Nissan Leaf 2018 Onboard charger size?

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TommySharp

126 posts

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#302323 14-Nov-2022 22:40

We have a 2018 Nissan Leaf imported from Japan I suspect. Everything I have read says it should have a 7kw onboard charger... Today I got a 40A dedicated charger installed at home and am a little annoyed to find it only charges at a max of 3.6kw... Does anyone know how to confirm what size onboard charger is installed in this vehicle?

Jase2985

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#2996344 15-Nov-2022 05:08

https://samholford.github.io/leafguide/

im pretty sure jap imports only have the smaller charger

but you could always look and ask the question in the Nissan Leaf Thread

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=162&topicid=191715

GV27

5896 posts

Uber Geek

#2997018 16-Nov-2022 11:23

If the top of the PDM (black plastic engine cover, effectively) has wavy lines on it, it's a 3.3kw PDM and charger.

If the PDM has a flat, honeycomb cover with no waves running through/around it, it's has the charger upgrade.

I would guess that less than 1% of the ZE1 Leafs I looked at in Japan had the charger option fitted. The NZ/UK new ones have the 6kw one by default, as do all Leaf + models (JDM ones inclusive).

TommySharp

126 posts

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#2997095 16-Nov-2022 13:33

It's a "new shape" model with a 40kw battery so naively assumed it would have the larger charger :-(

gareth41

742 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2997109 16-Nov-2022 14:09

It likely needs a 3 phase AC charger to charge at a higher rate. I found that with one of the new Mercedes EV's (EQB), it wont charge at anything more than 4.7kW (20A) on a single phase charger, however if the charger is 3 phase, then it will charge at 11kW (16A on each phase) - note this has nothing to do with fast DC chargers. AC chargers come in 2 flavours, single phase and 3 phase. If you look at the Type2 cable that came with your car you can see the L1, L2, L3 pins on it. Flip up the flap on the AC charger you are using and sometimes you can see the L2 and L3 pins don't exist - in that case you'll probably get between 16A and 20A depending on your car, I believe some can charge at 32A on single phase

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#2997124 16-Nov-2022 14:45

@gareth41 the OP has a LEAF, they only have a single phase charger. Either 3.3kW (most Japanese) or ~6kW (most UK). It's not a matter of plugging in to a charger with more phases - the charger is built in to the car.

As for an EQB charging at at 20A, this is more likely a combination of the EVSE and cable being used - probably the EVSE being set for 20A. The UK spec at least confirms 7.4kW charging is possible (32A single phase). The way a lot of vehicles do 3 phase charging is to have 3 x 16A chargers and run one from each phase in 3 phase mode, or 2 in parallel off a single phase.

Aaron2222

216 posts

Master Geek

#2997160 16-Nov-2022 17:47

TommySharp:

It's a "new shape" model with a 40kw battery so naively assumed it would have the larger charger :-(

If you go digging through the Nissan Japan site on the Wayback Machine, you can often get the spec sheet for the model year you're looking at, which lays out what features are included at what trim level, and what ones are optional.

Aaron2222

216 posts

Master Geek

#2997161 16-Nov-2022 17:59

Nissan Leaf JDM Specsheet as of March 2018 (earliest I could find for ZE1)
List on Wayback Machine (filter by 'pdf' in search bar)

Yeah, they're in Japanese, but you can copy and paste into Google Translate, or try your luck with one of those online PDF translation services.

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RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#2997162 16-Nov-2022 18:06

Aaron2222:[snip]

Nissan Leaf JDM Specsheet as of March 2018

According to that, 3kW is standard equipment, 6kW is optional (request at time of ordering).

EDIT: That's across all 3 specs S / X / G.

afe66

3181 posts

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#2997175 16-Nov-2022 18:59

On the dash board menu does it tell you time to charge to 100%?

My admittedly old UK leaf (2014) has time go 100% charge with two figures charge at 3kw and 6kw as my UK leaf comes with 6 charger (32A@230v)

GV27

5896 posts

Uber Geek

#2997305 17-Nov-2022 07:36

TommySharp:

It's a "new shape" model with a 40kw battery so naively assumed it would have the larger charger :-(

The Japanese live and die by DC charging so unsurprisingly very few have them.

I've seen people online trying to swap out a 6kw PDM in and their issues seem to be caused by swapping a Type 1 connector PDM to a locally sourced Type 2 one - the plugs and charging port locks function different.

If (and this is a unicorn-sized if) you can source an EM57 PDM with the same Type 1 connector that has the 6kw PDM, there seems to be common consensus that it should just be plug-and-play. But because of how hard they are to come by, I'm yet to find anyone retrofit it and definitively prove that it is.

Scott3

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#2997467 17-Nov-2022 13:52

For first-generation leaf, you need to check the lable.:

Nissan Leaf 6.6 kW charger - Andrew Fixes

For the second-generation leaf, the plastic case is different. Hope I have these the right way around.

6.6kW? charger:

Nissan LEAF - General

3.6kW charger:

NISSAN LEAF X | 2018 | WHITE II | 54605 km | details.- Japanese used cars.Goo-net Exchange

Scott3

3963 posts

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#2997470 17-Nov-2022 13:56

gareth41:

It likely needs a 3 phase AC charger to charge at a higher rate. I found that with one of the new Mercedes EV's (EQB), it wont charge at anything more than 4.7kW (20A) on a single phase charger, however if the charger is 3 phase, then it will charge at 11kW (16A on each phase) - note this has nothing to do with fast DC chargers. AC chargers come in 2 flavours, single phase and 3 phase. If you look at the Type2 cable that came with your car you can see the L1, L2, L3 pins on it. Flip up the flap on the AC charger you are using and sometimes you can see the L2 and L3 pins don't exist - in that case you'll probably get between 16A and 20A depending on your car, I believe some can charge at 32A on single phase

Both the charger sizes on the leaf are single phase, and the vast majority of leaf's are fitted with type 1 ports, which only have enough pins to do single phase power.