battery from the traction battery (2011 and 2012 algorithm charges for 5 minutes every 5 days when not plugged in and not driven) is probably not sufficient to keep the 12V battery charged. Therefore, a 12V maintainer should be considered to keep the 12V battery fully charged while the car is parked.

GerryAZ said:

The 2011 does charge the 12V battery while the traction battery is charging, but it actually discharges the 12V battery slowly if the car is left plugged in after traction battery charging is complete. Therefore, don't leave it plugged in more than a few hours after charging.

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I have it plugged in on a timer, set to the Duck Curve.
Is it different if the car is "charging" as opposed by "blocked by the timer"?

(The car is set to charge 9am-4pm, to take advantage of the excess solar in California. The 2011 Leaf is also the higher end trim with the solar panel that should be trickle charging the battery).

The 2011 Leaf is also the higher end trim with the solar panel that should be trickle charging the battery).

Click to expand...

Only when it's in direct sunlight.

The computers in the 2011 do not go into deep sleep (lowest power mode) while the car is plugged in. The output of the solar panel in direct sunlight may be enough to compensate for the energy use when the car is not plugged in. It is not enough to keep the 12V battery from slowly discharging if the car is plugged in and not actively charging. 9AM to 4PM each day should be enough active charging to keep the 12V battery charged (if the car is actively charging the entire time). The 12V battery will discharge while not charging and then charge while the traction battery is actively charging. If the car is not driven, then there will be very little active charging even though it is plugged in with the timer set to allow charging. This will cause the 12V battery to discharge slowly over time. The number of days before the 12V battery is too low to start the car depends upon how long each day the car actively charges the traction battery and the condition/capacity of the 12V battery.

If you don't drive the car every day or two and you want to leave it plugged in, then a 12V battery maintainer would keep the 12V battery from discharging. Otherwise, unplug the car after charging is complete and the traction battery will automatically charge the 12V battery for 5 minutes every 5 days. The automatic charging and the output from the solar panel should keep a good 12V battery sufficiently charged to start the car.

I routinely parked my 2011 and 2015 up to 4 weeks at the office or airport without incident (except once when I forgot to unplug the Bluetooth OBDII adapter and the 12V battery was dead after only 6 days). The 2019 I have now has also been parked numerous times at the office or airport without incident. I believe the longest so far has been 29 days. The 2019 has an improved automatic charging algorithm which charges the 12V battery for 5 minutes every 24 hours if the car is not turned on.

Update: a battery charger has fixed the problem. The range of symptoms when the battery is low is huge: my favorite is will literally kick back the brake pedal when I'm trying to start it. Now I recognize the issue, and can throw a charger on.

I'm disappointed the solar panel apparently can't keep up with the standby losses.
Is there a way to measure the solar panel output, or a circuit diagram for that system, online anywhere?

(Clearly it's not a Tesla or more modern car with "software updates". Sigh. So easily fixed in software).

The solar panel is reported to work pretty well when the car is parked so that it gets 6+ hours of full sun daily. Less than that and it isn't adding much charge

I tested the solar panel in the 2011 once by carefully measuring the 12V battery voltage while the car was off, unplugged, and parked long enough to go into sleep mode. The battery voltage was slightly higher with the solar panel in full sun than with it covered by a towel. Therefore, the solar panel was probably enough capacity to make up for the residual draw while in sleep mode. It was not enough to cover the added current draw if the car was plugged in or not fully in sleep mode. As far as I could tell, the solar panel on the 2015 had a little less output than the 2011, but the power draw while in sleep mode might have been a little lower also. The 2019 does not have a solar panel but it has less residual power draw along with a better 12V charging algorithm than the earlier cars.