Bargain Basement Electric

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dave
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by dave »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 26 May 2021, 21:26 Image
what a lovely datsun...
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Mandrake
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by Mandrake »

Neil - I wonder if you have had any problems with the front driveshafts clicking on your Leaf?

Try turning the heater and pedestrian warning off so the car is silent, pull away slowly, listen for a click from the front when you apply power and another click when you apply the brake pedal to apply regen. For this to work you probably need to be <80% SoC so that you have full regen.

I think mine has been doing this very slightly since I've had it but it has got noisier now, and it turns out this is a very, very common problem with Leaf's with lots of reports on speakev and elsewhere, and there is also at least one Nissan service bulletin regarding it.

As mine is out of original car warranty I've been trying to find out exactly what the cause and cure is as I don't fancy paying Nissan to do it especially when many people have reported that after Nissan "fixed" it the click has return...

There is a lot of hearsay and misinformation about this issue but what I've been able to find out so far is that it is caused by the hub nut being inadequately torqued causing the stub axle to rock slightly on the spline in the hub...

Where it gets interesting is that the original hub nut torque figure is a crazy low 121Nm !! Compare this to a Xantia where the hub nut is torqued to 320Nm... The first Nissan bulletin addressing this issue was released some time around 2013 and yet some brand new 2020 62kWh Leaf's are still having this issue within 6 months.

In the original bulletin they tell you to remove the hub nut, push the stub axle partially out the back of the hub, apply molly grease to the rear part of the spline and hub and refit it with a new nut/washer (on models that have a washer) and torque back up to the same 121Nm figure...

But after doing some digging it appears that the recommended torque figure has been retroactively updated to 185Nm... also it seems there are at least two stub axle variations for different age Leaf's - some have a stub axle with a cut out keyway and use a stake nut to lock the nut after tightening it, while others have a normal shaft and nut with a nut cap and cotter pin. Not sure which my car has yet!

Anyway, thought I would bring it to your attention. I'm going to have a look at mine and see if I can tighten it up to 185Nm to see if that fixes the clicking...
Simon

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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Mandrake wrote: 03 Jun 2021, 11:09 Neil - I wonder if you have had any problems with the front driveshafts clicking on your Leaf?
Thanks for the heads up Simon.

In all my driving so far I have never consciously noticed it Simon. Air/con heater never in action these Summer days other than a quick flick if we are steaming up. I have never knowingly recognised the passenger alert noise either.

I fear now that I will be unable to shut out the possibility of a click should there be one to hear. Case of turn the radio up and carry on unless I feel some serious wheel wobble, or some humming, whining or groaning bearings. :-D

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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

BB Leaf down by the riverside
BB Leaf down by the riverside
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

On a drive to get some hacksaw blades :-D
BB Leaf catching the sun
BB Leaf catching the sun
BB Leaf View from the bridge
BB Leaf View from the bridge
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

comfortable cruising speed BB Leaf
comfortable cruising speed BB Leaf
Inspecting the beans and poppies
Inspecting the beans and poppies
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Electric motoring on a sunny afternoon in Northumberland
Free top-up up at Northumberland's most picturesque charging point.
Free top-up up at Northumberland's most picturesque charging point.
Coffee and Cake at the Carriages Bellingham Station.   Today the new seating area in the shade under the gazebo was just right.
Coffee and Cake at the Carriages Bellingham Station. Today the new seating area in the shade under the gazebo was just right.
Back on the roads in the wilds.
Back on the roads in the wilds.
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

BB Leaf View through the Windscreen
BB Leaf View through the Windscreen
Probably the steepest descent the BB Leaf has encountered in our Ownership, down to Scotland's first Harbour on the East Coast.
Stony beach particularly good for collecting sea glass
Stony beach particularly good for collecting sea glass
Spent 2p on fuel for the journey as told here
https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... 07#p693907

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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Somewhere in the Summertime since the Start of August when the mileometer was at 43,403, BBleaf has lost one of its 12 bars. Its battery in the 19 months of our ownership has done 15,000 miles of very gentle treatment.

So 43,500 miles and 6 years is the point at which the State of Health of the battery of the BB Leaf drops to 85% of the original capacity of the pack. The first bar loss represents 15% loss, subsequent bar loss represents 6.25% further loss.

I would have liked to keep the 12 bars longer, but the loss of capacity is inevitable with age, and charging cycles.
12 bars intact at Aug 01<br />11 noticed for the first time today
12 bars intact at Aug 01
11 noticed for the first time today
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

BB Leaf goes to Scotland...through the window in the Scottish Borders
The road ahead
The road ahead
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

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No haggis & thistles, could be anywhere.
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

The old BB Leaf isn't entirely Maintenance free. With the MOT coming up in September, discs and pads need a bit of attention. The nearside rear was giving the graunch of pads worn down to the metal so the job has started.

Its an odd set up on the leaf the rear disk is a disk and drum combined, with a handbrake and brakeshoes acting on the inside of the disk, and your normal caliper and pads on the outside. Its a mechanical handbrake (foot operated) operating on the little shoes inside the disk.
&quot;handbrake&quot; brake shoes
"handbrake" brake shoes
your normal disk, but the handbrake shoes operate on the inner surface
your normal disk, but the handbrake shoes operate on the inner surface
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by mickthemaverick »

That is a fairly common arrangement these days Neil, especially on Japanese cars. I was surprised to discover the Kia Venga does not have that arrangement!! :)
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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 28 Aug 2021, 19:09 That is a fairly common arrangement these days Neil, especially on Japanese cars. I was surprised to discover the Kia Venga does not have that arrangement!! :)
With a normal handbrake arrangement operating on the rear wheels where there are disks on the rear wheels, the pistons on the caliper have to be wound back. I cant quite work out whether the Leaf ones do or not. Nissan say use a piston rewind tool but I cant see any connection at all between the caliper and the handbrake mechanism which is a cable operated thing acting via a lever on the shoes.

Any thoughts?

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Re: Bargain Basement Electric

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Common Volvo and Saab set up Neil.
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
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