Thank you for the video. I got the "T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Warning" when trying to start the car and your video helped a lot! I was able to diagnose the issue and determine it was the battery low voltage. I replace the battery with a new one and it worked like a charm! Odd to think that a electric car still need a traditional battery to start!
Thanks so much for making this video. Helped me get my Leaf back up and working after 2 months out of use during which time the 12v battery went low voltage. Saved me a fortune in recovery and garage costs.
Cheers Very informative video My leaf is 7 years old this February and still on the original battery so sooner rather than latter my battery is going to give up.
The 12v batterys die in these cars fast because they're most likely standard car starter batterys. Starter SLA batterys are designed to put out a high amount of current quickly, then be charged ASAP. If they are cycled a lot, like they would be in the LEAF, they wont last long. You'd want to put in an AGM or standard SLA battery in there.
That 12 volt lead acid battery is the only problem I've ever had with my Leaf. Otherwise it's the most reliable car I've ever owned. I learned always have a backup for this unreliable lead acid battery or you may get stranded.
How often does it go bad and what brand? I own 2 ICE Nissans with lead acid starting batteries. I usually get 6 years out of them. I load test them yearly too. I also have a General Electric garden tractor that is powered by lead acid golf cart batts. The guys who have owned these tractors for years claim 8 to 10 years out of their lead acids. That said some brands do seem to last better than others.
@General Smedley Butler Good to know, thank you! Fortunately I do keep a jumper pack (charged every few weeks) in either of my vehicles that I drive. Learned that lesson at a young age with my first car when stranded in a downpour lol. I've had my 2019 Leaf for a year with 14k miles on it and really like it. Excellent commuter car, since gas where I live is almost $3 a gallon right now. It was costing me at least $40 a week to drive my truck all the time compared to $5 a week for the Leaf.
If you plug in the main charger cord for the HV battery pack will that also charge the 12v battery? Or perhaps when the HV pack is charging does the DC to DC converter also get turned on to maintain the 12v pack?
Thanks for sharing LeafX. I think my 2013 still has the original battery and I've checked and before I hit start I've checked the battery voltage and it was about 12.1 volts which I think means I'm probably on it's last days. But I haven't replaced it yet I guess the cheap scape in me just wants to see how much I can get out of it. I will get me one of those glove box battery boosters though.
LeafX how about an 2 yr update on your Leaf extender pack? Are you still using? Occasionally or frequently? Do you leave the pack in the car all the time? Any other mods to it in the last 2 years? Thanks!
I seem to see different instructions on how to boost the 12V - a few question. In the manual for my 2014 Leaf, it states to NOT connect negative to the negative of the leaf 12V. I've seen this comment on other forums as well but both in your video and another video, you show connecting direct to the negative. Is there a reason why? and is there somewhere you would instead recommend putting the negative? Also is there a voltage level where the 12V will simply not take a boost? I don't even get any lights or action on my dash but want to try charging the 12V but don't want to do damage to the car.
Yes, best practice to boost a car (any car) is to connect the negative terminal somewhere else on the car's "ground" usually the car's engine. If you look at the negalive cable it is connected to the DC-DC converter so you could connect it there. The reason is that lead-acid batteries can off-gas hydrogen and when connecting the cables you could get a spark and there's risk of explosion. Since portable lithium booster backs are usually inteligent (they don't turn on until they see voltage) there is no risk. I recommend charging with an inteligent charger and you could connect it directl to the battery's terminals.
I have a 2012 Leaf, 79,000 miles. Still rocking the original battery. Today (November 2021), I have a weird thing happening. Both trips reset, dash clock was in 24 hr mode and totally the wrong time. I thought that was weird but went to the store, when I got back in I had a couple of random warning lights. When I got home, it would not start back. I’m guessing it’s the 12 volt battery… I haven’t driven it in a few days… time to call around and find a battery…
@General Smedley Butler Thanks for the info! 👍 My 2015 Nissan Leaf is still on its original 12v battery. Last year I was getting some strange errors on the dashboard (e.g. traction control not working), so following advice; I charged the 12v battery with my CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger ( amzn.to/2RJwHX3 | ruclips.net/video/myWdx-yogfw/видео.html ) and reset the codes with an OBD2 Car Diagnostic Tool ( amzn.to/3y5NDb1 ). This resolved the issue and it has been fine since 😊
I take it you don't have a SL trim Leaf. The SL's have a solar panel on the spoiler that acts as a 12v battery tender. If you leave it outside, it'll slow charge the battery to keep it powered enough to start up the car.
My leaf was 100% dead (none of the ignition sounds, etc, which you got when you tried to start). When we hooked it to the other car with the jumper cables, it started (without jumping it). It was drawing power from the other battery. When it was unhooked from the jumper cables, it went dead again. How can you jump a car that starts without a jump? I hope that makes some sense).
As soon as you connect the cables to the other vehicle, power from the good battery is transferred to the dead one, this is normal and actually the correct method. The Nissan Leaf needs very little power to power up. It's actually preferable to not start the other vehicle as the increased voltage could damage the Leaf. Once the Leaf is powered up (turned on). You can safely disconnect the booster cables as the onboard dc-dc will charge up the 12v battery. However, if the 12v battery is bad, it may not accept a charge and may not restart the car the next time either.
@@DIYbatteriesSorry, I know this comment was written almost a year ago, but do you know what is the minimum voltage required to start the Leaf? Also, is it normal for the 12v battery in a Leaf to drain so quickly?
Yes, it does, same as if you start charging the high voltage battery. However if the 12v battery is dead, you cannot turn on the AC nor charge the car.
Nissan Manual stinks...just says to put the vehicle in park set the parking brakes and take it to a dealer. nearly every issue resolves to call the dealer.
@@DIYbatteries Is there a way to use them as a charger, just to get enough in the battery to get it started? Twice now I haven't been able to start the car using mine and had to get jumped from another Leaf for a few/several minutes. I assume that the jumper/boost packs don't provide a high enough voltage to allow them to charge the battery? I left mine on for hours and it didn't work. Perhaps pressing the boost button will allow for this, as that turns off all of the battery protection circuitry. But, that mode normally only lasts for 30 secs.
no, the lead acid batteries don't die because they were procured by Nissan from cheap Chinese sources. All lead acid batteries die prematurely in these cars. I don't know why.
Thank you for the video. I got the "T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Warning" when trying to start the car and your video helped a lot! I was able to diagnose the issue and determine it was the battery low voltage. I replace the battery with a new one and it worked like a charm! Odd to think that a electric car still need a traditional battery to start!
Thanks so much for making this video. Helped me get my Leaf back up and working after 2 months out of use during which time the 12v battery went low voltage. Saved me a fortune in recovery and garage costs.
Thank You for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤
Hi! I’m watching all your videos, the ones about the Leaf are most interesting. Great job 👍🏻👍🏻
Cheers
Very informative video
My leaf is 7 years old this February and still on the original battery so sooner rather than latter my battery is going to give up.
The 12v batterys die in these cars fast because they're most likely standard car starter batterys. Starter SLA batterys are designed to put out a high amount of current quickly, then be charged ASAP. If they are cycled a lot, like they would be in the LEAF, they wont last long. You'd want to put in an AGM or standard SLA battery in there.
That 12 volt lead acid battery is the only problem I've ever had with my Leaf. Otherwise it's the most reliable car I've ever owned. I learned always have a backup for this unreliable lead acid battery or you may get stranded.
How often does it go bad and what brand? I own 2 ICE Nissans with lead acid starting batteries. I usually get 6 years out of them. I load test them yearly too. I also have a General Electric garden tractor that is powered by lead acid golf cart batts. The guys who have owned these tractors for years claim 8 to 10 years out of their lead acids. That said some brands do seem to last better than others.
@General Smedley Butler Good to know, thank you! Fortunately I do keep a jumper pack (charged every few weeks) in either of my vehicles that I drive. Learned that lesson at a young age with my first car when stranded in a downpour lol.
I've had my 2019 Leaf for a year with 14k miles on it and really like it. Excellent commuter car, since gas where I live is almost $3 a gallon right now. It was costing me at least $40 a week to drive my truck all the time compared to $5 a week for the Leaf.
Very helpful video. thanks
If you plug in the main charger cord for the HV battery pack will that also charge the 12v battery? Or perhaps when the HV pack is charging does the DC to DC converter also get turned on to maintain the 12v pack?
Yes, when the car is charging the main HV pack, the 12v battery also gets charged via the DC-DC converter.
Thanks for sharing LeafX. I think my 2013 still has the original battery and I've checked and before I hit start I've checked the battery voltage and it was about 12.1 volts which I think means I'm probably on it's last days. But I haven't replaced it yet I guess the cheap scape in me just wants to see how much I can get out of it. I will get me one of those glove box battery boosters though.
LeafX how about an 2 yr update on your Leaf extender pack? Are you still using? Occasionally or frequently? Do you leave the pack in the car all the time? Any other mods to it in the last 2 years? Thanks!
I seem to see different instructions on how to boost the 12V - a few question. In the manual for my 2014 Leaf, it states to NOT connect negative to the negative of the leaf 12V. I've seen this comment on other forums as well but both in your video and another video, you show connecting direct to the negative. Is there a reason why? and is there somewhere you would instead recommend putting the negative? Also is there a voltage level where the 12V will simply not take a boost? I don't even get any lights or action on my dash but want to try charging the 12V but don't want to do damage to the car.
Yes, best practice to boost a car (any car) is to connect the negative terminal somewhere else on the car's "ground" usually the car's engine. If you look at the negalive cable it is connected to the DC-DC converter so you could connect it there. The reason is that lead-acid batteries can off-gas hydrogen and when connecting the cables you could get a spark and there's risk of explosion. Since portable lithium booster backs are usually inteligent (they don't turn on until they see voltage) there is no risk. I recommend charging with an inteligent charger and you could connect it directl to the battery's terminals.
Really helpful, thanks. I don't have a leaf, have a Chevvy Spark.
I have a 2012 Leaf, 79,000 miles. Still rocking the original battery. Today (November 2021), I have a weird thing happening. Both trips reset, dash clock was in 24 hr mode and totally the wrong time. I thought that was weird but went to the store, when I got back in I had a couple of random warning lights. When I got home, it would not start back. I’m guessing it’s the 12 volt battery… I haven’t driven it in a few days… time to call around and find a battery…
Useful information, thank you :-)
@General Smedley Butler Thanks for the info! 👍
My 2015 Nissan Leaf is still on its original 12v battery. Last year I was getting some strange errors on the dashboard (e.g. traction control not working), so following advice; I charged the 12v battery with my CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger ( amzn.to/2RJwHX3 | ruclips.net/video/myWdx-yogfw/видео.html ) and reset the codes with an OBD2 Car Diagnostic Tool ( amzn.to/3y5NDb1 ). This resolved the issue and it has been fine since 😊
I take it you don't have a SL trim Leaf. The SL's have a solar panel on the spoiler that acts as a 12v battery tender. If you leave it outside, it'll slow charge the battery to keep it powered enough to start up the car.
Nice idea.
Page Seven I have an SL and I’m still having problems with not charging?
My leaf was 100% dead (none of the ignition sounds, etc, which you got when you tried to start). When we hooked it to the other car with the jumper cables, it started (without jumping it). It was drawing power from the other battery. When it was unhooked from the jumper cables, it went dead again. How can you jump a car that starts without a jump? I hope that makes some sense).
As soon as you connect the cables to the other vehicle, power from the good battery is transferred to the dead one, this is normal and actually the correct method. The Nissan Leaf needs very little power to power up. It's actually preferable to not start the other vehicle as the increased voltage could damage the Leaf. Once the Leaf is powered up (turned on). You can safely disconnect the booster cables as the onboard dc-dc will charge up the 12v battery. However, if the 12v battery is bad, it may not accept a charge and may not restart the car the next time either.
@@DIYbatteriesSorry, I know this comment was written almost a year ago, but do you know what is the minimum voltage required to start the Leaf? Also, is it normal for the 12v battery in a Leaf to drain so quickly?
I haven't tried .but if you remotely turn on the AC it then charges the 12v battery from the main battery
Yes, it does, same as if you start charging the high voltage battery. However if the 12v battery is dead, you cannot turn on the AC nor charge the car.
My Leaf has killed 3 batteries since I got it. I don't get it. I use it often. Anyway, doing research on this now.
Thank You!
Great job, thank you for sharing,
is there an email/website you can be reached on?
thanks and keep up the good work
Nissan Manual stinks...just says to put the vehicle in park set the parking brakes and take it to a dealer. nearly every issue resolves to call the dealer.
I charged mine and car started but im taking it to auto store for a load test
Radio Shack? 👌
carry a lithium boost pack in the glove box
Yes, that's exactly what I have been doing...
@@DIYbatteries Is there a way to use them as a charger, just to get enough in the battery to get it started? Twice now I haven't been able to start the car using mine and had to get jumped from another Leaf for a few/several minutes. I assume that the jumper/boost packs don't provide a high enough voltage to allow them to charge the battery? I left mine on for hours and it didn't work. Perhaps pressing the boost button will allow for this, as that turns off all of the battery protection circuitry. But, that mode normally only lasts for 30 secs.
no, the lead acid batteries don't die because they were procured by Nissan from cheap Chinese sources. All lead acid batteries die prematurely in these cars. I don't know why.