Leafs Encounter Charging Problems; GE’s WattStation Blamed

[NigelM]

GE-admits-wattstation-could-damage-nissan-leafs/

Actually, looks like GE is not admitting fault as the URL states. That said, there does seem to be an indication of problems.

GE Energy says that it is working with Nissan to determine why owners of the Leaf electric vehicle have encountered charging problems, following complaints about GE’s WattStation charger.

There have been reports that the WattStation is damaging the on-board chargers of some Nissan Leafs. The problem has so far affected 11 Leafs, a New York Times blog reports.

[markb1]

My first thought is that it's probably Nissan's fault for not making their charger robust enough. After all, how complicated is an EVSE?

[SByer]

When it's your car (brand), it's the stations' fault. When it's not, it's the car.

[doug]

My first thought is that it's probably Nissan's fault for not making their charger robust enough. After all, how complicated is an EVSE?

Good point. Without having read the article, I suppose it's possible that voltage spikes (or something) on the pilot signal might screw things up on the car end. You'd expect that 240 VAC is just passed without conditioning.

[TEG]

Nissan Software To Blame For Charging Failures In LEAF, Not GE WattStation. Fix Coming

General Electric WattStation | Plug In America

"Nissan and GE have completed their investigation into the instances of
Nissan LEAFs experiencing on-board charging (OBC) issues when using
certain EV chargers. Nissan has traced the root cause of the issue to
the LEAFs OBC software that can allow damage to occur to its OBC
components while using certain chargers and in certain instances, such
as when a brief under voltage or blackout condition occurs. Nissan is
working to address this issue as quickly as possible, and in the
meantime is advising customers to avoid charging during times when
brownouts or momentary power dips may be likely, such as during
electrical storms or high power usage on the grid."